The Temporary Incapacitation of Parity

The last two weeks have been interesting in the NBA, to say the least. Richard Jefferson to the Spurs. Shaquille O'Neal to the Cavaliers. Vince Carter to the Magic. Ron Artest to the Lakers. Trevor Ariza to the Rockets. Hedo Turkoglu to the Blazers. Or to the Raptors, not sure yet.

To say the least, no one could have foreseen even just one of these moves two-and-a-half weeks ago. Or the way they seemed to follow each other one after the other.

It seems like the teams that are going after a title are sititng at a poker table watching others in front of them bet the house for a championship next year and then having to raise the ante one more just to stay on top.

With the NBA in the economic state it is in, teams are cutting salary as quickly as possible. That has meant the teams willing to spend the money can have pretty much any player on a losing team. This has created a mercenary-type atmosphere in the NBA. The superstars of the lower half of the league are like hired guns who can be bouth for pennies on the dollar.

Don't tell me Phoenix got anything of value on the court for Shaquille O'Neal. Don't tell me Courtney Lee (as much as Magic fans love him), Tony Battie and Rafer Alston add up to the potential output of Vince Carter.

More than at any point, it is clear four or five teams are going for the title while the others are happy to fill out an 82-game season and survive financially until next season.

This is going to turn out to be unhealthy for the NBA. The divide between the winners and losers in the league is growing. No longer can you just lump the Clippers and the Grizzlies in the hopeless pile at the beginning of the year. More teams will join them this year.

And really, if you want to get serious, depending on how new players mesh, next year's title will be won by Cleveland, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio, Orlando or Boston.

They are simply the only ones willing to spend the money to win a title and no one else is. They are going after players with no regard for the salary cap because others are too afraid of it.

Parity is going to be dead in the NBA this year.

The Magic, Spurs, Cavs, Lakers and Celtics will have far and away the most wins in the league. You could see all five around 60 and the next best team in the mid-40s. No team except these five have made serious moves to improve themselves.