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RE: Has the NBA completely lost its mind?
You'd think the league would demand more parity somehow. But basically, when Joe Lacob wants something, he goes out and finds a way to get it. Having a team full of nice guys (Draymond aside, and he's not a jerk to his teammates) also helps, I think. Unless the Lakers get Kawhi or pull some trade, they won't be competitive with this juggernaut. The W's team will run its course eventually, but barring injuries or someone else constructing a dream roster, it could be the team to beat for a few more years.
I honestly think the max salaries in the collective bargaining agreement were the death knell for competitive balance. If you can get $35 million from Cleveland or $35 million from Miami, why not get two of your buddies to also sign deals in the 30s and have some fun?
I realize talking about $35 million seems ludicrous to us regular people, but we don't have a marketable skill that only 400 people on the entire planet have. As long as people pay to watch, download, wager, etc. the salaries will be high. But not allowing teams to break the bank for their own players is just silly.
That's true. It's the only sport that's so dominated by the top players. The NFL does not have enough great QBs for every team to have one, but still a team can create a top-ranking defense and a well managed offense and be competitive without one of the Top 10 QBs in the game. Same thing in other sports; there are enough positions that you can be good to very good at many of them and be competitive without having bona fide stars. In basketball, it's the only path to winning and the few top stars would rather play together so they can increase their chances and play on a team for the ages.
A few years ago when the lock out happened, I thought the 100 best players should have just put together a barnstorming league. Cut the owners out entirely. It is the only pro sport that could do it. They only need 10 -12 players per team. They don't need a farm system as the NCAA provides one for free. they could put their games on pay-per view. Perhaps each game could be played for a purse on the way to a championship.