Wisch: The NBA in Europe? Ha, That's A Trip
By Dave Wischnowsky--
So, I was looking at flights to London last night.
No, not for me. Rather, I was looking at them for the Los Angeles Lakers (11-hour trip).
And for the Sacramento Kings (12-hour trip). And for the Portland Trailblazers (12-hour trip).
Why? Well, because according to hoops legend Clyde Drexler, the National Basketball Association is itching to go global and extend its wingspan into Europe by establishing a franchise in London.
Trippy.
And, if you ask me, ridiculous, too.
"If the demand continues, that could actually happen," Drexler said earlier this month when asked about the possibility of the NBA permanently setting up shop in London.
"We're probably 10 years or so away, but that is not too farsighted to happen."
At the time Drexler made those comments, he was in London to promote the first regular-season NBA games to be played on European soil – a pair of contests between the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets on March 4-5 at London's O2 Arena. Drexler then went on to say, "Basketball is a global sport. There's a demand around the world, and David Stern, our commissioner, is trying to facilitate that demand."
But, no, he isn't. If Stern really is serious about expanding NBA basketball across the pond, he won't be doing so for the poor hoops-starved fans in Manchester, Madrid and Milan (there are already pro basketball teams all over Europe, by the way). Rather, he'd be doing it for greed and/or desperation of his own league. And, the only thing Stern would facilitate is the sacrifice of rationality and logic.
You know, much like Drexler did when he started talking about the sensibility of NBA teams regularly traveling to and from London.
"Even games coming from Oregon to New York are far, but that never stopped anything," Drexler said. "It's about as far as New York to London. It's all relative. Every team has a private charter. They can go all over the world."
Yes, people can travel all over the world (Charles Lindbergh figured that out). But that doesn't at all mean that professional sports teams should do it, too. And I also don't know what kind of math or geography courses were taught at Phi Slamma Jamma when Drexler was in college. But, by my count it's about a five-hour flight from Portland International Airport to New York JFK, followed by an additional 7-hour flight to London Heathrow.
That's insane.
Drexler, though, didn't let the insanity stop there.
"There are going to be some teams in Europe. There are going to be some teams in Asia," he said, really gliding off the deep end. "And they're all going to be a part of the NBA umbrella, eventually. That's the global plan."
Well, if that's really the NBA's plan, then the plan stinks. In sports, I'm all for considering new ideas and ways to further develop a league's brand, but they have to be reasonable and realistic.
And David Stern asking his league's players to trot all across the globe for regular-season games is neither.
For the past four years, the NBA has played preseason games in London, and next week it will host the two regular-season ones. That's great. Heck, play a few more games in Europe each season.
But don't try to set up a global league. The world is just too big. And, unless Star Trek technology becomes a reality – "Beam me up, Scottie Pippen?" – it's going to stay that way.
Do you agree with Dave? Post your comments below.
If nothing else, Dave Wischnowsky is an Illinois boy. Raised in Bourbonnais, educated at the University of Illinois and bred on sports in the Land of Lincoln, he now resides on Chicago's North Side, just blocks from Wrigley Field. Formerly a reporter and blogger for the Chicago Tribune, Dave currently writes a syndicated column, The Wisch List, which you can check out via his blog at http://www.wischlist.com.
