Can someone find out what are average records of every team in the NFL, NBA and MLB the last 10 years? What are the longest streaks of sub-.500 teams (and their ave winning %). What I'm saying is you have to look at more than just the one team at the top to judge a season (or 10-year period) to see how many teams were competitive.
So you're saying the NBA should adopt a no-cap system, like the MLB. That way, teams like the Hornets have a better chance to compete with teams like the Lakers. Right... No-cap cripples teams.
No-cap means many teams simply have no chance of every being competitive. Especially for prolonged periods of time.
Tampa Bay Rays, 2008-2011 2011 - 29th Highest Payroll in MLB, 91-71, Won AL Wildcard 2010 - 21st Highest Payroll in MLB, 96-66, Won AL East Division 2009 - 25th Highest Payroll in MLB, 84-78, Finished 3rd in AL East Division 2008 - 29th Highest Payroll in MLB, 97-65, Won AL East Division Overall: Average annual payroll of $55.2MM, while averaging 92W and 70L (3 playoff berths in 4 Years) Minnesota Twins, 2002-2010 2010 - 11th Highest Payroll in MLB, 94-68, Won AL Central Division 2009 - 24th Highest Payroll in MLB, 87-76, Won AL Central Division 2008 - 25th Highest Payroll in MLB, 88-74, Tied for AL Wildcard (Lost 1-game Playoff) 2007 - 18th Highest Payroll in MLB, 79-83, Finished 3rd in AL Central Division 2006 - 19th Highest Payroll in MLB, 96-66, Won AL Central Division 2005 - 20th Highest Payroll in MLB, 83-79, Finished 3rd in AL Central Division 2004 - 19th Highest Payroll in MLB, 92-70, Won AL Central Division 2003 - 18th Highest Payroll in MLB, 90-72, Won AL Central Division 2002 - 27th Highest Payroll in MLB, 94-67, Won AL Central Division Overall: Average annual payroll of $62.3MM, while averaging 89W and 73L (7 playoff berths in 10 years) Oakland Athletics, 1999-2006 2006 - 21st Highest Payroll in MLB, 93-69, Won AL West Division 2005 - 21st Highest Payroll in MLB, 88-74, Finished 2nd in AL West Division 2004 - 16th Highest Payroll in MLB, 91-71, Finished 2nd in AL West Division 2003 - 23rd Highest Payroll in MLB, 96-66, Won AL West Division 2002 - 28th Highest Payroll in MLB, 103-59, Won AL West Division 2001 - 29th Highest Payroll in MLB, 102-60, Won AL West Division 2000 - 25th Highest Payroll in MLB, 91-70, Won AL West Division 1999 - 25th Highest Payroll in MLB, 87-75, Finished 2nd in AL West Division Overall: Average annual payroll of $44.7MM, while averaging 94W and 68L (5 playoff berths in 8 years) Now, on the flip-side: 2003-2011 New York Mets 2011 - 7th Highest Payroll in MLB, 77-85, Finished 4th in NL East Division 2010 - 5th Highest Payroll in MLB, 79-83, Finished 4th in NL East Division 2009 - 2nd Highest Payroll in MLB, 70-92, Finished 4th in NL East Division 2008 - 2nd Highest Payroll in MLB, 89-73, Finished 2nd in NL East Division 2007 - 3rd Highest Payroll in MLB, 88-74, Finished 2nd in NL East Division 2006 - 5th Highest Payroll in MLB, 97-65, Won NL East Division 2005 - 3rd Highest Payroll in MLB, 83-79, Finished 3rd in NL East Division 2004 - 4th Highest Payroll in MLB, 71-91, Finished 4th in NL East Division 2003 - 2nd Highest Payroll in MLB, 66-95, Finished Last in NL East Division 2002 - 6th Highest Payroll in MLB, 75-86, Finished Last in NL East Division Overall: Average annual payroll of $116.0MM, while averaging 79W and 83L (1 playoff berth in 10 years) 2005-2011 Chicago Cubs 2011 - 6th Highest Payroll in MLB, 71-91, Finished 5th in NL Central Division 2010 - 3rd Highest Payroll in MLB, 75-87, Finished 5th in NL Central Division 2009 - 3rd Highest Payroll in MLB, 83-78, Finished 2nd in NL Central Division 2008 - 8th Highest Payroll in MLB, 97-64, Won NL Central Division 2007 - 8th Highest Payroll in MLB, 85-77, Won NL Central Division 2006 - 7th Highest Payroll in MLB, 66-96, Finished Last in NL Central Division 2005 - 8th Highest Payroll in MLB, 79-83, Finished 4th in NL Central Division Overall: