I think the whole big market thing is over rated. Why did lebron or wade or bosh chose the heat over the knicks and nets or even the bulls? Bosh and lebron went to the heat because it provided the best chance to win. Who is the last big time free agent to go sign with the heat? Lamar Odom? They pretty much had to overpay him to go there. And since when do players want to go to boston? It is a pretty crappy city imo. It was also known as a racist city, but again players wanted to win. Players want to win and they go to teams that have a chance to do so. If the rockets can clear cap to get 2 superstars they would be better off. Why did tmac want to come to houston? Because we had yao?
since they are friends. and them playing together allow them the best chance of winning. miami had little to do with it.
This. When you have D-Wade there already and add LeBron and Bosh, everyone else would want to come to Miami because it'll give them an easier chance to win a ring as opposed to playing in Memphis or New Jersey.
That is my entire point. The heat were not that great of a team until the pulled the great cap heist, and having wade.
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this offseason was the first time they had serious cap space since before the Shaq trade. And I remember Elton Brand signed there as a RFA, and when the Clippers matched Odom went there. If they had cap space very year, I bet a lot of free agents would want to go there. But that's not how the NBA works.
I've been saying this for the longest. It's really not about the big markets it is more about what the teams reputation is at that time. Again, Tmac chose Houston over Chicago. At the time Chicago was not very good and Houston was on the rise with Yao Ming. That is why getting a superstar is key in the NBA. Getting one guy to build around that is a legit superstar is huge.
Rockets get a superstar and Houston becomes a FAgent destination instantly. NBA players like Houston and would welcome living here, if they aren't already living here, but they prefer to win and win with their buddies. Miami became a FA destination because Wade and Lebron are buddies and Bosh just tagged along.
If LA didn't have Kobe nobody would want to go there. If Boston didn't have Allen, Pierce, Garnett (2 out of those 3) nobody would want to go there. If Chicago didn't have D-Rose, nobody would want to go there. If the Heat didn't have Wade nobody would want to go there. Although how good a team is has some value, it's mostly about the cities and the markets. I mean... OKC has Durant and Westbrook; nobody wants to go there.
That's not really true. There hasn't been a case of OKC even wanting any of those guys, and the one guy they did want had no problem resigning with them (Perkins) even though he'd be a FA and could have bolted to play pretty much anywhere he wanted to. He's no star player but most teams could have used his services including the likes of Miami.
Top 5 least attractive NBA destinations currently. 1. Milwaukee 2. Minnesota 3. Utah 4. Detroit 5. Toronto
Miami would be less than zero as an NBA city if it weren't for Pat Riley. They probably wouldn't still have a team if it weren't for him.
I believe that like Texas, Florida has no state income tax. Combine that with the obvious draw of the location as pointed out above, and all other things being equal, who wouldn't want to play there.
Look. I'm sexy, you're sexy. Let's just be sexy together. It makes sense. Let me see what you have. Yeah, about what I thought. Nice talents. Sexy time.
To the OP, this is my point to a T. Great players want to play with other great players. It had 0 to do with the rox vs their roster. As a superstar, you want to know that you can have an off night and the team still win. Thats why I say its vital the rockets get in position to attract both howard and williams. If they have enough money, they can get both. Scola,miller, and chase for kaman fills the immediate need at the 5 and gives them an expiring. No extensions for thabeet,hill,williams, and hayes. This means the 3 young guys are expiring contract and have this season to prove their worth. Letting hayes go means saving 4-5m in salary. Sign thad young or wilson chandler for 6-7m per. This gives the rockets a upgrade at 3 and a guy who can defend his position. At the end of the 2012 season, the rockets would only have 29m worth of committed salaries. Even if there is a hard cap at 68m, the rockets would have 30m worth of cap room and can trade lowry aftewr getting williams..
I never understood why Toronto was always considered one of the worst NBA destinations. Its arguably the best city with an NBA team.
Because it has nothing to do with how good the city is, it has everything to do with players' perception of glamor.
