When you break your leg, you can't just put a Band-Aid on it and make it better. You actually need to have it surgically repaired and fixed. What the Timberwolves are attempting to do by hyping up their 2009 first-round draft pick, Ricky Rubio, is to use him as a Band-Aid for the bigger issue: that the team is terrible and the front office is choosing not to make it better. Rubio isn't going to help you there.
Since the departure of Kevin Garnett, the Timberwolves have been a complete laughing stock in the NBA. They haven't come close to being a competitive team in the Western Conference, and the main reason why is the lack of effort the front office is putting toward making this team better. They have continued to make a mockery of the NBA Draft, of which they have seemingly been a permanent fixture in the Draft Lottery for the last eight seasons. Over the last six years, aside from the lone standout move made to acquire Kevin Love in a draft-day trade for O.J. Mayo, they have passed on numerous outstanding NBA players (Rajon Rondo, Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis) in favor of lesser talents (Jonny Flynn, Randy Foye, Rashad McCants). Yea...I'm sure taking drafting Brandon Roy and then trading him for Randy Foye was a great idea at the time. Rudy Gay and Rondo thank you from the bottom of their hearts that you didn't bring them to this cemetery of a basketball town.
The Timberwolves have been banking money, saving on the free agents they've been signing over the last couple of seasons, opting to go with third and fourth tier players. They have shown no initiative in utilizing that saved coin to better the franchise. To top that, they recently asked the city of Minneapolis to help with a $155 million renovation to Target Center, the fourth oldest arena in the NBA. Really? This is a give and take kinda thing guys...and the crap you're "giving" us on the court doesn't mean you can "take" us for idiots! If you're going to screw us over, at least take us out to dinner first. That's at least common courtesy.
The Wolves currently sit $11 million under the $53 million salary cap for the 2011-2012 season. This all may change with the NBA's collective bargaining agreement coming to an end. The 2011 free agent class is fairly weak, with the only "big" names being the likes of Michael Redd and Shane Battier. The main problem the Wolves will encounter this year is really making their only true star player, Love, happy. Kevin Love becomes a free agent after the 2011-2012 season, and it's expected that he will more than likely sign elsewhere, rather than wilt away in Minnesota. The Timberwolves are doing to Love what they did to Al Jefferson. Both are great players, but neither is a #1 caliber star that can carry his team. Both have the type of skill sets that would be outstanding sidekicks to major stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Derrick Rose. When they acquired Jefferson in the trade for Kevin Garnett, they immediately began selling him to Wolves' fans as Kevin's replacement. They began positioning him as the face of the franchise, when even at that time, he was nothing more than a glorified role player. Unfortunately...this is exactly what they are doing now with Rikcy Rubio; trying to make him a superstar in the eyes of the fans, when in reality he is nothing more than a back-up point guard.
Rubio, albeit a flashy, likable player, is not someone you can count on to carry your team into the future. With Kevin Love, you have a star on your hands, but again, he's a star in need of a superstar to really flourish. Rubio is not that superstar. When you look at what appears to be happening in the NBA, with superstar players deciding to play each others' sidekicks, it would seem that you have only two choices. One of those choices is to find one of these superstars, like a Dwight Howard or Derrick Rose, and look to deal Love to one of those teams in exchange for lesser contracts, so you can continue to save money you refuse to spend. The second option would be to seek out one of these superstars and convince him that Kevin Love is someone who would welcome you with open arms. Think of it this way; back in 2007, the Boston Celtics, already with Paul Pierce as their star, pulled off a great trade on draft day, bringing in Ray Allen to play alongside Pierce. Shortly after that, they pulled off the deal with the Wolves to acquire Garnett. Then, in June of 2008, the Boston Celtics became NBA Champions. The previous season, the Celtics had the second worst record in the NBA. They had a slew of players that collectively couldn't compete on a nightly basis with the rest of the league. Not necessarily that all of them were bad players, but that unit couldn't successfully play together. Unfortunately...what happened was a game of Pass The Buck, with the Celtics essentially passing those players to the Wolves in favor of Kevin Garnett.
