Wonder Why NBA Stars Like Chris Paul Flock To Glamour Teams? Look At The TV Schedule by Tom Ziller • Dec 7, 2011 10:27 AM EST Last season, Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets went 46-36 and took the two-time defending champion L.A. Lakers to a thrilling six games. This season, with CP3 still in place as the NBA schedule was created over the past couple weeks, the Hornets will be on ABC, TNT and ESPN a combined two times. The New York Knicks went 42-40 last year and were swept out of the first round of the playoffs. They will be on ABC, TNT and ESPN a combined 22 times this season. And you wonder why NBA stars would rather play in New York than New Orleans? Star-divide This is only part of the issue, of course, and we can't ignore that the networks themselves have a huge say in what teams land on TV. The league is trying to make money after all, and delivering a solid share of New York's population to ABC is much more lucrative in the long-term than delivering a big share of New Orleans' population. But the league's small-market teams struggle to convince stars that they have a big enough stage with their clubs, that their opportunity for fame and off-court fortune is equal. When you look at the TV schedule, it's easy to see why. The Memphis Grizzlies went to the second round of the playoffs, and were one game away from the conference finals. They went 46-36. They will be on national TV five times this season. The Golden State Warriors went 36-46 and have one playoff berth in the last 16 seasons. But they play in a massive market with a largely affluent population. So guess what? They have 10 national TV games. Other mediocre teams in less lucrative markets aren't so lucky. John Wall won't be on national TV once this season. (The Washington Wizards do have one NBA TV game, but that network is still locked out of some major carriers.) Deron Williams won't be national TV once with the New Jersey Nets. Kyrie Irving? Nope. (He missed practically all of his only season at Duke, and he was still on national TV more as a collegian than he will be as an NBA rookie.) Tyreke Evans, Jimmer Fredette and DeMarcus Cousins? Just once. In addition to the Hornets, other good teams outside of the glamour markets get short shrift. The Rockets went 43-39 last season, and have zero national TV games. (That's 10 less than the Warriors and 22 fewer than a Knicks team that Houston was better than.) The Oklahoma City Thunder -- widely considered the best young team in a generation, a veritable juggernaut in the making with the two-time scoring champ in Kevin Durant and a stud supporting cast that includes All-Star Russell Westbrook -- are on national TV eight fewer times than a Lakers team that OKC is almost certainly better than. Only two of OKC's national games come on the biggest stage -- Sunday on ABC -- while the Knicks have four and the Lakers five. The national TV money is split evenly among teams, so the Sacramento Kings and Lakers will pull the same $30 million or so. That's not the issue. The issue is that a player like Tyreke is going to think like a player like Carmelo Anthony in a few years, and he's going to make decisions based on where he can have the spotlight in addition to the money. And the NBA is not going to be able to credibly convince him that he can have the spotlight in Sacramento, because the NBA is not willing to fight for a share of spotlight to visit Sacramento. Chris Bosh, a perennial All-Star, used this exact reasoning when he explained why he left Toronto for Miami. (The Raptors, by the way, have no national games and just one NBA TV game. The networks including NBA TV picked up 209 games, and Toronto plays in one. Same for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the other team that lost a major free agent to the Heat. Miami is on the networks 29 times.) The first step to stop being a completely plutocratic league is to stop acting like a completely plutocratic league. In the immediate aftermath of the lockout, it's not looking good for the NBA. http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/12...11-2012-chris-paul-new-york-knicks/in/2354441
National exposure = endorsement deal payoff for superstars. All the iPads in the world can't change that fact.
How many national TV games NY Knicks got prior to last year? You put Blake Griffin in Toronto and they will get 10+ national TV games. It's not the location necessarily, it's who the team has.
Exactly, which is why the NBA screwed the pooch by not forcing the players to accept a franchise tag. Watch what happens when Orlando loses Dwight or when Durant eventually heads to the bright lights of LA (and he will). Those franchise are DOA once their fans see the writing on the wall. Who wants to spend big bucks to support a glorified farm team?
What makes you think Durant will leave for LA? If they lock up Westbrook, why would he want to leave? Most superstars leave because they want to play with another superstar or two, not necessarily the location.
You know why lebron left the cavs? Because mo williams was their second best player. Amare would have stayed with the suns if they paid them the 100mil. The suns were on tv a ton in ssol days. The team with the stars are on tv a lot and thats how it should be.
I think Amar'e realized that the Suns were on a downward curve, and that if he was going to stay and suffer, he'd better be paid a whole lot.
I think you're right that they exaggerate the point. Regardless of NOH being better than the NYK last year, the TV guys know that Chris Paul is on his way out and that NY has a full season with Anthony and Stoudemire and it's likely they'll be able to pick up a couple more chips. So, past performance aside, they know where the future performance of these teams are heading. Even so, I think there's validity to the argument. The national broadcasters would like to show the games that have the appeal to the most people, and part of that appeal will be based on market size and part on glamor. So, there's a natural additional non-monetary compensation to players on those teams. When you are a max player and will get the same money from anyone, you start looking to maxmize your non-monetary compensation. These are all rational behaviors, so the only way to fix the ill-effects is to be pro-active about countering it, which of course the league doesn't do.
I think it's time for Americans in cities like Houston and Denver and the rest of fly-over country to realize something--there is a paradigm shift in the average thinking of young people. Think about it, they've grown up in the age of the camera, YouTube, etc., and the shows they watch are all based upon a glamorous lifestyle in a few cities--despite the fact that the flyover cities all perform better economically, have more room for growth, are less stressed, etc. The NBA athlete, being the athletes in the 4 major sports that most readily identify with the spotlight, is no different. It's all about the culture of celebrity. Maybe we should've seen this coming with the continued importance of TV to the league. It's the beast that feeds itself and places like Houston and Denver, which are high-quality, great cities to live in, are stuck with whatever leftovers the coasts choose to leave. Houston is not a "culture of celebrity" type city. It's not about flash over substance. The best example was the 2012 Olympic process where Houston had, by all accounts, the best technical proposal but didn't have that extra "it" factor of the other American bids--even though those bids were not as sound. Houston spends more time designing the foundation and wiring of a house. LA, NY, and Miami spend more time deciding on the drapes. Think back to school days. Houston and Denver are like the smart girls in class who are attractive but are quiet and conservatively dressed and excel at math and science. On the other hand, NY, LA, and Miami are the popular cheerleader-type girls who spend more time on their make-up than their homework. Which girls do you think are more popular in high school? Which girls do you think are preferred by graduate school? Entertainers go to the glitz to make their money when they're young. But when they're old and tired of the crap that comes along with the cameras, they move to Houston, Charlotte, and Nashville. Just think about if all the players who lived here in the off-season played with the local teams while they were in their prime.
