Originally posted by sacniner:
No, not an exception but definitely a rarity. The Thunder got Durant which is great for them, but like I said it's extremely rare. The odds of getting a guy like that are bleak for a small market team.
Bottom line, small market teams are at a HUGE disadvantage to put it lightly. You said that in the Laker thread even.
tough. life isn't fair. small market fans spend all day making excuses when they can't contend wtih the big dogs. plenty of small market teams have been competitive and won championships.
detroit, san antonio, new orleans, utah, orlando, cleveland (they had their run), sac, portland, okc...
then there's major market teams that suck(ed): knicks, boston (pre big three), clippers...
dallas was a big spender year after year but was mostly a failure until last year
do we even consider the heat to be a major market? florida fans are terrible frontrunners.
disadvantage? i'll give you that. major? no. you can compete as a small market team, but you gotta make good decisions and also get a good draft pick instead of forever staying near the bottom of the lottery. tanking does pay.