Last week, Chris Paul met with Hornets brass to discuss his future with the team and whether or not it involves him in the Big Easy. Apparently, Chris wasn’t pleased with the direction the team was headed and all parties needed to hash it out. Heading into this meeting, it was widely rumored that Paul demanded a trade, with the Magic and Knicks being his two most preferred destinations. On the heels of that meeting, we’ve since learned that he has backed off of his alleged trade demand.
It’s easy to see why Paul is frustrated. With a roster that is headed nowhere in a hurry, and a rookie head coach in Monty Williams who is as unlikely a head coaching candidate as they come, I feel his pain. Prior to his meeting with the team, many thought that wherever he was to be traded to, it would form another “Big 3”. But would it be fair if Paul went to a team to form another powerful alliance similar to what Wade, Bosh and James have done in Miami? Many feel that it would’ve been bad for the league. I for one don’t think so.
As a professional athlete, you should walk around with the mindset as if you are the best in the world at what you do. You should be that confident. You should look at the other end of the court and think you have a legitimate shot at beating those guys, regardless of who they are. Hypothetically speaking, if there ends up being a handful of teams that everyone thinks are the favorites, then those other teams simply need to step it up. Simple as that. This isn’t high school or AAU. This is the pros. I don’t want to hear unfair. If there ends up only being a few dominant teams, then beat them. They all get paid a lot of money to do the same thing. Sure it will turn some people off, but every team has the same opportunity to form a “Big 3”. By and large it’s an equal playing field in that regard, unlike baseball. This argument reminds me of the 2007 New England Patriots than embarrassed just about everybody they played. Teams complained that the Patriots were running up the score. But those teams didn’t look in the mirror and understand that they were the reason why it was happening. They weren’t stopping them.
I’m not necessarily saying that I want to see all the superstars flee for 4 teams, but if it does happen, it will be the responsibility of the other 26 teams to play just as hard to make it competitive. If not, we are bailing out the rest of the talent in the league and indicting their abilities.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe too for free on iTunes.