Now, it's the Wolves' turn. Rubio can be a great player, but you can't rest the success of the franchise on his shoulders, nor can you expect Kevin Love to carry this team on his. Imagine a lineup of Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Beasley, Chris Paul, with Ricky Rubio coming off the bench. I'm not saying Howard, Prince, or Paul would even want to come to Minnesota. Heck, if it were between Los Angeles, Chicago, or Minnesota, I think it's safe to say that the Twin Cities would be the third choice. But, after finishing with the second worst record in 2006, would anyone have thought the Celtics would've won the 2007-2008 NBA Championship with a team consisting of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett? The Celtics chose to make the moves to ensure they could compete. They knew Allen was spinning his wheels in Seattle, and that the Wolves couldn't put enough pieces around Garnett to be competitive, so they pieced together the puzzle for both, making it the perfect opportunity for both, along with Pierce. The Wolves could have that same opportunity, if they chose to pursue it.
Instead, the only thing they seem to be pursuing is superstardom for Ricky Rubio. I think David Kahn should legally change his name to David Con, because that's apparently all he's good at. He's "con"ning Rubio into thinking he's a star. He's "con"ning the fans of the Wolves by making them think this kid can save their team. And lastly, he's "con"ning himself into believing that he can't make the necessary changes to make this team competitive. Get with the program, before the Wolves become even more of a joke than they already are.
Showing posts with label Chicago Bulls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago Bulls. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The NBA's Landscape Is About To Change
The Rapture came and went this past Saturday, and the world is still here. For fans in about 23 NBA cities, however, the end of the world will be recognized sooner rather than later, thanks in large part to the new Eastern Conference Champions, the Miami Heat. I've lost a lot of faith in the NBA, but for those that haven't, unless you live in Miami, you all better become Dallas Mavericks fans during the NBA Finals.
What the Miami Heat may accomplish, should they win the 2011 NBA Finals, could potentially ruin the overall appeal of the NBA. Even getting as far as they have could change to overall landscape of the league for years, and not for the better. When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami, they started a new free agency trend in the league that could be very damning for teams not in the NBA's "elite" circle. Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Chicago, Dallas, and New Jersey...six of the league's seven premier cities (Miami being the seventh), will become the centerpieces of the NBA's free agency market over the next year or two, leaving the other 23 franchises left to wonder if they will even be able to compete in the coming years. The sad fact is, they will not.
Should the Heat win the title in the coming two weeks, you can almost be assured that superstars playing on their current teams will begin conversing with others throughout the league, persuading and pleading with each other to form similar "super teams" to the one that Miami put together this season. Sure, the NBA as a "company" makes most of its money from those seven cities, however, popularity of the sport may suffer if fans in other cities begin to feel detached from their teams. Personally, this is something true for myself, who has lost total interest in my local team here in Minnesota, because of what appears to be an unwillingness to even want to compete with the elite.
Winning a championship in any sport brings a great deal of revenue to that city and organization. The team becomes marketable to the league, resulting in more nationally televised games, higher jersey sales, and increased revenue at the opposing arenas when the champions come to town. These are all things any team and its ownership group would love to see. But unfortunately, with the precedent now set forth by the Miami Heat, there may only be a handful of "A" level talent available for those other 23 teams to pick from, leaving many of them to flounder.
Looking at the Timberwolves as an example, ownership has gone in a direction they feel is "exciting," by bringing younger, more "athletic" talent into the mix. It also happens to be an inexpensive way of forming the team. With plenty of money to spend on an "A" level player, the team is choosing not to, more than likely because there would be no point. With just one player of that caliber, the team would most certainly not win a championship. It happened here already with Kevin Garnett, who was the face of the franchise for over 10 years. Garnett had a decent cast around him, but nothing to the level of the cast LeBron has around him in Miami. It wasn't until Garnett joined Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in Boston (via a trade from Minnesota, not a free agent signing) that he won his first NBA Championship. The Timberwolves, however, have never recovered from that loss, and haven't seemed to even really try to.
