Serious question. Is it possible that the NBA can be locked out again? All these trade demands, vetoes and complaints are getting exhausting. I haven't missed it one bit and when I found out the lockout was over, I reacted the same way as I would if they canceled the season: complete and total apathy.
I can't pinpoint exactly where or when I started loathing the NBA but my disdain has got to be some sort of combination of Tim Donaghy, the insane flopping, The Decision, Referees controlling playoff games and now it is the insane trade demands that seemingly every franchise player is making so far this preseason.
Having players force their way out of town and into big markets (New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles) both cripples the parity in the league while simultaneously weakening the smaller market teams. Perhaps this was one of the "basketball reasons" that Commissioner David Stern was talking about when he abhorrently vetoed a trade last week that would have sent Hornets superstar point guard Chris Paul to the Lakers.
Paul and Dwight Howard are both hoping to get traded before the regular season starts, which happens regularly in the NBA, however their demands come with one minor detail. Trade me to a contender! Hey assholes, why don't you work on making your own team a contender instead of taking the easy way out and turning the NBA into a pickup league. I didn't hear Michael Jordan complaining when he was surrounded by role players the first few years of his career in Chicago. Instead, he used it to fuel his competitive fire to the tune of six championships.
Today, Howard has "softened his stance" on his trade demands. Jesus Tebow, what is wrong with these guys? If you have to explain or clarify your demands to walk out on your team while under the contract that YOU signed, you're a deuche, plain and simple.
I don't know how anyone can be a fan of a league where the players have so much control over every single aspect of their organizations. It's unreal. This whole Paul saga has undoubtedly damaged relationships with Rajon Rondo and the Boston Celtics, Pau Gasol and the Lakers and Khloe Kardashian with the Lakers bench.
I mean why have a draft anymore? We should just ask each incoming player to make a list of three teams that they want to play for, you know like how you used to pick partners in science class back in high school. This way, small market teams don't have to worry about handling those pesky star players because they will all be in LA or New York.
I feel like these high maintenance stars feel like a championship is somehow included in their contract or something. No one is "supposed" to win a championship in any league, especially the NBA. If star players want to act like the teams general manager, so be it, but they should focus more on their own team rather than taking the easy way out and whining their way out of town.
Recently we have seen teams like Golden State and Oklahoma City accomplish great things in the playoffs, namely knocking off favored squads in front of rabid fans who dont EXPECT to win a title every year. This is the real allure of the league, at least until Kevin Durant demands a trade to the Knicks.
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