NBA is a business. How many times have you heard of it in the past week?

Deep Down Wans knows it's another billion dollar company. Players make more money than fans think. Ownership makes more. It's a job, and it's not always a job that can choose where you work. The player’s loyalty to the franchise comes from the relationships he has built in the community, and even then, he keeps reminding people that it can be stripped of in a moment’s notice.

So never be too close. That's news.

For fans, the opposite is true. The team requires you to invest most of your spend financially and emotionally to get a promise to win the championship. Fans can't ask them the same way, because the team has removed emotions from their agreement. There has never been a trade deadline that reminds us how cold a business is.

Under the cover of the night, the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. No one seems to know, but the team executives, two old friends Nico Harrison and Rob Pelinka. There is no acceptable explanation for the deal, and certainly it is not an explanation for satisfying Maverick fans.

It sends a message to everyone in the league, even superstars. And fans.

"You have to know the safety of anyone," said Giannis Antetokounmpo. "No one is safe."

Throughout the past seven seasons, the Mavericks have told their fans to invest everything in Don Qinqi and they are right. He rewarded them with his appearances in the 2022 Western Conference Finals and the 2024 NBA Finals. That's how it should work. It’s not how it always works, but it’s what every draft pick will promise, and he will take you on a glorious journey on this mountain. Whether he reaches the peak or not, it's all about Dallas discovery. But they were stolen from that joy.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler takes the warm-up hostage in Miami. He wanted to extend the contract; they didn't want to hand it over to him, so he stopped his $48.8 million salary until they swapped him for the Golden State Warriors, who awarded him two years, $112 million postpone. The other side of the equation.

None of this is about their experience going to the 2020 and 2023 NBA finals together. This success is nothing more than a bargaining chip for Butler's next contract. It's all about the money, and if he doesn't plan to buy it in Miami, he'll find it elsewhere - the popular culture will be cursed.

This also sent a message. Players can be as unfaithful as their team. All they ask for is your loyalty.

The only person who has not reached these deals is the consumer. Meanwhile, Butler is upset about the heat, as he may not make $58.5 million in two years from now, and the Mavericks (just bought at a valuation of $3.5 billion) are worried about being a few players One payment of $350 million is worth it. These are ridiculous numbers. For their fans, it's just fun money.

God forbid Butler from entering the open market and tested his value. See how the Philadelphia 76ers turned out, which made Paul George the first player in three seasons to change the team with a real Max contract. It seems that the team at arbitrary valuation seems to be crying at the highest salary of any valuation, just a luxury tax on arbitrary valuation. I think it's just a business.

In addition to the business immersed in your pockets in turntables and subscription services. The NBA just signed a $76 billion media rights deal, and you think the bill was finally paid for it?

It's absolutely confusing for every fan, and when players change teams like Day Olding Nuderwear in response to the league's era of authorization, the owners launched a deal that made the team harder Keep all your talents. It seems like loyalty isn't in the NBA's premium yet, and the second apron actually injects disloyalty into the process. Boston Celtics fans will find out soon.

The Celtics offer everyone an expansion in the starting lineup. They sold for $5 billion. They will almost certainly pay the luxury tax they have set for themselves. Make it meaningful.

As salary and fares soar, there is an expanded deficit between your fanatical investment and the investments you get from it. How should you feel if the team quit the player’s resignation under night cover and the players quit the team in a short while? Is loyalty still too much?