There are a number of things that bother me since hearing the news: - just don't understand why Howard made it to LA despite seemingly better offers by a number of teams. By all accounts Houston, Brooklyn, and even Atlanta could have or did offer far better packages. That's what bothers me about Dwight in LA - is that it happened in a scenario that clearly was not in Orlando's best interest. Same thing with Memphis during the Gasol trade - there had to have been better offers on the table for Memphis yet the Lakers magically come out ahead. - really hating this pattern of "stars" taking less money to play in these big markets. Toronto tries to throw all their money at Nash and he takes less money to play for LA. The spin is "he wants to win a title, he wants to be closer to his kids, etc" but it's bull****. The fact is the salaries of these players pales in comparison to the marketing dollars being thrown at them. Let's assume there were no "max contract" rules - a small market team could throw their entire cap space after fielding a roster of league minimum players at a player like Dwight or Lebron and you know what? They STILL wouldn't be able to top what players like that make from endorsement deals in those high profile cities. The realities of that outside revenue stream mean LA, NY, Chicago will always have an advantage. - where the Eff is the media in all this? Oh that's right, they are kissing ass to get sweet Lakers tickets and the chance to party in LA & Miami for Finals coverage. Disappointed to see guys like Michael Wilbon say that this is good for the league because the OKC/MIA rematch is no longer for certain(a few different analysts said this on ESPN). Really? Because to me it's another way of saying, "I would rather hang out and cover LA than head to OKC". Orlando & Houston fans both are scratching their heads about this deal but the narrative is about LA - not about the continued corruption of the game under David Stern's watch. - Competitive balance - it just doesn't exist. Refs favor stars(don't get me started on that topic) and more than half the top 20 stars play for the same handful of teams. I know the common thinking here is the NBA benefits from a star driven team led by "classic" teams like Boston & LA, but the NFL is waaaaayyy more popular than the NBA here and they have far more competitive balance. My point is, it doesn't have to be that way for the NBA to succeed in the US. -I suppose Stern takes a global perspective and to that end the NBA as a whole benefits globally from having a handful of marquee stars, and a handful or marquee teams but I still don't see how the other teams make money on this. Players make endorsement money, jersey sales go to "the league"...that leaves the teams to try to profit from TV deals & operating an arena. If you aren't Miami, LA, Boston, Chicago, or OKC(the lone outlier) - how do you profit when your not shown on national TV and costs are so high to support a team that the ticket is very expensive relative to "B team" talent playing on a night when a non elite team is in the building. So why did we just have a lockout then? What has changed? ....I know I'm not the only one here who thinks this - but I'm seriously contemplating giving up on the NBA which is a shame because I have been their biggest fan for most of my life. It's so frustrating knowing that this level of flagrant inequality exists in a sport that I worship. When I hear "insiders" whisper about under the table deals on the side - that makes me all the more upset. What happened to the game I love(d) so much?
Yeah, agree -- this shows that sports media is almost 100% a joke, like WWF press releases. SMDH. I am still having a hard time comprehending just how terrible this trade is for ORL. They aren't rebuilding. They are, like, on a death spiral trajectory. Bad contracts aplenty. Crappy late 1st round draft picks. No talent. No recruiting advantage. They may have just become the new Clippers.
What the hell? You are talking about one of the youngest teams in the league. They are just getting started and will only get better for the next decade. You think the time is running out for them? You think Harden and Ibaka are done growing? Ibaka is 22 and has already become a premier defensive player with a developing offensive game. The sky is the limit. I know everyone likes to point to Harden's failure in the finals, but guess what? The same thing happened to Lebron last year. Now what? Do you even have any idea just how good Harden was last year? Christ, he's barely old enough to drink.
There is no way he leaves 30 million dollars on the table. It wouldn't happen. That's why he was traded to LA now.
I agree, that's why I think the league should penalize teams who don't make the playoffs, like lose a draft pick if you can't get in once every 5 years. Give incentives to win, not to lose. Also, if you win the lottery- you should be ineligible to get a top 3 pick for the next few years.
Great post and I agree with most of it! I sometimes wonder if the NBA will eventually kill the goose by allowing it to become such a disparate league but then again the MLB has managed to survive forever with disparity and with international popularity there is no incentive for the monied interest to change. I've loved the NBA ever since my dad took me to a Rockets' game, ironically against the Lakers at the Summit, but at this point I am likely to just pay passing interest to it. Of course a Rockets' championship run would change that. :grin:
Thing is, kupchak knows how to closeand get others involved. I'm sure pau was in it or out of it,but maybe orlando didn't want anything to do with a pouting gasol. They made what thy feel is a good deal. Personally, I wonder why they didn't do a straight howard for bynum deal or send howard to gsw. I also question resigning nelson if the plan was to ship out howard. All in all, we will see. The gasol trade looked 1 sided for about 2 yrs,but now it looks like a good trade for grizz.
things will never be equal in sports, just as many things in life aren't fair. big market teams will always have an advantage over small market teams and there is absolutely nothing smaller market teams can do about it. with all that being said, at the very least, we have some disparity at the very top. as in...we won't have to watch a clearly over-matched thunder team do battle with the heat who made some rather nice additions to their roster this off-season. you can hate on lebron and his receding hairline and you can hate the lakers for being the lakers, but we all know that come June of next year --everybody and their grandmother is going be watching the Heat and Lakers duke it out for NBA supremacy. at the very least, barring any significant injuries, the series is going to be the most compelling one in recent memory and will certainly go the distance.
Obviously at this point if you are not a big market team, then the draft is the only thing you have like OKC, Spurs, Jazz (Stockton & Malone). The NBA,media, and endorsements I'm sure wish these teams did not exist and preferred their stars played somewhere else. When a team drafts a superstar then they have a limited window to either win a championship or that guy is going to bolt out of there, just like the Orlando's trio or Kevin Garnett. Heck, even Hakeem at some point was about to get traded before the championship days. People are talking about who will Dwight have with him once Kobe and Nash retire, this is LA, they will always find the next star to come over. He will have Durant or Anthony Davis over there with him in no time. It seems like it has always been like this in the NBA. However, back then the players were patient enough with their teams before they left like Clyde, Malone, and Garnett. Now superstars patients is very minimal, soon we will have guys with potential and talented rookies throwing a fit and demanding to leave their original team after a year or two in the NBA.
i think nigma brings up a pretty good point above. if u are a small market team, your only shot at championship contention (and obviously superstar talent) is building through the lottery. when it comes time to attract the big names, the small market teams are always going to play second fiddle to the big market teams. there's just no way around it. even with all these salary cap rules and regulations, the large market teams are always going to have the advantage when it comes to attracting the big names and it's a contributing reason as to why (more often than not) you will see big market teams in contention year in, year out.
So the key here is for Houston's market to tank this year so next year they'll have a chance at being a #1 market.
It's sad really when Houston is considered a small market team. We are the forth largest city in the country. I guess just because we don't have nice weather, iconic buildings, or a movie industry then we suck. We are now compared to the likes of Utah and Kansas or something. I guess i would have to blame it on the city officials for not developing H-Town in to an attractive city
There was a time superstars didn't get that much endorse money, and salary was most important part of their income. That's why. LeBron bolted and even took less because he could easily make up from endorses.
