mademan wrote:Only real way I can see this working if it's an Arab league type thing where the uber wealthy over there are willing to lose money for a decade while paying the most famous players of the past 15 years (Lebron, Curry, Harden, Durant, Kyrie, Kawhi, Davis) while maybe stealing some great young talents like ANT that want to be paid the gulf Arab soccer type money (100mill+/year).
Do these guys even pay taxes in these leagues? I know the Gulf dont really have income tax, but you still have to pay Uncle Sam something
But what is the interest in watching a league with these guys? There's no history behind the Saudi Cup or whatever the winner of the league will get.
For whatever reason, I think people severely underestimate how much the history of the league matters. Players are definitely essential as well, and no doubt the NBA would suck if like 80% of the All NBA 1st-3rd teams went to another league, but it will still have the history behind it. I mean, watching Jokic (not to pick on him, just that I enjoy watching him play now) lead the Riyadh Riders over Doncic and the Jeddah Jets would be, uh, something I guess, and if they are giving it their all, uh, I'm sure the product itself would be worth watching, but at the end of the day, what does a Saudi Cup mean? Leading a team to an NBA Championship puts your name with other giants of the game.