coming up soon on espn "trail blazers all access"

I wish we had a young-ish Vlade. Don't get me wrong, I love Rolo, but Vlade was a true pro. Dude was a great passing big man.

 

I can't agree more. People always act like there is a grand conspiracy in the NBA to make the large markets successful and the small markets suffer. The Knicks have been a train wreck for nearly 15 years now. The Clippers were one of the laughingstocks of the league for decades. The Bulls were terrible for much of the 00's. the Heat were insignificant until they drafted Wade and brought in Riley. If the NBA was really rigged for tv ratings or large markets to win then the 2007 Finals would have never happened.

 

Clippers didn't matter because of the Lakers. And this isn't about success, this is just about marketablility. The Knicks are always on TV whether they suck or not. Miam is ONLY popular because of Lebron now. (Even after they won the championship just with wade.) Heat index anyone? One finals doesn't mean that it's not swayed to the larger markets/stars. As for the Bulls, they probably still got just as many games nationally just because they were the Bulls years after Jordan left. Actually, even if they didn't, it was really just for Jordan anyway.

Funny thing is, NBA (and consequently, ESPN) makes no bones about it. It's a star driven league. And they'll make stars in big markets if they have to.

All this said, I hope Lillard can change the perception. He's the right person to do it, IMO.