Hector wrote:NardDogNation wrote:I have always thought that the cap and the paygrades of the NBA were a farce. Of all professional sports, the NBA has the least parity, which is evident by the select group of franchises that have won a title. Over the past 30 years only the Lakers, Bulls, Pistons, Celtics, Heat, Mavericks and Rockets have won a title. We need to deregulate that market (never thought those words would come out of my mouth in any context) and have players be paid their appropriate market value.
Wow, this post says it all - I have no opinion on the cap - because it isn't likely to change soon - but 6 teams in 30 years?
I think it says more about basketball in general than anything else. Take away the cap and in 30 years maybe 4 or 5 teams will be the champs.
I don't think money is or has ever been a factor in competitiveness. At the end of the day, this discussion is about transcendent stars and who has them. Each of the 6 teams I mentioned had one or two players that fit that bill, which is why they were able to make themselves elite. If you don't have them, then you'll never be in that running, no matter how much you spend. The only way the NBA could ensure parity is if they ban superstars from the league and I suspect that they won't be doing that anytime soon.
The real reason why the NBA has a salary cap is to maximize their profits. Without a salary cap, a LeBron James would be making in excess of $60 million per year. Instead, he's making just a third of that while his owner gets to rake in billions off of merchandise that bares James' name and off of ticket sales. The system is simply corrupt.