Denying reality even when your own guy says your wrong

Apparently the Portland Trailblazers are shopping their product in the Seattle market in a bid to become our new "home team" and scheduled an exhibition game here.

This, predictibly, has re-opened the wound left by the departure of Seattle's own basketball team last year.

As basketball fans begin to relive the arguments of last year and attempt (again) to assign blame or send a message to the NBA I think it's important to keep a few things in mind.

1. The NBA is not basketball.
2. The NBA can have a shitty business model and there can still be a viable market for basketball.
3. Although a city's name is on the jersey, the NBA's stated position is that the team belongs to the owner and that the team has no civic responsibility
4. The NBA's stated position is that because of falling revenues city's need to be willing to subsidize teams on a season to season basis.
5. The NBA's business model is to attract customers, not fans.

I think a lot of the opinions / attitudes / feelings of local basketball fans are driven by a one-way delussion that the NBA actually cares if a team stays in a city. They don't. And the NBA readily admits this.