Management, not market, responsible for the NBA's woes

Without a doubt, there isn’t a more complicated relationship in my life right now than the one I have with the NBA. It’s like dating a supermodel, except she has one of those horrendous arm-sleeve tattoos that makes you want to hurl every time you start to get intimate.
Like the supermodel, the NBA is absolutely gorgeous on the surface. For basketball fanatics like myself, watching the game played at the NBA level is a sight to behold. The talent is undeniable, the athleticism breathtaking, the personalities larger than life. In what other sport can you observe a transcendent athlete impose his will on a game to the extent that Lebron James did in the playoffs? Even if you despise Lebron, as I do, there’s something special about taking in that level of dominance. It’s just pure fun to watch basketball played like that.
But man is that arm-sleeve tattoo hideous. Every time I think I can get intimate with the NBA, there’s that stupid tattoo staring me right in the face. Last Friday night was another one of those “arm-sleeve tattoo” moments, when the league kicked me right in the teeth just as I was getting cozy with it. All the fun of an interesting offseason, all the excitement of the U.S. Olympic team…all shot to pieces now that the Lakers have stolen Dwight Howard in what can only be described as one of the most lopsided, objectionable trades in NBA history.