H o o p s C o r n e r . c o m
-------------------- October 18, 2005 NBA secret formulas...shhh
Continued 1 | 2 | 3 Bad news publicity: In his book A view from above (1991, Villard books), the late great Wilt Chamberlain explains something you might not read anywhere else, even in the most trusted history books, in reference to his playing days as a Laker. In the 1972-73 season, Elgin Baylor decided to retire rather than give up his starting position to another player. By the end of the season the Lakers won the title and had set a record with their 33-game winning streak. Wilt wonders what kind of publicity he would get in newspapers if he had made that decision. Well he would've been called selfish, and deserved not to be part of the title winning team. But because Elgin Baylor was a star who was well liked by the fans, the media, and the team's management, no one wanted to tarnish his reputation. Wilt Chamberlain on the other hand made all kinds of headlines during his career. This is to say that the NBA has the power to keep at bay much information about its players and personnel if it desired. I mean...do you know how much the Fortune 500 executives in your town make, or what you'd find on their police records? Well okay, there's a thing called sports media which is a huge industry and completely geared at finding out the details of athletes lives. But the point here is that, believe it or not the NBA benefits as much from its "supposedly" bad publicity as much as it reaps from its good press. If you went to the movies and everything was all fine and well in the flick you chose, would you be satisfied? Even in your own life, if everything was just merry eventually you might feel something is wrong. Same with the NBA. Kobe Bryant and Ron artest's troubles contributed equally to the NBA's publicity as Tim Duncan and Ray Allen's, good personalities. After all most of the squables aren't anything seven, eight or nine digit bank accounts can't solve. Bad team, good player: When a franchise gets its fans used to premium basketball, the fans will respond with premium spending. Yet it's not all the time that the team can keep its winning ways. Player disputes, forced trades, injuries, and retirement are all events that can cut into the fun of an arena's atmosphere. When such happenings do happen, the team will feel an obligation to at least provide the fans with entertaining basketball, even if they won't be moving up the standings. when Allen Iverson was drafted in 1996, the Sixers realized that his level of maturity had not yet caught up to his athletic gift, off the court he was still trying to convince himself he was really in the NBA (a few acquitted court cases did the trick), and Philadelphia didn't have the players to go anywhere in the rankings. Being true business men, Philadelphia management decided to give fans a treat: they unleashed Iverson to score, score and score some more. The media and some fans called him selfish, but he was going with the script. In the two seasons between 1996-98 it was all part of the Sixers ploy to make headlines, gather some fans and also to some degree, help ward off some of Iverson's off court troubles. When the Washington Wizards traded away their Big Three (Webber, Strickland, Howard) in the 2000-01 season, they too felt the need to unleash second year players Richard Hamilton and Cory Alexander out of coach Gard Heard's doghouse to at least give the fans something for their money. Man, that duo was fun to watch...though the loss column grew sizably. Out in Auburn Hills in that same season, the Pistons too were going the same route. We had never seen an NBA team so underpowered on offense. Luckily they had Jerry Stackhouse to give the fans something to clap for. Every aspect of the offense ran through him. We only wish he could be there for their current success, because he gave the fans something to cheer for when hopes were bleak. The Chicago Bulls traded for Jalen rose in the 2001-02 season to at least keep the team's play tolerable, when they realized Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler would be long term projects. Indeed there's a difference in building a team to win and to entertain. The King of them all though are the Los Angeles Clippers. If you wonder why they're entertaining it's because that's what they're built for. Because out in L.A the team makes money for owner Donald Sterling whether it wins or loses - as long as it plays fun ball. -------------------- Previous: Interview with Ray Articles index |
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