I agree with some of what you say. Keep in mind Paul Allen is definitely not a typical NBA owner. He is more wealthy than all owners put together. Most NBA owners care a lot about the luxury tax, and their franchises mean more to them than just "secondary" businesses (Les for example). This is a myth that needs to be exploded. The CBA has restrictions that force franchises to discipline themselves and be profitable. I agree the business is very profitable to the owners, which is the reason why NBA franchises are valuable. It's not just about notoriety or personal glory. Ask Donald Sterling. Ask George Shinn (who stupidly moved the Hornets to New Orleans just because they promised him more revenues). Ask Mark Cuban (who didn't re-sign Nash because the asking price was too high for). For many NBA owners, their franchise is the primary business. On what "drives" the NBA we have some differences. The revenue engine is created by the NBA marketing machine and by the marketing charisma of a few players. Without the foresight, vision and negotiating acumen of the NBA league brass, the NBA would not be nearly what it is today. David Stern has many flaws, and I personally don't like him. But he deserves a royal crown for where he has brought this league. The owners know it and the union knows it. Many fans don't realize this and amazingly some players don't seem to either. The fact is all of those who benefit from the current prosperity owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mr. Stern for a job well done. Now, it's time for him to leave. Some successful leaders don't know when it's time to move on and they stay on the ship too long. Magic Johnson & Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Shaq, LeBron and many other key players and other popular but lesser known players also deserve a huge amount of credit. MJ, especially, helped take the NBA to a whole new stratosphere. But my point here is that it's a few key personalities that deserve the credit, not the mass of players. What has Brian Cardinal done to help generate revenue for the NBA? Adonal Foyle? (pick your player)? A politician once said, 'Some of us pull the wagon, others ride in it." Unlike most union employees in manufacturing, service and other industries, in the NBA the few carry the many. It's not even 20/80; it's more like 10/90. Most NBA players are cashing in on a gravy train they do little to perpetuate. The "star" players deserve the real credit. (Some players actually detract from the league). Conclusion: Not all NBA players are overpaid, just most of them. And there is no crime in riding a gravy train.
listening to timmy's comments, i understand why he doesn't talk a lot. he sounds stupid. he went to wake freaking forest and he can't come up with something better to say than "it's basically r****ded" and "a load of crap". he sounds like a high school kid talking about a school dress code or something.
Well, the ones the ride the gravy train make less (Bowen) and the stars make a lot more (Yao, Tmac). There are very few highly paid role players. And those role players that get paid like semi-stars fill a need that the team wouldn't otherwise be able to achieve. Cardinal gets paid a lot of money, but he fills a specific need for the Grizzlies (tough, hardnosed, chemistry etc) Yes, role players benefit from stars and you need skilled players to sorround your stars. While stars drive the NBA, others help fill the roster and fulfill the team concept. Basketball is a team game after all.
Yes it's a team game. Rosters have to be filled out by somebody. If you took the bottom 53% of players in the NBA (players 8-15 for each team on average), just threw them out and replaced them with another crop, the NBA machine would rock on and wouldn't notice the difference. The quality of play would decline only slightly.
Let's take the Rockets as an example. If you threw out Barry, Wesley, Sura, Head (bottom half of NBA hierarchy), which non NBA players would replace them and play like them? The bottom 53% of the NBA is pretty damn good. The NBA is extremely competitive. It's the 400 best players in the world. There are college stars that haven't even been able to make an NBA roster.
who the hell wants to wear a business suit to a freakin sports game. thats just horse****... make them wear team jumpsuits or something...
they're not overpaid because they are just getting a proportion of the money that the league generates. they deserve what they get because they have the ability to play basketball at high level and people like yourself watch. from lebron james down to paul shirley these guys are a special group of people that the rest of the world is willing to pay to see. the players are only getting their fair share of the money they bring in. is tom cruise overpaid? not from the perspective that his name alone is likely to generate millions of dollars in ticket sales. people always say things like what kind of society is it when teachers get paid $35K and these pro athletes get paid millions. while teachers may be of more value to society, but when it comes down to money these pro athletes are directly bringing in billions of dollars not teachers. this is the american way.
