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He's right insofar as superstars always needed a strong supporting cast -- both Magic and Bird had All-Star teammates, and even Jordan needed Scottie Pippen as a sidekick -- but these days they have more say over where they play than ever. The labor fight that shortened last season, and Stern's veto of the Chris Paul-to-Los Angeles trade just before it began were an attempt to slow down that movement, but it was a case of too little too late. Just about every superstar looking for a better home already has found one in the past few seasons -- the latest example being Dwight Howard and Steve Nash moving to Los Angeles -- which is why the biggest name anyone expects to get moved between now and the trade deadline is Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao.
As if the Heat's title last year wasn't impressive enough, they added Rashard Lewis and three-point specialist Ray Allen, putting even more distance between them and the rest of the conference. The story is almost as depressing in the West. Oklahoma City, the team Miami beat in the finals last season, figured to have its hands full getting past those Lakers and the Spurs again this year. And in a bid to save money, the Thunder traded sixth-man James Harden to Houston, deciding they didn't want to take on another long-term contract in addition to the two deals they made to lock up Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
It's not just the players, of course, who've taken notice of how Stern does business. Fans and owners in more than a few of the league's outposts, from Sacramento to Charlotte, know only too well how the league operates. So do the bookies in Las Vegas, where more than one has the Heat and Lakers as odds-on co-favorites.
"It's great to be in that category," Wade acknowledged. "It's special. It's the one thing, when the banner was going up, you look and you say, 'Man, this is something that can never be taken away from us.'"
Not to worry. There's likely to be another one or two hanging alongside it sometime soon.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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