Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 at 9:00 am  |  92 responses

Amar’e Stoudemire: ‘Let’s Start Our Own League’


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Like every other NBA player, Amar’e Stoudemire is unhappy with the prospect of missing out on games. Should the lockout drag on over the next year, or (heaven forbid) even longer, STAT thinks the players should form their own league.

Stoudemire — who’s optimistic about the lockout ending soon, by the way — says that if playing overseas isn’t an option for some of the guys, why not create a competing entity to the NBA?

From the NY Times:

[Stoudemire] said he had received calls about playing overseas, but was not considering them. But he also said that if the lockout dragged on he “may entertain it more and more.” He then offered a more ambitious idea. “If you don’t go to Europe, then let’s start our own league,” he said. “That’s how I see it.” He said such a league would only happen if the lockout “goes one or two years.”

“It’s very, very, very serious,” he said. “It’s just a matter of us strategically coming up with a plan and a blueprint and putting it together. We want to play N.B.A. basketball, but if it doesn’t happen, then what are we going to do? Sit around and not do anything. So we got to figure out ways to now play basketball at a high level against top competition and have fun doing it. So that’s the next step.”

There’s no doubt that, if they were truly serious about this new league idea, NBA superstars could convince some sponsors to hop on board.

However, considering the long-standing relationships the L already has with the players’ biggest potential allies in corporate America — media conglomerates, sports apparel companies, marketing firms, etc. — it’s impossible to imagine that Stoudemire and friends would make anywhere near the kind of money they do in the NBA, to say nothing of the logistical nightmares that come with organizing and running an entire sports league.

The entrepreneurial spirit is noble and all, Amar’e, but the best thing for everyone involved here would be to quickly end the lockout, and get players back into NBA gyms.

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  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    The NBA is really entrenched. This would be almost impossible, particularly since the new League’s assets are all under contract with another League.
    How would it work if the owners decided to meet the players’ demands? Would their new league just fold? How would the investors feel about this?
    I don’t see it happening.
    But, it’s a little disturbing how so many of y’all think NBA players are idiots. Amare has consistently shown himself to be an intelligent dude, but people act like he and the rest of the superstars can’t navigate the business world.
    Newsflash, all rich people aren’t smart. Or hard working. Most of them just took advantage of an opportunity.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    No, no, no.. My little Kobe could get hurt in a league with out strict authority figures..

  • bull22

    the new league would fold, and all this is pure foolishness…. i guess amare has not learned from the unified mass tweets they made that blew up in their faces..

  • Jeremy

    @bull22 has some racial issues I see

    He always come with the negative ish

    your mama and daddy must be related?

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Allen, I don’t think Amar’e is an idiot. But he says idiotic things.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Everybody says idiotic things sometimes.
    There is an undercurrent that is disturbing about athletes. It’s also amazing how many people get upset with them for problems with their grammar and spelling.
    It’s telling.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    haters gonna hate. I just think Amar’e should get educated on some of the things he says. Not everything, but some stuff just makes him sound ignorant.

  • ALEX80

    Can I play in this league??

  • Jim

    amare sorry man, but creating your own league is simply not smart…

    maybe you should’ve went to college…

  • Brahsef

    It would all depend on how much star power the players league could get. If LeBron, Kobe, Wade, etc came on board investors would flock for the opportunity. While the NBA has name recognition, its actual players have way more name recognition. This isn’t football or baseball, it’s a players league. If you’d start off small in large northern cities and have stars accept smaller wages, television contracts and large sponsors would come. The first 5 years would most likely not net a profit, but most large investments like this don’t. In a perfect world, this would happen. In ours, unlikely. It definitely is possible though.

    Owners are nothing but very rich people. That void can be filled.

