Re: New era

[nevans@knox.edu]

On Fri, Aug 11, 2000 at 06:12:08PM -0400, Douglas342@aol.com wrote:
>      It seems to me, a casual fan, that lots of folks have really misjudged 
> the marketplace in the NBA.  Mercer is example #1, and now Mark brings up 

I think the new CBA is really a stroke of genius on David Stern's part. I
really don't agree with the way it's structured(i.e. a non free
market) but in terms of what David Stern wanted it's a masterpiece. The
new CBA has not only saved owners from themselves in terms of contracts,
it destroyed free agency. If the structure of teams follows the current
trend, every team other than the clippers will find themselves stuck to
long term contracts until new CBA negotiations. This will destroy
the leverage any players were going to have contractwise in the
future(since they won't be able use teams like Chicago or Orlando as
threats). I'm sure the owners thought they had scored a major coup by
keeping costs down by having maximum contracts limited but now they find
themselves hoist on their own petard because they can't raid each other's
talent like they could before.
	As far as the league is concerned that's wonderful, what the new
contract rules mean is that players like Vince Carter will remain
mainstays in Toronto for the duration of their careers. That
sort of fan loyalty and brand identification means $$$$ for the league
office and the corporate side of things. It also means a more competitive
product. For instance if the clippers current crop of talent plays out,
you won't have the normal exodus of talent that you normally have every
few years. They won't have anywhere to go, unless they want to sign for
the exception somewhere else.
	But that's just the structure of the current system. The battle
lines are being redrawn in the background. Just look at the purchase of
the CBA(the league). If there's anything the NBA player's union learned
from the lockout debacle, it's that what they really are is personalities
in sports entertainment a la the WWF. The players are setting up their own
WCW to continue the metaphor. The NBA has responded by trying to come up
with their own scab league to oust the CBA from contention.
	The league could very well be another soap opera sooner than we
think. 

Tangents aside I think the new state of the NBA could really help the
celtics. I'm betting that the best way to return to prominance is by
bombing the season. A high draft pick coupled with another not so high
draft pick from Denver could really bring us into contention once our
talent pans out. We really don't have to worry about talent escaping like
we did before. There won't be anything like the Walker debacle, which
ended up hurting both Walker(in terms of fan support) and the
franchise(in terms of cap room). Watching Mercer and Taylor fail has
undercut any sort of leverage any of our players could have through free
agency. So now our objectives should really be to shore up our weaknesses
in talent through the draft. I'm thinking a young point guard and enforcer
type front court player would probably be our best choices. I'm
stating the obvious in terms of our talent gaps though.

Thoughts? Rebuttals?

Noah