Let's say you're Jerry Richardson or Michael Jordan pitching Charlotte to a superstar

[Baschski]

I like TD and Gamble, but they're not even close to being stars. There is a big difference between star players and good players.

Please explain Steve Smith.

[Cat'sGrowl]

You could argue there are many "good" players who are better than the "stars." just becuase your a star doesn't make you necessarily good, just more popular. The media follows who it choses to, and makes individuals stars. You are proving my point that both gamble and td are underrated. Put gamble in NY or TD in NE and you have tons of media outlets talking about them.

Which is exactly what he thinks qualifies you to be a Championship team..

I've reached the conclusion that he's simply a troll.

No better than Gman.

I'd say it's possible he doesn't even believe the crap he's spewing out.

This was a lonely Friday night escape for a lonely man..

[Kakarot]

This is a good question, and also, a very tough question to answer. I really dont know how you would sell Charlotte to a free agent. I guess you could say it's a great place to live and raise a family, but then again, these are 20 year old guys, in their prime. A good portion of them arent soley looking for a city just for it's great living. I dont know. The club/night scene isnt all that. I guess I'd go with the good weather angle.

I do agree with you, in that, it will probably be a lot harder for the Bobcats to pick up free agents, even with Jordan. I also agree with you, when you say its highly unlikely that the Bobcats ever win a championship. It could happen lol

[Baschski]

Guys, honestly? Players don't decide what team to play for based on what the effing club scene is in that team's city. A lot of players spend the off season in different states completely.

[Sam Mills Fan]

You could argue there are many "good" players who are better than the "stars." just becuase your a star doesn't make you necessarily good, just more popular. The media follows who it choses to, and makes individuals stars. You are proving my point that both gamble and td are underrated. Put gamble in NY or TD in NE and you have tons of media outlets talking about them.

Are you honestly telling me that Chris Gamble or Thomas Davis would be STARS in larger markets? Chris Gamble is the most overrated player on the team. He's good, but is he is not a shutdown corner worthy of the money he's making by any stretch of the imagination.

And TD had a total of one truly great season....until his knee went out last year. He had been "good" prior to that but had really elevated himself last year. Sadly, his stint with us could be over with now anyway so this could be a moot point.

We have one star on this team and his name is Steve Smith. Double Trouble are close as is Beason, but they're not stars. Besides, here's a sad truth people aren't talking about too much: We don't have much longer with both members of Double Trouble. I don't see DeAngelo resigning next season.

[Sam Mills Fan]

Please explain Steve Smith.

How about you read the damn thread?

[Baschski]

Are you honestly telling me that Chris Gamble or Thomas Davis would be STARS in larger markets?

Healthy, TD would be. As would Beason, Stewart and Williams.

[Sam Mills Fan]

Which is exactly what he thinks qualifies you to be a Championship team..

I've reached the conclusion that he's simply a troll.

No better than Gman.

I'd say it's possible he doesn't even believe the crap he's spewing out.

This was a lonely Friday night escape for a lonely man..

Actually, yes, multiple superstars DO qualify you to be a championship team. When was the last time a team won a Super Bowl without multiple superstars on their roster? That would be the '01 Patriots nearly 10 years ago.

And when was the last time an NBA team won a title sans stars? Try...never.

[panthers55]

Wrong. Bosh took $30 million less to play in Miami rather than Cleveland and LeBron is also taking a huge paycut to go play there. Why didn't the guys just decide to play in Cleveland rather than Miami?

And have you ever stopped to think about when the last time a small-market had any success whatsoever in the NBA? In the past 30 years, the "smallest" market to win a title are the Spurs and San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the country with something like 1.5 million people living there. Not exactly "small".

Small markets don't have as much of a disadvantage in the NFL because of the MUCH better way the cap system is set up and because one superstar signee joining your team won't make as much of a difference as it will on a team that only has 5 players on the court, but you would be foolish to think it doesn't play a role in why a team like the Bills can't get anyone to play for them.

You answered your own question. Bosh took a cut to play with Wade and make them a contender. James did the same thing. It wasn't Miami but playing for a team that is putting the pieces together for a championship run. Miami did a few years ago with Shaq there so Bosh knew they could do it again. Miami is the same size DMA TV market as Cleveland so the market wasn't a factor.

If we are a small market team at 1.1 million then so is the Orlando/Daytona Beach DMA which is the 19th rated market (1.4 million). How about Salt Lake City ((944,000)and San Antonio,(830,000) all smaller than us and perennial playoff teams.

Look at football- we are the 24th sized market and guess who is 25th. Yeah Indianapolis. Yeah Pittsburgh is the 23rd right above us. You know who else is smaller or equal in size Baltimore, Nashville, Cincinatti, Milwaukee/ Green Bay area, New Orleans, etc.

Your belief that the salary cap hellps small market teams is backwards, In fact the salary cap would make it harder for smaller market teams to attract free agents not easier. If they can't pay more than larger market teams, then the small market teams would be at a distinct disadvantage since no one would want to go there. The only thing they could do to level the playing field is buy free agents.

People don't play for Buffalo because they suck. If it weren't for the money who would go to Oakland? You think it is because of the Bay Area or because they suck under Al Davis. They are the 6th rated DMA at 2,5 million.

If you are so naive that you believe that the city is anywhere close to being as important as the team history, ownership, players already there, and being a contender, then this conversation is a waste of time.

