David Aldridge from NBA.com has some interesting thoughts on NBA teams, specifically NY teams, and the pressure to win immediately in the Big Apple.
He states:
If they were, say, the Charlotte Knicks, with a record this morning of 9-21, having lost back to back games to, um, Toronto, with no real hopes of being competitive this season and facing the prospect that their star player might walk after this season, wouldn’t the choice be obvious? The Charlotte Knicks would start dealing their available assets and take a long, hard look at whether they’d move Carmelo Anthony before the trade deadline. And no one would fault them for it.
If they were, say, the San Antonio Nets, with a coach that looks perilously close to being in over his head, a team that simply hasn’t clicked and key players already out for the season and/or on the shelf, wouldn’t the path be clear? The San Antonio Nets would “reassign” their coach, make the best deals they could for whatever teams wanted their marquee names and look forward. And no one would say anything about it.
His point questions the win-now strategies of the Nets/Knicks, essentially saying the media market and pressure to “own New York” has caused them to make unwise decisions for their future.
Definitely worth a read.
