Where is the NBA going?
LeBron & Kobe
My boy Jacoby wrote on his Twitter page the other day, “If the 2010 NBA off season is Wu-Tang, than this offseason [is] Boot Camp …not as impactful and celebrated but fun as hell none the less…”
Somehow that made perfect sense, plus I’m glad I’m not the only person who still appreciates Boot Camp. More importantly, what is it about the NBA’s offseason that makes it so popular, almost like another sport in itself? Why do people who hardly ever ask me actual basketball questions during the season hit me up all the time in the summer about trades, signings and the Draft?
It’s because we all like to look toward the future. If your favorite team is bad, you want to know how they’ll become good again. If your team is good, you want to know how they’ll get better. And if your team just won the championship, you get to watch everyone else scramble to keep up while also making sure your guys handle their business to stay on top.
But that’s short-term and team-specfic. Looking long-term, things like draft picks and trades and 3-5 year contracts don’t exactly shape the future of the League as a whole. Example: An on-court/marketing talent like LeBron would be a major force in pro sports whether he got drafted by Memphis or Cleveland, and whether or not he signs with another team in 2010. He’s bigger than that.
Looking ahead the next, say, 10 years, which people do you feel will influence the direction of basketball the most? And if it’s not specific people, which events or trends will most influence the game? We’ll run some of the best answers in a future issue.
**Dime reserves the right to edit for length and clarity**
July 6th, 2009 at 10:11 am
wanabballer says:
1st of all it has to be the international game… with traditional big men becoming non exsistant its only a matter of time before we have 7 footers that tailor their games after Dirk rather than Duncan…
July 6th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Big North says:
Brandon Jennings just changed the Game.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:15 am
ToAn says:
well, David Stern obviously will influence a lot…but honestly i don’t think that the League will change drastically in the next 10 years…you still have the superstars (lebron, CP3, wade, Howard who definitely will play the next 10 years), the all-star game is great and will not change and the global thing is already in full swing so don’t think that the game will become more global…it already is established everywhere. i hope they will change the playoff format – 16 best teams, seeded 1 to 16 like in tennis.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Big V says:
W-W-B-C-C.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:31 am
karizmatic says:
I can’t write a long response for this…LEBRON JAMES.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Data says:
The biggest event I forsee in the next 10 years is the Euro expansion. I really believe that the NBA does want to have teams in europe. For a business to grow it needs to exapnd and the sports market in North America is saturated. The fact that you have a pro team in OKC is proof of that. If the NBA doesn’t expand outside of North America the most it can hope for is to remain stable but any business that’s goal is to remain constant is one that will eventually decline.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:40 am
TruthBurns says:
Boot Camp Clik….my Favourite Hip Hop crew of all-time.
Sick.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:46 am
lifep says:
I’m suprise the Boot Camp reference wasn’t lost in this “LiL” and “Young” era of hip hop..
July 6th, 2009 at 11:12 am
shake&bake says:
I don’t think having teams outside of North America is a viable option for the NBA. It’s too much of an issue with all of the travel. The only thing I can see happening is a D-League type of league in Europe run by the NBA.
Besides that, Derrick Rose is going to run the league. . .hopefully.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:21 am
JRav says:
When the league is forced to redesign the collective bargaining agreement in a few years should have a pretty big effect given the current state of either buy a champion/ bomb but save money on top the current state of the global economy.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:33 am
loc says:
I love the global idea!
People don’t realize, its basically an extra hour on a plane difference between NYC and LA or NYC and London
teams would just be forced to do major euro swings of a week or two at a time.
Everyone wants those Euros!!
July 6th, 2009 at 11:43 am
QQ says:
With Kobe and Lebron soaring to new heights, we are finally on an era where there are real torchbearers for the NBA, a thing we haven’t seen since Michael Jordan dominated the court. I hate Bron for how he acted against the Magic in the playoffs, but there’s no denying his talent. Kobe just elevated his legacy to near MJ levels by winning his 4th ring.
It’s good to be a basketball fan today.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Bron42 aka Your Moms Best Friend says:
the expansion is a good idea but as most scouts will tell you, most euro talent has been kinda tapped out at this point. 10 years from now, it all depends on this recent crop of draft pics and last years cuz the stars now will be in their 30s
July 6th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
KnicksFan84 says:
Whatever the next fad is. People will find that one unique kind of player that is truly 1 of a kind but will try and reproduce/catch lightning in a bottle time and time again and FAIL.
