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Post by Werebeaver on May 27, 2020 17:21:44 GMT -8
WNBA doesn't have enough teams... should be 18-20 teams, not just 12. Given the marginal profit-generating capability of a WNBA franchise they're probably fortunate to hang on to the 12 they have. |
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Post by beavershoopsfan on May 27, 2020 17:39:12 GMT -8
True about the need for the WNBA to be profitable in order to expand beyond the 12 current teams. The pandemic's impact on the growth of women's basketball will be significant if few games are played and zero fans are in the stands. That is a clear recipe for teams to fold as the financial losses and hemorrhaging will continue in 2020 for the franchises.
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Post by bvrbooster on May 27, 2020 20:28:03 GMT -8
The WNBA acts like a minor league, with few teams, no superstars known to the general public, and a salary structure so low that virtually all its top players go overseas in the fall and winter to make any real money. If it didn't have the 3 letters, NBA, in its name, it wouldn't hold much attraction to college players.
The New York Jets (nee Titans) of the original American Football League never gained any traction in the Big Apple until they signed Joe Willie Namath for the unheard of sum of $400,000, and the country boy immediately became the brash Broadway Joe.
The WNBA needs an individual to capture the public's attention by combining big time talent with big time audacity. Sabrina could have done that for them by refusing to sign unless they paid her what she was worth, and flaunting what some team in Europe would pay her. It's a funny thing about our culture - big money seems bring a sense of legitimacy to any sports league and engender interest. That's a lot of the reason every new startup football league since the AFL has failed - no Joe Willie Namath.
Anyway, the WNBA has a long way to go, and having only 12 teams isn't helping their cause.
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Post by 411500 on May 28, 2020 6:44:29 GMT -8
Most everyone I know under 50 (quite a few actually) equates exciting basketball with "heroic" athleticism. With the exception of those who have played the game at some competitive level, most basketball fans today are far more fascinated with the pace, the speed, the dunks, the unbelievable shooting, the unbelievable athleticism of the game - by that I mean the men's game.
For these fans the women's game does not meet the first test of acceptance - spectacular athleticism.
Until there is a shift in the public's understanding of the game, I personally, do not know how women's basketball will ever catch on big time.
I love WBB for the very reasons many don't like it. It is methodical, it places a premium on fundamentals, the Xs & Os are essential to its game. The defence is not rescued by fantastic shot blockers, the faltering offence is not continuously rescued by 32' 3s. Every offensive set is not filled with clutching and grabbing that 40 years ago would have fouled out the entire team before halftime.
Oh well. Enough of all this. Everyone on this board pretty much knows why we love WBB.....Those of you who can still go to a gym, indoor or outdoor, give it a try and watch how everyday kids try to play the game. It's gross. It's a poor man's version of 35' 3 point shooting.
The "average" basketball fan of today does not love the game nearly as much as they love the highlight reel that comes with the game. No highlight reel - no game. It is from these basketball impaired fans that the WNBA is trying to build a large following. How they are going to do it I do not know.
GO BEAVS !!
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Post by Werebeaver on May 28, 2020 6:58:13 GMT -8
The WNBA acts like a minor league, with few teams, no superstars known to the general public, and a salary structure so low that virtually all its top players go overseas in the fall and winter to make any real money. If it didn't have the 3 letters, NBA, in its name, it wouldn't hold much attraction to college players. The New York Jets (nee Titans) of the original American Football League never gained any traction in the Big Apple until they signed Joe Willie Namath for the unheard of sum of $400,000, and the country boy immediately became the brash Broadway Joe. The WNBA needs an individual to capture the public's attention by combining big time talent with big time audacity. Sabrina could have done that for them by refusing to sign unless they paid her what she was worth, and flaunting what some team in Europe would pay her. It's a funny thing about our culture - big money seems bring a sense of legitimacy to any sports league and engender interest. That's a lot of the reason every new startup football league since the AFL has failed - no Joe Willie Namath. Anyway, the WNBA has a long way to go, and having only 12 teams isn't helping their cause. Well Sabrina’s uØ degree is in something called “brand responsibility” so maybe she was trying to be responsible. |
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Post by bennyskid on May 28, 2020 10:56:31 GMT -8
A few years ago, wasn't there a major WNBA star that held out and stayed in Europe for a year? (Was it Taurasi?) I don't remember that working out so well for the WNBA. It got some attention, but IMHO it simply underscored the perception that the WNBA is just a "minor league". (I think it did lead to some cap reforms - I know top players can make much more than they could under the agreement at that time.) If Sabrina held out it would just feed the perception that the WNBA is not a serious business but is just the NBA's token effort to appear "woke".
