Player or Team?

[Scout200]

If your all-time favorite player from your favorite team left, would you follow the player or stay with the team?

-Scout


http://www.forcefactor.com

[Joe Vancil]

Great question.

One that I can't answer.  My favorite player has never left my favorite team.  Then again, many times, my favorite player hasn't been on my favorite team.

However, I can think of one case that fits pretty closely, from when I was a Phoenix Suns fan back in the early '80's.  Phoenix traded Paul Westphal, a player I really, really liked, for Dennis Johnson, a player I really, really *DIDN'T* like.  I stayed a Suns fan, but not for long.  I actually switched teams - to the team that *DID* have my favorite player (Bobby Jones, of Philadelphia).  But I've always had a soft spot for the Suns, which was my first team, from the 1979 season.

Phoenix trading away Westphal and getting Johnson was a move that poisoned me to the team.  And, of course, I didn't go to the Sonics, following Westphal, since I hated the Sonics (in no small part because of Johnson).

I think a person's favorite team losing a favorite player would probably make folks like me go to a different team altogether - one without the player.  I suspect there will be a bit of bitterness at the abandonment, and a bit of resentment at the team not retaining them.

That said, I can see a lot of Cleveland fans abandoning the team in favor of some team that they don't find objectionable.  In other words, not Miami, and probably not Boston, not Orlando, and, for the older fans, not Chicago.  Could a lot of these fans become Oklahoma City fans, on the hope that Durant will overshadow James?  I think so.

[westkoast]

My favorite players growing up were Magic and Jordan so I have to push them aside for this thread.

My current favorite player, Kobe Bryant, did almost bolt and I did think to myself 'Could I root for The Bulls?' (or where ever else Kobe might have ended up).  I wouldn't have ditched the Lakers for a new team because of Kobe though.  I most likely would have side cheered for the team on nights they didn't play the Lakers but my heart is with the Lakers regardless.  I was a Jordan fan like most basketball fans my age but when they played the Lakers in the finals I was feverishly rooting against them.

[WayOutWest]

Easy, when it comes to the NBA, I'm a Lakers fan first and a player fan second.  My favorite Laker of all time, Shaq, left the team, and while I still followed him and rooted for him I was a Lakers fan first.  Shaq is actually my favorite player of all time, been following the NBA since 1985 and no player has ever stepped on to an NBA court and instantly become a man amoung LITTLE boys.  Not MJ, not LeBron, not Dwight, not KG, not anybody.

I'm a fan of many players but I never root against the Lakers unless they are playing the Clippers, can't help but root for those little tard cousins.  The only guy that made me stop rooting for the Lakers was Magic, when he left the game I pretty much gave up on basketball and didn't root for anyone, including the Lakers.  Not sure how I would have felt if Magic had left for another team. 

[Scout200]

Yeah, personally speaking, I feel that the team is of more importance... A player doesn't make the team - they only contribute. Players come and go but a Team is forever!

-Scout

[Joe Vancil]

Yeah, personally speaking, I feel that the team is of more importance... A player doesn't make the team - they only contribute. Players come and go but a Team is forever!

-Scout

*SOME* teams are forever.

Some teams really come and go.

Look at Phoenix.  When it was a Jerry Colangelo team, that was one thing.  Robert Sarver is something entirely different.  Look at the changes across franchises like Seattle/Oklahoma City.  Look at the Jazz before Larry H. Miller died versus afterward.

Things change a great deal depending on ownership.

[Wolverine]

*SOME* teams are forever.

I think most fans would disagree with you.  It may be painful at times, but the majority of folks out there pick a team and stick with it - often for the rest of their lives.

You're the exception, buddy.   

[Reality]

*SOME* teams are forever.

I think most fans would disagree with you.  It may be painful at times, but the majority of folks out there pick a team and stick with it - often for the rest of their lives.

You're the exception, buddy.   

Joe,
Wolverine just told us we're exceptional.

Thank you Wolverine.

[Scout200]

Yeah, personally speaking, I feel that the team is of more importance... A player doesn't make the team - they only contribute. Players come and go but a Team is forever!

-Scout

*SOME* teams are forever.

Some teams really come and go.

Look at Phoenix.  When it was a Jerry Colangelo team, that was one thing.  Robert Sarver is something entirely different.  Look at the changes across franchises like Seattle/Oklahoma City.  Look at the Jazz before Larry H. Miller died versus afterward.

Things change a great deal depending on ownership.

True, true!  Good point, Joe!

-Scout

[westkoast]

Joe I am curious on how the Jazz have changed since Mr. Miller's passing.  I don't think Boozer would have stayed had Miller been alive, I felt like the writing on the wall for him to bolt was there even before that.  Am I mistaken?

[Joe Vancil]

We traded Ronnie Brewer for nothing, Eric Maynor for nothing.  Cap moves.  You never saw that while Miller was alive.  If you didn't know better, you'd think we were Phoenix.

IIf Miller were around, once we started that run, we'd have been more likely to package the two and try to get a piece to help us, rather than essentially give them away.

We didn't even get a first round pick out of TWO first round picks, and Brewer being a highly regarded one.

[Ted]

We traded Ronnie Brewer for nothing, Eric Maynor for nothing.  Cap moves.  You never saw that while Miller was alive.  If you didn't know better, you'd think we were Phoenix.

IIf Miller were around, once we started that run, we'd have been more likely to package the two and try to get a piece to help us, rather than essentially give them away.

We didn't even get a first round pick out of TWO first round picks, and Brewer being a highly regarded one.

Larry Miller was more anti-luxury tax than just about anyone. I think his son Greg is actually more apt to go over the tax than Larry would have been. It's true that Larry may not have approved Ronnie Brewer, but the sad truth is that Ronnie Brewer is a VERY limited player on offense. CJ Miles can do everything Brewer can do (except perhaps defense) and he has a legit jump shot. Brewer was basically no good outside ten feet. But man did he know how to fill the lane when Deron Williams had the ball.

But make no mistake. Larry Miller would not have gone into the luxury tax to keep Ronnie Brewer and Eric Maynor. And yes, Carlos Boozer was done with Miller. And I quote, "One of the top ten stupidest things I've seen an NBA player do, ever."

[Joe Vancil]

I'll just pretend I posted my previous reply to this message.  It'll save on the clutter.