Everybody wants the next Lebron, CP3, Dwight Howard etc. shoot Austin Daye = Tayshaun Prince as a classic example…
The league as a whole is probably gonna get way too conservative as well. No more Iverson’s of the world kinda sucks.
NBA = Hip Hop
Hip Hop = Autotune nowadays
So expect a bunch of soft/scrub players entering the league.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Big V says:
@loc,
Not all games are going to be in Western Europe. What about teams like Lithuania, Greece, etc.? Those are more like 8-9 hour flights, so unless you can get all your games in over the course of a couple of weeks in Europe, it’s not feasible to do.
There’s also the issue of the time difference, which is greater than the maximum 3 hour difference between EST and PST. This is significant because games in Europe are going to end up being broadcast in the middle of the afternoon here in the States, or even earlier if you’re out West.
Not saying it’s not doable, but there are going to be some obstacles.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Hoveys Home says:
Then what would you compare to OGC???
July 6th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
frenchbk says:
james posey
July 6th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Dagomar says:
I think Lebron will shape the league for the next decade, barring injury, perhaps much like Jordan did.
I think Durant is going to be huge, a Larry Bird-like scorer who can hit from literally everywhere.
To me Rondo is going to shock some people by being a top-two point in the league within three years.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Sheedfan87 says:
The rule not letting players become draft eligible out of high school has to be up near the top. I don’t agree with the rule and I think it hurts both the NBA and college basketball. Sure it’s fun to see Kevin Durant and Mike Beasley play one year in the Big 12, but these are kids clearly NBA ready by the end of their high school careers and there’s no sense in making them attend a university for one year. They get no true college experience out of it and take the issues surrounding Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo as examples as to why it’s a poor rule. Two guys who grew up thinking straight to the league out of high school and now have academic and money issues being investigated because they’re forced to go to college.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Rajon Rondo says:
I will not be a top 2 point guard
July 6th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
QQ says:
In the year 2013…Assuming Kobe is no longer playing at the rate he is currently. In fact, to make this more interesting, I will remove Kobe from the equation (Though he would still probably be a 1st or 2nd team selection).
NBA First Team:
1. Derrick Rose
2. Dwayne Wade
3. Lebron James
4. Amare Stoudamire
5. Dwight Howard
NBA Second Team:
1. Chris Paul
2. Brandon Roy
3. Kevin Durant
4. Blake Griffin
5. Chris Bosh
NBA Third Team:
1. Rajon Rondo
2. Danny Granger
3. Carmelo Anthony
4. Dirk Nowitzki
5. Hasheem Thabeet
Oh, and QQ got some Brain ona Plane today. Believe dat!
QQ da BOSS!
July 6th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
robmo35 says:
The next big thing in 10 years will be corporate ownership of teams. Instead of Nike negotiating endorsement contracts with players it will instead be with teams. Think of the Memphis Nike Grizzlies, or the Miami Gatorade Heat. It is only a matter of time
July 6th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
K Dizzle says:
The next ten years will bring the death of the TRUE center. The game is shiftin towards 4 +1/2 type tweeners that can bang and rebound but can also step out and hit 20 foot jumpshots. Players like KG, Dwight, Bosh, Amare, Durant, Rashard, Dirk, Sheed, Odom, Gasol, Aldridge, Al Jeff, Horford, Josh Smith, Anthony Randolph, Hedo, Beasley ,Troy Murphy and Bargnani, among others , are paving the way for the future and leadin to the extinction of the bonafide 5 man. Shaq, Yao, Big Z, Camby bein the last of the true centers. Eddy Curry, Dampier and Chandler bein the damn near never was, and Bogut,Kaman and Okafor amongst those tryin to find their way…
July 6th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
BMW says:
The next 10 years and probably forever will see more players trying to be almost in the same class as MJ.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
jay says:
first..i would like to see kobe go out on top..if theat means he hangs it up a year early or whatever i do not want another mj…period! that being said…we got bron, wade, cp3, drose, ty evans!! that is my guess!! i could be wrong…got a feeling derozen may turn out to be stud but not in toronto!! have only seen john wall once but they say he is off the charts!!!
July 7th, 2009 at 12:11 am
Tim says:
They are still going to try and compare the best to MJ, and will continue to be wrong…
July 7th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Q says:
Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant… Enough said..