Toronto Raptors - We can't be pathetic forever, can we?

[sotola]

yep.... but based on history, I think if we put our hat in the ring, the NBA has a mysterious way of promoting their game through the lottery like LeBron in cleveland, Davis to NO (due to a struggling franchise with a new owner)... Wiggins to TO would be a dream fantasy for the NBA as well. I am sure the NBA wants TO to do well since we typically always have a lot of international players (and front office) that it grows the game globally.... the US market is only so big.

Not surprised... at all... that Howard chose Houston. I also thought GS was possible but Dwight doesn't want the attention that his talent demands. He missed small market Orlando where everyone loved him even when he played poorly. The Lakers are in an interesting situation now... tons of salary, aging players, and a superstar coming back from a major injury. Always interesting to see a Laker rebuild.

[hedge]

"the US market is only so big."

I'm sure that's the attitude that most major sports team owners have. "Yeah, great, but what are our numbers in the Falklands, damn it???"

[T Dot O Dot]

not if you are david stern/adam silver & the faulklands should be replaced with the whole asian market

it's not a coincidence the raptors have broadcasts in punjabi & cantonese or that leBron is brushing up on his Mandarin, the licensing & merchandise dollars are a major cash grab for the league, who are all about market penetration

all of those extra tv views (broadband/cable) & licensing rights calculate directly into the league's basketball related income, which is split 57-43 with the players IIRC

The league negotiated a deal with the Chinese government in order to bring Yao to America because bottom line is that Yao jerseys sales & NBA broadcast views became an overseas goldmine for the league

That's what the dream team was all about, growing the business & some Raptor tinhat conspiracy theorists would argue that we were their farm team/experiment for what would happen if a team went euro-centric... (FAIL basket-ball wise)

Just posting out of my ass right now, but I'd say the league's only domestic growth concern is to put a team back in Seattle.... after that I think the US is tapped out. Keep doing NBA Cares, giving back to the communities, they turned the draft into a full media event, the all-star game is a mini superbowl event... but there's only so much you can grow a market that is saturated

Case in point, if you asked Stern if the NBA Canada experiment worked he'd say "hell yeah" and most logical posters would be like "really?" the team sucks, we had Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady and shyt it away, we are perennial losers" but basketball in Canada has grown more than any other sport, it's an immigrant community/market that was ripe for the taking.

We're knocking out lottery picks on an annual basis, there's been a torontonian 1st rounder the last 5 years, Bennett went 1st and Wiggins is a household name

That probably doesnt impress a Carolina fan whose school knocks out NBA talent on a regular basis, but this is puck country


look at SEC football, they added Missouri and Texas A&M for a reason. They could have gone after Clemson, Georgia Tech or Florida State. No new TV sets there though.

Just like Goodell wants Jacksonville to play 2 regular season games in London England & by 2020 the Bills will be playing half of their home games in Toronto

Miami is under fire right now, the NFL wants them to upgrade their stadium using public dollars or it's goodbye, they strictly want 5-star facilities with upscale restaurants & amenities to build their revenue streams or it's game over.

So yeah, the US market is only so big, you can only charge so much for a ticket & a hot dog.

[Owlman]

Because of Yao Ming, Houston has one of the biggest followings worldwide of any team in the NBA. If Howard is trying to avoid attention, not the smartest way to go in choosing Houston.

[T Dot O Dot]

One other point about international consideration, for which Stern got his ass nailed to the wall

he proposed to remove basketball pros from the olympics (for all countries), keep it amateur and force a basketball world cup every four years (on the offsetting summer olympic year I would guess)

it was a major power play that got shyt on by the other countries & the IOC, but Silver/Stern will keep pushing it and I'll bet they get it done in my lifetime

stern's priorities arent about stopping shane battier from flopping, or whether Manu got hacked on that last play in game 6, dude is an international gangster with Big Boy status

[sotola]

I am not sure if you agreed with me or disagreed...lol. you started off sounding like you disagreed and then pretty much summed up everything I felt.... that the NBA knows there is only so much money in it's own country... but there is a ton of it worldwide. I think they would love nothing better than having a team outside of it's borders win..... any individual that has an anti-US sentiment would automatically be attracted to the finals. and, as you said, more viewers means more merchandising, more ads, etc.

