DWADE and Lebron walking into a David Stern Trap on Friday

by jmpalomo on Sep 29, 2011 4:45 PM EDT

A couple of big superstars decided to join the discussion on Friday. Move over Mo Evans, Etan Thomas and Derick Fisher. Time for the big boys to play a part.

Davis Stern is going to talk about the golden days of the NBA: Magic, Bird, Kareem, Isaiah and Doctor J. He will stress what a great time that was. He will say how important it is that the Superstars get theirs. Lebron and Dwade will be sitting there among the dime a dozen Leadership Council players such as Keyon Dooling and Matt Bonner. Players who could not hold up the 2 Superstars Jock Straps. 2 players no one cares about except maybe the city they play for (until their usefullness runs out) and their wife and kids.

Lebron and Dwades Agents will also be listening very carefully. They will get the cue from the Commissioner that he wants Lebron, Kobe, Dwade, Howard and the freak that plays for the Clippers to get the lions share. The Agent for John Wall and other future superstars will also be paying attention. They will be licking their chops and they are going to want theirs.

Billy Hunter doesn't know it now, but he is going to be walking into a storm on Friday that I do not know if he will be ready for. It won't be the NBA versus the NBPA. It will be the Superstars versus the rank and file.

Get ready because the war between the classes will start on Friday. Buckle your seatbelts.

Hopefully, there will be little bloodshed.

(I am of the opinion that their will be no serious discussions until the NBPA solves their differences between Billy Hunter and his Executive Committe (made up of 10 marginal players and 1 superstar), and the Superstar Player Agents.

This represents the view of the user who wrote the FanPost, and not the entire Bullets Forever community. We're a place of many opinions, not just one.

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Did you write this? If so, sick!

Great angle.

In a hard cap NBA, teams will need to focus on paying 2 or 3 core players. The supporting cast/ role players are going to make a lot less money because of it. And imho, thats how it should be. The stars are unique. They are what makes fans buy tickets or tune into broadcasts, the role players are important too, but much easier to replace.

A well managed team in a hardcap era would not be overpaying for roleplayers but truely build around their stars. If Shanon Brown doesnt want to sign for a $1 million a yr deal, replace him with someone who brings the same qualities to the table. Its Kobe and Gasol who should make the big bucks!

"My logic fails all the time...especially when talking to females" Rook6980

by Dutch Hoopfan on Sep 29, 2011 5:29 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah - but WHICH super stars?

And how do you know when a guy is about to make that leap from good player , to GREAT player….

Obviously Orlando thought Rashard Lewis would be a Super Star player…. His last season in Seattle, he averaged 22.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and shot 39% from three…. All the while looking like he was joining the “elite” players in the League.

Arenas was scoring 29 points a game, and dishing out 6 assists. Draining game winning shots left and right. 50 point games. 60 point games. He was being mentioned in the same breath with Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant. So obviously Washington thought he would be staying at that “elite” level and gave him a max (or near max) contract.

Sure – the Super Stars will get theirs… but there’s NO WAY that any kind of rules in the next CBA will keep Owners and General Managers from making mistakes, or keep them from giving contracts to players that become injured.

If Dwight Howard signs his next contract for 5-years and $120 Million – then proceeds to blow out a knee, gain 80 pounds and lose his explosiveness and athleticism – everyone will be talking about what a terrible contract he has… What a drain on the Salary Cap he is…..

So no matter what they put in the CBA – there will ALWAYS be players that are overpaid.

I used to have super powers until my psychiatrist took them away.

by Rook6980 on Sep 29, 2011 7:42 PM EDT up reply actions

True. But since I was stating a case for the hardcap I didn't go into the additional changes needed

No one can really predict injury and anybody can a horrible mistake thinking that your youmg stud is going to become a star and then he doesnt.

So, to account for this I would like partially garuanteed contracts. Rookie deals are th model here. Rookie deals are 4 yrs + a qualifying offer. 2 of those for years are fully garuanteed, the other 2 are team options. Why not apply this to all contracts? If a player fails to produce you just dont pick up the option and the player becomes a unrestricted FA.

