Knicks: Why There Shouldn’t Be a Knick All Star

This week NBA.com will officially begin All-Star balloting for the 2015 All Star Game, and though the game will take place in New York, I don’t want to see any Knicks represented on this year’s All-Star team. I know it sounds harsh, perhaps even vindictive, but hear me out on this.

All-Star voting is always one of those events that gets fans riled up and much of that stems from the varying opinions of what purpose the All-Star team serves. Some argue that the All-star game is nothing more serious than a mid-season “Fan Appreciation” spectacle that only seeks to entertain fans and sell sponsorships. Just watch how many commercials and kid friendly events occur over the weekend to see this in action.

Others, let’s call them “purists,” argue that the All-Star team is a collection of the league’s most deserving players based on their performance. I get this too since both players and teams use All-Star nods as leverage when negotiating new contracts and used to value someone’s career.

As for me, I’m siding with the purists on this one. I’m one of those annoying fans that get enraged over seeing fan voting turn the All-Star game into a popularity contest while deserving players toil in anonymity due to either being on a small market team or not having the exciting highlight package other marketable stars do. However, the Knicks aren’t one those small market teams and their current futility is widely on display before the country. Their 4-19 record isn’t just an embarrassment for New York; I think the entire league is genuinely ashamed of it to be honest.

But while the Knicks disastrous season continues to stumble on, there’s at least one Knick superstar who should be voted onto to All-Star team right? Not at all. Let me repeat: No Knick All-Stars. None.

Melo easily has been the only bright spot on Knicks and his 23.2 ppg, 6.6 rebs, and 3.4 assists are certainly All-Star worthy, but at 4-19, I can’t consciously consider anyone an All-Star that has a connection to the historic debacle that is going at MSG right now.

This is especially so when considering how well many of the other frontcourt players on winning teams have been, such as Pau Gasol, Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Joakim Noah, and heck even Paul Millsap of the first place Atlanta Hawks. That’s five frontcourt players right there off the top of my head and voters are only allowed to choose three on the ballot.

I wouldn’t feel good about my city hosting the All-Star game without any Knick representation on the team, but I would feel even worse rewarding any Knick onto a team comprised of the most deserving players. And by deserving, I’m talking about players who are actually making an impact in the Eastern Conference. Besides, its not like the Knicks haven’t had any All-Star representation the last time the game was held in New York City.

Again, I’m from the school of thought that believes players should be rewarded with an All-Star spot based on their performance and that’s something I believe can’t be divorced from how well their team is playing. Of course there are times when players are having such an amazing season that a bad team record is overlooked.

One example is when Kevin Love first made an All-Star team in 2011 on a terrible Minnesota team. Another example is when Michael Jordan was rewarded with a spot on the team near the waning of a historic career as a sort of ceremonial move. Plainly said, Melo doesn’t fall into any of those categories.

While starters are chosen by fans, NBA coaches manage selecting reserves, and many times we have seen that there is a precedent of rewarding players on good teams to reinforce the importance of winning. Recall the hysteria back when Knick fan favorite David Lee was passed over for Al Horford. At the All-Star break Lee had much better stats (20 ppg, 11.4 rebs, .58 FG%) than Horford’s (13.4 ppg, 9.4 rebs, .56 FG%), but there was one other stat that really set them apart: team wins.

The Hawks were 33-18 while the Knicks were 19-32. Eventually David Stern replaced an injured Allen Iverson with Lee, but the coaches were making a very clear point about what they valued, and that was winning. Like many Knick fans I didn’t understand how Horford got chosen over Lee, but after 4 years and so many depressing Knick losses later, I can finally see the message coaches were making.

Ironically, Melo might even agree with this. Forget that recent injuries make resting over the break more practical. Melo has made it clear over and over again that winning is the only thing he cares about and was the driving force of him re-signing with the Knicks. If winning is really that important to him, how can he not agree? After all, Melo doesn’t care about his “brand” and the hit it would take by not being an All-Star in his home city. In Melo’s words, “I want to win. I don’t care about the money.”

I want to see the Knicks win too, and this All-Star voting season fans can have their voices heard that they only care about winning also by selecting winners to represent the Eastern Conference instead of anyone from a roster that looks like it belongs somewhere on the island of misfit toys.

Follow Richard Bertin on Twitter @RichardBertin and check out his Knicks’ blog “Starks Raving Mad” or email him at richbertin@gmail.com