2024-25 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

Discussion in 'Lakers Discussion' started by TIME, May 22, 2024.

  1. showtime24

    showtime24 - Lakers 6th Man -

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2021
    Messages:
    1,145
    Likes Received:
    1,128
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    NFL took over but it's become like a social event. NBA is the not chill crowd. A lot of dedicated die hard fans of all ages and all walks of life but it's becoming a niche thing. People don't wear Laker gear in public, but yet the games are sold out. It's weird. It's the fans, and just society and general. Boxing/MMA has some similar parallels but I think maybe there is a wider gap between NFL and NBA.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2024 at 3:58 PM
    abeer3 likes this.
  2. showtime24

    showtime24 - Lakers 6th Man -

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2021
    Messages:
    1,145
    Likes Received:
    1,128
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    Yeah I have been on nba message boards since the dot com era and I could tell you, fans have changed significantly. But I see a huge difference in the way people act. A lot more stans, etc. People dont have respect for eachother, stuff like that. Even the media is all corporately and kiss the star players a** and stuff like that. NBA used to be more obscure and cool. It was popular, profitable, but at the same time more low key, maybe accessable to common folks. I remember as a kid watching NBA content on Sat morning on regular TV at times. Tickets were cheaper. Just different. Hard to explain to the Kardashian fan crowd. Michael Jordan, Hakeem, David Robinson, Kareem had more of a hard worker, attitude, don't forget where they come from. They made a lot less money I think there could be something to that too. There's a lot. NBA turns a lot if people off for various reasons.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2024 at 4:01 PM
  3. Pioneer10

    Pioneer10 - Lakers All Star -

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2019
    Messages:
    5,056
    Likes Received:
    13,739
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    NBA is a star driven league: it got incredibly lucky with Magic/Bird transitioned to Jordan. NBA was in a dark place prior in the cocaine era

    And the post Jordan years may have been good for Laker fans but the league had a lot of NBA is crashing stuff as guys like AI and VC were thought to turn off folks. The TWolves following the Fab 5 with long shorts were turning off Middle America was a thing even back then for those us who lived thru it. Of course things started back up again with a lot of talent around: Wade coming into his own, Lebron becoming the bad guy by heading to Miami, Boston/LAL feud rising again turned up the NBA interest and then Lebron/Curry took over.

    Now what: the talent is there with guys like Jokic and Giannis as the top end but frankly Boston isn't that interesting of a team even though they are really good (KG/Pierce/Ray Allen have about 1000 time more charisma than Brown/Tatum) and Jokic is guy for basketball nerds to love and watch not casual fans. In other words: the league has nothing to replace Lebron/Curry - no MJ to take over. The big threat is all the stars aren't American and lack charisma.
     
    FrontOfJersey22 and abeer3 like this.
  4. FrontOfJersey22

    FrontOfJersey22 - Lakers All Star -

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2021
    Messages:
    5,323
    Likes Received:
    9,108
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    Corporate prices yield corporate fans.
    I do believe that the insane increase of threes, which make the game boring to watch, do play a factor in the waning interest.
    The AAU basketball thing plays a part as well- everyone is friends with one another and no real rivalries exist anymore.
    Throughout the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, it felt like guys really hated specific players and their meetings came with a sense of animosity that just doesn’t exist today. Yeah, it did get out of hand sometimes, like the “Malice in the Palace,” but I miss the days of guys like Foxy running half way around the arena to meet up with Christie to show him what’s what- in a Preseason Game!!!
    Another reason is the rule change that basically stopped anyone on the perimeter from playing any form of real defense.
     
    JSM likes this.
  5. showtime24

    showtime24 - Lakers 6th Man -

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2021
    Messages:
    1,145
    Likes Received:
    1,128
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    There is a lot to unpack. I'm sure NBA has elite marketing folks, etc. working on it. Every Sunday is like a holiday in many households due to NFL. But they are expanding to more day too, further threatening the NBA. Basketball is more of an art than NFL. Should be higher regarded. But people like violence, etc.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2024 at 4:28 PM
    abeer3 likes this.
  6. showtime24

    showtime24 - Lakers 6th Man -

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2021
    Messages:
    1,145
    Likes Received:
    1,128
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    Yeah, borderline pro wresting, boxing, mma vibe to it. Hand checking, etc. Nothing wrong with that. Teams styles were significantly less homogeneous. You had the thug pistons and jail blazers, the fast breaking Lakers, etc.
     
    FrontOfJersey22 likes this.
  7. showtime24

    showtime24 - Lakers 6th Man -

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2021
    Messages:
    1,145
    Likes Received:
    1,128
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    It's like Disneyand now here in socal, everyday people can't even afford to go to a game. And business are shut down in low income areas and just focus on being in the rich areas. The wealth Gap is a significant culprit here too.
     
