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Is it possible that more than 80 percent of the league's 30 teams have no realistic shot at winning the championship - and that the owners of many of those teams are all right with that? The WSJ's Matthew Futterman says that for various reasons, including the economy, many NBA franchises have not made the kinds of expensive acquisitions that would be required to compete with the Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Magic and maybe the Spurs.
What's most troubling about this situation is that for the first time in the long history of North American professional sports, the majority of the teams in one league have no financial incentive to improve. Most will be better off financially if they do nothing, and in many cases, will fare even better if they make personnel moves that are certain to make them worse. Adding to the trouble is the fact that next year, an unprecedented number of the league's best and most desirable players will become free agents -- a group that includes young superstars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amar'e Stoudamire. Last month, Rod Thorn, the president of the New Jersey Nets, called around the league looking for a team that wanted to acquire Vince Carter, one of the NBA's bona fide stars. The result was clear and decisive. Most teams had no interest in adding any player if it meant taking on an expensive contract.
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NBA teams are increasingly concerned about their ability to raise sponsorship revenue and to sell expensive premium seats and skyboxes. Last week the league secured an additional $200 million credit facility to lend money to teams. Suddenly, the magnitude of the dollars in play has induced a wave of moves that don't seem to be aimed at winning games. In November, the Detroit Pistons, who were second in the Eastern Conference in wins last season, traded arguably their best player, Chauncey Billups, to Denver for the oft-injured guard Allen Iverson. The Pistons started the year 21-12 but did not acquire any of the available top-tier players at last month's trade deadline.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.