Whoop That Trick Wednesday
Much of the reason why the NBA is the most global of the four American major sports is because of it's marketability. It is a superstar driven league, and more and more these days the superstars truly are in the driver's seat when it comes to the direction of the NBA. You can't win it all without a bonafide superstar, and because of that, team structure their payrolls the best they can to allocate resources for 1 or 2 phenom players, and sufficient sidekicks in order to make a run at a title. But because an entire franchise is built around one player in some instances, egos grow big and strong and it gets to the point that our beloved superstars become sixth graders that complain about who's on their squad when explaining their team's failure to win.
EGOS....Much of the reason why the NBA is the most global of the four American major sports is because of it's marketability. It is a superstar driven league, and more and more these days the superstars truly are in the driver's seat when it comes to the direction of the NBA. You can't win it all without a bonafide superstar, and because of that, team structure their payrolls the best they can to allocate resources for 1 or 2 phenom players, and sufficient sidekicks in order to make a run at a title. But because an entire franchise is built around one player in some instances, egos grow big and strong and it gets to the point that our beloved superstars become sixth graders that complain about who's on their squad when explaining their team's failure to win.
have for the most part taken over off season NBA news because our favorite stars in the game simply become the biggest babies once their team's season ends without a new ring being placed on their finger. Star players immediately blame management and the general manager for not surrounding them with enough talent to win, whether than placing the blame on themselves for not getting the job done.
I love Kobe, but this horrible trend became hot on the streets after he feigned to seek a trade to leave the Lakers in 2007. Kobe pissed and moaned about not having the talent around him to win, and threatened to leave unless new talent was brought in immediately. A year later, Lakers drop Kwame...add Gasol, and the Lakers go the the finals twice and win it all last year. Kobe never intended to leave LA, nor did he truly dislike the teammates he was currently with, he simply wanted to "put pressure" on management to step their game up. Other star players saw this and immediately followed suit....and now we have:
I love Kobe, but this horrible trend became hot on the streets after he feigned to seek a trade to leave the Lakers in 2007. Kobe pissed and moaned about not having the talent around him to win, and threatened to leave unless new talent was brought in immediately. A year later, Lakers drop Kwame...add Gasol, and the Lakers go the the finals twice and win it all last year. Kobe never intended to leave LA, nor did he truly dislike the teammates he was currently with, he simply wanted to "put pressure" on management to step their game up. Other star players saw this and immediately followed suit....and now we have:
Lebron--being wishy washy about staying in Cleveland because he doesn't know if he can win a ship there.
DWade--demanding that the Heat sign high quality players or he will not re-sign with the team
Allen Iverson--fighting with Mike Curry in Detroit demanding to start, and playing far less intense, and far less competitively due to coming off the bench.
Whether it's Kobe, Lebron, Wade, or any other superstar, this practice sickens me. As talented as these guys are, are you telling me no one is willing to hoop with what their GM gives them. I don't want to hear anymore Jordan comparisons for any of these guys because Jordan didn't demand another superstar when the Pistons and Knicks were beating his ass in the playoffs....he turned Scottie into a superstar and started winning rings the hard way. He didn't complain that his big men were Bill Cartwright and Luc Longley...instead, he WON with Bill Cartwright and Luc Longley. Demanding that your GM signs better players implies that he isn't trying to do that already. Signing better players is his job, and he works for the same team as YOU. Wouldn't it suck if your co-worker, not your boss, was always yelling at you telling you to do your job better.
Until one of these superstars wants to go the Tim Duncan route and restructure their own contracts to make less money in order for their teams to keep, or sign better players, the clamoring for more talent should stop. I realize these are the times we live in, but if so, let's just stop comparing any of them to Jordan. If you think the guys on your team aren't good enough to win, don't make demands...make them better.
1 comment:
I cant imagine why you would bunch wade into this group. did u see his team last year? did u see the numbers he put up game in and game out? u have seen what he can do with talent. u have seen him carry a AWFUL team to the playoffs by himself. so why not get him talent when he is in his prime.
jordan did complain. not sure u did much research. but u should look up "jordan rules" he may not have demanded trades directly to the management, but he took care of business in other ways. cartwright... haha. he wouldnt pass him the ball, and told teammates not to pass him the ball, and got mad when they did so, and stopped passing to them as well. he punched steve kurr in the face. so im not sure if ur mad at these current players for moaning to the media about it or what. but all players complain. its only natural when u want to win a ship.
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