Kyrie Irving trade keeps NBA's popularity, hectic summer rolling
When the NBA’s Adam Silver era officially began in Feb. 2014, the new commissioner wasted no time sharing the boldest item on his to-do list.
Surpass the NFL in terms of popularity.
“I think this game should be a rival to football,” he said at the time.
More than three years later, as the NFL has had to navigate its way through the concussion crisis and an eight percent ratings decline last season, the NBA continues to progress. Tuesday’s blockbuster trade between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers was the latest example of why.
Little by little, offseason by viral offseason, the NBA has become a year-round affair. The Finals may wrap in June, but one could argue that the more relevant action starts soon thereafter: The late-June draft bled into July free agency fireworks which then became an endless summer of superstar shifts all building toward Silver's goal. Couple that with the fact that the NBA’s social media footprint is far superior to the NFL and every other major sports league – 34 million Facebook likes compared to 16.4 million for the NFL; 26.2 million Twitter followers to 23.9; 24.5 million on Instagram to 9.8 – and you have yourself a booming, buzzy business model for the future.
More:
LeBron James' silence on future with Cavaliers driving force behind trade of Kyrie Irving
Danny Ainge unplugged: Celtics GM weighs in on Isaiah Thomas-Kyrie Irving trade
So much for the Golden State Warriors’ dominance inspiring snores around the globe. In case anyone lost count of the league-altering deals that went down these last few months…
June 19: The Celtics trade the No. 1 pick for Philadelphia’s No. 3 and a future first rounder (Boston takes Jayson Tatum, while Markelle Fultz goes to the Sixers).
June 22: Jimmy Butler, the three-time All-Star and gold medalist who spent his first six seasons with the Chicago Bulls, is reunited with Tom Thibodeau and his upstart Minnesota Timberwolves (the Bulls get Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and the No. 7 pick that they use on forward Lauri Markkanen).
June 28: Chris Paul, the nine-time All-Star who had informed the Clippers of his intentions to opt out in free agency and sign with the Houston Rockets unless they traded him there instead, gets his wish and joins the James Harden-led squad.
July 1: Paul George, a four-time All-Star who not long ago was seen as LeBron James’ only archrival in the East, was traded from the Indiana Pacers to Russell Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder after making it clear he wouldn’t re-sign in the summer of 2018.
July 4: Gordon Hayward, the All-Star small forward who had just led the Utah Jazz to its first second-round playoff appearance since 2010, agrees to sign with the Boston Celtics that fell to James’ Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Aug. 23: In a move between rivals the likes of which the league had never seen, the Cavs and Celtics swap All-Star point guards (Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas, with Cleveland also netting veteran small forward Jae Crowder, 20-year-old big man Ante Zizic and the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first rounder).
In all, that’s six All-Stars relocating to playoff-caliber teams and a high-profile Celtics-Sixers deal that wound up playing a part in Boston’s ability to land Irving. Amid all that, it was also revealed last week that the Pacers accused the Lakers of tampering in their open recruitment of George (who is a free agent next summer) and the NBA had opened an investigation into the matter.
As country singer Bonnie Raitt once crooned, “Let’s give ‘em something to talk about…”
With every water cooler-worthy headline, the NBA has connected with the cord-cutting crowd and the wisdom of its digital approach becomes more apparent. That's not to say that the NFL should be scared yet, especially considering this bit of perspective: Despite the most recent NBA Finals having the highest ratings since Michael Jordan’s Bulls won it all in 1998, the Cavs-Warriors per-game average of 20.4 million viewers was on par with an average regular season showing of NBC's Sunday Night Football (20.3), according to Nielsen TV ratings.
But even with Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and their Warriors teammates still the clear favorite, the sheer volume of relevant NBA storylines has set the stage for another compelling season among their contenders. And Silver, slowly but surely, is making good on his goal.
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick on Twitter @Sam_Amick.
