Both lines of thinking seemed reasonable, except for one thing: Anthony is not a franchise player. That’s why Anthony’s arrival hasn’t helped the Knicks as they envisioned. It’s part of the reason his departure apparently hasn’t weakened the Nuggets.
To this point in his pro career, Anthony hasn’t taken the lead in making average teams good or good ones great. He hasn’t displayed the right temperament to shoulder the load during difficult times or set a positive example while others look to him for assurance. He’s just not “The Guy,” but the reality is few are in professional team sports.
Talented athletes are too often labeled as franchise players. The term is so misapplied that it seems many are elevated to top-rung status if they’re simply featured frequently in television highlight tapes.
Don’t get me wrong. Anthony is among the NBA’s most skilled players. He’s capable of outstanding performances, such as his 39-point, 10-rebound outing Monday in leading the Knicks to a victory in overtime against Orlando that ended their losing streak at six games. To be sure, Anthony is a major talent.
But talent is only a baseline trait of true franchise players, which Elgin Baylor reminded me. Baylor, 76, knows because he embodied what it means to be one.
The Hall of Famer and District native is arguably one of the top five players in NBA history. He was an acrobatic superstar, the predecessor of high-flying players such as Julius “Dr. J” Erving and Michael Jordan.
More importantly, though, Baylor’s performance and leadership helped stabilize the Los Angeles Lakers at a critical juncture in their history.
Baylor’s immense talent provided his foundation. “And it really all does start with the ability, the talent,” Baylor, not commenting specifically about Anthony, said in a phone interview Tuesday. “You have to have that if you want to be the guy.”
But, he continued, “there’s a lot more to it than just that. Do you want to lead? Do you want to take on all the responsibility that comes with it? Because if you want to be the guy, then it’s not just about the talent. A lot of guys have talent.”
Beyond his eye-opening statistical achievements, Baylor had the desire to lead. He understood the importance of the best player setting the right tone. He accepted being held accountable because that was part of being out front.
The Knicks are eager for Anthony to become their lead dog. Anthony, however, has not seized the opening, complaining about things in general and pouting on the bench at times while the Knicks lost nine of 10 since the trade.
“You have to have the right frame of mind, the right attitude,” Baylor said, again only commenting generally about the mental makeup of franchise players. “It was a subconscious thing for me. No one ever told me, ‘Go lead us.’ That was never said.
“But most really talented people, the people you’re talking about, they want to be the guy. I don’t how you put it in words, but I think it’s just a natural thing.
“Some guys don’t want to be. Some guys are very talented, but they just don’t want that responsibility. But then you’re not going to be” the guy.
Leading teams to sustained success is the most important attribute of franchise players. As a rookie during the 1958-59 season, Baylor led the Lakers, then still in Minneapolis, to the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, and he helped them reach the championship series seven more times before retiring during 1971-72 season, primarily because of lingering knee problems, without a title (the Lakers won their first championship in Los Angeles that season).
The Lakers-Celtics rivalry was forged during those years, and Baylor’s Lakers always fell short against the Celtics, who were led by Hall of Famer Bill Russell — the greatest franchise player ever in any sport.
“I’m from the old school, so I don’t know how people would think today, but I would think if you want to pick one player to win, and to win championships, you would have to pick Bill Russell,” Baylor said. “I would say Jordan . . . Jordan has got to be in the equation. Michael . . . he was special.
NFL Jerseys Tennessee Titans 5 Kerry Collins White Tennessee Titans NFL Jerseys NHL Jerseys Pittsbugh Penguins 87 Sidney Crosby blueThe Commons’ culture, media and sport select committee says the combination of cuts by central and local government will have a significant impact on cultural institutions, forcing several to close.
The report says the council spent “far too much on itself” and played a “major role in a gross waste of public money” in supporting The Public, a multimedia gallery in West Bromwich that has been plagued by financial troubles.
“Mistakes have been made throughout and we were concerned by the inability of the chief executive to provide answers to our questions and the lack of a serious attempt to learn lessons or prevent a repetition,” says the report.
“We consider this to be a failure of leadership.” The report urges the council to set up an independent review of its “role in the failure of the project”.
Neither Alan Davey, chief executive of ACE, nor Dame Liz Forgan, its chairman, were in post during the period in question, although both were interviewed by the committee.
The report also urges the council to consider selling part of its £97m art collection, which includes works by Francis Bacon and David Hockney, to ease its financial troubles.
“At a time when the Arts Council is under serious financial pressures, strategic de-accessioning could make the collection more dynamic and financially sustainable,” it says.
It says at least half of the collection’s 7,500 works should be on display at any one time. At present, up to 75 per cent is not on show.
The report says it is “not convinced” of the need for the number of subsidised orchestras. At present, ACE funds seven chamber and eight symphony orchestras, while the BBC funds seven orchestral or choral bodies. The report urges the two funding bodies to identify areas of duplication.