The dilemma going forward for the NBA is a difficult one. On one hand, you have a league looking out for its bottom line, and on the other hand, you have the 30 owners looking out for theirs. The dilemma is that each has different agendas that don't coincide together. David Stern and the NBA as a league are perfectly fine with the revenue that will be generated by the soon-to-be seven mega teams, whereas you will see owners of the other 23 franchises be "okay with" not signing high-priced free agents because they know without two or three of them together, their team won't be able to compete for that title. At that point, those owners will be more inclined, from a business standpoint, to just hold on to the money they would've spent on a free agent, and eventually pad their bottom line that way. Great for the owners, but not great for the fans in those cities.
The best thing that could've happened for the NBA would've been to have a team like Oklahoma City find their way into the finals against a team like the Chicago Bulls. OKC, with two up-and-coming young stars, not high-priced free agents, playing for the biggest prize in the sport. Instead, the worst nightmare of fans throughout the league, other than those in Miami, is about to come to fruition.
Go Mavericks!
What the Miami Heat may accomplish, should they win the 2011 NBA Finals, could potentially ruin the overall appeal of the NBA. Even getting as far as they have could change to overall landscape of the league for years, and not for the better. When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami, they started a new free agency trend in the league that could be very damning for teams not in the NBA's "elite" circle. Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Chicago, Dallas, and New Jersey...six of the league's seven premier cities (Miami being the seventh), will become the centerpieces of the NBA's free agency market over the next year or two, leaving the other 23 franchises left to wonder if they will even be able to compete in the coming years. The sad fact is, they will not.
Should the Heat win the title in the coming two weeks, you can almost be assured that superstars playing on their current teams will begin conversing with others throughout the league, persuading and pleading with each other to form similar "super teams" to the one that Miami put together this season. Sure, the NBA as a "company" makes most of its money from those seven cities, however, popularity of the sport may suffer if fans in other cities begin to feel detached from their teams. Personally, this is something true for myself, who has lost total interest in my local team here in Minnesota, because of what appears to be an unwillingness to even want to compete with the elite.
Winning a championship in any sport brings a great deal of revenue to that city and organization. The team becomes marketable to the league, resulting in more nationally televised games, higher jersey sales, and increased revenue at the opposing arenas when the champions come to town. These are all things any team and its ownership group would love to see. But unfortunately, with the precedent now set forth by the Miami Heat, there may only be a handful of "A" level talent available for those other 23 teams to pick from, leaving many of them to flounder.
Looking at the Timberwolves as an example, ownership has gone in a direction they feel is "exciting," by bringing younger, more "athletic" talent into the mix. It also happens to be an inexpensive way of forming the team. With plenty of money to spend on an "A" level player, the team is choosing not to, more than likely because there would be no point. With just one player of that caliber, the team would most certainly not win a championship. It happened here already with Kevin Garnett, who was the face of the franchise for over 10 years. Garnett had a decent cast around him, but nothing to the level of the cast LeBron has around him in Miami. It wasn't until Garnett joined Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in Boston (via a trade from Minnesota, not a free agent signing) that he won his first NBA Championship. The Timberwolves, however, have never recovered from that loss, and haven't seemed to even really try to.
The dilemma going forward for the NBA is a difficult one. On one hand, you have a league looking out for its bottom line, and on the other hand, you have the 30 owners looking out for theirs. The dilemma is that each has different agendas that don't coincide together. David Stern and the NBA as a league are perfectly fine with the revenue that will be generated by the soon-to-be seven mega teams, whereas you will see owners of the other 23 franchises be "okay with" not signing high-priced free agents because they know without two or three of them together, their team won't be able to compete for that title. At that point, those owners will be more inclined, from a business standpoint, to just hold on to the money they would've spent on a free agent, and eventually pad their bottom line that way. Great for the owners, but not great for the fans in those cities.
The best thing that could've happened for the NBA would've been to have a team like Oklahoma City find their way into the finals against a team like the Chicago Bulls. OKC, with two up-and-coming young stars, not high-priced free agents, playing for the biggest prize in the sport. Instead, the worst nightmare of fans throughout the league, other than those in Miami, is about to come to fruition.
Go Mavericks!
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