Probably not happening. They signed Quinn Cook and Rajon Rondo today so they should be set at PG.
Clippers maybe?
Fairly off-topic, but I love the fact that the NBA is in such flux, that the Raptors and Warrior have been recent champs, and that the Lakes and NY are struggling as much as they are. Very healthy, it seems to me, that the prime markets don’t dominate everything and that–at least–some semblance of parity is maintained.
may not be the Knicks and Lakers, but KD and Kawhi still come to NYC and LA, along with their all-star sidekicks. And Bay Area and Toronto are not small markets either. Yes there are a lot of contenders next season but market size still matters.
I take your point. Toronto is relatively small, but they’ve become Canada’s team. Golden State is down there at 11th. I don’t know how the TV contracts work–maybe it’s all NBA TV anyway?–but the Clippers and Nets are–yeah–in NY and LA. Looks like OK City’s run may be at an end, and who knows if San Antonio ever nears the top again. It may be more limited than it looks, but I’ll bet the NBA main office isn’t unhappy.
Toronto is the third largest city in the NBA. It is the fastest growing city in NA. The metro area has 6 million people.
The Spurs sort of lucked into their run. Robinson getting hurt meant they had a great shot at the #1 pick and they won the lottery to get Duncan. They made great moves to surround those two, so it was far from just luck.
Then they were lucky, again, that my Pacers are so f’ing stupid they would trade the best defender in the draft for a 6th man combo guard. But he was from Indianapolis, so yay! Why would you want Paul George and Kawhi locking down the wings when you can have a mediocre George Hill running the point?
Spurs had some wonderful teams for a very long stretch. And I enjoyed the Warriors before they took on Durant. I am now looking for a team, and it may be the Nets. I’m a Jersey kid, lived in Bklyn for five years. . . and Caris plays for them. Believe he’s gonna be a breakout star.
Feeling it, and–I must say–looking like it:
Good to see JP gaining confidence. He can make a living with that pull up jumper and that catch and shoot 3 ball.
If you enjoy purgatory, hop on the Pacers bandwagon with me.
It may be the third largest in terms of city limits, but that’s a bit misleading. The Chicago and Bay Area metropolitan populations are bigger than 6 million. Dallas and Atlanta might also be by this point.
Shot a solid 44%, which is much better. Glad to see him improving!
Canada has a pretty major tax hurdle to overcome as well. Players are taxed about 53% on their income playing there.
Probably a similar number for those in California
Likely about 37%. Still a significant difference.
I think the point stands that the city of Toronto is not relatively small.
Yes, Chicago is a little smaller within its official boundaries and quite a bit bigger, to my understanding in its extension to bedroom and nearby communities. You also want to distinguish a team’s following from the city’s size. If you look up jersey sales, for example, you develop additional insight; the Celtics are followed throughout N England. Emerging markets would be another marker of interest. . . I have a hunch that “Toronto” has a lot more fans throughout an entire country now, and that that may make a difference down the road. Once I thought about it I realized that my understanding of the issue was pretty limited!
But I do think it may seem less odious to some of the best players to be in some of the emerging markets than it once was. Including because a lot of our biggest cities have just become more sprawling and difficult to negotiate. The Knicks’ far-off practice facility gets cited as off-putting to players.