Apparently, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade talked about playing together while still playing for separate teams. Now, talk of another "Big Three" alliance.
Can Chris Paul devote his full attention to the team he plays for, the New Orleans Hornets, if he's thinkinbg about the New York Knicks?NBA teams invest tens of millions of dollars in their best players. Fans invest healthy chunks of their paychecks, let alone their emotions, to watch those players compete for their favorite teams.
Can players play to their potential - as they owe their teams and the team's fans - when they're talking among themselves about switching teams and joining each other on another team?
LeBron James, then with the Cavaliers, and Chris Bosh, then with the Raptors, apparently talked with Dwyane Wade about joining him on the Heat. Talked about it, while still playing for the teams that were writing their paychecks. Now, of course, James, Bosh and Wade are teammates in Miami.
(Click here to read Plain Dealer reporter Brian Windhorst's recent account of the three players becoming Heat teammates)
We might be in the formative stages of another troika forming. Chris Paul -- slated to be paid $31.3 million over the next two years by the New Orleans Hornets -- and Carmelo Anthony -- to be paid nearly $17 million by the Denver Nuggets next season -- aren't doing much to quiet speculation that they might eventually join Amare Stoudemire on the New York Knicks.
Click here to hear Stoudemire's interview with Jason Smith on ESPN Radio.
Smith asks Stoudemire who he talked with during free agency. He asks the all-star forward about maybe playing with Paul and Anthony, and says, "You're already smiling." Part of Stoudemire's reply: "...That's something that New York would love. I would love it myself . . ."
Can Paul give New Orleans his best, trying to help the Hornets win, if he's already so interested in joining other specific players on another team? Ditto for Anthony and Denver.
What do you think?