The Void Day 2

Watching sports debate shows is getting tough. Mike and Mike, First Take, Pardon the Interruption, and all the shows like them, have nothing to talk about now that only basketball is in the forefront. Their primary focus right now is the NBA draft deadline, and if a few of the NBA "not quites" may be switching teams today. Dwight Howard is on that list, but so is Kevin Love, and even Ricky Rubio.

Even these hosts have a hard time making these what-if scenarios seem important. Until something actually happens, this type of conjecture is merely time-filler. They all talk about the same scenarios the same way, while begrudgingly admitting at the end of these shows that none of these scenarios really matter to the teams or their fans. Were not talking blockbuster trades involving REAL superstars from great teams, were talking about the annual reshuffling of talent to get bad teams' fan interest back.

But even fans of these teams grow weary of the what-ifs. Will the T-Wolves really be better with or without Rubio? I don't say I want to see him traded, but will their record noticeably  improve or get worse once he's gone?

The quick answer is, "no."

The long answer? Probably not.

And that's the problem with the NBA right now. The really good teams tend to stay really good for long periods of time. The really bad teams tend to stay bad for long periods of time. There's a few on the cusp of being good, but when it come to playoff time, we're going to be looking for the same teams in the conference finals year after year.

The T-Wolves aren't the only cellar dweller going nowhere year after year.

That describes most of the league. There are four or five elite teams. There are four or five really good teams that will fill out the bulk of the playoff schedule. And there are the perennial losers. Getting Dwight Howard won't help any of them. They'll just have less money to spend on draft picks and free-agents next season.

The new salary cap? Watch rich players get richer. Watch everyone else stay the same.