tiderulz wrote:PeePee la Fritz wrote:
The resting of players at the end of a season is an accepted policy and that specific precedent has been set. It is done in almost every sport. I do not agree with much of what David Stern does, but I am 100% behind him on this. First and foremost the NBA is a business, and the product it sells is entertainment. TNT paid millions of dollars for the rights to broadcast games, and to get top tier NBA games. Companies then paid TNT millions of dollars to run commercials during their broadcast. What do you think Pop's decision did to the number of people who tuned into the game? And let's also not ignore the fact that every body who paid top dollar for an early elite Spurs v Miami matchup just got shafted. The Spurs have a right to rest their players, but the NBA has to step in and penalize them to protect their product. This is about big time money, protecting the fans, the sponsors, and the broadcasters. And sorry, nobody is going to feel sorry for a tired athlete making tens of millions of dollars a year.
Stern has his idea, but the league was wrong. 4 games in 5 nights, on top of those 2 long road trips for SA. And Pop has done this before. Miami fans come to see Miami, not SA. Pop is paid to bring SA a championship, not paid by the sponsors of TNT.
The league is a business and you do not mess with what pays your bills. Stern is protecting the NBA. Listen to what Cuban had to say. He is absolutely right.
"Look, I respect the Spurs," said Cuban before the Mavericks beat the Pistons 92-77 on Saturday night. "Pop is the best coach in the league. I understand why he did it. I might even take the fine if it was us, but I understand why the league (fined the Spurs). It maybe should have even been higher, because the amount at stake is enormous."
Cuban called the national television contracts "the money train" for the NBA, pointing out that those contracts are the difference in the league being profitable or not "by a long shot."
"We're still a business," said Cuban, whose fine totals from his 13-year ownership tenure are well into seven figures. "Resting the stars for the long haul one game earlier, one game later, sure. Resting when you've got our biggest customer at stake, that's a whole different animal.
