It would appear at first glance that this New York state of mind has quickly shifted the balance of power from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference in the NBA.
Superstars Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams have shipped out to New York and New Jersey, respectively, in blockbuster trades from Western Conference teams to seemingly swing the power pendulum over to the East.
But has it really?
The West has dominated the NBA for years with perennial powerhouses Lakers, Spurs and Mavericks running the league.
Meanwhile, the East has been the West’s kid brother, always playing second fiddle to the big boys and constantly being shut down.
Sure, the Celtics won a title a few years back, and the Pistons and Heat each have one in recent memory, but the West has dominated overall, winning nine of the past 12 NBA Championships.
The East has been like the National League West in MLB — a bunch of teams hanging around and below the .500 mark still making the playoffs.
It blows my mind. But that’s a different story.
So now you have the Knicks and the Nets trying to make moves to climb up the standings in the East by getting a few superstars.
And then there’s the Heat with their so-called “Big Three,” who already have their studs in place.
But the Knicks are still the Knicks and the Nets are still awful.
The Knicks gave up four pretty solid players for a superstar that doesn’t play defense and hasn’t proven that he can win anything.
The Nets didn’t come out of their trade much better, either. They gave up a few good offensive players and first round draft picks all for a superstar point guard.
When is the last time you can recall a team winning an NBA Title by relying on a superstar point guard?
I can’t even think that far back.
The Nuggets and the Jazz, the respective flip sides of those trade coins, made out like bandits.
The Nuggets got Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton and a few others (along with a few draft picks and $3 million) while only losing the aging Chauncey Billups and a defense-less Anthony.
The Jazz will be reaping the benefits of two first round draft picks next year. Oh, and they got rookie Derrick Favors and Devin Harris, who seems to be a frequent flyer on trades but is decent offensive player in his own right.
As of now, there was no shift in power. All teams came out equally.
The West loses a few superstars but gains a ton of good players and possible future all-stars.
The Knicks are still going to sit behind the likes of the Celtics, Heat, Magic and maybe even the Bulls. The Nets are still garbage.
The Lakers, Spurs and Mavericks are going to run the West, along with a few other newcomers (such as the Thunder).
Until the East can start beating the West in regular season games down the stretch and until the West gives up a few titles, I’m going to have to say there hasn’t been much of a change.
Only time will tell what impact these big trades will have. But for now, all signs still point to the Western Conference being the dominant power.
 
Andy Schwehm is a 21-year-old English and psychology senior from New Orleans. You can follow him on Twitter @TDR_ASchwehm.