LeBron James supports contraction of some NBA teams

[UtahJazzFan88]

And also realize that having bad teams is neccessary. How is anyone ever going to get a chance to prove themselves if every team is stacked? In Europe? In the D-League?

How many players have we seen make a name for themselves on a lousy team? What if these players had been relegated to the end of the bench to start their careers instead?


As long as you can put fans in the seats, then who cares if you're a really good team? Not every team can win. And this is from a guy who has been a Warriors fan for 20 years, only to see them make the playoffs twice.

+1.

A lot of teams are losing money, but that can be attributed to the economy and the fact that there's TV and what not. Some teams need to do more promoting and marketing to get more fans in the seats.

I wouldn't be opposed to having 2 teams be contracted, but I like the fact that cities like Sacramento, Portland, and Salt Lake City get their one big four sports franchise because of the NBA.

[Kurosawa0]

I just think the league would be much better if say Memphis, Minnesota and New Orleans were contracted in the West and Charlotte, Toronto and Washington were cut in the East.

It would make the league so much more competitive if players like Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, David West, John Wall etc. were to filter down to the remaining teams.

Look at how it is right now. Teams like Memphis and Charlotte aren't going to be winning anything... ever. Maybe they get to the playoffs once and awhile, but what are the odds they'll be anything more than mediocre?

The NBA was at it's peak in the 80's because you had genuine playoff wars and match ups that weren't already a given. We need that now. The only one we really have now is Boston-Lakers. It'd be nice if we had another three or four superteams. Sure, the lower teams would still suffer, but they're suffering now. The only difference is that the teams at the top aren't as good either.

[Samurai Swoosh]

I just think the league would be much better if say Memphis, Minnesota and New Orleans were contracted in the West and Charlotte, Toronto and Washington were cut in the East.

It would make the league so much more competitive if players like Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol, Kevin Love, Chris Paul, David West, John Wall etc. were to filter down to the remaining teams.

Look at how it is right now. Teams like Memphis and Charlotte aren't going to be winning anything... ever. Maybe they get to the playoffs once and awhile, but what are the odds they'll be anything more than mediocre?

The NBA was at it's peak in the 80's because you had genuine playoff wars and match ups that weren't already a given. We need that now. The only one we really have now is Boston-Lakers. It'd be nice if we had another three or four superteams. Sure, the lower teams would still suffer, but they're suffering now. The only difference is that the teams at the top aren't as good either.

This guy gets it ...

It's about quality product, not expansion into foreign / secondary markets (IE Canada, Europe, etc)

They should be trying to put the best product on the court.

And I wouldn't stop at subtracting just one team from each division.

Toronto, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Minnesota, Clippers, New Orleans

Would be the mandated each team from each division ... Wouldn't stop there, either

Washington, Atlanta, Memphis, Sacramento ... take them too.

[Mr. Grieves]

Lol Lebron needs to learn how to stfu.

If the teams were shrunk guess who gets the axe? Teams without fan attendence, i.e. the heat.

[Samurai Swoosh]

If the teams were shrunk guess who gets the axe? Teams without fan attendence, i.e. the heat.

The Heat sold out their games. Meaning people paid for their tickets in advance. A season ticket holder has the right to whether he wants to show up or not. Miami isn't some poor town, there is a lot of wealthy powerful people who live down there. Just cause the stands aren't packed doesn't mean they aren't doing well financially. And you can bet your ass when the games start to mean something, they will be there in full force.

[LA_Showtime]

I think it's a good idea, but I'm guessing this was LeBron's way of getting in a shot against Jay Z and the Nets.

[nbacardDOTnet]

Lol Lebron needs to learn how to stfu.

If the teams were shrunk guess who gets the axe? Teams without fan attendence, i.e. the heat.

no he won't

He is queen james.

[DDensity]

Contraction is not the answer at all. Think about how many late draft picks have panned out. Just off the top of my head, Manu came late in the 2nd round. Monta Ellis was taken 40th overall. There's an endless list of stories like this, several of whom have even been mentioned in this thread. My point is a lot of these guys would not have even been given a chance in a smaller league. Smaller league means fewer opportunities for players to develop.

The actual solution is to get rid of guaranteed contracts. Think about how many players end up being absolute cancers to their teams after they land a massive contract. These teams end up keeping these expensive dudes around for no other reason than being committed to paying them a lot of money, even when there is better talent available. As it stands, if a GM makes a single mistake, it could take years to fix it. Years because you're not only stuck with a massive contract limiting your flexibility but said player is under performing while the guys you've surrounded him with waste away their primes.

There is absolutely no risk for the players today. You land your contract, you're getting it in full as long as you don't break any rules. There's no reason it should be that way. Now, I do think there should be protection for the players in case of injury. At the same time, the teams need some sort of protection from this as well. Otherwise you're going to continue to see situations like Houston and Yao. I use Houston as an example because they have an excellent GM who has drafted well and made smart trades (mostly) but is stuck in a situation he can do nothing about. Tens of millions being paid to Yao, while also consuming limited cap space.

Make the players responsible for performing and watch what happens. You won't have a Baron Davis showing up fat every fall if he knows he could be cut. Or a Rashard Lewis scoring 10 points a game shooting 30% from 3pt continuing to eat a max contract. I don't care how many teams you retract; if this system stays nothing gets better.

[LA_Showtime]

I wouldn't mind if the NBA contracted, but they would definitely have to upgrade the minor leagues. If the NBA's minor league was more established, then guys could actually develop and grow into decent players.

[Samurai Swoosh]

Make the players responsible for performing and watch what happens. You won't have a Baron Davis showing up fat every fall if he knows he could be cut. Or a Rashard Lewis scoring 10 points a game shooting 30% from 3pt continuing to eat a max contract. I don't care how many teams you retract; if this system stays nothing gets better.

Uhhh ...

Simple mathmatics.

Less teams, less players, less jobs ...

Forces players to improve and maintain their games.

[Showtime]

Lakers and Knicks will benefit the most from this

Actually, quite the opposite. The reason the Lakers have such a huge advantage is because of a watered down league. Because of their history, their location, and their success, they are more attractive of a destination for players, and have more ability to draw in top talent, so they are able to get better teams when lesser teams cannot.

[Blue&Orange]

I guess in the eighties there was no teams like the Nets and wolves, everybody was at least a .500 team and everyone made to the playoffs, so yes Lebron does have a point.

[Nash]

I agree with what he says. The whole socialist thinking in the NBA where they always want to spread the talent is crazy. Lets have a smaller league which obviously going to give us a better basketball product instead of seeing good players play with shit players. Like Garnett for example, dude was rotting in Timberwolves for years.

[sixer6ad]

His logic is solid in this one, but in no way, shape, or form should he have used players' names or teams. He's too much of a lightning rod right now and just needs to shut his mouth. He just needs to ball and shut up.

I noticed last night he got booed - once again - on every possession. I thought to myself "if he's getting booed in Phoenix of all places, this guy's in trouble." Then I wake up and read this.

Dude just can't stop tripping himself - even on a point where he is 100% correct.

[sixer6ad]

The Heat sold out their games. Meaning people paid for their tickets in advance. A season ticket holder has the right to whether he wants to show up or not. Miami isn't some poor town, there is a lot of wealthy powerful people who live down there. Just cause the stands aren't packed doesn't mean they aren't doing well financially. And you can bet your ass when the games start to mean something, they will be there in full force.

It just means their fan base sucks.