  • http://therurbangriot.com The NUPE

    It would be alomst impossible for the players to start their own league. But the key word there is ‘almost’. If the entire season was cancelled, I’m sure there are several ‘smart’ businesses/investors who would/could get backing to start another league. I think Amare is right that this would only be possible if the lock-out lasted more than one season (which is highly doubful). A cancelled NBA season could mean that some international leagues expand the # of teams in order to accomodate more NBA talent. This in itself could start wheels in motion towards a ‘collapsed’ NBA. All of this is highly highly doubful, and as it stands right now, the owners are still clearly in position to wait out the players. It won’t take too long for investors and overseas markets to try to take advantage. I’m not sure how it would/could work, but when there is this much money involved, I’m sure someone is going to figure it out eventually. Right at the moment it’s way to early to speculate on who it will be and the timing, but if the season is cancelled and games lost next season, you never know.

  • Brahsef

    I love the people who say Amare should’ve gone to school. College adds nothing to actual intelligence. I’ve graduated and the majority of people in college are still retarded.

  • bluntz

    Amare would be a great fit commissioner in this new league. You know, since David Stern is Jewish and Amare spent some time last summer getting in touch with his jewish heritage.

  • http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/a-quick-guide-to-the-issues-of-the-nba-lockout/2011/10/11/gIQAon1ZbL_story.html unf*ckwitable

    Somebody snatch the mike from this clown.

  • bike

    There are plenty of pro athletes that are very intelligent and well educated although there are quite a few that seem to say incredibly stupid things publicly. What Amar’e is saying sounds pretty stupid right now. That doesn’t make Amar’e an idiot– it just makes him sound delusional. If the players are 100 percent united on the lockout like Hunter claims, then they should all be preaching the same line about getting the deal they desire, ending this work stoppage, and getting back to playing ball.

  • http://www.offthebackboard.wordpress.com Off The Backboard

    Talk is cheap. Sure, designing a new model for a league and creating one sounds well and good, but actually implementing it is going to cost Amare more than he can handle. He might have to end up doing another nude shot for ESPN the Magazine to get money on the side.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Of course it would be difficult to outdo the NBA but it’s kind of funny when people have a knee-jerk reaction to the idea of employees actually owning a stake in their company.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    It isn’t funny at all.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    There is just no way the Owners & Arena Owners let another league pop up. It would probably end the lock-out a lot faster if they got something like this in motion, but I can’t ever see it coming to fruition.

  • Galagu

    that’s cute amare.

  • http://sajkflf.com Jukai

    You know, I don’t think Amare is too smart, Allen. This is not a knock on Amare, I love him and he is a personable guy. He’s dedicated, charming and happy-go-lucky. He doesn’t have to change… but he’s spoken out of his ass a lot.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I think he is smart just ignorant. He processes information well but doesn’t have enough information. People mistake ignorance for stupidity as often as they mistake an accumulation of information for intelligence.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Do y’all realize that given current total revenues and the way BRI is setup if the owners got a 50/50 split on BRI they would collectively earn $500 million more than the players? The BRI would breakdown to $1.9 billion each. Then the owners have $500 million that doesn’t go to BRI. So with an “even” split the owners will now get $2.4 billion to the players 1.9 billion.
    That is how you come up.

  • http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Video-Don-t-tell-Kobe-Bryant-what-he-can-t-do?urn=nba-233572 nbk

    I wish my dad made more money then his company. Could you imagine if Bill Gates made more money then Apple? Or if the President lost more money every year then the government? think about it

  • http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Video-Don-t-tell-Kobe-Bryant-what-he-can-t-do?urn=nba-233572 nbk

    I mean microsoft, damnit.

  • http://myspace.com/gametimeweezy Gametimeweezy

    As long as David Stern, Craig Sager and Bill Walton aren’t involved im all about a new league. We dont need Ahmad Rashad either.. keep everybody else.

  • http://www.rich-imaging.com Dutch Rich

    I’d rather that than Amare runnin’ round TimesSquare snatching jesuzpieces offa muhfu****s…. Realtalk!!
    We’ll call that league the
    C(aint)
    S(top)
    B(allin)
    Jay-Z be the president and we got endorsements from Applebottom Jeans, Popeyes Chicken, Domes barbershop and Western Union. That way we got all angles covered.
    Somebody write a song about it please and the rest of you lighten up…….

