Sure, it was crazy when a flurry of text messages from my friends group thread awoke me from my slumber of sugar-plum fairies or whatever the shit at 1:50am ET when Kawhi not only announced he was signing with the Clippers, but had stolen Paul George as well. Sure, it was equally crazy when I landed and in my 90 minute flight Russell Westbrook was traded straight up for Chris Paul (w/ some picks). Yes, it was crazy to see monopoly money get thrown out, for KD and Kyrie to take their talents to Brooklyn, and for so much damn else in the NBA. All of that was great.
But what are we left with? Sure, July was amazing (June for some of these deals), and it is patently clear the NBA has become the American sport's world preeminent Hot Stove, but when all the players lace up in October is it good to have so much change?
Tom Haberstroh had a great stat that 17 of the 24 All Stars in the 2017 All Star Game are no longer on the team they represented in that game. In one year, the two teams that played in teh NBA Finals have been wrecked, the Lakers and Clippers are stacked, the Thunder lost their Big-2, the Celtics lost Kyrie and Horford (the guys that were supposed to build a mini-dynasty). Even smaller things like Brogdaon in Indiana, or Bogdanovic in Utah, or Conley in Utah, or Whiteside in Portland. The league had such a facelift we have to wonder if we can keep up it with it all.
I know I shouldm't complain too much. The league is entering its widest open season in recent memory, definiteyl the most wide open since the 2014-15 season that launched the Warriors dynasty. So many teams have a shot. The Lakers have probably the best 'Big-2' but so little else. The Clips are great. We will probably all sleep on teams like the Nuggets and Bucks that largely kept the band together. It will be a damn fun season. But is so much change good?
There's two angles to answering that question. First is as the fan of the small-market team, who largely saw their stars (both premium or mid-level - like a Bogdonavic) abscond to larger cities and brigther lights. Right now, it is damn hard to the a Pacers fan, or a Thunder fan; the league is not, and likely will never be, built for teams in these markets. The worst may be a Raptors fan. Yes, the flag will fly forever, but as someone who's been a fan of teams that have won the odd titles, flags only help dull the pain for so long. And to see your dream of a repeat go to shit almost immediately has to be crushing - and this is the 5th largest market in North America.
The second angle, though, is assessing if this is even good for a general fan. Is so much rapid change, disturbing the landscape of who is good, of who is bad, good for the common fan? Is it good for a league that struggled with ratings last year when its biggest star went West - and has now seen another mega-star in the Eastern Conference leave for a year of 10:30 start times as well?
The NBA will be fine, but I do wonder at what point too much movement becomes a problem. I'll never take the owners side. I love the fact that players are getting their bag, and forcing things to make them happy - and certainly it should to one of the better front-to-back playoffs in many seasons, but for a place like OKC, who saw their two stars sign long term deals 24 and 12 months ago, to see them both leave within a week is just jarring.
The real fear is that this is repeatable. That Zion will do this in a year (which is his right), that Ben Simmons a year from now after signing his long deal decides he wants to join LeBron in LA, or two years from now KD decides playing with Kyrie is as frustrating as others have found it. All these guys have the full right to have these opinions and act on them.
Maybe this is an overreaction. Maybe it is all these various stars seeing this as their moment now that the Warriors have been knocked down. Maybe this is just a perfect coalescence of factors - just the same way it was when KD went to the Warriors and upset the prior NBA balance. But maybe it isn't. Maybe we have to ask ourselves if there is a natural limit to player empowerment, that maybe it isn't great when guys make commitments and sign deals with teams with full information and ask out a year later. Certainly, the pendulum has swung the other way - the big question is if it went too far and what the natural equilibrium is.
But what are we left with? Sure, July was amazing (June for some of these deals), and it is patently clear the NBA has become the American sport's world preeminent Hot Stove, but when all the players lace up in October is it good to have so much change?
Tom Haberstroh had a great stat that 17 of the 24 All Stars in the 2017 All Star Game are no longer on the team they represented in that game. In one year, the two teams that played in teh NBA Finals have been wrecked, the Lakers and Clippers are stacked, the Thunder lost their Big-2, the Celtics lost Kyrie and Horford (the guys that were supposed to build a mini-dynasty). Even smaller things like Brogdaon in Indiana, or Bogdanovic in Utah, or Conley in Utah, or Whiteside in Portland. The league had such a facelift we have to wonder if we can keep up it with it all.
I know I shouldm't complain too much. The league is entering its widest open season in recent memory, definiteyl the most wide open since the 2014-15 season that launched the Warriors dynasty. So many teams have a shot. The Lakers have probably the best 'Big-2' but so little else. The Clips are great. We will probably all sleep on teams like the Nuggets and Bucks that largely kept the band together. It will be a damn fun season. But is so much change good?
There's two angles to answering that question. First is as the fan of the small-market team, who largely saw their stars (both premium or mid-level - like a Bogdonavic) abscond to larger cities and brigther lights. Right now, it is damn hard to the a Pacers fan, or a Thunder fan; the league is not, and likely will never be, built for teams in these markets. The worst may be a Raptors fan. Yes, the flag will fly forever, but as someone who's been a fan of teams that have won the odd titles, flags only help dull the pain for so long. And to see your dream of a repeat go to shit almost immediately has to be crushing - and this is the 5th largest market in North America.
The second angle, though, is assessing if this is even good for a general fan. Is so much rapid change, disturbing the landscape of who is good, of who is bad, good for the common fan? Is it good for a league that struggled with ratings last year when its biggest star went West - and has now seen another mega-star in the Eastern Conference leave for a year of 10:30 start times as well?
The NBA will be fine, but I do wonder at what point too much movement becomes a problem. I'll never take the owners side. I love the fact that players are getting their bag, and forcing things to make them happy - and certainly it should to one of the better front-to-back playoffs in many seasons, but for a place like OKC, who saw their two stars sign long term deals 24 and 12 months ago, to see them both leave within a week is just jarring.
The real fear is that this is repeatable. That Zion will do this in a year (which is his right), that Ben Simmons a year from now after signing his long deal decides he wants to join LeBron in LA, or two years from now KD decides playing with Kyrie is as frustrating as others have found it. All these guys have the full right to have these opinions and act on them.
Maybe this is an overreaction. Maybe it is all these various stars seeing this as their moment now that the Warriors have been knocked down. Maybe this is just a perfect coalescence of factors - just the same way it was when KD went to the Warriors and upset the prior NBA balance. But maybe it isn't. Maybe we have to ask ourselves if there is a natural limit to player empowerment, that maybe it isn't great when guys make commitments and sign deals with teams with full information and ask out a year later. Certainly, the pendulum has swung the other way - the big question is if it went too far and what the natural equilibrium is.
