NBA Job Fair!

A business is clearly doing well when people spend copious amounts of time discussing its every detail, internal, external, no minutiae too minute. The NBA is such a business now, at one point, Apple was, too.

A day that largely passed obliviously in the past is now scrutinized relentlessly. It isn’t just the die-hard fans poring over cap sheets, struggling to understand abstruse rules governing just how much teams can pay their employees.

The NBA, in terms of following, at least loud, visible, fairly current, following worldwide is now the number one sport in the USA. Yes, the NFL draws the numbers, but it plays far fewer games. The NBA has claimed the #1 spot in sports media attention, with its year-round drama, it’s endless plans.

Something has definitely been gained. The NBA is no longer an “also ran” sport, its reporters, pundits no longer consigned to third tier status. It is the USA’s most popular sport worldwide by a mile, too. Numbers that would ravish any US entertainment executive with delight, in today’s fractured media world are a ho-hum day of viewing in China for the NBA.

But the story today is the job fair, how certain very valuable players will receive generational wealth, and change the fortunes of selected teams, for good, or ill. If you were to bet, bet on “ill”. Deals that seem great today can sour quickly. Usually not the reverse, the upside surprises mostly happen in the early years of a player’s career.

Anyhow, what will the Rockets be doing? My guess is, not too much despite loud gusts of wind. They’ve made a lot of noise, though I think the saber is just rattling in the sheath, for the most part. Capela may be gone, and some may celebrate, but I’m not so sure we should.

Anyhow, the NBA fairgrounds open tonight, after weeks of watching tents, rides, and unlikely animals being set up. Thrills, chills, and many regrettable deals and propositions await, just like any fair. Like any fair, I always walk in hoping for delight, or at least funnel cake.