Thousands of fans in Denver and New Jersey lamented the loss of Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks, whose fans spent Monday night celebrating the coming of a second superstar to the Garden.

Many fans and analysts have been quick to say that the Knicks gave up too much (which is another story entirely), while many others have taken up the mantra that the trade is bad for the NBA. They say the trend of bringing all of the big stars to the big cities hurts the marketability of the league. This is wrong. Carmelo is just the newest move in a hype machine that has been prevalent this entire year. Teams in the big cities attracting big players is great for the NBA.

It is hard to argue that the NBA is less fun when the Knicks are relevant. The Knickerbockers play at Madison Square Garden, arguably the biggest stage in the NBA. New York is the largest market in basketball, so having them even be considered a remote contender is going to bring more interest to the NBA.

To have the big players go to the big markets only makes sense for the league; it means more marketing, more merchandise, and more exposure. Los Angeles vs New York City would make for one hell of an NBA Finals, which means better ratings.

I can't even think of a reason why the big market-big player philosophy could hurt basketball. If you really think it could, look at the Garden crowd for every Knicks home game in the forseeable future. You might change your mind.