Ben Simmons' deteriorating relationship with 76ers presents rare opportunity to NBA's smallest markets

Small-market teams just don't get chances to add players like Simmons

Since 2019, 11 reigning All-Stars have changed teams within a year. More than half of them (LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden) went to either New York or Los Angeles. Nine of the 11 landed in bigger media markets than they left, and the two who didn't (D'Angelo Russell and Russell Westbrook the second time) remained in top-10 markets. All 11 players ended up in top-11 media markets.  This isn't rocket science. Players move around for a variety of reasons, but the end result is typically the same: they land in a bigger or more glamorous city than they started in. It isn't always by design. There are geographically agnostic players who genuinely wouldn't mind playing in small cities if it meant winning … but in 2021's NBA, winning usually means pairing up with other star players who are pickier. The last reigning All-NBA free agent to sign with a new team outside of the top 11 or Miami was LaMarcus Aldridge. He signed with the San Antonio Spurs in 2015, and his reward for doing so was the departure of Leonard for a more desirable market three years later.  Big-market sovereignty does not need to be re-litigated, nor does small-market ambition. The status quo is accepted. Small-market teams can win championships. The Milwaukee Bucks just did it. They just have fewer paths to doing so than big-market teams tend to because the sort of disgruntled superstars that so often lift eventual champions rarely view them as welcoming destinations. Kevin Durant probably isn't coming to save Detroit.