MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own problem

[23]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3243645

David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own problem. Look at the way the league markets its players. When I came in, they marketed the athletes themselves, how they performed, what they accomplished. To reinvent someone is very difficult. When you say a player is today's Michael Jordan or today's Magic Johnson, the first thing the public will do is compare him to the real Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson. When the public doesn't see the same degree of success, you've just dug yourself a deeper hole.

[youvalss]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

MJ is right, but unfortunately Stern isn't listening. BTW did MJ gain some weight?

[Muzyk23]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3243645

There is one comentator here in Poland comparing every young player to MJ. I just can't stand the guy saying it. He goes like that every damn game.

[youvalss]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

There is one comentator here in Poland comparing every young player to MJ. I just can't stand the guy saying it. He goes like that every damn game.

There will never be another Jordan just like there will never be another Elvis Presley. Enough said.

[t216]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

I never liked the comparison either. Kobe is Kobe and MJ is MJ.

[CMH]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

Michael Jordan may not be the best evaluator of talent but he should be in charge of some high office in the NBA.

He says the truth on several occassions when speaking about young players, the league's marketing strategy, and the public's opinion of individual players.

[23]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

As he said though and its what we all know, the league is making too many decisions based on money, and it wasnt done that way when those guys were in the league.

I guess with waddling interest from fans you do things like that to try to keep your pockets fat, but in that process you're still missing the people.

[lbartlett_32]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

The NBA has tried way to hard to market certain individuals. They chose to market Lebron before he was out of H.S. and it hasn't really turned out well for them. This is not a knock on Lebron, but he just hasn't turned out yo be very marketable. The NBA needs to take a step towards what the MLB and NFL do as far as market teams and then let the players build their own identity.

Another thing that I have noticed over the past couple of years are the fans at the game. Besides maybe the Jazz and the Warriors the fans don't really seem to be in the game nearly as much. If you watch any of the Classics you see grown men jumping around going crazy. The NBA arenas are basically corporate america now and have taken a more "professional" way of watching a game. I know that this is not the best explanation, but I'm sure most of you will understand what I mean.

[23]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

Actually some of them are at games just to talk business, not even to really watch the game, or they aren't really fans.

That's apart of MJ's bottom line thing. Overprriced tickets and corporate packages = dead crowd.

[Cebby]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

The NBA has tried way to hard to market certain individuals. They chose to market Lebron before he was out of H.S. and it hasn't really turned out well for them. This is not a knock on Lebron, but he just hasn't turned out yo be very marketable. The NBA needs to take a step towards what the MLB and NFL do as far as market teams and then let the players build their own identity.

The NBA has to be about individuals. Basketball is much more of an individual game than football or baseball.

[youvalss]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

The NBA has to be about individuals. Basketball is much more of an individual game than football or baseball.

Then these "individuals" get injured/let down/get in troubles. What happens then?

[Cebby]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

Then these "individuals" get injured/let down/get in troubles. What happens then?

Then the team suffers heavily. If you have a problem with it, go petition Mr. Naismith to put more players on the court.

It's relatively common sense.

In football, you start 22 players, and play another 10 in key positions, with yet another 5-10 in special teams spots.

In baseball, you play 8-9 batters/field positions with 3-4 pitchers a game, using 5-8 pitchers total.

In basketball, you start 5 players, and willingly use about 3 more players and are probably forced into playing another 2-3.

Basketball has always been individually centric on every level of basketball, and will continue to be individual centric forever because it can be. In every sport, you put the game on your best players. However, in baseball, you have minimal control over that, as your best hitter can only come to the plate once every 9 times. In football, teams with the best QB, RBs, and WRs get the ball in their hands as much as possible. LDT, Brady, Manning, TO, and the other major players touch the ball as much as possible, and when they get hurt, the team suffers. However, football teams are a lot more systematic than basketball. For a pass to be completed, the OL has to block, the QB has to throw a good pass, and the receiver has to catch it, without the defense making a play. In basketball, players are fully capable of getting a defensive rebound/steal, bringing it down court, and making a shot.

How exactly do you propose to play basketball without individuals? Not drafting players like Lebron, Kobe, Shaq, and Duncan? Not getting those players the ball?

[youvalss]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

Not always, in the 80's it was the Lakers vs the Celtics rather than Magic vs Bird. It was Lakers, not Magic or Kareem. It was Celtics, not Larry or McHale.

[Cebby]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

Not always, in the 80's it was the Lakers vs the Celtics rather than Magic vs Bird.

You're right, there was never any mention of Magic vs Bird. Boston didn't drop 15 games from the year before when Bird was hurt, nor did the Lakers fall off 15 games when Magic retired.

[Real2KInsider]

Re: MJ: David Stern hates when I say this, but in some ways he created his own proble

Not always, in the 80's it was the Lakers vs the Celtics rather than Magic vs Bird. It was Lakers, not Magic or Kareem. It was Celtics, not Larry or McHale.

And a lot of that was feeding off of the previous decades, the Celtics were big in the 60s and the Lakers were as well.

With the advent of expansion, there are too many teams without longstanding name recognition. It's not just in basketball either.

Let's look at baseball

07: Red Sox/Rockies
06: Tigers/Cardinals
05: White Sox/Astros
04: Red Sox/Cardinals
03: Yankees/Marlins
02: Angels/Giants
01: Yankees/Diamondbacks
00: Yankees/Mets
99: Yankees/Braves
98: Yankees/Padres
97: Indians/Marlins
96: Yankees/Braves
95: Indians/Braves

The only rivalry here was Yankees/Mets and it fared poorly nationally bc they were from the same city (only NY fans cared). 4 World Series teams in the last 7 years were expansion teams born in the 90s.

Even baseball has gone the route of stars rather than promoting the team. That's why so much attention was given to the home run races, the game was promoting individuals like McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds than the actual teams they were on... and this was mostly due to fans wanting to see those players, rather than their actual teams. Suddenly the Cardinals were a big road draw.