Commissioner Adam Silver has a real problem on his hands, and he needs to give fans answers, fast. The problem is intractable, it seems, devolving over the better part of the decade now. Silver must let us know: What is the NBA going to do to help out all these downtrodden big-market teams?
Yes, sure, we’ve heard plenty recently about the plight the NBA’s smaller markets, how impossible it is these days for them to keep star players in place. But someone should be out there speaking up for the sad-sack big markets, whose billions in franchise worth apparently offer no discernable advantage in building a championship (or even playoff) team.
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Thursday was a watershed day for the bad times in big markets. The team that sits atop the Forbes list of the NBA’s valuation rankings, the Knicks, held a meeting with injured forward Kristaps Porzingis, the 23-year-old All-Star who averaged 17.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in his first three seasons. Porzingis told team brass that he wants to play for a winner, the unsubtle subtext being that the Knicks are not winners.
That was reported around 2 p.m. By dinner time, Porzingis had been officially shipped off with Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke to Dallas for second-year guard Dennis Smith Jr., the expiring contracts of DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews and two future first-round picks.
That’s a scant return for one of the most promising young players to land with the Knicks in the last 30 years. New York essentially dealt Porzingis for Smith, picks and cap space. The Knicks’ remaining high scorer is Emmanuel Mudiay (14.7 points per game).
Then there are the poor Lakers, the No. 2 most valuable team in the NBA. An ESPN report noted that in trying to find a suitable deal for star forward Anthony Davis, the Pelicans had taken calls from every corner of the league. Except one team — yes, the Lakers.
New Orleans GM Dell Demps averaged 3.0 points in 20 career NBA games. Magic Johnson is the Lakers president and in the Hall of Fame. But the Lakers couldn’t get Demps to pick up his phone. Woe is them!
(ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski later reported Pelicans and Lakers executives eventually connected on the phone. Los Angeles finally caught a break!)
There is some bitterness in the Pelicans’ front office about how things have unfolded with Davis this season, as the agent for LA star LeBron James — Rich Paul, who also represents Davis — has orchestrated what has become a clumsy exit from New Orleans for Davis. And there are those in the Pels front office who believe that Paul has acted, on some level, on behalf of the Lakers and perhaps even in coordination with them.
It may wind up being a fruitless protest, but the Pelicans are making a point to not bend to the Lakers here in the week before the trade deadline. They could (and should) relent, but until then, the way they’re thumbing the mighty Lakers in the eye is admirable.
All in all, it has not been a banner day for the NBA’s upper crust. The Knicks, already in the midst of 19 losses in their last 20 games, pulled off a shocking strip-down that should ensure their spot among the worst teams in the league. And the master plan to bring Davis to the West Coast has been stunted by the unwillingness of the 30th team on Forbes’ valuation list to be bullied by the Lakers.
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It’s probably worth noting that the Knicks have not been to the playoffs since 2013, and they’re set to match the second-longest non-postseason streak in franchise history.
Also, the Lakers are a game over .500 and currently out of the playoff picture. That would run their no-postseason string to six years, easily the longest in franchise history.
For good measure, don’t forget Chicago, another big market on hard times. Though the Bulls are the league’s fourth-most valuable team, they’re also its fourth-worst team, at 12-40. They’ve limped through an embarrassing coaching change, endured a near-mutiny and suffered 10 losses of 10 points or more.
Through it all, ownership has kept the same bungling front office — John Paxson and Gar Forman — in place, putting that trademark big-market loyalty on display.
Of the top 15 teams on Forbes’ valuation list, only seven are currently in line for the playoffs. The other nine are in those smaller markets.
Of course, eventually, the Knicks could turn around and use all this cap space they’ve created on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving this summer, and possibly land Duke star Zion Williamson with the No. 1 overall pick. Maybe the Lakers, too, can wear down Demps like an awkward high school kid desperate for a prom date. Maybe he answers the phone and agrees to send Davis to the Lakers.
But the Pelicans could hold strong on sending Davis elsewhere. The Knicks, as recent history has shown, could wind up with a trove of cap space and no players willing to take it, and with bum luck in the draft lottery that leaves them scrambling for a decent prospect.
It’s possible. So go on, shed a tear for those big markets. They need it.