"Hey, I'm sorry, you know, but it's a business..."

For years, some form of that phrase and a pat on the back is what NBA teams owners or officials have told players when they've been cut or traded. What the owners and officials never thought of and what they are now hating, is the fact that the players listened.

While the NBA can bemoan the rise of the Superfriends and complain about how players keep leaving small market teams for higher profile cities, they can't really blame the players. After all, it's a business and since the NBA has capped how much money the greatest of players can make each year, it's even more important for these guys to go out and push to find a) a bigger market where endorsement deals are more prevalent and lucrative and/or b) try to find a winning team so they can achieve a higher profile and get said better endorsements.

Utah Jazz president made a comment about the CP3 veto that really spoke of how many people in charge of the NBA and the teams are stuck in a bygone era.

"I'm one who likes to see the market and teams that have invested in a player and helped develop a player have an opportunity to have that player be a long-time part of that community. As a small-market team, it's very important. ... We had a lot of years of success with certain players named John Stockton, Karl Malone, who invested and committed to a community. That community committed back, and we saw a lot of success together."

The term "lot of success" together is key here because no superstar in the NBA wants to have the "lot of success" that Stockton and Malone had. While they did have storied, Hall of Fame careers, Stockton and Malone only went to the Finals twice and lost both times. Both men retired without a championship ring, something that Paul, Bosh, LeBron, Wade, Stoudemire, and Anthony are all trying to avoid. And while I'm sure Rigby would bring up, "What about loyalty?!" He has to realize that, in the NBA, loyalty is a two way street. Whereas Rigby can bemoan the lack of loyalty Chris Paul might have, shouldn't he also lash out at the Lakers for dealing away Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, both of whom seem to want to retire as Lakers?

In the end, though, it still comes down to winning and players wanting to have a shot at a ring. Karl Malone left the Jazz in his final year to chase a ring with the supposed super team in LA (they were upset by Detroit in the Finals). Players today are thinking, "Why wait?"
After all, it's a business.