In the wake of the "Summer of LeBron" the basketball media has emphasized the role of star players: Can they effectively recruit other superstars to their teams? How many superstars does it take to win a title? Will their wives get together and launch a reality television series?

It’s not an intellectual topic, but the coupling of NBA heroes moves units. It gets Internet hits, sells ads on television and pushes radio ratings ever higher. Never mind that "superstar" is never actually defined, this obtuse subject is a great depiction of how a lot of people view the NBA. Great teams are like rock bands. The singer, guitarist and leading scorer take center stage, while the bassist, drummer and leading rebounder stand off to the side. 

It’s only a generalization, but it’s one that’s catching on in the Big Apple. New Yorkers were so incredulous that James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami that they didn’t mind watching their team trade four productive players for Carmelo Anthony. Knicks fans want superstars and, ever since the team landed Amar’e Stoudemire, superstars seem to want New York.

"Maybe Amar’e is the linchpin," an Eastern Conference scout told HOOPSWORLD. "Maybe he’s the guy you have to give a lot of credit to in New York."

Coach Mike D’Antoni and president Donnie Walsh had been in place for two seasons and owner James Dolan never shied away from opening his wallet. But it wasn’t until Stoudemire came aboard that league insiders began feeling a tremendous pull toward Manhattan. It’s STAT’s presence that has given Walsh the ability to make some of the moves that he’s made. Anthony wouldn’t have agreed to an extension in New York if Stoudemire weren’t already on the team.

And Anthony’s desire to be a Knick didn’t begin and end with Stoudemire’s name on the roster. Rather, it’s the intense mutual admiration that Stoudemire and the city have for each other that make MSG such a revered player destination. If you’re not buying it, check out the ovation Stoudemire has been getting before Knicks home games. It’s like Willis Reed is coming through the tunnel every night.

"Look at who they had March 3 of last season," the scout continued. "Look at what Donnie Walsh has done in 12 months. The key was Stoudemire. Give him a lot of credit. How many athletes go into New York, embrace it and do a good job at it? How many guys sign in New York or get traded there and embrace it like this? I can only think of a few that have done it recently. Mark Messier did it. Mike Piazza did it. Nick Swisher has done it. Not many guys can do something like that."

Walsh obviously deserves a tremendous amount of credit for whittling away at a salary cap disaster that was created by the two previous regimes. He put the Knicks in a position to sign Stoudemire, and even though he added Anthony, many think Walsh could still add Chris Paul or Deron Williams in 2012.

Of course, Walsh hasn’t figured out how many "superstars" it takes to win a title, but he has proven one thing: When you have one perceived star, it becomes easier to add others.

People who know basketball understand that it takes more than a few big names to win a title. Still, if the best players buy into the superstar hype, it won’t hurt to suspend disbelief. 

George Karl Signs Extension

Not every coach in the NBA would have handled the Carmelo Anthony saga with the same class that George Karl did this season. The 59-year-old Karl didn’t throw anyone under the media bus. He didn’t care who was rumored to be traded where.

Karl simply coached the players that were on his roster every single night—and did a damn fine job doing it.

The Nuggets have rewarded Karl’s perseverance with a multiyear contract extension, according to ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard.

Broussard wrote that Karl, who has led the Nuggets to the postseason in each of the six previous season, signed a deal that is "at least three years" in length. That’s a great sign considering Karl was diagnosed with throat cancer at the beginning of 2010 and subsequently missed last year’s postseason. He also beat prostate cancer in 2005.

While the subject of Karl’s professional future might be settled, the Nuggets’ future is very much up in the air. The team has won five of its last seven games, but Nene, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith could all potentially leave via free agency after the season.

Broussard mentioned that as many as "16 teams contacted Denver about trading for" Danilo Gallinari, who was one of the four players Denver received in the Anthony deal. However, Nuggets VP of basketball operations Masai Masai Ujiri could build around the Italian forward and Wilson Chandler if the aforementioned veterans decided to sign elsewhere. In any case, at least Ujiri knows who his coach will be.

UPDATE: Just as the NBA PM was being posted, the Nuggets made it official. The team has agreed to a multiyear extension with coach George Karl. Terms were not disclosed.

"I’ve always said Denver is the place I want to end my career,” Karl said in a team release. “This puts me one step closer to achieving that goal. Masai Ujiri and Josh Kroenke were very professional throughout these negotiations.

"The Kroenkes have been great throughout this entire process," he continued. "They’ve been very supportive of me as a coach and during my battle with cancer. I’m excited for the remainder of the season and look forward to making another playoff run.”

“Extending George’s contract has been one of our top priorities,” Ujiri said in the release. “He’s done a tremendous job since arriving in Denver, and particularly with the unique challenges of this season. With George on the bench, we have a bright future and everyone here is focused on finishing the season strong.”

NBA Could Make Formal Concussion Policy

The NBA isn’t waiting for the results of Chris Paul’s MRI to begin talks on a formal concussion policy.

The Hornets guard fell to the floor in Cleveland on Sunday night and was immediately diagnosed with a concussion. By Tuesday, the NBA confirmed that they have consulted with a neurologist about formulating a league policy for such injuries, the AP’s Colin Fly reported.

"The NBA Team Physicians Society has been studying the issue of concussion management for several years and each team follows its own treatment and return-to-play protocols," NBA spokesman Tim Frank told the AP. "In addition, the league is working with a consulting neurologist concerning the possible adoption of a league-wide protocol."

The NFL and NHL already have strict concussion policies on how players should return to play.

"Concussions are something that I don’t think we really realize how serious they are because they’re kind of rare in our game," Bucks guard and players’ union VP Keyon Dooling told the AP. "They happen more often in football, hockey, other sports like that… Our brain is our most powerful muscle, and if you’ve got anything off-kilter with that, it can be problematic."

{AUTHOR_BOX}Check Out: The Big East Tournament

Madison Square Garden has been doing some renovations recently, so the media room has been moved to a temporary space that hangs over the entrance to the arena.

However that temporary space was modified itself last night because of all of the media that will attend this week’s Big East Tournament.

The reason the tournament is so interesting is because people in the tri-state rarely care about collegiate sports. New York is a pro sports town and it’s really only once a year that locals stop to see what the rest of the country is watching. Naturally, St. John’s is always a favorite given it’s proximity to Manhattan, but Syracuse has arguably the biggest faction of fans at the tournament every season.

So far today #19 Connecticut, which has lots of fans in the city, dropped DePaul, 97-71, and Rutgers beat its in-state rival Seton Hall, 76-70, in overtime.

Nine of the top 25 teams in the country are in the Big East Tournament, which is why some argue that it’s more compelling than the actual NCAA Tournament.

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