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Does Market Size Matter? One of the key issues the NBA plans to address in its next labor deal with the players is the ever increasing gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ in the NBA.

There are some teams swimming in ad dollars and can charge massive amounts for tickets because there is incredible demand for their product and because of the density of their fan base.

While market size is not always the right phrasing to use to describe the situation - because San Antonio is one of the smaller markets in the league and they do as well as almost anyone in the NBA at selling and capitalizing on their team - the concept of talent migrating to teams and areas where they can have the most success is real and it’s something the NBA has to look at seriously in the next labor deal.

ESPN’s J.A. Adande asked several executives of smaller market NBA teams how they view the situation and whether market plays a role in how they build a team.

Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti has a unique view because not only is he building a team in a new smaller market, but he came from the Spurs organization that has had tremendous success both on and off the court.

"Every team handles their business differently," Presti said. "For us, we’ve chosen to focus on trying to build a team that is sustainable and, in doing that, certainly have had to make some decisions that were very tough decisions. Understanding that at the time they were difficult for people to understand and to accept but also recognizing that for us to continue trying to build in a proactive fashion, they were necessary.

"One of the hardest principles to assimilate into your process is that of restraint," explained Presti. "And understanding that any time you’re team-building and your goal is to build something sustainable that has a foundation and a strong base, there is a level of patience and an approach you have to take where sometimes you have to wait for things to develop as opposed to looking for quick fixes or things that might make you feel better."

The Milwaukee Bucks were huge spenders last summer after returning to the playoffs. This year they will return to the NBA lottery after an injury-riddled season and General Manager John Hammond knows getting quality free agents to take Milwaukee seriously is tough.

"Many of us are dealing with the same issues, in that now it looks like free agents are saying, ‘I want to play in a few markets,’" Hammond said. "If I were saying, ‘There’s 30 NBA teams, and we’re the only team facing that obstacle’? Then woe is us. We have no chance to survive. I think we’re the majority; we’re not the minority."

The New Orleans Hornets look to be headed back to the playoffs and have a different view on the world, with team president Hugh Weber saying it has more to do with winning than anything else.

"It’s not necessarily the market or the amount of revenue that a team has that proves to translate into championships," Weber said. "You have to build a championship style and organization, with the culture and the mission and resources to back it up."

There is no doubting NBA players, and athletes of any sport, want to go to situations where they have the best chance to win, be highly paid for their services, and have the resources around them to succeed.

The last thing a player wants to hear is his team is cutting or trading a teammate for cost cutting reasons. Players want the teams they play for to have unlimited resources to surround them with the right coaches, trainers and teammates, which is why markets like San Antonio never have a problem attracting players or retaining players.

It’s easy to say every player in the NBA wants to play in New York or L.A., but the reason players covet those markets is not always about the lifestyle; it’s about knowing the teams will have the dollars to spend to compete.

NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Adam Silver, who is leading the Owners’ side of the labor talks with the player,s conceded for the first time in years the current labor talks are not just about how to divide the dollars, but how to balance the competitive side of the league to give every franchise the chance to compete.

There is no doubting market construction matters to players, but it’s not just about population and media exposure, it also has to do with the resources successful teams have at their disposal.

They say the key to every successful business is location, location, location – but having the resources to be successful matters just as much and while some teams are battling the small market stigma when it comes to free agents. The issue isn’t whether players want to live in Milwaukee, it’s whether they can actually win in Milwaukee that matters most.

Leonsis Happy With Wizards? Washington Wizards’ owner Ted Leonsis is wrapping up his first full season as owner of the team, and after another dreadful season it’s easy to say there will be changes. Changes in the front office, changes on the bench and surely changes to the roster. However Leonsis said yesterday that he is pretty happy with where things stand in Washington and both GM Ernie Grunfeld and head coach Flip Sanders are likely safe going forward.

"I don’t like doing stuff like [talking about job security], because it’s almost offensive to them and the process," Leonsis said to The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan. "You know, why do I have to respond to you or anybody about what our intentions are? They’re both under contract, and I’ve been public in saying that I think they’ve done a really really good job, but if [I] respond to you, then anybody can start to ask, well, what are you going to do?, and it takes you off of what the real business at hand is."