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Post by Werebeaver on May 28, 2020 11:06:23 GMT -8
A few years ago, wasn't there a major WNBA star that held out and stayed in Europe for a year? (Was it Taurasi?) I don't remember that working out so well for the WNBA. It got some attention, but IMHO it simply underscored the perception that the WNBA is just a "minor league". (I think it did lead to some cap reforms - I know top players can make much more than they could under the agreement at that time.) If Sabrina held out it would just feed the perception that the WNBA is not a serious business but is just the NBA's token effort to appear "woke". If our American oligarchs were as devoted to women's basketball as the Russian oligarchs are, we might be able to compete financially with the Russian WPBL. |
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Post by Werebeaver on May 28, 2020 12:02:54 GMT -8
The WNBA acts like a minor league, with few teams, no superstars known to the general public, and a salary structure so low that virtually all its top players go overseas in the fall and winter to make any real money. If it didn't have the 3 letters, NBA, in its name, it wouldn't hold much attraction to college players. The New York Jets (nee Titans) of the original American Football League never gained any traction in the Big Apple until they signed Joe Willie Namath for the unheard of sum of $400,000, and the country boy immediately became the brash Broadway Joe. The WNBA needs an individual to capture the public's attention by combining big time talent with big time audacity. Sabrina could have done that for them by refusing to sign unless they paid her what she was worth, and flaunting what some team in Europe would pay her. It's a funny thing about our culture - big money seems bring a sense of legitimacy to any sports league and engender interest. That's a lot of the reason every new startup football league since the AFL has failed - no Joe Willie Namath. Anyway, the WNBA has a long way to go, and having only 12 teams isn't helping their cause. The biggest factor in the success of the AFL was the pigheaded resistance of the NFL to expand their league in the booming 1960’s. The AFL’s 1964 TV deal with NBC for $36,000,000 ($300,000,000 today) certified their popularity and success and gave them the resources to win bidding wars with the NFL for star players. Forcing the NFL into the 1966 merger. |
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Post by bvrbooster on May 28, 2020 12:50:37 GMT -8
A few years ago, wasn't there a major WNBA star that held out and stayed in Europe for a year? (Was it Taurasi?) I don't remember that working out so well for the WNBA. It got some attention, but IMHO it simply underscored the perception that the WNBA is just a "minor league". (I think it did lead to some cap reforms - I know top players can make much more than they could under the agreement at that time.) If Sabrina held out it would just feed the perception that the WNBA is not a serious business but is just the NBA's token effort to appear "woke". What I meant about Sabrina is that she has the type of name recognition coming out of college that doesn't happen all that frequently, particularly in women's basketball. Combined with Nike marketing her to beat hell, she could have brought a ton of exposure to the WNBA by being brash and saying stuff like she'd fill the arenas and deliver the goods, but not if they weren't going to pay her. People who don't normally follow the WNBA might then do so just to see if, after talking the talk, she could come through on the walking part. The covid thing killed the timing on that though. The post on the AFL's television contract was correct for the league as a whole. I was just trying to illustrate how one guy getting a ton of money can suddenly jazz up interest in a very moribund franchise, which just happened to be in the (then) nation's biggest market. Namath played at Alabama. Back then, you could only be on tv once or twice per year, and ABC favored the Big 10 and the Big 12. Nobody in New York followed SEC football or Alabama football to speak of, and, had Namath just signed the typical rookie contract, they wouldn't have taken much notice of him. But that was right at the beginning of the NFL-AFL bidding war, and, $400,000 - wow! That was unbelievable! Back then, the golfer winning the US Open got, maybe, $25,000. Suddenly people in New York were going to watch the AFL to see if this guy was worth that kind of money. |
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Post by nwhoopfan on May 28, 2020 13:26:57 GMT -8
As far as I can tell, the WNBA simply doesn't have enough revenue to pay players huge salaries. Going bankrupt won't be to anyone's benefit. It's been subsidized by the NBA throughout its history.
