The NBA Winds Of Change

This summer there are some potential big catches in the NBA. With Kevin Love looking to be traded, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James already opting out of their contracts and the possibilities of Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade opting out by midnight Monday (June 30^th) there are teams that are already making some quick movements to make a run at the elite of the league.

 

Looking at each player let’s see what their moves will do to their collectability:

 

Love- Collectability Rising

 

Playing in Minnesota is difficult, he is such a star but the market is small. He has plenty of collectors but they are all in Minnesota. Rumors have him possibly going to Golden State, Boston, Phoenix or Chicago. If any of those locations materialize in a trade his collectability is skyrocketing.

 

 

Carmelo Anthony- Collectability Temporarily Stalled

 

Anthony collectors saw a meteoric rise in his prices when he moved to New York but not winning has left his collectors bummed. Rumors for a final landing spot for Anthony include Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Houston or the Clippers plus some murmurings of the Lakers. First thing first, no matter where he goes if he does not win his prices won’t change much. Chicago has Rose (if he can stay healthy), Houston has D. Howard and the Clippers have Griffin and Paul. There is a possibility of going the distance in any of those places. If he does end up in Miami and any of the Big Three remain his prices will jump immediately because NBA playoffs will always include Miami (for now). Dallas and LA Lakers would end up being a bad move. Both teams are aging and Anthony at 30 years old, does not want to be part of a rebuilding phase.

 

 

LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade- Collectability Stable + (Depending on signings)

 

Some people are clamoring that Miami is in free fall with James opting out, they are talking about the sky falling expecting Bosh and Wade to run too. From what I have read though over the last two weeks it has been expected that James would opt out (even before he made the announcement) to give him and Miami the ability to work a favorable contract to bring in more talent, like Anthony.

 

At this point I James will probably end up remaining in Miami, so his prices really won’t change much. But if Anthony were to sign in Miami and the other three remain I wouldn’t be surprised to see all of their prices run through the roof. The thing about James, collectability-wise, even if he is to move his Panini cards won’t change much. Any new relic card might have a premium in a new uniform but everyone knows the real money is in the autograph cards, which Upper Deck controls.

 

There are some other big names like Nowitzki, Lowry, Bledsoe and Gasol but I don’t see much affecting their prices. Dirk will re-sign with Dallas, Bledsoe will resign with Phoenix and Gasol is on the downside of his career so nothing big is expected. Lowry on the other hand is rumored to be returning to Houston so he may see a jump.