Association should consider shortening players’ contracts, terminating women’s league
A bunch of entitled, overpaid guys — who do you think of in the NBA? Using the show “Entourage” as an analogy, the NBA players are Vince Chase; the owners are Ari Gold. Talent puts on the performance and is compensated by owners. Vince makes money without Ari. Vince has a unique talent that prints money. Ari does too. Ari can shift to new clientele, open his own agency or invest in an NFL team. But Vince is putting on the performance and Ari is negotiating behind the scenes. The players are the most important entity and expense for the owners. Alternatives must be examined to remove the losses in the NBA. Contracts should be shortened to a maximum of four years, the WNBA must be canned, former players should not be hired as general managers and jerseys must be used as advertisements.
Gilbert Arenas and Rashard Lewis are currently in $100 million contracts. They struggle to crack a starting five on their teams. The NBA is hesitant to shorten contracts because achieving guaranteed, long-term contracts was a big step at the time. But shortening contracts allows more money to go to deserving players. This season Arenas is making around $18 million. He should make around $4 million. That leaves $14 million that could be going to more deserving players. The NFL gets grief because they cut loose players as often as Antonio Cromartie cuts child support checks. But players are forced to play at the highest level, deserving players are paid and overall quality of play is at its peak.
The WNBA is a PR expense for the NBA. This is not a time for luxury expenses. It’s time to be rid of the WNBA in order to save money — and around three minutes of “SportsCenter” highlights a night.
The most successful business minds in the world receive years of academic business training or real-world experience to gain expertise. The NBA has too many GMs who are former players. Former players sympathize with current players and pay for past performances. Former NBA players are a necessity in the coaching huddle, but individuals who have managed $100 million budgets, finances and statistics should manage NBA teams.
The NBA is brand conscience and doesn’t want to take a card out of the soccer deck and put Adidas or Sony on jerseys. But the $100 million naming rights to stadiums would be matched in some circumstances if the NBA allowed teams to sell advertisements and naming rights for jerseys.
The NBA is not looking to fix problems wisely. They play the media game and paint athletes as overpaid. The NBA is great because of the recognizable brands and faces its stars become. No other place in sports is as intimate as a courtside NBA game. There are no helmets, pants and baseball hats to cover the players. One player can change a team unlike any other sport because there are only five starters per team. It’s time for the NBA to show some creativity by exploring untapped areas.