'Melo Deal Won't Reel in Championship for James Dolan, Knicks

James Dolan can finally relax. Knicks fans will not be overrunning Times Square and refusing to leave until he joins Hosni Mubarak on the unemployed dictator line.

Everybody's talking about the Knicks. And for once, it's not in jest.

Congratulations are in order for Dolan for winning the Carmelo Anthony Sweepstakes over Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and his insurgent Nets. As for winning an NBA championship, your rubles should still be on ABNY -- Anybody But New York.

They are still Dolan's team. If history is any indication, that means every step forward will be followed by two steps back, three bad trades and far too many Isiah Thomas sightings.

Before we get to those terminal flaws, let me say I couldn't be happier for New York fans. Other pro franchises have been as pathetic over the past 15 years, but none have done it with the style and panache of the Knicks.
The Other Side

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Carmelo is the third piece in a four-part puzzle that may well deliver a championship to the Big Apple. First came the addition of Coach Mike D'antoni. Next came Amar'e Stoudamire -- and the miss with LeBron -- now comes Carmelo Anthony, a player without LeBron's panache or talent, but a player that will help to make the Knicks a bona fide contender in the Eastern Conference for the next four or five seasons.
-- Clay Travis on why the the Carmelo Anthony deal will eventually lead the Knicks to a championship
Being in New York has only made it worse. If Thomas had been the general manager of the Detroit Lions, few would have cared if he traded Barry Sanders for Ryan Leaf, which he would have.

Everything is magnified in New York, so Anthony is being treated like the greatest addition since the Statue of Liberty. The difference is Lady Liberty moves her feet better on defense than Carmelo.

He and Amar'e Stoudemire may combine for 60 points a night. Given how they daydream when the other team has the ball, that may be 30 points short of what's required.

Then there's the bench. After trading away three starters and their top reserve, it now consists of Corey Brewer, Spike Lee and Woody Allen.

No problem, you say. Chauncey Billups will keep the offense going another year or two, and then the Knicks will get Chris Paul or Deron Williams – or both! Along with Dwight Howard, Kevin Durrant and the rights to the entire 2013 draft class.

Such is the power of New York City. Knicks fans think everybody is just dying to play at Madison Square Garden, and now they have a reason to. This ignores the fact that everybody does not want to take their talents to Manhattan, and that there's a lockout looming.

Anthony and Stoudemire are already sucking up about $50 million a year. Once a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is hammered out, it will likely be much harder for the Knicks to sign top free agents.

Since they won't be able to simply buy talent the old Steinbrenner way, the Knicks will have to rely on shrewd front-office maneuvering. If Donnie Walsh were general manager, that wouldn't seem so preposterous.

He somehow transformed the smoldering wreckage left by Thomas into a respectable team. His long-term strategy was working. It included landing Anthony, just not at all costs. By all accounts, Walsh was against paying the ransom Denver demanded.

Enter Isiah, who ostensibly works as the head coach at Florida Atlantic or International of Hairstyling Academy. His real job is being Dolan's svengali, a post he has somehow maintained despite the fact everything he touches turning into Love Canal.

Thomas reportedly urged Dolan to seal whatever deal it took to land Anthony. That also sealed the future of the front office. Expect Walsh to wash his hands of Dolan, and Thomas to assume power. Then expect David Stern to get up at the draft and announce something like this:

"The New York Knicks have traded their 2012, 2013, 2015 first-round picks and the Empire State Building to Memphis for the rights to Zach Randolph's hemp farm."

Sorry, Knicks fans. The Heat and Bulls can do nothing and still be better than New York for the next half-dozen years.

Beyond that, can you really picture Dolan hoisting the NBA championship trophy while Thomas sprays him with champagne? If so, please report to the nearest sanitarium.

That said, you're not crazy for being happy today. The Knicks did not suffer another LeBron-like rebuffment. They are more talented and far more intriguing with Carmelo.

As of today, you can at least talk about winning a championship. But that's all it will ever be.