As I understand it, some of the teams in other countries (Russia in particular) have wealthy owners who are content to operate their team at a loss. I just don't think that's ever going to happen in the U.S.
Several players have skipped a WNBA season here or there. Diana Taurasi has done it. While the pay is less than they get playing overseas, the WNBA is still the premier league in the world. Players ransoming the league to pay them more or they'll stay away I don't think will really work. I've also heard they get paid more by their international teams if they are active WNBA players.
Speaking of Taurasi, she's as brash as you can get it, also very skilled and talented, many consider her the best women's player ever. If she hasn't really moved the needle on the popularity of the WNBA, I don't think Ionescu is going to either.
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Post by bvrbooster on May 28, 2020 16:46:59 GMT -8
Ionescu had, I believe, way more name recognition by the general public (not just hoops fans) coming out of college than Taurasi did. Plus, she had Uncle Phil.
When Tiger had been on tour just a few years, a new TV contract was signed. It allowed the PGA Tour to increase prize money by so much that, if Tiger won every single tournament the following year, the rest of the guys would still be playing for double the money that was available under the old contract.
Sabrina ain't Tiger, not by a long shot, but the WNBA needs somebody who can goose it like that.
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Post by beavershoopsfan on May 29, 2020 16:24:07 GMT -8
All six New York Liberty draft picks taken in the first 15 picks if the 2020 WNBA Draft made the 12-person roster. Kind of reminds me of the 6- or 7-person Class of 2016 recruiting class that Ionescu came into Oregon with as a frosh.
Will be interesting to see how that young squad develops. It appears that the reins to the Liberty will be turned over to Ionescu immediately. How quickly her overall game translates to the next level will be on display quickly, assuming that some games are played in 2020.
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Post by believeinthebeavs on May 29, 2020 16:39:25 GMT -8
All six New York Liberty draft picks taken in the first 15 picks if the 2020 WNBA Draft made the 12-person roster. Kind of reminds me of the 6- or 7-person Class of 2016 recruiting class that Ionescu came into Oregon with as a frosh. Will be interesting to see how that young squad develops. It appears that the reins to the Liberty will be turned over to Ionescu immediately. How quickly her overall game translates to the next level will be on display quickly, assuming that some games are played in 2020. I hear they are going to change their name to the new york nikes. Just another reason to not watch the wnba. |
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Post by beavershoopsfan on May 29, 2020 17:51:21 GMT -8
All six New York Liberty draft picks taken in the first 15 picks if the 2020 WNBA Draft made the 12-person roster. Kind of reminds me of the 6- or 7-person Class of 2016 recruiting class that Ionescu came into Oregon with as a frosh. Will be interesting to see how that young squad develops. It appears that the reins to the Liberty will be turned over to Ionescu immediately. How quickly her overall game translates to the next level will be on display quickly, assuming that some games are played in 2020. I hear they are going to change their name to the new york nikes. Just another reason to not watch the wnba. Wiese and Gulich are two reasons for me to watch the WNBA whenever it can start up in 2020. |
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Post by Werebeaver on May 29, 2020 18:15:45 GMT -8
All six New York Liberty draft picks taken in the first 15 picks if the 2020 WNBA Draft made the 12-person roster. Kind of reminds me of the 6- or 7-person Class of 2016 recruiting class that Ionescu came into Oregon with as a frosh. Will be interesting to see how that young squad develops. It appears that the reins to the Liberty will be turned over to Ionescu immediately. How quickly her overall game translates to the next level will be on display quickly, assuming that some games are played in 2020. I hear they are going to change their name to the new york nikes. Just another reason to not watch the wnba. Actually if Sabrina wanted to really make a publicity splash she could change her first name to Nike and be Nike Ionescu. Isn't Nike the "goddess of victory"? Imagine the publicity ruckus that would stir up. Like Lloyd Free becoming World B Free. Or Ron Artest becoming "Metta World Peace". That would be audacious. |
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