There seems to be some confusion in the OP anyway. The owners are running the teams. If you don't like who they're giving say in personnel, you should take it up with them.
Inmates? Lol. The owners have no loyalty and at times throw their players under the bus. Both sides are guilty
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...ons-agrees-4-year-100-million-deal-agent-says This is probably discussed elsewhere, but this is total insanity.
Harden gave the Rockets their most competitive stretch since the Hakeem era. LeBron carried a completely garbage roster (thanks to Cleveland's ownership, not LeBron) to the Finals, then came back to Cleveland for his second stint and brought them a title...using Lebron-picked players Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Durant and Kyrie (and Harden) gave the Nets their most competitive team since the Kidd/KMart/Jefferson team. Like it or not, the clout that a superstar brings in is usually a plus and not a minus. The Warriors and the Celtics are not good examples to compare a big 3 constructed through trading and free agency, as they're using homegrown drafted talent. The Heat, just this past season, decided to bring in a player named Kyle Lowry...and he was completely invisible in the playoffs, for them. You wanting the owners to have 100% complete authority is fine and all, but how's that working out for the Kings? The Knicks? If you don't like the product because "the inmates are running the asylum," then just don't watch. Move onto another sport. Cut the NBA out of your life. It's really that simple.
First of all, **** you. These players aren't inmates. You could have just named this "players running the organization." Secondly, Harden was one of the greatest Rockets of all time and carried this team for years. It was Les Alexander who refused to rebuild and Tillman who decided to trade Paul and 1st round picks for Westbrook. If it weren't for Harden's value, the future for this team would be f*****. Lebron won a championship for Miami, Cleveland and LA. The Nets have been a s*** show. If Durant ran the organization, the Nets would have signed Irving to a long term contract. Thirdly, what makes any fan here think the players don't know anything about the finances involved? Especially Lebron. He's a great businessman, and these players have agents and other professional people in their corner who know more about the finances of the team than you do. If you don't like what you see, then stop watching. You won't though because you're too entertained. By the players, not the GMs.
I honestly don't care. The Stars run the league, as they should, they are the reason there is an NBA in the first place. No one pays to see the owners. The Owners are the guys that make the most money off of these players, the least they can do is let the best among the players have the power to choose where they play.
This is the key point in all this We the fans are the reason the NBA exists not owners, front office, coaches or players No revenue pie for sides to haggle over slices in the CBA without us Wish more owners and players remembered this Ask the NHL what happens to that pie when the fanbase bails
Just wanted to point out that Tom Cruise is actually listed as a producer on Top Gun Maverick, so it's not really a good analogy.
The Heat don't regret not allowing him to control the organization either. The Heat handled him the best of the three teams. The Cavs and Lakers wish they could have handled him the same way. LeBron is different anyway. He's better than everyone else so he makes up for a lot of mistakes he's made as a GM, that is first and foremost. And he's like an octopus, he has his tentacles all over the place, so he has the media cover for him, and he has the league do the same. The problem is the other copycats trying to do the same when they don't have the talent, support, and backing that LeBron has. Outside of Curry, no one is even close to having the on court talent, media support, and league backing. All of those things have made LeBron successful. It's similar to how Jordan got so many copycats trying and failing to play the hero ball he started.
Lebron is also different in that he's never demanded a team trade him mid-contract. He has just used his free agency to choose where he wants to play and he likely tells the team he's signing with his expectations beforehand. No different than what someone like Durant had done prior to today. I think the bigger issue is with guys create problems for their teams while under contract. That said, in Durant's case - similar to Deshaun Watson - the team actually benefits from having him under a long-term deal because it lets them extract more trade value.
I don't think asylum used here is as bad as prison, but i have not received the PC compliance v.69.666 patch update over the wireless yet.
This is a simplistic way to see it. Of course we want to watch the players, not the owners. The reality is, the players and the owners need each other. In fact, I'd say that the players need the owners more than the owners need them. Why wouldn't the players just start their own league and own and run their teams? They can't because they don't have the resources to do it. The owner on the other hand, can make money elsewhere. They were billionaires before they own a team.
Yeah, when a player like lebron can up the cavs net worth by half a billion, they should take what they're owed. Sucks for the fans to see players shift cities after a ruined season. We're kinda caught in that power struggle with no one to root for.
I think if the players started their own league they'd find a lot more success than if the owners tried to start one without the players. I don't think it's even an argument. People come to see Lebron, Durant, Curry, Embiid, Morant etc...not the owners. If it were that easy to run a basketball league then every league would be as successful as the NBA and the owners would never fear a strike. The owners are the ones that are interchangeable, not the players.
Lebron ran the Cavs to the dirt? Cavs won their only ring with the team he put together. Before that he got the Decision done and masterminded 2 rings and 4 finals for Miami. Whats Cavs record Pre and Post Lebron? Even with the Lakers, they won 1 ring after he arrived while they were in lotto land before he got there. Even with the Westbrook debacle, reports are he wanted Demar Derozan but Lakers didnt want to give a 3 yr guaranteed contract. GM Lebron has 3 rings with teams he put together how is that running teams into the dirt? Were Cavs winning rings before he got there or am I missing something?
I don't think it's changed. People are sensitive. It's too interesting a topic to throw away because it was framed in a reckless way.
