In NBA Trades, the players are showcased but the families are the ones most affected

by Anthony Brown ‘12 | Sports Editor

Trades are a part of the NBA. The players are the ones highlighted, but what the public doesn’t know is what the players’ families have to go through moving to a completely different city and/or state, having to find housing all over again, putting the kids in new schools and for both the children and the mothers in some cases finding new friends. This is something that is a part of the sport and comes with the job but still should be recognized regardless. Particularly in basketball it happens often, because the NBA is an 82 game season.

A great example of this that I saw was on VH1’s Lala’s Full Court Life which is a reality show that focused on New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony and his wife Alani “Lala” Anthony. At the time the show was aired, Carmelo Anthony had just been traded mid-season to the Knicks after being on the Denver Nuggets for his first seven seasons in the NBA. It was evident that during the show’s airing that both Lala Anthony and her son Kian Anthony who was four years old at the time, were affected by the sudden move after being in Denver for so long, more so Lala Anthony because Kian is so young.

Although NBA trades are a part of the job, no matter who the people are and how much money they make, people in those situations still deal with it and it takes a toll in many ways just like anything else. When it happens, I imagine it is a tough experience to go through depending on how long the family has been in a city or state that they called home. I know that trades are a part of the NBA, a part of the job so to speak, but I think there should be more consideration and effort put into making sure the families of the traded players are well taken care of in this process. In the NBA and with all sports, performance of the players is the only thing that matters, not the well-being of their families which is unfortunate.

However, that’s the case with any job — having to move from a location to work at a new one and bring your family along for the ride. The family basically has to start from square one, finding a new place to live, schooling for the kids etc. It’s not what one wants to have go through or deal with because that process isn’t a cakewalk but one does it because it has to be done. I believe if the NBA and more sports leagues did more to help the families of the traded players transition easier so they wouldn’t have to worry about the stresses of doing what’s needed to start a new life in a new city or state, this wouldn’t be a problem at all. It’s a shame that more isn’t done but unfortunately in the business world, performance is all that matters and in some cases business comes first over the well-being of family.