The State Of The NBA
The NBA is in serious trouble. Teams are trying to get expiring contracts instead of improve their teams, revenues are down, and inflated attendance numbers are distorting the picture of what’s really going on.
Bill Simmons, also known as The Sports Guy, wrote an amazing piece about it that is fascinating and insightful. This may be The Sports Guy’s best column ever, and every NBA fan should read it. Enjoy:
Welcome To The No Benjamins Association
It’s a long one, so make sure you have a good block of time to read it.
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Comment from Ethan
Time March 3, 2009 at 1:58 pm
This article was great. However, I was somewhat unsure about how much to trust Simmons, seeing as he’s a writer, not a reporter. Chad Ford of ESPN (one of their more reputable sources) basically confirms this:
Matt (Houston, TX): Chad, have you had a chance to read Simmons’ latest column? Is it really that dire of a situation? Are we talking NHL type strike looming, or even contraction (though it sounds like Stern is too stubborn to do that)?
Chad Ford: I did. I’m not sure I’d go quite as far as Bill but for the most part he was dead on. The financial crisis is creating huge headaches for the NBA and will likely change how they do business in the future in significant ways. The lowering of the cap is just the beginning. Free agents are going to be hurting this summer. (Obviously hurting is a relative term given the average salary in the NBA is around $5 million a year).