We talk "super teams" and NBA Free Agency

Hosts

• Andres Alvarez (@nerdnumbers)
• Guest Host Andrew Sutton
• Produced by Brian Foster (@boxscorebrian)

Sources

You can watch us live at twitch.tv/nerdnumbers; we usually go Tuesday or Wednesday at 9:30 pm EST. Follow us on Twitter and we'll keep you posted!

Please subscribe to Channel NerdNumbers on YouTube and like us on iTunes!

Video Show

Show Notes

Before Durant even made it to the Warriors, Brian crunched the numbers, and the shots for Durant are there.

Manu Ginobili is way underrated; he's one of the only players that kept Tim Duncan from always being the best Spur during his prime.

It's odd how the Superteam argument is only bad when it's not your team:

"Superteams are destroying the NBA!"
"Why isn't the U.S.A. making a stronger team for the Olympics??"

— Andrés Alvarez (@NerdNumbers) July 13, 2016

Last season there were only 24 players that produced 10+ wins. That means there aren't even enough "stars" for every team to get one.

Will a dominant team make the NBA stagnate ala the WWE without competition? Well, one thing worth noting is the WWE revenues still look healthy:

$WWE quarterly revenue over the past eleven years #wrestlenomics pic.twitter.com/nRyDztFrTx

— Chris Harrington (@mookieghana) July 12, 2016

Return of the Jedi ranks #7 regarding U.S. movie grosses, adjusted for inflation.

Also, according to accounting, it hasn't made a profit, at least as of 2011.

It turns out accounting also applies to the NBA, as no matter how absurd a contract gets, the players total salaries are capped at around 50% of the revenue. Paying the players less means the money goes to the owners, many of whom get tax breaks and stadiums from taxpayers because reasons.

Indeed the governor of my state approved spending a quarter of a billion dollars on a team that shouldn't be here! He also supported cutting funding for education.

Another note, the average professional baseball player makes less than the average teacher. When people think about pro-athletes, they think about the under thousand or so elite players in the major leagues. They forget about the players in the minors.

Also, Andrew notes that "average player salary" is skewed as players like LeBron and Kobe make many times the average. Indeed a few years ago we pointed out that 1/3 of players in the NBA never hit a million in gross earnings.

The owners insistence on changing the rules is why superteams are now possible.

Also, Larry Bird is a tad delusional about his situation with the Celtics.

Also, people like watching superteams and getting superteam gear.

And, indeed, behind Kobe's retirement tour, the Warriors were the second most attended team on the road this last season.

In short, the argument that superteams are bad for the NBA, ala Adam Silver's recent comments, don't match reality.

A more logical point is to maybe put teams in better markets. Heck, the Clippers and Lakers show a very viable strategy - share stadiums in good markets!

The NBA has revenue sharing and collective bargaining. It's not thirty different companies; it's one big franchise.

Great analogy from Andrew. In recent years the Lakers are like Zack Synder's Superman franchises - panned by critics but making money. The Spurs are like Wes Anderson movies - critically loved but not super blockbusters.

We talk some changes we'd make to the NBA. At the end of the season, successful teams should get moved to the better markets. Also, Andrew doesn't think player trading should be allowed. I agree. What if, trades all had to be approved by the player.

We talk the Warriors big man situation. Losing Festus could hurt, would Larry Sanders be a pickup?

We discuss the following signings:

• Allen Crabbe to a four-year $75 million deal with the Blazers.
• Meyers Leonard to a four-year $41 million deal with the Blazers
• Jordan Hill to two-year $8 million deal with the Timberwolves
• Boban Marjanovic to a three-year $21 million deal with the Pistons
• Dwight Powell to a four-year $37 million deal with the Mavericks.

Allen Crabbe's contract is a bit suspect for a player that has yet to hit an average season. To be fair, it's a lot better than Meyers Leonard's contract. The Blazers have gotten a case of what we're calling "Dumars Syndrome." A front office makes good moves out of necessity but then make bad moves after they improve.

Jordan Hill has looked beat up the past few seasons. That said, for an under 30 player for $4 million a season with upside, we love this contract. Of course, the Wolves are getting rather bloated at center, especially as they also signed Cole Aldrich.

We think the Wolves should move on from Andrew Wiggins, especially as he still has trade value.

We like the Boban move for the classic reasons. He's a productive player; he has upside, and it's not expensive. The losers seem to be the Spurs, who let Boban walk and targetted Dwight Powell. However, Powell was re-signed by the Mavericks, so the Spurs took a step back there.

We lightning round a few of my columns from the past week:

• The Knicks could be good next season, but there are too many ifs for me to be comfortable.
• The Allan Houston Case Study. Allan Houston's performance was so different; I couldn't cherrypick that kind of performance in one season of most players careers.

Shoutouts

Andrew shouts out RealGM and Spotrac, both excellent resources for player contract info.

I've started streaming some Super Mario Maker plays on our Twitch.tv channel. Check out my world record run on "So Close!" (code 0304-0000-01D&-D6C4) If you can do better, lemme know in the comments or on Twitter, and I'll give you a shoutout.

Brian shouts out Games Done Quick, who raised over $1.2 million for Doctors Without Borders.

Brian also shouts out Evo 2016, the best competitive game event of the year.