Miami Heat (3x NBA Champions)

[buckeyesin07]

except the NBA has a salary cap and players are taking less money to go there and play. So yeah, it's nothing like the yankee's really.

Whether there's a salary cap or not is immaterial to whether one team is able to have so many stars that it destroys the competitive balance of the league. scarletmike's point is a valid one.

 

[WolverineMike]

Whether there's a salary cap or not is immaterial to whether one team is able to have so many stars that it destroys the competitive balance of the league. scarletmike's point is a valid one.

how is it destroying the competitive balance of the league? They haven't won anything yet?

comparing them to the Yankee's is inaccurate

 

[buchtelgrad04]

how is it destroying the competitive balance of the league? They haven't won anything yet?

comparing them to the Yankee's is inaccurate

How is it NOT destroying the competitive balance? Of course they haven't won anything yet....how many opportunities have they had?

 

[3074326]

how is it destroying the competitive balance of the league? They haven't won anything yet?

comparing them to the Yankee's is inaccurate

If you can't see why the comparison to the Yankees is valid, I don't know what to tell you.

When stars are forcing the teams' hands, competitive balance is gone. We're already seeing the players force teams to do what the player wants (Carmelo).

It's pretty obvious that teams like the Cavs will have to build through the draft and hope they get someone like Durant (or a Joe Mauer-type if we're talking baseball) who seems to be one of the few willing to stay in his hometown to build his own legacy.

The comparison to the Yankees was clearly not made for financial reasons.. it was made because all the superstars go there. It's what's going on in the NBA. The Knicks, Celtics, Heat and Lakers are going to be like the Yankees and Red Sox of baseball.

 

[WolverineMike]

How is it NOT destroying the competitive balance? Of course they haven't won anything yet....how many opportunities have they had?

if they win three in a row, how is it any different then watching the Bulls, Spurs, Celtics, and Lakers in the last 20 years?


The NBA has been dominated by about 5 teams over the last 30 or so years. So what's one more. People are just pissed because of the way Bron left Cleveland, end of story. If he had been playing on the Clippers and did all this, nobody would even care anymore.

 

[3074326]

if they win three in a row, how is it any different then watching the Bulls, Spurs, Celtics, and Lakers in the last 20 years?

Did superstars leave to go to those places and play together? It's entirely different.

The NBA has been dominated by about 5 teams over the last 30 or so years. So what's one more. People are just pissed because of the way Bron left Cleveland, end of story. If he had been playing on the Clippers and did all this, nobody would even care anymore.

I didn't even mention Lebron in my post. It's pretty clear that something is wrong with the NBA. If you don't see it, you're being a homer.

 

[WolverineMike]

If you can't see why the comparison to the Yankees is valid, I don't know what to tell you.

When stars are forcing the teams' hands, competitive balance is gone. We're already seeing the players force teams to do what the player wants (Carmelo).

Bosh or Bron did not forced anybodies hands. They didn't demand to be traded anywhere. They were all free agents and signed with Miami. I totally agree with you that what Melo did, and what Kobe did to get Pau to LA is ridiculous. BUt that's not what happened here.

It's pretty obvious that teams like the Cavs will have to build through the draft and hope they get someone like Durant (or a Joe Mauer-type if we're talking baseball) who seems to be one of the few willing to stay in his hometown to build his own legacy.

80% of the teams have to build through the draft.

The comparison to the Yankees was clearly not made for financial reasons.. it was made because all the superstars go there. It's what's going on in the NBA. The Knicks, Celtics, Heat and Lakers are going to be like the Yankees and Red Sox of baseball.

everything is financial when it comes to the Yankees. They BUY the best players year in and year out in order to field the best team. Players don't take pay cuts to play for NY, they take more money to go there.

and judging by what's happening in this years playoffs, the Lakers and the Celts are on the outside looking in of the youth movement in the NBA.

 

[WolverineMike]

Did superstars leave to go to those places and play together? It's entirely different.

did those teams sign free agents every year in order to have better talent? and kobe refused to sign with Charlotte and forced a trade to LA so he could play there. it's been going on for awhile

 

[3074326]

Bosh or Bron did not forced anybodies hands. They didn't demand to be traded anywhere. They were all free agents and signed with Miami. I totally agree with you that what Melo did, and what Kobe did to get Pau to LA is ridiculous. BUt that's not what happened here.

Kobe forced himself into LA. He was drafted by the Hornets. Carmelo forced himself to NY. Bosh and Lebron joining Wade in Miami isn't forcing their teams' hands, but the Cavs had no other option. He held them hostage because he wouldn't commit, and they couldn't get good players around him without making trades. They did as good of a job as they could - they showed they'd do whatever it takes to get the Cavs a title. He bolted anyways. When players leave to create a super-team even when their previous team did everything it could to be as good as possible, competitive balance is fucked.

