From the banks, our boat must have looked a bit like some floating cubist sculpture, its white angular structure scored by floor-to-ceiling windows striped with balcony railings, its monochromatic figure floating in a backdrop of clear blue sky.
It felt to me like a tragic situation that potentially could be solved with a bit more insight into how people actually make decisions, the structure of their constraints, and what really affects their behavior.
That said, the economic structure of the NBA under Mr. Stern has allowed for small-market teams to find success with a little bit of luck (see San Antonio and Oklahoma City).