Yet they got the big fish.
I was clearly talking about the past 1-2 years, where virtually every diva is rumored to want to sign in L.A. or New York. It doesn't matter that the Clippers are more appealing to them than the Lakers at the moment or to a lesser extent, the Nets to the Knicks. The point is, no matter the team, those are the biggest markets.
The only chance the majority of markets have, is if the player is foreign, mixed or a combination of both. Especially in the Spurs case, since they've so clearly tried to distance themselves from a stereotypical NBA environment. That didn't matter when they were led by 3 players who fit the description I alluded to. The second they weren't, it immediately became an issue.