Just Because You Were Once Great Doesn't Mean You Always Will Be

Last night, as I was driving home, I heard this clip from SportsNation and I almost drove off the road: Shelburne: Durant needs to give Lakers meeting out of respect - ESPN Video

I like Ramona Shelburne a lot. She's a very good reporter, no question about that.

With that being said, the advice/recommendation she's giving to Kevin Durant is patently ridiculous.

In 2016, it's not a bad business decision to not take a meeting with the Lakers or the Knicks.

It might be the smartest damn move you can make.

The idea that you absolutely HAVE to be in Los Angeles or New York if you want to be viewed as a superstar is a hold over from a world before the internet.

You don't have to be in those media markets to be considered a huge star. With every game available for viewing in some way, shape, or form; and with multiple 24 hour sports networks;and blogs; and social media, the idea that you have to be in Los Angeles or New York to build your #brand is dead and buried.

When you have endorsement deals with Nike, Gatorade, Sprint, General Electric and 2K Sports, and you play in Oklahoma City, that kind of speaks for itself, no?

Ramona, and others who agree with her position, are guilty of thinking that because an organization has had a history of success, that their future will also be successful. Which can occur. However, there are mitigating factors at play, and this ignores the present reality that the teams have been living through.

Life's great Qs:

1) Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?

2) Why do James Dolan and Jim Buss own g** damn hoops teams?

— Matt Zemek (@MattZemek) July 1, 2016

Since the passing of Dr. Jerry Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers have been adrift and somewhat rudderless. Shackled to the legacy of an injured and diminished Kobe Bryant, the Lakers also have had poor management on the basketball operations side under co-owner Jimmy Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak. Internal lockerroom strife, and a curiously constructed roster paired with a piss poor coach in Byron Scott also have not helped the Lakers's recent past.

(Full disclosure: I was raised as a New York Knicks Fan. Okay, please stop laughing.)

The New York Knicks are plagued by a novice general manager/president of basketball operations in Phil Jackson, who is demonstrating that just because you can lead on the bench, it doesn't mean you are cut out to lead from the executive suite.

Of course, the owner in New York is the loathsome James Dolan, who also happened to inherit the team from his father. I am firmly convinced that Dolan would rehire Isiah Thomas to work for the Knicks front office. Why else would Dolan have hired Isiah to be president of the New York Liberty (and also wanted to give him an ownership stake in that franchise) if that weren't the case?

Jackson, meanwhile, has hired a thoroughly unqualified coach (Derek Fisher, who literally walked off the court and into the position) to run an offense that no one else runs in whole these days (the Triangle) because of the time it takes to learn it and be comfortable with it, while doing so with a volume shooter/black hole on offense (Carmelo Anthony) and a rotating, inconsistent cast of characters.

There is a glimmer of hope with Kristpas Porzingas, but trading for Derrick Rose (!) and trying to sign Joakim Noah (!!) and Eric Gordon (!!!) doesn't exactly inspire confidence that this ship is headed in the right direction.

Poor management enabled by poor ownership making confounding decisions doesn't mean that you still deserve respect. You are not automatically bell cow franchises in 2016 because you once were good.

If you want respect—if you want to get back into the chase for free agents the level of LeBron or KD—then clean up your own house and go out and win some games.

If you spend too much time living the past, you ignore the present and jeopardize your future. That's what those two teams have done. They should serve as cautionary tales.