Average annual payroll of $115.3MM, while averaging 79W and 83L (2 playoff berths in 7 years) 2004-2010 Seattle Mariners 2010 - 9th Highest Payroll in MLB, 61-101, Finished Last in AL West Division 2009 - 10th Highest Payroll in MLB, 85-77, Finished 3rd in AL West Division 2008 - 9th Highest Payroll in MLB, 61-101, Finished Last in AL West Division 2007 - 7th Highest Payroll in MLB, 88-74, Finished 2nd in AL West Division 2006 - 13th Highest Payroll in MLB, 78-84, Finished Last in AL West Division 2005 - 9th Highest Payroll in MLB, 69-93, Finished Last in AL West Division 2004 - 10th Highest Payroll in MLB, 63-99, Finished Last in AL West Division Overall: Average annual payroll of $96.7MM, while averaging 72W and 90L (0 playoff berths in 7 years) Sources: http://www.stevetheump.com/Payrolls.htm http://www.baseball-reference.com The point is, well-run organizations can certainly enjoy sustained success with very small payrolls. Poorly-run organizations generally endure sustained failure despite large payrolls. Poorly-run organizations with small payrolls consistently suck. But the only well-run team with a huge payroll that makes the playoffs year after year is the Yankees. Boston has missed the playoffs five times in the last 11 years, despite having a very good front office and only once having a team payroll lower than 4th in the majors (avg. $127.9MM). A point people miss is that MLB is filled with owners like Donald Sterling. Baseball has a revenue sharing system, but many owners prefer to pocket those checks rather than reinvest the money into their team. The Marlins and Pirates, for example, are consistently profitable.
Another good example is the Cardinals who have averaged 91 Ws a year, making the playoffs 8 times in the last 12 seasons and winning 2 WS titles. All with an average payroll of $85.9MM in that span (usually ranking around 10th-11th in the majors).
I agree there have been success stories in baseball with low revenue teams, but I don't think that would translate to the NBA. One superstar is much more valuable in the NBA than one superstar in baseball. Without a cap, the only chance the low revenue teams would have would be to win with their superstar they drafted that is still playing on a rookie deal.
just like moestavern19 grew up to be a Raider's fan...my older brothers who grew up in California raised me to be a Dodgers fan. In 1988, the Dodgers won with pretty much only two players...Kirk Gibson and Orel (6 shutouts in a row to close the season and break Don Drysdale's record). And Gibson only played the 1st game in the WS. And we know how that went. btw: I don"t like the Dodgers anymore, since Lasorda went racial. But I have many stories about meeting all of them, including getting Lasorda to call my younger sister on the phone (pre cellpones mind you) to say happy birthday. I was only 18 when I convinced him to call her.
I agree with this. I never argued that the NBA should do away with a cap. With such a small roster the lack of a cap would be a big burden in the NBA as superstars could pack a team and it would almost impossible to overcome. However, the idea that the situation in baseball would be bad for the NBA is a joke. The NBA wishes it had baseball's parity. For all the talk about the lack of a cap hamstringing teams in the NBA, I'd point you to the fact that teams in the NBA already get hamstrung merely by location. With such a small roster and a small talent pool of great players, the great players will not sign with non-high profile cities. That puts an increased pressure on teams to nail it with draft picks, something very difficult to do.
I think one of the reasons the mlb union is stronger is that most mlb players from America came from wealthier backgrounds since baseball is kind of an expensive sport, so even if they don't make it they probably having family etc that can help them network and make it big in other fields.
