The free agent craze came and went again in the NBA, the same old New York story for the Knicks and their fan base. Another year, another “big” free agent signing failed to move the needle. The team signed Galen Bronson to a four-year, $104 million contract, and now they’re exposed to fraud allegations.
It’s a Knicks move that’s not funny anymore. I’m not against Bronson’s bag insurance; I’m happy for him. The Mavericks probably wouldn’t reach the Western Conference Finals without his contribution to the playoffs. Bronson took charge against Utah in the first round, with Luka Doncic inactive during the first three games of that series. Bronson led Dallas to a 2-1 lead, scoring 41 and 31 points in games 2 and 3.
But this signature doesn’t jump off the page when you think of New York City and the wow factor. Then again, free Knicks proxy pickups never scream “wow.” Not in a good sense, at least. Last year, Kimba Walker was from New York City back home To play for the franchise, and it ended up not being successful. them too Brought Evan Fournier, which was great for about one night At the start of last season.
Two years before Walker and Fournier, Julius Randle signed a major free agent deal with New York. This came on the heels of Kevin Durant’s refusal of the Knicks to follow his friend Keri Irving to the Brooklyn Nets. It didn’t quite go as planned, but it’s the same old Knicks song.
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The franchise hasn’t had a major star since Carmelo Anthony in 2011. This was supposed to be a free agent signing, but the Knicks spoiled their trade roster with Anthony rather than wait until summer. The move produced several postseason appearances and a 54-win season as the Knicks were eliminated in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Certainly not the outcome Knicks fans were hoping for.
With the Bronson deal, the player will likely now be penalized for having leaked that they were in contact with him before they were supposed to. Honestly, who cares? Damn, near every team, messing around. Always someone talks about this player going to another team. It really is the Wild West in terms of player movement. Let’s remove the ‘doodles’ and let them all do that. Teams and players are already doing it anyway.
Mess in the eyes of the NBA is everywhere. If you mention a player while you are associated with a different remote team, you may be subject to a tampering fine. The Lakers incurred $50,000 fine a few years ago after Magic Johnson speak brightly Publicly expressing the greatness of Giannis Antikonmo.
Bronson’s position is closely related to actual absurdity, but even that seems absurd. There’s no way the NBA thinks organizations aren’t in talks with free agents soon during the season. Even if it is not with the player directly, messages are transmitted through an agent, family members, friends, etc.
These franchises know the deal, and they still need to get the upper hand in acquiring players by any means necessary. It’s time to let go of this charade. Teams and players don’t care. The league makes so much money that teams don’t care about $50,000 or even $100,000 if it means their man is down.
Believe me, these owners care a lot more about reckless movement of players and those guys who are demanding trading after so many years left on existing contracts. But this will likely end in the next collective bargaining agreement. Empowering the player is great, but it’s getting out of hand, and the owners will be wrapping it up soon.
When the parties return to the negotiating table, one thing that should be on the agenda is to remove the tamper. It’s frankly silly. This cannot be an important factor affecting the competitive balance if almost everyone is involved. They just need to eliminate it and move on.