We aren't as small market as people like you think.

[Sam Mills Fan]

Healthy, TD would be. As would Beason, Stewart and Williams.

TD would NOT be a star. Again, he's only had one truly great year and a partial one at that.

And the rest of them are still on their rookie contracts. It remains to be seen what happens when Double Trouble's contracts expire. I do think we'll keep Beason though. He's the ultra-rare guy with star talent that's still young and doesn't have a wife/kids (at least I don't think so) that I think we'll be able to keep in Charlotte. He's the exception to the rule though.

[Baschski]

You answered your own question. Bosh took a cut to play with Wade and make them a contender. James did the same thing. It wasn't Miami but playing for a team that is putting the pieces together for a championship run. Miami did a few years ago with Shaq there so Bosh knew they could do it again. If we are a small market team at 1.1 million then so is the Orlando/Daytona Beach DMA is the 19th rated market (1.4 million). How about Salt Lake City ((944,000)and San Antonio,(830,000) all smaller than us.

Look at football- we are the 24th sized market and guess who is 25th. Yeah Indianapolis. Yeah Pittsburgh is the 23rd right above us. You know who else is smaller or equal in size Baltimore, Nashville, Cincinatti, Milwaukee/ Green Bay area, New Orleans, etc.

In fact the salary cap would make it harder for smaller market teams to win not easier. If your theory was correct, then teams who obviously couldn't offer more money would be at a distinct disadvantage since no one would want to go there. The only thing they could do to level the playing field is buy free agents.

People don't play for Buffalo because they suck. If it weren't for the money who would go to Oakland? You think it is because of the Bay Area or because they suck under Al Davis. They are the 6th rated DMA at 2,5 million.

If you are so naive that you believe that the city is anywhere close to being as important as the team history, ownership, players already there, and being a contender, then this conversation is a waste of time.

We aren't as small market as people like you think.

Well said. The thread is done.

[DickolausJ]

Possibly one of the dumbest threads I have ever read on the huddle for the 2 months I have been here.

[Sam Mills Fan]

You answered your own question. Bosh took a cut to play with Wade and make them a contender. James did the same thing. It wasn't Miami but playing for a team that is putting the pieces together for a championship run. Miami did a few years ago with Shaq there so Bosh knew they could do it again. If we are a small market team at 1.1 million then so is the Orlando/Daytona Beach DMA is the 19th rated market (1.4 million). How about Salt Lake City ((944,000)and San Antonio,(830,000) all smaller than us.

Look at football- we are the 24th sized market and guess who is 25th. Yeah Indianapolis. Yeah Pittsburgh is the 23rd right above us. You know who else is smaller or equal in size Baltimore, Nashville, Cincinatti, Milwaukee/ Green Bay area, New Orleans, etc.

In fact the salary cap would make it harder for smaller market teams to win not easier. If your theory was correct, then teams who obviously couldn't offer more money would be at a distinct disadvantage since no one would want to go there. The only thing they could do to level the playing field is buy free agents.

People don't play for Buffalo because they suck. If it weren't for the money who would go to Oakland? You think it is because of the Bay Area or because they suck under Al Davis. They are the 6th rated DMA at 2,5 million.

If you are so naive that you believe that the city is anywhere close to being as important as the team history, ownership, players already there, and being a contender, then this conversation is a waste of time.

We aren't as small market as people like you think.

My point is why did the trio go to Miami rather than Cleveland? Cleveland was making a push for both James and Bosh and I'm sure they would have found a way to bring Wade on board if that was a prerequisite James had in staying. They were trying just as hard to keep James AND get at least Bosh as the Heat were and yet they all went to Miami instead for less money than they could have received in Cleveland. Heck, LeBron was so ready to leave that he was willing to leave his home city in the crapper where they're going to be losing something like $40 million in revenue every year now.

The Magic have the appeal of Disney, the parent company of ESPN in Orlando. They've never won a title anyway. Neither have the Jazz and they just lost Carlos Boozer to Chicago just like they lost Karl Malone to Los Angeles. And your San Antonio stat is just incorrect. 1.4 million people live in the city limits alone according to Wikipedia.

As for the NFL small-market teams, no crap that they can win. A small-market team is the current Super Bowl champ. My entire point is that it's much more difficult for them to win. It's just not impossible like it is in the NBA. Some of those NFL teams you listed are ridiculous. Are you really trying to tell me that the Panthers are a larger-market team than the Steelers or the Colts or the Packers? TV network execs can't get those teams on TV fast enough every year because of their massive fan bases across the country that they've built up throughout the many decades those teams have been around.

[Sam Mills Fan]

I've noticed throughout my years on the Huddle that a favorite debate tactic people have when they try to argue against a general rule like "small market teams can't succeed in the NBA at all and have a harder time doing so in the NFL" is they'll latch on to the 1 or 2 possible exceptions and pretend like that completely negates what you're talking about. There are exceptions to every rule. 11 of the 12 teams that made the playoffs last season had elite quarterbacks but AH-HA! The Jets didn't! The Jets had crappy Mark Sanchez! That must mean it's not important for teams to have elite quarterbacks after all! Um...no it doesn't. The Jets found a way to overcome that huge obstacle by having the best defense in the league and one of the best rushing attacks.

This is elementary school level logic boys and girls. Try some reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accident_(fallacy)