Basketball in the Future

Within the next 30 years, the structure of basketball is going to become more or less like soccer, something that excites me beyond reason. For those of you who don't understand the format of soccer leagues in Europe, here is a brief explanation:

Many countries in Europe have their own leagues including Engalnd (English Premiere League), Spain (La Liga ), Italy (Serie A) , and Germany (Bundesliga). Because of the large number of teams in a league, each league has divisions in which the top teams inhabit the highest division, the next set a lower division, and so on . The bottom three teams in the top league (i.e. Serie A) get relegated to the next league (i.e. Serie B), and the top three teams in the second league get pushed up into the first.

Teams play to win their league, but top teams also play in inter-league tournaments, such as the Champions League and UEFA Cup, during their season. Even if you lose your own league's championship, there may still be a chance to win some silverware.

Top quality players get transferred between leagues. For example, Ronaldinho (whom most of you should have heard of) just transferred from La Liga to Serie A.

I see the NBA slowly moving towards this point as the European leagues become more and more experienced and talented and it won't be long until they can rival the best NBA teams on a nightly basis. The NBA will always be the dominant league, but more of their dominance will lie in their history and less on their talent.

As for the draft and the salary cap restrictions, soccer players get signed by young clubs known for developing players and then get signed by the big name clubs, who always sign the good players because there are no salary cap restrictions. I don't see the NBA implementing these rules and systems anytime soon, but eventually they may cave in.

Either way, the shift towards multiple leagues of one of my favorite sports is going to take the game to a level unimaginable. I can't wait to be there when it does.