re: There are 5.7 million people who live between P-Cola and Lafayette

In theory, "small market" should matter less today than it did when CP3 or Baron Davis was in New Orleans.

The league is lucrative enough now that you can make a profit without running your team on a shoestring budget.



I'd say the biggest single issue with a small market at this point is the margin for error isn't particularly large.

Shitty big market teams like the Knicks have been filling the Garden and getting people to watch the MSG Network for a team that has been godawful for the most part since 2000.

Shitty small market teams don't necessarily have that revenue stream to fall back on if they choose poorly and end up paying the tax, or worse yet the repeater tax, without major playoff success to go with it.