  • http://sajkflf.com Jukai

    Allen: Could be. Impossible to say since neither of us actually know him.
    Which is unfortunate.

  • Davo

    I feel that the players should have formed their own league long ago. Those that feel it is impossible to do, only say that because they don’t want to see a league controlled by blacks. It’s ok to bust your ass on and off the court and allow the “owners” (masters) to make a killing! We live in a world that fears control to be turned over. Look at how Lebron James was vilified for thinking independently. The league is probably 90% black, produces billions of dollars annually, and how many majority owners are black??? WAKE UP-WAKE UP-WAKE UP!

  • MikeC.

    @Marx – it’s not so much that since he’s been in NY, whatever he thinks comes out of his mouth. It’s more that he’s now in the media capitol of the world and he’s getting way more media attention than he was getting in Phoenix.

  • ghettablaster

    Just go with the 50/50 deal

  • Live

    Now way can the players make anywhere near the money they would get in the nba by making their own league

  • hushabomb

    How about a college tournament style format. 8 teams play a round robin and then let em have at it.

  • http://dodgers.com Joey E.

    lol amare. talk about hot air…

  • http://slamonline.com YoLu

    Nbk, you’re a dumbass. NBA owners alone don’t make more than the rest of their company (in this case NBA organization) combined. Keep your ideas to yourself and stick to sucking Allen’s dick.

  • JD

    i like this idea, it could work well as a temporary measure, though they wouldnt get anywhere near the same money, they dont get anywhere that amount in Europe either,so just for this season it could be cheap substitute, and if the lockout keeps going and if they split from the league, sponsors would grow bolder, and eventually fund it as much as they did the nba

  • http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Video-Don-t-tell-Kobe-Bryant-what-he-can-t-do?urn=nba-233572 nbk

    Soooo sorry Yolu, let me clarify, I meant the NBA Owners make more then they spend on their product. Its like if the principal (for lack of an actual owner) made more money at your school (where you got so smart) then they actually spent on teachers. Sorry my comment was confusing. The president part was a consciously horrible joke. You can go back to the shadows or choke on whatever it was that you had to get air from too type your earth shattering comment.

  • http://slamonline.com Ugh

    @Diesel – My posts in this thread are a joke. I can’t believe you responded to that.
    @Blackstar – See above. Seriously, dude.

  • http://slamonline.com Ugh

    Now I’m trying to remember the brain-in-a-vat joke I made last year. Another highlight.
    Word to bike @ 10:47. Good times.

  • http://none Stefano

    we are talking playing basketball…. they are professional athlets … but which other job they can do (or most of them) that pay them all that millions ……….. look at what is happening in US and around the world with millions of people loosing 1K USD month job and don’t have food for their children …. and pros are crying because instead of making 10Million per year the will get only 5 million per year?
    i’m an old basketball fan and I love it, however players and NBA needs to come down to earth and not talking/paying millions of USD like pinuts …. compare the average salary of the ABA – the best years of basketball. Most of ABA players had to find a job after retirement … now most of NBA players enjoy few years of salary to make nothing or close to nothing activities after retirement. That crazy and indecent against the normal (poor) common people which have difficulties to survive up to the end of each month.
    Stefano

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Wouldn’t it be better if both the players and OWNERS agreed to make less money?
    They all reduced expenditures and profits. Reduced ticket prices. Agreed that less money overall to make the game more accessible was a good idea?
    Why don’t people ever make that argument? Why is it always “That players should take less money and be happy they have what they have.”?
    Don’t people find this practice curious?
    If the argument was “Owners and players make too much money, their business isn’t essential enough for them to charge so much and earn so much” I would agree completely.
    Instead the argument is “Players make too much money. Their jobs aren’t essential enough for them to make so much money.”
    There is a lesson in that state of affairs.

  • Mark

    Another brilliant comment from the self-named “Black Jesus.” Stat should concentrate on keeping his mother out of the pokey and just the “H” up. Thank God the Suns let him walk; he’ll never win anything because he simply doesn’t care.

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