Small markets on fire
Labor deal seeks balance; Spurs, Thunder prove it can be done
Finals appearances no longer only for big-spending, big-city franchises,
Is the world ready for a Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves NBA Finals?
Perhaps someday two smallmarket franchises will meet again for a title, and the NBA, coming out of a lockout that produced a labor agreement aimed at restoring profits and creating more competitive balance, is more than fine with that possibility and even desires it.
Finals appearances and championship trophies no longer have to be the sole domain of big-spending, big-city franchises.
Of the NBA’s 16 playoff teams, five were from smaller markets: the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz.
Three of those reached the conference semifinals.
Two are playing in the Western Conference finals.
Either the Spurs or the Thunder will be playing in the NBA Finals.
The NBA is hesitant to declare this a trend in Year 1 of the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players union, but signs are encouraging for fans in smaller markets that their teams are becoming better positioned to compete with big spenders in big markets.
“It’s still too early to predict what the behavior will be of our teams when you combine the new salary system with revenue sharing,” deputy commissioner Adam Silver told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “We’re hopeful, based on the early results, that we’ve achieved much of what we set out to accomplish in collective bargaining.”
Commissioner David Stern,
Silver and the 30 owners sought a system that eliminated more than a half billion dollars in losses over the last two seasons, turned a profit and allowed all teams to compete, with one caveat: “if well managed.” Stern and Silver used that phrase throughout the 124-day lockout.
Autumn never sprung eternal for NBA teams quite like spring does for Major League Baseball teams. The league hopes that is about to change.
The small-market renaissance is not here just yet, but if you are a fan of the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks or New Orleans Hornets, there is optimism.
More competitive balance
The NBA implemented a system with measures to increase competitive balance: a more punitive luxury tax, reduced exceptions to the salary cap, enhanced revenue-sharing and forced spending by all teams of 90% of the salary cap.
The idea: Talent will disperse throughout the league more evenly, preventing deep-pocketed owners such as the Dallas Mavericks’ Mark Cuban from procuring most of it and allowing smallmarket teams to acquire sought-after players.
“You’ll see a big difference in two to three years,” Hall of Famer Larry Bird, the Pacers’ president of basketball operations, told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “This luxury tax that they put in, there’s very few teams that will go over that, and I think the only way they go over that is if they get that one player who can get them to the next level. The gap is going to start closing, and it’s not only going to be good for the owners it’s going to be great for competitive balance. It’s going to be great for the players, too.”
How will it be better for players? If there is more competitive balance, there will be increased opportunities for players to believe they can win in more markets. Stern and Silver are cautiously optimistic after seeing the five small-market teams reach the playoffs. The Spurs, Thunder and Pacers reached the conference semifinals.
Stern said last month that the “leveling of the playing field will become even more apparent as we go into Seasons 2 and 3 under the deal.”
In conjunction with some small-market success, the league’s highest-spending teams aren’t spending as much.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ payroll is the lowest of any of the highest-spending teams of the last 10 seasons, and their $15 million tax bill is the lowest since the inception of the tax system in 2002-03.
The league collected the lowest pool of money since the tax system began.
Six teams paid the luxury tax this season, the fewest in the last six years.
The NBA is banking on the narrowing of the gap between the highest- and lowest-spending teams to create that competitive balance.
The Mavericks and Lakers made the playoffs but weren’t realistically in competition for a championship. After winning the title last season, the Mavericks, looking ahead to the harsher luxury tax, decided not to bring back center Tyson Chandler, forward Caron Butler and guard J.J. Barea. The drop-off in talent was evident.
The Lakers were the league’s No. 1-spending team this season at $85.7 million, a drop of nearly $5 million compared with their league-high payroll last year. The gap between the Lakers and the lowest-spending Sacramento Kings is $39.15 million, a decrease of $6.35 million from last season, when the Kings had the lowest payroll.
A simple formula
That the Spurs and Thunder are in the Western finals is not coincidence, because few small-market teams exemplify “well managed” better than these two. Thunder general manager Sam Presti has worked for Spurs President and coach Gregg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford as a vice president and assistant general manager.
Their formula is simple to design. Replicating it or repeating it is the challenge: Draft well and make prudent free agent signings and smart trades, all within the confines of a plan based on the economic realities of a particular franchise.
Sure, the Spurs drafted center Tim Duncan, the No. 1 pick in 1997. But they also drafted guard Tony Parker No. 28 in 2001 and guard Manu Ginobili No. 57 in the second round in 1999.
They traded up to get Kawhi Leonard in the draft, acquired Stephen Jackson at the trade deadline and grabbed Boris Diaw off the waiver wire.
The Spurs have created an environment where players want to play and stay. Duncan, Ginobili and Parker have played together for 10 seasons, unheard of in any market, let alone a small one.
“I don’t think we ever tried to build this as a small-market team,” Buford said. “We focused on being who we are. When Pop came back in 1994, he brought a set of values that he wanted to construct the basketball program around. And fortunately those values were in alignment with the values of our ownership group.”
Presti is trying to do the same with Oklahoma City, which has the 17th-highest payroll in the league at $61.3 million.
Had the Portland Trail Blazers drafted Kevin Durant instead of Greg Oden and the Thunder selected Oden, then the Thunder’s story would not be the same as it today. “We were very fortunate,” Presti said. Yes, luck is part of it. But success goes beyond luck. Presti and his staff have made smart moves, also drafting guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook and center Serge Ibaka. At the time, drafting Westbrook fourth in 2008 and Harden third in 2009 was not automatic. The Thunder also traded for center Kendrick Perkins.
“We have a vision not only for our team but for our franchise,” Presti said. “We’ve only been in existence for four years in Oklahoma City. Our goal is to build an identity for the Thunder. We’re working on trying to build a team that can have sustainable success and an organization that has great endurance.”
Bird had to build a different way with the Pacers. He hasn’t been able to draft a Durant or a Duncan, but the Pacers have drafted well — forward Danny Granger, center Roy Hibbert and forward-center Tyler Hansbrough. “We don’t have $80-$90 million here,” Bird said. “I’m not saying we haven’t made mistakes, but you have to be pretty precise if you’re going to put together a team with the budget we have. It’s tough.”
But the Pacers have decisions to make on Hibbert, who will be a restricted free agent and in demand. Bird has carved nearly $25 million in cap space for next season. “We’re going to have the ability to match or sign our own players,” Bird said. “That’s part of the plan. Then, we have the 26th pick in the draft, and we have to make that work somehow. Or we trade that pick for a veteran player. We’ve got to get better.”
It is a challenge for small-market teams to keep front office types as well as players. Bird said he had to reduce his scouting staff by three, given budget constraints. Presti has lost several key executives over the years.
The plight of small-market teams is not easy or simple even as the league made significant changes to the collective bargaining agreement.
It is a work in progress. The conference finals feature three of top the five spending teams: the Spurs, the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics.