If youve read any article or listened to any TV/radio pundit about Kawhi Leonards free-agency decision, you probably thought he was going to L.A. And when I say L.A., I mean the purple and gold of the Lakers, not the Clippers red and blue. It seemed the writing was on the wall to be a Laker, but what Kawhi really wanted was the control.
The NBA, unlike any other sport, has handed players the power. Kawhi told the Clippers and Raptors that he wanted to pair up with Oklahoma Citys Paul George. Both teams tried to make it happen, but OKC wanted too much from the newly crowned champion Toronto Raptors to make it happen. The Clippers gave Kawhi what he asked, and its safe to say Kawhi controlled the Clippers front office decisions. Rightly so, agree to disagree, but he may be the best player in the Association.
Why does this matter? Because in the NBA it is becoming more evident that the player holds the power over the front office unlike anything pro sport has seen before. Unemployment is way down, but are other business begging you to come work and fulfill the ompanys duties? It seems unlikely.
Will the other big two pro sports leagues, Major League Baseball and the National Football League, follow suit?
Probably not. One hitter, or superstar, can only have so much impact. Just ask the Philadelphia Phillies how their $330 million expense on Bryce Harper is working out not like they expected. The Phillies sit third in the NL East with Harper having a less than spectacular season.
In football, other than quarterbacks, players are pretty expendable in the eyes of the owners. Players take beating after beating, and after that initial rookie contract (three to four years), that player may not be worth all that money he proved himself out to be. For example, J.J. Watt got his big pay day of $100 million and change over six years in 2015. Aside from 2015 and 2019, the two years sandwiched in between saw Watt play in only eight of the 32 games.
Yes, Watt is a unique talent, but the money spent doesnt always get the production in return for the duration of the contract.
Athletes are getting ridiculous pay days in sports across the map, but dont necessarily shape the team.
The NBA differs in this retrospect. Players are developing into front-office gurus. A basketball player is worth 20 percent of the team on the court at a time, and can impact the game in a matter of seconds.
Just look at Kawhi in the playoffs.
No other sport can rival that.
It only makes sense that in this age, with the billions of dollars invested in the NBA and its popularity growing world wide, front offices and owners want to go above and beyond for their stars.