80% of the teams have to build through the draft.

Yes, this is the way it has always been as well. My point was that superstars leaving their draft teams to build these super teams screws up what little balance there was even more.

everything is financial when it comes to the Yankees. They BUY the best players year in and year out in order to field the best team. Players don't take pay cuts to play for NY, they take more money to go there.

The comparison is that superstars end up there. Again, we aren't talking about money. The comparison is made because they're super-teams. We know the Yankees buy them. The Yankees also play baseball. Both of those things are completely irrelevant in this discussion. We aren't talking about how they get there. We're talking about the quality of basketball being awful when four teams are going to get every superstar.

and judging by what's happening in this years playoffs, the Lakers and the Celts are on the outside looking in of the youth movement in the NBA.

I've already heard plenty of rumors about seeing Dwight Howard in LA.

EDIT: I might sound bitter, I don't care. The superstars of the NBA have made me not care about the league at all, and that's all the proof I need.

 

[Buckeye86]

Don't feed the trolls.

 

[buchtelgrad04]

Bosh or Bron did not forced anybodies hands. They didn't demand to be traded anywhere.

Actually, Lebron DID force the Cavs' hand. If you care to know why I say that, I will elaborate.

They were all free agents and signed with Miami. I totally agree with you that what Melo did, and what Kobe did to get Pau to LA is ridiculous. BUt that's not what happened here

Behind the scenes, that's exactly what happened. Conspiring years before your contract is up to join forces in an agreed upon location is against NBA rules, as well.

80% of the teams have to build through the draft.

Don't pull percentages out of your ass.

everything is financial when it comes to the Yankees. They BUY the best players year in and year out in order to field the best team. Players don't take pay cuts to play for NY, they take more money to go there.

If you don't believe these moves were partially motivated by money, then there's no reasoning with you. Stars in the NBA don't make the majority of their money on the court. They took a pay cut ON the court, but will maximize their earning potential off of it. Do you disagree?

and judging by what's happening in this years playoffs, the Lakers and the Celts are on the outside looking in of the youth movement in the NBA

I wouldn't call it a "youth movement," it's more or less a youth revolt.

 

[WolverineMike]

all fair points by everyone. one thing we can all agree on, is it now a PLAYERS LEAGUE. Whereas 20 years ago is was all about the TEAMS.

 

[scarletmike]

all fair points by everyone. one thing we can all agree on, is it now a PLAYERS LEAGUE. Whereas 20 years ago is was all about the TEAMS.

Which is helping to ruin the fucking game because its a TEAM sport, not an individual sport. That's also why I hate most modern pro sports fans, because they have no concept of team. You want individual sports? Stick with golf, UFC, that acting shit they call wrestling, and other such sports. Don't ruin a great team sport with this superstar shit.

 

[WolverineMike]

Which is helping to ruin the fucking game because its a TEAM sport, not an individual sport. That's also why I hate most modern pro sports fans, because they have no concept of team. You want individual sports? Stick with golf, UFC, that acting shit they call wrestling, and other such sports. Don't ruin a great team sport with this superstar shit.

can't argue that, although I'll still watch the sport

 

[ScarletBlood31]

DWade should have won that award.

What exactly did Riley do to deserve it? He got nothing out of the Shaq in the Phoenix trade; he blew the Beasley pick; he spent no money to build a team around Wade. He basically tanked his franchise for three years by being an inept cheapskate so he would have enough cap space to put together a juggernaut of bitches.

And for that, he gets an award. [censored] that.

People say the Cavs didn't do enough to build around Lebron. Wrong. Fact is, unlike the Heat, we actually tried to build a team... and it bit us in the ass. [censored] Riley. [censored] the Heat. [censored] Lebron. [censored] the NBA.

Bitter much?

Hate him if you want, but the guy is good at his job. Beasley, at the time of the draft, was viewed as a potential #1 overall pick and the consensus best player in the draft not named Derrick Rose. The fact that he turned out to be a bust was just unfortunate for Miami. As far as being a cheapskate, and building cap space to sign other All Star players, well, that's called being a businessman. They may have had a few down years, but he worked his way into bringing the 2-time league MVP, along with another All Star PF, to join his own elite SG in Wade. His job is to get the best players he can on the team so that they have a competitive advantage over the other teams in the league, and that's exactly what he did.


With all that said, fuck the Miami Heat. I hope they never win an NBA title and that LeBron James goes down as the biggest disappointment in NBA history.