So in part one of this series, I sought out to refute some of the arguments that have been floating around about the recent NBA power moves and ended up taking on Rick Reilly. Since then, Jason Whitlock came out of his mouth with some foolishness; I can’t spend what little time I have to write going after everyone who says something stupid. So I’ll try to get back to my original points, but first I’d like to highlight some real wisdom from Sports Guy Bill Simmons:
“Over the past six decades, the following players pushed their way from a worse situation to a (seemingly) better one either by trade or free agency: Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Rick Barry, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Bill Walton, Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, Gary Payton, Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Clyde Drexler … should I keep going? Now this “phenomenon” is endangering the game???
As Kenny Smith said last night, “If [a small-market team] builds the right pieces around the right guy, he will stay.” Period. Duncan stayed in San Antonio because it built the right team around him. Stockton and Malone stayed in Utah because they had each other. Durant will stay in Oklahoma City because of Westbrook and everyone else. LeBron left Cleveland mainly because it made bad trades and signed the wrong guys. And Utah never would have thought it might lose Deron Williams if it hadn’t screwed up the roster around him. Besides, why is it such a bad thing to have six or seven loaded teams and six or seven terrible ones? Oh crap, I hate seeing the Finals with all these elite players! Give me a break.”
Now let’s unpack that a little bit. Stars leave for two reasons: money and winning. It’s been happening since the sixties, and it never hurt the league before. Don’t tell me it’s a bad thing now. And Simmons didn’t even mention Alonzo Mourning, Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill, Elvin Hayes, or Vince Carter. So what gives? Are you only allowed to get out when you’re older like Garnett and Drexler? Or if you’re the only one doing it that year, or if the media people like you? Did the league go under after the summer of 1996, when there was flurry of $100 million contracts and team switching? No it didn’t. So again, why is this a problem? Is it because the guys involved are all younger, more open about their intentions, and less media savvy? That’s my guess.
To listen to or read a lot of what’s being said now, you would think that Bird, Magic, Dr. J, and MJ were all bastions of loyalty and nobility who would have never entertained the thought of leaving their teams. Well, there are a few problems with that theory. For one, there was no free agency in the NBA until 1988. Dr. J retired in 1987, while Magic had signed a 25 year contract with the Lakers early in his career. Bird was the top dog on the league’s most storied franchise, which could pay him more than anyone else. He wasn’t leaving Boston. That left MJ and a few others (Isaiah Thomas, Charles Barkley) that were at the level that Lebron and his contemporaries are now. The incentives were never there to leave for any of those guys. The money your own team could pay was significantly more than you could get elsewhere, so unless your team was terrible there was no reason to go.
None of the top players was in a situation like Lebron last year: a free agent at his athletic peak, on a team that couldn’t win a title and was stuck for the forseeable future behind at least two teams. MJ and Isaiah got their rings just when their crossroads date was nearing, and Barkley never became a free agent at an opportune time. You think MJ wouldn’t have left for greener pastures in 1991 if he was free and the Bulls were still ringless? He reportedly considered New York at one point in his career. If he could leave a ringless Bull team to hook up with Patrick Ewing in 1991, I’m guessing he would have.
So please folks, don’t act like guys were saints in the 80s in terms of team loyalty when there weren’t any real chances to be a sinner.