The council, which has had its government funding cut by 29.6 per cent, is to announce its grant allocation on Wednesday. More than 100 bodies are expected to lose funding.
The report welcomes the national portfolio programme which has replaced the old allocation system, but is “concerned at the speed with which the ... council is undertaking the massive programme”.
“There will inevitably be complaints that the process has been flawed and insufficiently rigorous,” it says.
The ACE said the report was “out of date in places”. “The Public is old news, and is not representative of the Arts Council’s investments in capital projects. Selling off works of art from the Arts Council collection is also not a sensible solution to the current budget cuts,” it added.
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christian louboutin peep toe christian louboutin platforms christian louboutin pumps christian louboutin sandals christian louboutin slingback christian louboutin wedgesU.S. Senator Jon Tester and US Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan flew into Glendive Saturday evening on Tester's Local Foods Tour of the state of Montana. In Glendive, the Senator was hosted by the Farm-to-Table Cooperative that helps local farmers move their products to market.
Merrigan focused on the USDA's 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative which promotes local and regional food systems by stimulating community economic development and ensuring equitable access to fresh and local foods.
In the Audio to the left of this column, Tester and Merrigan spoke to The Examiner about the local foods movement and how it fits into the 2012 Farm Bill preparation.
In Glendive, Tester and Merrigan dined at the Elk's Club, hosted by Farm to Table Chef Garth Clingingsmith who is also the manager of the Farm-to-Table Coop's Food and Ag Development Center. The pair tasted area wines, locally grown produce, and beef alongside coop members who provided the locally grown raw goods for Chef Clingingsmith to prepare.Senator Jon Tester and US Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan flew into Glendive Saturday evening on Tester's Local Foods Tour of the state of Montana. In Glendive, the Senator was hosted by the Farm-to-Table Cooperative that helps local farmers move their products to market.
All the skills of a soccer nation were wrapped up in one audacious move. The little man in the orange shoes skittered to where he had no business being, yards from the goal.
Then he flipped a ball through a moving obstacle, namely Carlos Bocanegra’s legs.
“Unbelievable,” Bocanegra, the American captain, said of the gall of Argentina’s Lionel Messi. “My legs are not that far apart, and he puts it through. I’m like, ‘Come on.’ ”
The accumulated nerve and talent of an entire country led to an Argentina goal on a subsequent rebound late in the first half Saturday night, but the United States dug in and rallied for a 1-1 draw in a friendly match in front of 78,936 fans at New Meadowlands Stadium.
Bob Bradley, the Americans’ coach, has visited Argentina to study up close how that nation produced not just Diego Maradona and Messi, but also the hundreds of professionals who have migrated to the best leagues in Europe, players who won the World Cup in 1978 and 1986.
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In a casual moment in training camp last week, Bradley recalled a visit to Argentina to get the feel of how that nation develops its vast talent. He saw how major clubs worked, and was then taken to a neighborhood club where children learn the sport.
“I get to a social hall, where they are serving cappuccinos in front, and probably there’s a bar somewhere,” Bradley said, “and in the back there’s a wood floor, and here come all these kids being dropped off, different sizes and shapes. The parents come and drop them off, and they don’t say a word, and now, the kids come in to their little stations, standing in lines.”
Bradley recalled that many of the children had a picture of a favorite player on their T-shirts, and wore their socks in his style and imitated his mannerisms — “each one having spent a lot of time with a soccer ball,” he said, perhaps enviously.
The instructors ran a game, tossing a ball into a scrum of children — “and every three seconds you have to jump.”
“All these little kids are jumping trying to win headers,” Bradley said.
Bradley also recalled, “When training is over, all these kids give the coach a kiss, ‘thank you.’ ” His respectful tone said he had journeyed to the heart of soccer, where children imitate players the way American children grow up imitating Kobe Bryant and Albert Pujols.
On Saturday night, playing for exhibition dollars and flying their brand in North America, the Argentines went ahead. And then the Yanks bounced back.
This is the problem of the United States, where the best athletes migrate to other sports. Little kids play the sport but do not watch it or emulate it. In Latin America and Europe — and most places around the world — the children want to grow up to be Messi, who plays for the superpower Barcelona, who is so prominent that Adidas makes a lightweight orange shoe in his honor.
Messi freelanced all over the field Saturday, not waiting in the weeds the way Maradona sometimes did, but moving so quickly the defense could not track him.
“He’s got complete freedom to go anywhere,” said Bocanegra, who plays for St. Etienne in France.
“He’s something special,” Bocanegra added.
The first half was almost an embarrassment, the way the United States could not clear the ball or connect a few passes. In the 42nd minute, Messi flitted inside, put the ball between Bocanegra’s wickets. Tim Howard stopped one shot by Angel Di Maria, but the sturdy Esteban Cambiasso put in the rebound.