Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov blogs about his first impressions of the NBA, and NetsDaily kindly provides us with a translation provided by Prokhorov’s Onexim. In the post, Prokhorov talks about the Miami Heat situation, and debates what might happen if other “stars” continue to join each other in the NBA:
What’s also interesting is how globalization is affecting the NBA, too. I mean the way that two great players, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, joined the Miami Heat to form a Big Three with Dwyane Wade. We clearly see a new model in which the top players agree between themselves where they want to play, and understand full well that their individual statistics will be lower as a result. Almost no one likes this – not the owners, not the managers, not the agents or the fans, although it’s not a violation of NBA rules. It will be interesting to see what the upshot of this trend will be.
Keep in mind that it doesn’t sound like Prokhorov is necessarily endorsing the “star” model, but it is an observation. I still personally hesitate to call this a real trend as the events of this past summer were a conversion of some extraordinary events that started with Wade, Bosh and LeBron all coming out of the same draft class, then playing together on Team USA, then simultaneously becoming free agents. The Boston model of star power came together in an entirely different fashion – via trade – and I still have doubts if that Boston team wins a championship without Rajon Rondo or Kendrick Perkins, or without the defensive mastery of assistant coach Tom Thibodeau. With that said, we all now have the Carmelo Anthony/Chris Paul situation to keep an eye on and I’m sure while writing this post, that’s what’s on Mikhail Prokhorov’s mind. The NBA’s CBA situation also will play a role in this “trend,” as while Miami Thrice took pay cuts to join forces, they’re still getting paid handsomely and more than what the new CBA will likely allow future players.
