Let the games begin!!!!!!

“Hot damn! I guess ya’ll set it off!!!” Ice cube coined the phrase in his rebellious rebuttal song aimed at his former group N.W.A. The Miami Heat has sounded the starter’s pistol and everyone is off to the races. The arms race is in full swing as NBA teams gather all of their information and open up their treasure chest and begin to assemble their own rebuttal aimed toward the Miami Heat! It has long been claimed that imitation is the best form of flattery but this is getting insane! Teams have been sucked into a dangerous tornado of high priced free agents and arming the organization with quick and fast solutions in pursuit of the shiny “Mr. O'Brien trophy” that is bestowed on the last team standing at the end of the season.

I must admit, as a fan it is almost exhilarating to watch the season be continued and drawn out with NBA deals and contract negotiations dominating the news cycles. In my heart it’s cool to have something interesting to talk about as it relates to the association of basketball. The problem, of course, lays in the results of such a frenzy. If we have learned anything it’s that big name free agent signings don’t necessarily equal success. A few years back the Lakers tried this with an aging Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Shaq and Kobe. Anybody wanna guess how many championships that produced? Absolutely none. Even the combining of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and K.G. only produced one championship. Let’s face it, even that Celtic team was lucky to win the NBA championship.

Most recently, the Spurs who have been the model of consistency, have shown the true way to building a first class organization that fosters winning. Do you know how many teams are consistently following that model? The exact same number of NBA championships won by Carmelo Anthony; zero. Not one team in the association is following the Spurs model of success and it begs the question why? The Spurs have kept the same coach and core roster together for close to 12 years. In that time they have won multiple championships, consistently been a factor in the western conference and played the game the right way. So why isn't that formula being shared around the league?  I’ll tell you why, because it doesn't pay!

The sooner that fans realize that this is a business and only a business the easier it is to see the reason behind the recent behavior of the league. Would it shock you if I told you that the New York Knicks are one of the most valuable franchises in the league and they haven’t won anything important in quite some time now? The Spurs aren't even in the top 5 as far as money maker organizations in the association and they are by far the most successful in the modern era.

I am, in my opinion, one of the biggest basketball fans on the planet but I have long realized that the NBA, in order to continue to grow, must stay star driven and dunking. The fundamentals of the game that are so lauded upon by the likes of George Karl and Doc Rivers are great but they don’t sell tickets. These days trades are made for one reason and one reason only…money! I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you haven’t already heard but let me finish with this. The diehard fan that gets into arguments over which team is better, why the Pistons would take this player over that player and so on, you are the reason that the NBA doesn’t just come out and say we don’t care if we win or lose but if we are a successful business. They have people who get paid a great and handsome salary to inform NBA owners exactly what the sports fanatic wants and needs to hear. Personally I don’t have a problem with any of this. Why you ask? Well because for me it’s all just entertainment and we are definitely getting our monies worth!