Free Agent Summit Would Send the Right Message: Winning Over Money!

Washington D.C.

 

So Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh want to sit down and hash out the details of their free agency. The NBA owners are upset because they largely view this as an infringement upon the free agency process and the right to control the flow of money within basketball and the sport itself. Rightfully so, it does take the control away from the NBA ownership. It certainly has ramifications that run deep into the league and it certainly sets a precedent if the three of them are successful in reaching an agreement.

 

They are all stars on their respective teams. They probably have the ability to change the pecking order for any team that they decide to play for and could make any team in the league an instant favorite for an NBA title if they so choose to suit up in the same uniform. What is wrong with this?

 

The truth is that I cannot find anything really wrong with it. It is capitalism at its finest. It also speaks to putting egos aside for the sole reason of becoming a winner and a champion. If I were a professional athlete, I too would want to be a winner. I would want to win championships. Why do high school kids recruit one another on the AAU circuit and wind up playing to together in college? They do this for the simple reason that they have an opportunity to reach the Final Four and hang a banner together. 

 

Aren’t professional sports about winning? Isn’t capitalism about being competitive and profitable? You bet it is and I am frankly happy to see that these guys are worried about something more than padding their wallets, buying more cars and starring in another poorly produced hip-hop video.

 

Why should anyone demonize them for wanting to be champions or winners? Well, it is very simple; it is about losing control. If James, Wade and Bosh want to play together and win a championship, they should get together and figure out how to do it. Aren’t sports fans and pundits the same people who deride the professionals for being about money and not winning?

 

Do you think Microsoft has any qualms about assembling the best team of software engineers? Do you think any of those high-priced computer techies talk to one another before signing on the dotted line when there are bonuses at stake? 

 

My point is very simple, to win at anything, you have to have the talent to do so whether you’re dribbling a basketball or creating the next computer operating system. The talent pool within the NBA should not be controlled solely by the NBA ownership. The game is about the fans, but it is also about the players that must play countless games together during a given season.

 

We have become a bunch of nancies in this country. Everyone is so politically correct that we are largely afraid to speak our opinions. No one has the right to have more than someone else. It is not fair that these guys are jockeying their careers and the fate of franchises behind the scenes? Why, because they might disadvantage another team? They might do something that hasn’t been done before?

 

Why should we as American’s apologize for our prosperity? When did being the best become a crime? When did being a champion become a bad thing? When did profit and prosperity become a sin? We have the right as Americans to pursue our dreams. We have the right to be winners. We have the right to be champions. I think it is ludicrous that the NBA ownership sits in their mansions and cries foul over the James, Wade and Bosh summit. What a bunch of hypocrites. Billionaires angry over the actions of millionaires are hard for me to comprehend. They do the same thing behind the scenes every year with the sole purpose of controlling money and profitability.

 

I think that more professional athletes could and should follow suit. Do you think Randy Moss talked to Tom Brady before he signed his contract in New England? It just makes smart business sense. If I were a top-flight receiver, I would want Peyton Manning throwing me the football. If I am Chris Paul, I want a great post player to lob the ball too inside. 

 

Why shouldn’t LeBron, Dwyane and Chris get together? If they can work it out, I see no reason for them not to make it happen and win championships together. While everyone in the owners circle complains, I am sitting back and hoping they make history. I will be the first to root for their new team as long as it isn’t New York. I just can’t bring myself to root for the Knicks.