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Why NBA Superstars moving is killing the NBA

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January 11, 2012  
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Chris Paul with the Clippers. Dwight Howard leaving Orlando? The Heat already have their big three, if Dwight Howard is the only thing keeping fans attached to the Magic, who is to say they don’t just migrate to the Heat? Don’t get me started on the Big Three in Miami, though. That was probably the biggest killer to the NBA in its long history.
Lebron James played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. A, pretty much, no-name team before he was drafted in 2003. Reading down the Yahoo! Sports Cav’s playoff history, everything ends in a painful loss… until 2006. Cleveland made the playoffs every year from 2006 to 2009, and even made it to the NBA finals in ‘07. He brought them life. He was their “new hope.” Then, 2010 rolled around.
Chris Bosh

Chris Bosh when with the Raptors

Chris Bosh. Never the biggest superstar in the NBA, probably at the level that Deron Williams is currently at, being a “not the best at what he does, but certainly good.” Playing for the Toronto Raptors… the NBA loved it. They had a team in Canada that was getting attention. Bosh averaged 22.3 to 22.7 points per game from ‘05 to ‘09, and had a steady 24 points per game average in the ‘09-’10 season. Then, you guessed it, 2010 rolled around. Bosh became a free agent, Dwayne Wade called him up, and the “big three” had begun to assemble.

LeBron James

LeBron James with the Heat

Both Wade and Bosh sent out a message to Lebron. They wanted him in Miami, they wanted to be the greatest team ever. Lebron scheduled a prime-time press conference to announce where he’d play in 2010 through 2011. “I’m going to take my talents to South Beach,” he said. Just as the words “South Beach” left his lips, Cleveland exploded. Videos of his jersey being burned showed up on the Internet, people in bars yelled and screamed as if they expected that behavior would bring LeBron back. Lebron had betrayed his home, and his home didn’t like it.
Neither did I. LeBron going to Miami, even Bosh going to Miami, is something that the NBA will feel for a very long time. You have two teams now, Cleveland and Toronto, that have fallen off the map. It’s hard to say how you can recover from something like that. Almost like MJ leaving for baseball in the prime of his career, except he came back.
In the wake of Lebron’s departure, the Cavaliers went a pitiful 19-63 in the 2010-2011 season. (In comparison, the best record went to the Bulls at 71-27). How does that bode well for the Cleveland market? You’re going to tell me that the fans stuck it out through that type of season? So a team that used to get national attention now can’t even get the attention of it’s own fan-base. Another killer for the NBA.
That brings us to today. The modern NBA. Carmelo Anthony left the small-market Denver Nuggets to go to the New York Knicks. Believe it or not, before Carmelo arrived in New York, the Knicks weren’t followed very largely. Their fans had disappeared as a result of disappointing season after disappointing season. Not only the arrival of Carmelo, but the arrival of Amar’e Stoudemire re-ignited that fire. Another all-star in Stoudemire, the Knicks suddenly had a strong team. Two superstar players on the Knicks. Because that’s what the world needs, more people to pay attention to New York?
During the NBA lockout, teams were not allowed to speak with players about matters concerning free-agency and such. This gave some players time to reflect, and think about their current positions.

Chris Paul, with the Clippers

Two players, in particular, are Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. Chris Paul, one of the best point guards in the NBA, and Howard, undoubtedly one of the best players in the NBA. Paul played for the small-market Hornets, Howard with the Magic. Chris Paul was extremely close to going to the Lakers to play with Kobe Bryant, but the NBA wouldn’t have it. The trade was called off last minute. Paul, however, wanted to be in L.A. So, he was traded to the Clippers instead. Not a bad move. If you were a Los Angeles fan and had the choice between the Lakers and the Clippers, the answer is easy. As a result of this acquisition, the Clippers are projected to make the playoffs this year. While we know that L.A. gets enough recognition already, the Clippers getting attention is a good thing for the NBA.

Dwight Howard is still expected to be traded. Orlando fans know it, his teammates know it, and Howard especially knows it. Most analysts see him going to the Lakers, instead of Paul, apparently. More attention to the Lakers? Come on, now. Look where he could be going. One of the biggest sports towns in America, Los Angeles. It seems as if the NBA is beginning to phase out teams that don’t cut it. Of course, there are some franchises that are so pathetic that getting rid of them could be a good thing, but what fun is an NBA where there are 6 teams? The Lakers, Spurs, Bulls, Knicks, Mavericks, and Heat? That’s boring. What’s fun about the teams like the Raptors, the Rockets, or the Kings is that at any moment, one of these teams can have a good draft and free agency, and suddenly stun the NBA. We saw it last year with the Clippers, a team that NO ONE thought could contend, suddenly begun bringing down the big guys at the hands of Blake Griffin. He was on every highlight show in America.

The small teams are what makes the NBA so great. You need these teams to keep the sport itself humble. A sport where there is no diversity is just… boring. We want to see the superstars spread out, so every team can have a chance. If it were up to me, and these players had to leave their current or previous teams, you ship Chris Paul to Toronto and Dwight Howard to Sacramento. Spread out the superstars. Don’t pander to the big cities.

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