Loyalty (I think you're using it wrong?)

[paidthecost2betheboss]

A Merchant
A Product
A Customer

Loyalty? I'm seeing that word heaved and thrown around here a lot and I wonder what that means to folks? Paul Pierce. He went through the lean years and has now earned the right to be sent to a contender? Well, he got millions of dollars and played the sport he loves for a rabid fan base and he got a ring. He earned his money and his ring and all the things he has. He fulfilled his fiduciary duty by not shooting folks or becoming a burnout. The Celtics paid him and fulfilled their duty.

Now comes a time where it is in the Celtics interest (Remember this is the "Merchant") and P.P. is a product that is used consumed marketed and replaced when necessary.
That time has come. The Celtics do not need to adhere to some unwritten, variable from person to person term that simply makes no sense.
If you're a customer and your not happy go spend your money someplace else. Money talks the other stuff walks.

The Celtics need to do whatever they can to deliver a product that is appealing to the customer. Paul doesn't wanna spend his last year(s) on a rebuilding team. I get that. The Celtics want to not be in a position where even future HOFer's who will have their jersey retired in their building, flee because the product has gotten so poor.

The Owners and G.M and Coaches and players all played roles in the deterioration of the product. That is all done now. Time to get to business remaking the product and satisfying customers. I know this is a forum and folks armchair G.M/Coach because that's what this place is kinda for but the loyalty term is a word you should save for personal relationships and family. Even then it's still just a word.

I learned a few things here in the past week.

#1 I'm glad the term "loyalty" isn't written into contracts because it is so vague it would be a legal nightmare to follow/enforce.

#2 I'm glad the folks in the forum will never ever ever get their hands on the Celtics. Never ever ever.

#3 Knowing #2 could never ever ever possibly happen....is awesome

[manl_lui]

depends in my opinion - loyalty to what or whom?

KG - Loyal to organization and coach
Doc - Loyal to players
Danny - Loyal to organization

[JohnBagleyValueMeal]

FWIW if you extend this same "cold-hearted business" logic to players that means that you get a group of totally self-involved and self-interested individuals that are only interested in fulfilling their contractual obligations and maximizing their long-term value.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are successful merchants. They have been among the most profitable MLB teams for years. They've also not had a winning season in 20 years.

There's a reason people root for sports teams and not other kinds of "products" or "merchants."

[Chris]

FWIW if you extend this same "cold-hearted business" logic to players that means that you get a group of totally self-involved and self-interested individuals that are only interested in fulfilling their contractual obligations and maximizing their long-term value.

I disagree with this.  I think you can do what's best for yourself when you are a free agent, but still be committed fully to a team, when you are a member of that team. 

I mean, its no different than any job.  I can be completely dedicated to my job, work my butt off, and love it here...but, if a better opportunity presents itself, I would owe it to myself and my family to explore that.

[JohnBagleyValueMeal]

I'm not necessarily talking about how players actually play, I'm talking about taking the logic of "these are just merchants and products" and putting it in players' hands.

If you were a player, and your only concern was in maximizing value, the logic would dictate that you padded stats to reach performance incentives, chose to play in situations that would maximize your earning potential (rather than your winning potential), etc etc.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that's not how we expect players to behave, and we would also say that that logic would not lead players to successful careers.

So clearly, the 'merchant/product' logic has its limits, and needs to be balanced with other things.

I think one of the worthwhile and interesting things about sports is that hard-to-define things like loyalty and sacrifice and desire and heart actually do matter. Which is why the Pirates are a good example. They're a crap sports team but a great business. They show that there's a difference between the two.