    FrontOfJersey22 likes this.
  8. 432J

    432J - Lakers All Star -

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2014
    Messages:
    6,897
    Likes Received:
    15,265
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    this is very important in my opinion

    the league is loaded with talent at the moment, but look at all the guys at the top. jokic, giannis, luka, SGA, and wemby. all international players. that's not to say there aren't a number of elite american stars, but they all lack charisma and that "win at any cost" attitude you saw from previous generations. edwards is probably the closest we'll get to that. morant is another one who plays an entertaining style+isn't camera shy but he's always missing games with injuries or off court issues. the rest of the young established american stars like tatum, brown, haliburton, mitchell, etc are either boring to watch and/or don't provide that "it" factor. maybe flagg will finally be that american star that the new generation lacks

    i think the league tried to make zion that guy when he came into the league with all that hype, but injuries killed any chance of that
     
    FrontOfJersey22 and abeer3 like this.
  9. showtime24

    showtime24 - Lakers 6th Man -

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2021
    Messages:
    1,145
    Likes Received:
    1,128
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    Maybe this is where expansion could help significantly? Like 4 more teams.
     
    abeer3 likes this.
  10. showtime24

    showtime24 - Lakers 6th Man -

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2021
    Messages:
    1,145
    Likes Received:
    1,128
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    Seattle, Vegas for sure. The other two maybe would need a lot of research. Mexico City would be a safety/travel issue. I'm sure there are some cities who's population has grown. NBA should emphasize getting the working class back in the loop though. Also maybe put teams in Austin and Religh-Durham.
     
    FrontOfJersey22 and abeer3 like this.
  11. showtime24

    showtime24 - Lakers 6th Man -

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2021
    Messages:
    1,145
    Likes Received:
    1,128
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    Lol there use to be a lot more NBA "stiffs" like John Koncack running around. There isn't any room for those guys anymore, they have to maybe play overseas or gleague.
     
  12. 432J

    432J - Lakers All Star -

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2014
    Messages:
    6,897
    Likes Received:
    15,265
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    expansion is coming, but i don't think that's a solution to these problems. like i said, the league is loaded win talent. it's just that most of today's superstars are international and the american stars either aren't fun to watch or lack charisma/stage presence. lack of rivalries is also a problem too
     
    Pioneer10 likes this.
  13. showtime24

    showtime24 - Lakers 6th Man -

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2021
    Messages:
    1,145
    Likes Received:
    1,128
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    I agree its not the solution. It wouldnt hurt though.
     
  14. FrontOfJersey22

    FrontOfJersey22 - Lakers All Star -

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2021
    Messages:
    5,323
    Likes Received:
    9,108
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    They nuked the middle class and that’s one of the reasons I recently left.
     
    abeer3 likes this.
  15. JSM

    JSM - Lakers Legend -

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2014
    Messages:
    18,220
    Likes Received:
    70,451
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
  16. PurpleAndGold88

    PurpleAndGold88 - Lakers 6th Man -

    Joined:
    May 31, 2023
    Messages:
    1,487
    Likes Received:
    3,229
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Fullerton,ca
    Offline


    We have nothing to cheer for! They paid their money to watch this mediocre team be mediocre! They did their part.
     
  17. abeer3

    abeer3 - Lakers Legend -

    Top Poster Of Month

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2014
    Messages:
    28,342
    Likes Received:
    76,274
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    upload_2024-12-20_22-57-7.gif
     
    KareemtheGreat33, Cookie, JSM and 7 others like this.
  18. Pioneer10

    Pioneer10 - Lakers All Star -

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2019
    Messages:
    5,056
    Likes Received:
    13,739
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    Yeah I think the combo of no real American stars to replace lebron curry Durant and not real rivalries really sucking the drama out of the league. The talent frankly is incredible right now overall but where is the Kings Lakers of 00s, the eternal Boston/Lakers, GS/Cavs clashes. Embiid/Jokic doesn't even happen, Ja and Zion end up in two meh cities and are hurt, Luka doesn't seem to care about his body and I really have idea why Jokic vs Luka or Luka vs Gianni's never has happened. The battle of the Slavs doesn't even get mentioned. Strange
     
    FrontOfJersey22 likes this.
  19. JSM

    JSM - Lakers Legend -

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2014
    Messages:
    18,220
    Likes Received:
    70,451
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline
    Latest from Stein and Fischer on Porter for LaVine

    In short: Nuggets are weighing their options and if they do move Porter, they prefer 2 starter caliber players in return.
     
    abeer3 and Cookie like this.
  20. JSM

    JSM - Lakers Legend -

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2014
    Messages:
    18,220
    Likes Received:
    70,451
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Offline

Share This Page