David Stern MUST reverse the decision to block the Hornets trade

This decision by Stern reeks of conflict of interest. There's no way the other 27 owners are acting in the best interest of the Hornets by nixing this deal.

 

I would like to see the ultimate end of the NBA. It's time for them to start over.

Where's the "Occupy the NBA" protestors? We have so many people complaining about corporate greed and the little people being screwed but we let NBA players and owners continuously screw the fans.

The small market fans get no breaks on ticket prices...rarely see our team on tv...pay our fair share to build arenas...are subjected to the same marketing, etc. - yet have no chance at competing because the same teams are allowed to reload with no penalty.

We (small markets) develop players only to let the big markets steal them and challenge for titles.

No thanks! I have many other things to do with my money.

I have absolutely NO problem with any individual who wants to purchase season tickets for this season but don't want any local or state funds supporting the team if it's not a fair system. Revenue sharing is a MUST!

 

right, teams are allowed to recruit superteams, but this isnt allowed? i dont get it. but like you, i dont keep a close eye on the NBA. becqause it is boring, unless i am watching dirk beat lebron.

 

Obviously, you've never seen the Lakers play at the Staples Center or the Knicks play at the Garden if you're going to argue that small market fans pay the same ticket prices as big market fans.

Wait, so Hornets don't have a local TV deal where their games are aired in New Orleans?

Its not a small market vs big market that determines if a team can compete and win championships; its the well-run teams, regardless of market size, that will compete and win championship.

NYC is the biggest market of all, and they've been bad for most of their history because they've been poorly run. While LA Lakers have won championships as a major market team because they've drafted well, made good trades, etc.. Kobe Bryant was the 13th pick in that draft, and plenty of teams passed on him. The Clippers share that same major market with the Lakers, but a lot of free agents don't want to sign with the Clippers because their ownership and management is a mess.

As a small market team, San Antonio won 4 championships because they were well run. They drafted players like Manu Ginobili as the 57th pick and Tony Parker as the 28th pick when plenty of teams could have picked those players.

And, Oklahoma City is another small team that's going to compete and win championships because they're well run and they've drafted well.

If the attitude of the small market teams is that all they need to do is to get lucky and draft that one star player, then of course, that player is going to eventually leave. The small market teams should be focusing on developing a team, a nucleus around that star player.

Durant isn't going to leave OKC because he looks at the talent around him, and he knows he can go to war with his teammates. Duncan never left San Antonio because he saw the talent around him, and knew he could win championships with those players. Those star players knew that they didn't have to leave their small market teams to win.

The Cavs struck lightning in a bottle when they drafted Lebron, but didn't do much beyond that. They never really built a team talented enough around him to win. When your second best player on the team is Mo Williams, you're not going to win a championship. If the Cavs had built a talented team around Lebron, he wouldn't have left.

If the Hornets had a deep, talented nucleus around Chris Paul, he wouldn't have wanted to leave New Orleans.

Stop blaming players who are willing to take less money to leave, and start blaming the management who didn't do more to develop a team around those star players.

The NBA already has revenue sharing with the luxury tax. If you re-read the Dan Gilbert letter, he seems pissed off the most about the Paul trade to the Lakers was because the Lakers were reducing their luxury taxes with that trade. Those luxury taxes then get to small market teams to subsidize them.

 

The revenue sharing and luxury tax are a joke. It's like charging $100 to an owner who just dropped $100,000,000.

Please continue to enjoy the NBA. Just don't expect me or many others to support or subsidize the league. I dropped my season tickets and would expect many of the 10,000 of the Hornets' ticket holders to drop next year.

If I want minor league tickets...I'll go watch the Zephyrs.

 

No, you should watch little league or AYSO where everybody gets a trophy just for participation.

If the Hornets see a drop in ticket sales, then it will because the NBA sabatoged a very favorable trade by which the Hornets would have gotten the pieces to rebuild. Chris Paul is going to leave the Hornets and if the Hornets can't trade him, then they'll get nothing.

Quite frankly, if New Orleans can't support the Hornets, why should the NBA and the rest of the country continue to subsidize the Hornets instead of folding it or moving it to another city that will support the Hornets? Even with Chris Paul and a team that was winning, the Hornets were already having trouble selling seats.

 

David Stern is trying to kill the New Orleans franchise...on purpose. Running the Hornets is a drag I guess and Stern obviously wants to eliminate jobs.