Since free agency began this summer in the NBA on July 1st, most of the attention has been on a handful of teams: The New York Knicks, the Brooklyn Nets, the Los Angeles Lakers & Clippers, the Miami Heat, and the Boston Celtics. Big cities, in big TV markets on the coastlines of America…welcome to the new NBA. Small market, Middle America: you have pretty much been relegated to the role of the Washington Generals for the aforementioned teams.
Back in 2010, NBA commissioner David Stern brought up the ‘C’ word – Contraction. It’s a word that makes small market fans like myself shiver (I grew up in Milwaukee and continue to root for the Bucks). Commissioner Stern said all last summer that he didn’t want to talk about contraction again until the new collective bargaining agreement was finalized. If you look closely in the new CBA agreement, it states the league reserves the right to contract (reduce the number of teams in the league) if necessary. The league needs to provide the players association with written notice of any decision to contract, and the two sides will negotiate to agree on the effects of contraction on the players and the procedures to be followed.
While the players will certainly be against contraction for the simple reason that fewer teams means few jobs, however, the superstars in this league aren’t helping that cause. Look at free agency over the past couple summers, where are all the stars landing? Miami, Boston, New York/Brooklyn and Los Angeles. Heck, the Clippers have even become a hotbed of late with players choosing to sign there over the Lakers. Funny, you never hear free agents talking about forming their own big three in Minnesota or Sacramento. Memphis anyone? Even the city I currently live in today, Atlanta, has a tough time staying on the map of relevancy. Joe Johnson took a leap of faith and came to this city years ago. The flood gates weren’t exactly blown open with other free agents clamoring to follow.
Players today, for whatever reason, not only want to win, but want to win on the big stage. There is something sexier about winning a championship for the city of Los Angeles or Boston. A parade in South Beach sounds more exotic then one down South Tryon Street (downtown Charlotte reference). The bigger the city, the greater the notoriety. It applies to other careers across the board. The morning drive disc jockey in Sacramento probably wants to land a gig doing morning drive at KIIS-FM in Los Angeles. The weather man in New Orleans probably wouldn’t turn down a job Miami. Bigger is better and the NBA and commissioner Stern better pay attention, because his employees are definitely practicing that mantra.
The tough question is which fan base gets screwed? Does the NBA ask teams in markets 20 through 30 to disclose their P&L (Profit & Loss) statement? Should it be based on attendance? Compare revenue from season tickets and corporate suites and sponsorship?
Bottom line is while contraction might be an evil word in pro sports, there comes a time when it might just be necessary. ‘Trimming the fat’ is an expression often used in corporate America. You know when you read about companies like Best Buy announcing they are closing 50 stores across the country? That’s called contraction. The NBA can’t continue to have under-performing franchises. It’s bad for their overall business model. If the star players continue to migrate to the major markets, we might be looking at a much different NBA very soon.
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