Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James Are Proof That NBA Players Have All the Power

The summer leading up to the 2010-11 NBA season has easily been one of the most controversial, contentious, and downright interesting spectacles in all of sports for quite some time.

While this has been a goldmine for scribes and fans to feast on, it has been nothing but a headache for the owners around the league.

Unless new mandates are placed in the new collective bargaining agreement (C.B.A.), front offices will become nervous wrecks anytime their star player enters the final year of their contract. If they can’t get a commitment from their franchise player, teams will have no choice but to entertain trade offers in hopes of avoiding the disastrous summer that befell the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors.

After watching LeBron James and Chris Bosh leave their teams high and dry, the Nuggets are faced with a similar situation. Denver offered Carmelo Anthony a three-year, $65 million contract extension in hopes of securing his services. However, after watching his draft classmates form a three-headed dragon down on South Beach, he left the offer on the table.

Rumor has it that Carmelo has his sights set on the New York Knicks or Chicago Bulls. The Knicks have a promising roster headlined by Amar’e Stoudemire, while the Bulls will be one of the strongest teams in the East this upcoming season.

However, the Nuggets simply do not care where Anthony wants to go. If they’re going to lose Anthony, they will attempt go out on their own terms and go after the players they believe will help their rebuilding process.

Well, the Nuggets are in for a rude awakening.

Any team that attempts to trade for Carmelo will have to put together an impressive package to offer the Nuggets. The problem is, if Carmelo doesn’t sign an extension with that team and guarantee that he will be a part of the organization for the next three years, the risk is simply not worth it.

No matter how enticing of a package one team has put together for the Nuggets, if Anthony has no interest in playing for that team, he won’t.

The only thing the Nuggets can control is when.

If the rumors of 'Melo wanting out before training camp started were true, then the Nuggets showed that they at least have control of one aspect of this situation; Anthony made it to media day and participated in camp without incident.

It makes more sense for Denver to wait until December, when free agents that signed over the summer are eligible to be traded. This at least opens up their options and gives them a wider pool of talent to choose from.

Waiting also gives them the opportunity to try and convince him to stay, or at least get better offers from other teams.

Of course, it can also backfire with teams low-balling the Nuggets as the trade deadline nears and they start to panic over getting any sort of compensation for 'Melo.

A player requesting to be traded is nothing new. This has been happening in the sports world for quite some time and won’t be stopping anytime soon.

Even while under contract, players still have leverage over the organization. If they're free agents, their power only increases, as teams will pull out all stops in order to recruit them.

This show of power was exemplified over the summer as the Knicks, Bulls, Nets, Cavaliers, and Clippers all foolishly attempted to sway these marquee players to join their organization—only to find out that Miami was always the ultimate destination.

LeBron showed this past summer that he was in the driver’s seat the entire time. Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers organization pandered to LeBron’s every whim during his tenure and all the way up until “The Decision.” Of course, things turned sour after he left, but Gilbert was essentially James’s lapdog leading up to that point.

When Kobe Bryant shocked the sports world with a trade request in 2007, he forced the Lakers front office into action.

With a no-trade clause built into his existing contract, he had final say over his destination.

Players with at least eight years in the league and four recurring seasons with the same team are eligible to build a no-trade clause into their contract. Even so, it is extremely rare that a player is granted that privilege.

After sweating it out, Kobe eventually backed off of his trade demands after speaking with Phil Jackson. Still, with management on notice, the Lakers did not have time to sit idly around.

The Lakers organization would then proceed to steal away Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies—a deal that placated Kobe and helped him earn two straight NBA championships.

The NBA is an exclusive league and the players are the best the world has to offer. These are household names that cannot be easily replaced. Each of the superstars in the NBA has a commanding presence and they drive the popularity of the sport.

It's obvious that the success of the league is directly tied to its stars. Players are starting to wise up to the business side of the NBA and are working in unison to improve their situation.

Some of most recognizable players in the league have shown maturity as they make their presence and feelings known at some of the C.B.A. contract negotiations.

Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul all attended an August meeting with NBA owners in an attempt to come to a resolution. While this ultimately ended in another stalemate, it showed the owners that the players are serious about the C.B.A. and will play hardball if necessary.

After commissioner David Stern announced that the league would be taking a $400 million financial hit, he was called out on that figure and has since backed off of it. Citing the supposed financial woes the league was facing, it was meant to be used as a negotiating ploy in order to construct a new C.B.A. that is more favorable to the owners.

However, it has backfired since the actions of the owners and the league have suggested otherwise.

The salary cap actually increased from the year before after early estimates pegged it dropping as much as $8 million.

The league also projected a decline in revenues, but actually saw them rise to record levels.

On top of all of this, owners handed out contracts like candy during the free-agency period.

If you read my C.B.A. article, then you know that the NBA is behind the NFL in many areas. Of the many issues, increasing revenue share among the various NBA teams should be one of the top concerns. It would help to significantly alleviate the parity between big and small market franchises and subdue the complaints of many owners.

All these issues are sure to be discussed as David Stern, the owners, and the National Basketball Players Association try to work out a compromise in order to avoid a lockout.

Until then, the players will always be in control.