"You guys know me long enough, I am pretty loyal. I believe we’re in it together. And as long as we are on the same page, I think that there’s harmony in the organization. And right now, Ernie certainly is executing what we want to do. And I’m thrilled with that. I said we want to tear the team down and be young and have upside and have cap space. Check."

There has been speculation Flip Sanders may ask out of his contract with the Wizards this summer, however Leonsis says he believes the teaching environment Sanders has put in place is working.

"I’m very happy with Flip, because he is teaching in an environment of we want you to compete, we want you to play hard, we want you to bring it, because the line between success and failure in pro sports is really small. And effort and teamwork and camaraderie and heart and grit are important. And we’ll tolerate youthful mistakes, but we want people to really want to be here and play here and like playing for one another and being respectful to the fans, and I’m seeing that. I’m really seeing that.

"So I’m pretty happy with where we are. There’s a couple more games that we have to play, we have two more home games, I’d like to win a couple of those games and finish the season so that we can be analytic….But right now Flip and Ernie and me and the organization and all the people in sales and marketing, we’re all on the same page, and it feels pretty good right now."

The Wizards are currently sitting at 21-57 on the season, fifth-worst in the NBA. Last year the Wizards were 26-56 on the season and the fourth-worst team but were able to land the top overall pick by way of the NBA Draft Lottery swinging their way.

The Wizards have four games remaining on the season, all four against Eastern Conference teams.

Don’t Forget About The Kid: If there is one team in the Western Conference no one wants to see in a seven-game series, it may very well be the Oklahoma City Thunder. And if there is one player in the West ready to explode onto the playoff scene it’s Thunder forward Kevin Durant, yet no one seems to be taking notice of the NBA’s leading scorer or how good his Thunder squad is playing.

{AUTHOR_BOX}"I guess I’m flying under the radar," Durant said to Chris Tomasson of HoopsHype.

"A lot of people forgot about me this year," said Durant, averaging a league leading 27.8 points. "So I guess if I get the scoring title, I guess people will remember me. Last year, I kind of jumped on the scene. I’m the old guy. I’m not going out there and averaging 40 points a game and stuff like that. So people forgot about me. So, hopefully, the scoring title I guess will let people to know, ‘Hey, I’m here still."’

Durant says his low-key personality may be why fans to don’t rave about him like others in the league.

"I’m not on the scene as much as I was last season, I guess," said Durant.

Durant says the lack of fanfare for his season is far from disappointing, mainly because of how well the Thunder have played this year.

"I’m playing on a winning basketball team," Durant said, the Thunder clinched the Northwest Division on Wednesday. "I won 50 games. I’m in a tough conference, a tough division. I think the MVP goes to a guy that their team is like us last year when we went from 23 wins to 50. That’s a big difference. With guys like D. Rose, they went from 41 to like 50-something right now. So it’s a big difference. We stayed the same."

"So, if you stay the same, that’s probably why Kobe Bryant only won one award (for MVP, in 2008). Hopefully, I’ll get one before I’m done playing, though. As of right now, I congratulate Derrick Rose for winning MVP… Yeah, of course (Rose should be the MVP). He’s having a phenomenal season. They’re No. 1 in the East now, especially with all the firepower that went to the East… (Rose), Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, those three guys should be MVP candidates."

As things stand today, Kevin Durant has amassed 2056 points in 74 games versus LeBron James’ 2027 points in 76 games. It remains possible that James could catch Durant for the NBA Scoring title in the next week, but it would require Durant’s production to fall off sharply. Durant has averaged 26.2 points per game over his last five games compared to James’ 29.8. With four games remaining for both players, closing the gap may be difficult for James.

The Thunder currently sit in the fourth seed in the Western Conference Playoff picture with four games remaining on the season. The Thunder have won seven of their last 10 games and are one game behind the third-seeded Dallas Mavericks, which have lost four straight and have four games left to play as well.

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NBA Chats: There is There are two NBA Chats today starting with Yannis Koutroupis’ weekly NBA chat at 10:30am EST. Yannis covers the San Antonio Spurs and is the Senior College Basketball reporter for HOOPSWORLD. Alex Kennedy will host his weekly NBA Chat at 3pm EST, so get your questions in early. Susan Bible will host her weekly NBA Chat tomorrow at 11am, if you want to get an early start. You can always find the next chat here: Upcoming NBA Chats.