"Hopefully the league can figure it out one day to go back to the situation it was in the '80s, when you had three or four All-Stars, three or four superstars, three or four Hall-of-Famers on the same team. The league was great. It wasn't as watered down as it is. You had more (All-Star) players on a team, which made almost every game anticipated -- not just a Christmas Day game, not just a Halloween game." – Miami Heat forward LeBron James, December 23, 2010.
Back in the 1979-80 season, the NBA was a twenty-two team league. Every team had at least one All-Star caliber player and it was common for even the bottom feeders to have a Hall of Famer on their roster. Even my sorry San Diego Clippers had World B. Free and Bill Walton, when healthy, in their lineup. The Detroit Pistons, who were the worst team in the league that year with a 16-66 record, boasted a lineup with Hall of Famers Bob Lanier and Bob McAdoo.
Maybe the NBA should contract up to eight teams so the bottom feeders have a chance to field a halfway decent team? Do we really need the Toronto Raptors? The Memphis Grizzlies, who failed in Vancouver? The New Orleans Hornets, who failed in Charlotte? The Los Angeles Clippers, who failed in San Diego and Buffalo? The Charlotte Bobcats? The Minnesota Timberwolves? We don’t. In fact, we didn’t need any of the expansion teams that entered the NBA after the 1979-80 season.
If I were the NBA Commissioner I’d keep the strongest 26 teams and hold a dispersal draft of the players on the other teams that would be contracted by the NBA. If that choice were up to me these are the teams that can take a hike:
- Charlotte Bobcats – This team is nothing more than a depository of failed first round draft picks and underachievers. The New Orleans Hornets need an owner. I’m willing to bet they would be welcomed back to Charlotte with open arms with George Shinn out of the picture.
- Toronto Raptors – Has this team ever been competitive? After the Leafs, Blue Jays and the CFL’s Argonauts the Raptors are an afterthought in Toronto.
- Los Angeles Clippers – The NBA never should have allowed Donald Sterling to buy this franchise. His twenty-six year reign of error in Los Angeles is legendary only because no one will force him to give up control of the team or sell it.
- Memphis Grizzlies – This team failed in Vancouver and it’s not exactly tearing up the league in Memphis. Like the Bobcats, it has no history.
Some might argue the Sacramento Kings should be on the chopping block but they have solid ownership in the Maloof Family and have had a history of success in Cincinnati, Kansas City and in Sacramento in recent years.
Which teams would you contract if you were the NBA Commissioner?
2 comments:
I would get rid of 6 teams. And I don't care about history from 30 or 40 years ago either.
1. Memphis Grizzlies. They were a flop in Vancouver and in Memphis. No one cares about them. I'm still looking for a Mike Miller jersey from a couple of years back.
2. New Orleans Hornets. They have been in the playoffs for a few years, but they don't sell out and have shaky ownership yet again.
3. Los Angeles Clippers. No explanation needed.
4. Washington Wizards. This franchise has done nothing since the late 70's in my estimation. So why keep a relic around.
5. Milwaukee Bucks. The fans in Milwaukee seem to be Bulls fans and those that can't stand the Bulls could root for the Timberwolves.
6. Toronto Raptors. It was a coin flip between NJ and TOR. Expansion north of the border didn't work for the NBA because it is only the 4th most popular winter sport in Canada. Time to cut and run.
Explain to me why with basketball being so much more popular and played in many more places than it was 30 years ago that the talent pool is so thin?
To me the issue is much more talent development and coaching. I'll never advocate for creating less jobs and it's not just the players who'll lose them.
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