Tweet
What I'm worried about as a fan is if the apparent increase in trade demands & players acting as covert GM's is that this will create a certain level of chaos re team building. An exec like Masai has a multiyear plan for his team and contract length is a critical piece of that. When players step in and start building their own teams while execs are also trying to build teams, you have a "cooks in the kitchen" problem that almost anyone with workplace experience is probably familiar with. You also have an increase in player turnover, which already feels really high with shorter max contract lengths and guys starting to sign 1 or 2 year deals instead of just max deals. This is especially a problem for casual fans. I'm a pretty casual football/baseball fan and I don't know who the hell is on my own teams most of the time because I'm not devoting the time needed to keep up with player movement. And the NBA has far more player movement than those leagues.
Division of labour keeps the roles nice and clear. The execs build teams. Coaches coach, trainers train, players play. Now (a very select few) players are also team builders. Seems kind of messy but also inevitable as players push for more and more power in the player empowerment era. Star players have been more important than most coaches for decades already. The next step up is to the level of team exec. The ultimate power in these organizations is deciding who plays where.
I don't know if the future will be fans being fans of players instead of franchises, but the precedent has been set and the league is already heading down this road and is trying to figure out if the direction is a good one or not.
Lebron has set the precedent. No other GOAT played for as many franchises as he has. You used to have Russel = Celtics, Magic = Lakers, Jordan = Bulls etc., even if those guys played for 2 or 3 teams they generally spent their prime in one place which not only built a fan base and provided a historic narrative for franchises and the league, it allowed management to build a contender with a long window.
Player trade demands are not always opposed by fans/media, as has been noted a big part of that is how the thing is handled overall by both sides. Everyone expects a certain level of etiquette. Expectations around that change all the time as sport culture changes. Trade demands are going to be more and more culturally acceptable.
Division of labour keeps the roles nice and clear. The execs build teams. Coaches coach, trainers train, players play. Now (a very select few) players are also team builders. Seems kind of messy but also inevitable as players push for more and more power in the player empowerment era. Star players have been more important than most coaches for decades already. The next step up is to the level of team exec. The ultimate power in these organizations is deciding who plays where.
I don't know if the future will be fans being fans of players instead of franchises, but the precedent has been set and the league is already heading down this road and is trying to figure out if the direction is a good one or not.
Lebron has set the precedent. No other GOAT played for as many franchises as he has. You used to have Russel = Celtics, Magic = Lakers, Jordan = Bulls etc., even if those guys played for 2 or 3 teams they generally spent their prime in one place which not only built a fan base and provided a historic narrative for franchises and the league, it allowed management to build a contender with a long window.
Player trade demands are not always opposed by fans/media, as has been noted a big part of that is how the thing is handled overall by both sides. Everyone expects a certain level of etiquette. Expectations around that change all the time as sport culture changes. Trade demands are going to be more and more culturally acceptable.
Comment