Think of the NBA as a scale with four pans. In order to be balanced and remain balanced, all four pans must have the same weight in each. If one of those four pans begins to gain more and more weight the scale becomes unbalanced and will eventually tip over from the stress of all the weight in one place. In the NBA those four pans are the four big media markets; Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Just like that scale, if one of those markets becomes too overpowering or too heavy, the NBA can't handle it and it can cause a loss of viewership or even worse, the loss of the NBA altogether.
In the NBA, for it to be successful, it needs the viewership of four major markets, Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. These four markets not only hold the most money and a majority of fans but they are the teams that brought the NBA to where they are now.
The longstanding rivalry between L.A. and Boston has transcended generations bringing the markets in the West and the East together for many years. As well as bring the biggest names in basketball together. Names like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, and Bill Russell.
Another major media market match-up was between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls. This match-up brought together not only two huge media markets but two huge fan bases as well as players like Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing. With the recent fall in competition in New York and Chicago, not only have those fans begun to give up on their respective teams-- but on the NBA altogether.
This offseason sees the recurrence of the media frenzy around NBA's biggest superstar LeBron James' move away from Cleveland. James' final decision landed him on the Los Angeles Lakers, a team part of the Western Conference who has housed legends like Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson. While LeBron's move has brought a majority of the power to the Western Conference, his move was not the sole reason that the scale tipped over. Prior to Lebron's move to the West, the Golden State Warriors signed players like Kevin Durant. The Houston Rockets signed players like James Harden, Chris Paul, and Eric Gordon. These signings have brought the West to a level of competition that has become hard to beat for teams in the East.
Many fans and even NBA commissioner Adam Silver have said that it isn't fair to put the blame on him or said teams for not regulating trades like this but to instead throw the blame onto the other teams for not being able to catch up to these other teams. I believe that this response is exactly whats wrong with NBA today. I am not saying that we have to ensure that the players are evenly put on each team, but instead, the NBA should implement a rule saying that only three superstars at max or increasing the luxury tax so much that it becomes a financial burden for teams to continue these practices.