I said on average. Of course, the Rockets are one of the deepest teams in the league and Head, Sura, Barry and Wesley aren't in the bottom 53% of the NBA. For some teams like the Hornets, 10-11 players could fall into that category. For us, you could toss Moochie, Baxter, Bowen and whoever is given the last roster spot. I still say you could toss out the bottom 200 out of the 400 NBA players, replace them with the next tier of players #400-600, and there would be only a slight speedbump for the NBA. If you could somehow (hypothetically) do this gradually over 5-6 years, nobody would even notice. In the businessworld, you can make the best widget in the world but nobody will buy it unless you market it correctly. By the same token, your competitor can successfully produce and sell an inferior product and put you out of business if they know how to market theirs. The league brass and the stars make this thing go and most of the other players just ride. Just my opinion. I'd ride too but I would admit to myself I was riding.
I'm sure that if your average NBA player was suddenly given your average Clutchfans member's bball skills then he would consider that too.
suits are cool. It makes them look professional. I don't relate well to someone wearing this: or this:
This is much ado about nothing...No one should see anything wrong with the league asking/telling them to look professional...then I heard they wanted a stipend...Freakin' ridiculous... They pay for uniforms, why should the league pay (fans) have to pay for them to dress properly...
I think one person mentioned receiving a stipend. What's funny is that for all the "whining" from the players, they were simply answering questions that reporters asked them. People make it sound like people like Stephen Jackson, Tim Duncan and Marcus Camby called press conferences to voice their displeasure with this stupid dress code. What's even funnier is that the whining by those criticizing the players for having an opinion has gone far beyond the "whining" that's taken place by a small minority of players.
I actually like the idea of them dressing professionally to work. This is their job and whether they like it or not they are fashion statements and are idiolized by millions of viewers out there. Do we truly want the children of tomorrow thinking it is alright to speak "ghetto" and run around in attire such as some of them wear to situations such as "work". Speak their mind if they want and it isn't like alot of the business men out there love wearing dress codes to work but they have to do it. This should be no exception. If a guy like Tim Duncan is sitting there in front of the camera for viewers especially children who are succeptable to their actions then he needs to be dressed in a proper attire. If I were David Stern I would be telling them to dress up too and clean up their act. Work can be fun but for the most part it is still work. I applaud the dress code and these babies should either take it or leave it. If they don't like it then go back and play streetball. Put on your rags and play "comfortably". But not in a professional atmosphere like the NBA. Maybe in Texas it is acceptable to go in Jeans and a dress shirt to work but try it in the city of New York. You can forget that. These players are young but need to wake up and realize what kind of examples they are setting to the youth.
So, do you think Stern should make every player speak in a certain way? Should certain words be banned? Should Stern force everyone to speak with a certain dialect or accent? What about mechanics? They dress in jeans and work shirts. They even get dirty now and then. Bottom line is there are many professionals who don't have to dress as if they work in a corporate environment. Hell, I'm posting from my job right now wearing jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt. So, should they make the NBA players do their job in suits and ties? In this day and age of 24-hour media, we've completely forgotten what Tim Duncan's job is. Here's a hint: It's not to look pretty for you or to speak in a way that's comfortable for you. Has anyone thought about how some African-American fans feel about this? They could easily see this as attacking their culture. Why should they support a business that's pretty much saying they don't want to market to anyone like them? Like it or not, many young people and fans of this game dress a certain way. A lot of them wear throwback jerseys and wear "bling". If I was one of them, I would probably stop watching the NBA because why would I want to watch a game whose management has so much disdain for people like me?
OK, I missed this last time. How in the world has Tim Duncan put children in any kind of danger? Your spelling of the word "susceptible" is more harmful to kids than Tim Duncan not wearing a suit when he's talking in front of the camera.
