I'd rather they just move them to a market that can support a basketball team. They never should have gone to New Orleans in the first place.
/agree
Why contract when you can move?
1) Because the TV money is shared among fewer teams thus more money for these franchise struggling for cash.
2) (for the fans) better talent because it is not spread so thin. Better talent across the NBA means more good games.
My guess is that if you can move the Hornets to a good NBA market the marginal revenue would go up more than contraction would lower costs.
Would it? Is there a market big enough out there? Is the gate % that much greater?
Actually, it wouldn't matter. Teams will still play the same amount of games. So instead of sharing a smaller market's gates, team will get more shares from more games against NY or one of the LA teams.
There will be less games overall though so less revenue. Plus you lose an entire TV market (or two).
(There are 1230 NBA games in a season with 30 teams, 1189 with 29 and 1148 with 28)
Do owners share local media money? I thought they didn't.
For the NBA owners, there will still be 82 games plus the playoffs.
For the national contract, they will have the same amount of games so that money stays the same. But instead of being split 30 ways, it is split 28 ways.
And of course, higher talent, easier to draw. More local money.
Less teams, easier to get that playoff money.
Are you trying to maximize individual owners net revenue or the league's net revenue?
That's two very different goals.
This is the owners wanting to do this. So, they are looking to line their pockets more in the down economy.
It is David Stern who is against it. His goal is to grow the reach of the product.
In the end, if enough owners want it, it happens.