Take on the Trading Deadline

With the euphoria surrounding the Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks trade last night, it might be time to splash some cold water on the situation. Yes it will make the Knicks better, yes it will bring the NBA back to the city and yes it will mean the Knicks will dominate the back-pages until the first 3 game Yankee losing streak..
When it was announced I got the following email from the Commish a loyal TOR reader

"Truly, from the pit of my soul, do I hate the NBA. It's not okay that Carmelo wants to ditch his team because he..."wants to win".  That's complete manure.  Everyone tries to use that as an excuse and we all allow it.  There's an element to sport and gamesmanship and camaraderie and team play and actual dedication, not phony manufactured dedication brought to us by Gillette that is supposed to make athletes (especially the "great" ones) make the best of a situation. I know that this is a business. and he deserves to choose where he wants to plþay but I don't respect Carmelo Anthony, the NBA or any of the fans who don't know any better and who don't expect better from the sport and the demi-gods who are allowed to erode it. 
Plus, I've never liked Carmelo Anthony. 
I've never liked his face.  Nor do I trust anyone with baby dreads/braids. The NBA is utter garbage and children will continue to destroy it. "

What he might be trying to say is that not only does the NBA suck the league is rotten to the core.
See I hate the concept of in season trades, it's what's wrong with sports. We want our athletes to love playing for their team but we'll trade them away if there are enough prospects on the other side. They work together during off-season conditioning to form chemistry, they build camaraderie in training camp or spring training, they learn to depend on one another when they slug it out for a marathon season, they sit on planes and airplanes together building their relationship and for 9 months they spend more time together than they do their own families all in the name of becoming a team. But when the going gets tough, the tough get a hired gun.
Sports is all about competitive balance which is why there are salary caps, restricted free agency, revenue sharing and joint TV contracts but then you throw an is season trade in the middle of it and it can turn the entire league on it's head. One team becomes stacked and may easily surpass the 'teams' who may be less talented but have stuck it out together while other teams give up by trading away a star for some prospects. How is this good for sports?
I'm not saying go back to the days of the reserve clause but I am saying that in-season trades fracture a sport at it's seam. As a fan you invest months into Mosgov and Felton and then the next day you have to root for Chauncey Billups.

We don't reward loyalty, we don't reward chemistry, we don't reward cultivating your own stars and we don't reward 'team'

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry