I know this ruins a lot of conspiracy theories — and the Internet loves a conspiracy (did you know the Illuminati Controls the Red Cross?) — but when NBA players get together this weekend for the All-Star Game in New Orleans they are not spending time plotting their next free agent moves together.
Not even close. They may have casual discussions while in the VIP area of a club you can’t access, but the conversation more like you and your buddies sitting around watching football and saying, “we should totally go skiing in Aspen together next year.” There’s a slim chance you get it together and pull the trip off, but most likely that comment is as far as it goes.
Don’t take my word for it, listen to Carmelo Anthony. He can be a free agent and the New York Post asked if All-Star Weekend is like a college recruiting trip.
“I think All-Star weekend is just a time where you can relax, decompress, kind of reflect on the first half of the season and gear up for the second half of the season,” Anthony said, noting tales of recruiting “as always, as always” are blown out of proportion. “As far as recruiting and things like that, that never happens.”
“A lot of guys — especially the people I call friends, the people I talk to — it’s more making sure I’m all right, making sure I’m keeping my head up, making sure I’m staying positive,” said Anthony who takes his 27.1-point, second-best NBA scoring average against Sacramento in the Knicks’ pre-All-Star finale Wednesday at the Garden. “It’s not, ‘Whatcha gonna do?’ or ‘You should do this or you should do that.’ It’s more just being there during this time.”
Players talk all the time — about what it’s like playing for a team or a city, or about agents, or about women, or about a lot of other things. Sure, some of that is “hey, we should try to play together” but at the end of the day they will play where they can make the most money, feel the most comfortable and can win. If that works out with guys they like, great.
But sorry, there just is no great conspiracy going on behind your back with player movement. So you guys in the tin foil hats can return to focusing on how even retired David Stern will control the referees and the outcomes of playoff games. Obviously, Stern is high up in the Illuminati.