I could imagine we would be very fortunate in next year's draft if we end up with one of the worst 5 records in the league.

[hedge]

Maybe some billionaire in Mexico should start up an NBA franchise down there...

[Bklyn]

Not until the Zetas and Sinaloa thing eases up. The NBA can not afford to have Lebron kidnapped or for Delonte West to wind up dead outside a Mexico City nightspot. Those are the worst-case scenarios that may not well happen with the proper security and protocols. However, one thing that will happen within the first 3 years of Mexico City having an NBA team, Stephen Jackson will try to board a plane with a gun.

Just too many bad headlines to come out of a Mexican pro ball team. Carlos Slim would do better to just buy a team and set it up in San Diego.

[sotola]

actually I am surprised they haven't thought of Mexico.....probably for the safety reasons you mentioned but it seems like Mexico City would have to have at least 20K fans that would support an NBA team with that size of population.

[Bklyn]

They've done pre-season games in Mexico City. So, they've thought of it...and there are very obvious reasons why it has never gone any further than that.

[hedge]

Is that a sexist comment?

[Bklyn]

Obviously classist.

[hedge]

You need to apologize to Mexico City...

[Bklyn]

Only if you tell my boss.

[Jungle Rat]

Why does Brook hate Mexicans?

[Bklyn]

It all started with a ornery bar back at a spot on the Upper West Side...

[tin mad dog]

Wow, rumour that Detroit would trade CV and Stucky (both expiring contracts) for Rudy Gay. Masai would be the masaih if he pulls that off. Instantly good enough to compete for a high draft pick and a really good bet if we could ditch Lowry for a first rounder. We would still have DeRozan, Val, Ross, and cap flexibility. I am in full tank mode with that rumour.

We in Pistonland were all pretty excited about this possibility of this happening as well. It was looking like Detroit wasn't going to land a big FA so Gay seemed like a decent consolation prize and getting rid of Stux (seemingly a bad seed ever since Iverson came to town) and Chilla (nice guy that does close to nothing on the court) would've been worth it by itself.

It sounded like your guys pulled it off the table, if it was ever on. The Josh Smith signing seems to have ended that possibility.

[sotola]

i got a trade that I think is fair... what's your thoughts?

Even after signing Smith/Bynum, the Pistons should still have almost 7m in cap space. Less than 3M could be used to make this deal work so they could still sign the other 2 bodies they need to fill out their roster with 4M of that of that 7M....

Gay/Lowry/Fields for CV, Stuckey, Knight and Herepko. Gay is clearly the best player, many could argue Lowry is #2. The Raps get 2 expiring useless contracts and 2 players that make modest sums but have potential. (and/or we could add Camby or Nowak in to make the deal not require any additional salary)

Detroit would have one of the most athletic starting units in the league which would make up for their less than stellar accuracy. Gay would get to be the primary option again and the Raps would suck something bad next year. BUT, they would have a ton of cash to facilitate trades and have a young talented group that they could add to. (DeRozan, Val, Ross, and Knight). Instant rebuild for the Raps and Pistons get the most talent while only having to sacrifice Knight and taking on Fields.

[sotola]

great.... we just signed a thug. I am sure the odd night I will like Hansborough but I think he is probably the dirtiest player in the league.

[yossarian1234]

Another meh signing.

The moves made so far, don't point in any direction. Meaning, nothing that's been done is enough whichever way they want to go. Still not good enough to be a definite playoff team nor bad enough to be top pick contender. Just hope they realize, the worst thing they can do is ride this out.