Do NBA players have all the control?

In a basketball scoreboards feature, we take a look at the dark side of the great game of basketball; player power. The individualistic nature of the game has now reached an extreme level, and the clubs, and fans are left suffering.

NBA players nowadays have more control than the management. They request their respective clubs to trade or not to trade them and the contracts means that their clubs have to bow down to their needs. The question is this..why are the players given this kind of power? Well, there is no obvious answer, other than the fact that today’s players are not only basketball players, but also celebrities off the court. They are in demand by big companies for endorsing their products and they are highly paid brand ambassadors.

The NBA has passed a rule that means that players cannot publicly request their trades, however, this does not stop them from demanding trades behind the scenes. This rule has not stopped the practice in which players leave their teams in the middle of the season. It is the team who then suffers; no team wants to lose its players in mid-season, as it can serisouly upset the balance of the team, and can damage team spirit and team morale.

The greatest recent example of control resting with the players is LeBron James. As soon as the basketball scoreboards showed that Cleveland bought him, everything was arranged within the team exactly according to his desires. His friends were hired and given jobs in the franchise and they had the power to do practically anything they wanted, leading to great conflict with the management. James took advantage of the team at every opportunity he could. He was a free agent this summer and as expected took advantage of this as well. Other teams were ready to cut salaries, drop players or trade them just to get James in their team. They all had open arms and Jasmes had the choice of the entire NBA.

With every team in the NBA wanting him, everything revolved around him as a player. This is the kind of control players have currently. They use this power to manipulate things in their favor and often do not consider the damage it will do to the team and the game. Not only does James has this power and control, but in fact all the big celebrity players such as Kobe Bryant, Shaq O’ Neil, and Carmelo Anthony have a large amount of control in their respective teams. Obviously in some way it is the owner’s fault for extending such contracts to non-deserving players. These contracts give too much power to the players and enables them to act as they would please.

The bottom line is that players, experienced or newcomers should be extended contracts that do not give them so much power. Its high time that the NBA made such changes to restore order to the game.

For more information on the NBA, go to: en.wikipedia.org.