BrandDunk

I was browsing through some NBA rosters today and was astonished by what I discovered. There were numerous players who had changed teams, and I had no clue they had moved. If I asked you about the players listed below, can you tell me what team they play for right now? I bet no one, this side of Marv Albert, can get the exact whereabouts correct for all of these players.

Antoine Walker
Darrell Armstrong
Juan Dixon
Tony Battie
Jake Voskuhl
Tyronn Lue
Loren Woods
Bobby Jackson
Bassy Telfair
Dan Dickau
Morris Peterson
Brian Skinner
Gordan Giricek
Eric Piatkowski
Lorenzen Wright
Shelden Williams

Before you say that it is natural for lesser players, or past their prime players, to move from team-to-team, consider these megastars in the NBA have also changed squads recently. And that is after some of these superstars have already changed uniforms numerous times before.

Shaquille O’Neal (Magic, Lakers, Heat & Suns)
Jason Kidd (Mavs, Nets & Mavs)
Paul Gasol (Grizzlies & Lakers)
Kevin Garnett (Twolves & Celtics)
Ray Allen (Supersonics & Celtics)

So how does a sports fan keep up with all of the changes going on? I consider myself a knowledgeable basketball fan, both college & NBA, and I still can’t keep up with the moves. Sure, everyone hears about the big personnel moves. But there are dozens of little moves being made every week that fly under the radar. And the rosters of teams in all professional sports leagues turnover many times throughout the year.

So is it a good thing that sports team rosters turnover so quickly? While I think it does help to experiment with the chemistry and try to find effective combinations. I feel alienated by a sport where the players are “here today and gone tomorrow”. It is easier to form an emotional attachment to college athletes, even knowing they are going to graduate (or leave) within a few years, than to try to embrace professional athletes as “yours”. Because in professional sports there is little loyalty to the team OR to the players. As a consequence, sports rosters shift faster than the sand in the desert. And we, as fans, just have to keep up.

So what causes the lack of loyalty in professional sports?  Professional sports are big money.  And as the saying goes “money is the root of all evil”.  Well maybe it’s not quite “evil” in professional sports (unless you’re talking about new Sonics owner Clay Bennett), but it does dictate the behavior.  Owners want to field winning teams and make money. General Managers and Coaches jobs depend on them winning.  And players entire livelihoods are decided by how they perform on the field.  So teams are going to show loyalty to players who help them win and players are going to play for teams that show them the money.  Money is often a bigger influence than winning…and the reason that loyalty goes out the window in professional sports.

Answers for the top section. These are the teams for each of those players listed.

Antoine Walker (Twolves)
Darrell Armstrong (Nets)
Juan Dixon (Pistons)
Tony Battie (Magic)
Jake Voskuhl (Bucks)
Tyronn Lue (Mavs)
Loren Woods (Rockets)
Bobby Jackson (Rockets)
Bassy Telfair (Twolves)
Dan Dickau (Clippers)
Morris Peterson (Hornets)
Brian Skinner (Suns)
Gordan Giricek (Suns)
Eric Piatkowski (Suns)
Lorenzen Wright (Kings)
Shelden Williams (Kings)