In this way players will keep their garantueed contracts and increase their freedom of movement, while also giving GM’s an out in case of a mistake. This is easier than using perfomance incentives because you have to agree on how many ppg, rpg etc. while a coach could just stopmplaying the player in order to make him fail to reach the incentive trigger.

Say we pay Wall max money and he pulls a Blatche, or say you’re Chicago and you feel you made a mistake on Boozer. Instead of bleeding for 5 or 6 yrs, you’ll be able to turn it around fairly quickly and try to become competative again.

"My logic fails all the time...especially when talking to females" Rook6980

by Dutch Hoopfan on Sep 29, 2011 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions

In addition

I’d like to see all trade restrictions removed.

Say you are the Pistons and you desperately want to go into a full blown rebuild, you’re currently stuck with Rip, Prince and Charlie till the end off days. If they could just trade Rip to, say Miami for a future first and and Pitman, wouldnt that be great?

Also, I would like to add a rule that makes it possible to buy out players and / void contracts in cases of poor conduct on behalf of the players. Call it the Arenas Clause.

All this improves the competative balance while also making it easier and quicker to rebuild

"My logic fails all the time...especially when talking to females" Rook6980

by Dutch Hoopfan on Sep 29, 2011 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Team options...

I actually had a comment about team options in another post….

My idea was to allow 5 year contracts with the first two guaranteed, and 3 team option years…. And you’re right… it would afford teams the option to release a player that is no longer in their plans either due to injury, or non-performance…

Team Option years would insure that players perform to the maximum abilities –
The only negative I see about team option years would be that it could promote “selfish play”? If every player were playing for a contract next year, would they all be looking to “get theirs” at the expense of teamwork?

I used to have super powers until my psychiatrist took them away.

by Rook6980 on Sep 29, 2011 9:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Every Superstar in the NHL is getting paid. 2nd Superstar also.

Ovechkin and Backstron
Crosby and the other guy.
Steven Stamkos is next up.
The NHL has made sure that they take care of their great players.
Everyone else has to keep proving that they belong.
The NHL makes very few mistakes in over paying. (Contrary, the NBA makes a zillion mistakes in overpaying).

by jmpalomo on Sep 30, 2011 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

heh

Crosby and the other guy.

my thoughts exactly

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by Bullet Nation in Exile on Sep 30, 2011 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions

The big nose dude that doesn't talk

Haha

by jmpalomo on Sep 30, 2011 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions

There is much less room for error in the NHL.

by thewiz06 on Oct 1, 2011 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions

I just hope the NBA doesn't adopt a hard cap

Formerly know as iNFamous SWaGG

by DMVLeGenD on Sep 29, 2011 5:44 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Why not?

"My logic fails all the time...especially when talking to females" Rook6980

by Dutch Hoopfan on Sep 29, 2011 6:49 PM EDT up reply actions

One player cant win a championship by himeself, you need a team to do that, and that team needs to be filled with talent. However, there are only a limited number of players that can “carry a team to a championship.” The owners are looking to replace a system that currently gives them the most flexability on building actual championship teams and dynasties and looking at replacing that with some sort of flex hard cap. Theyre doing this to drive their profits, not for “league parity,” theyve just been able to fool the public into thinking the hard cap will help that when in reality it wont. Spreasding superstars out over multiple teams, not being able to acquire good role players to play with superstars will create a bunch of Minnesota KG-esque teams or worse versions of the 04 Pistons, I dont see how any of that can be good for the league. Basketball is not football, the game is different, the league is set up different, just because it works in one system doesnt mean it will in another.

And I don’t see how a hard cap is good for the Wizards. Most of our talent is still on their rookie deals, and if we can add a max free agent or two, we could still resign Wall and retain all of our current talent, who are better suited to for duty as role players, if there is a soft cap and a luxury tax.

Formerly know as iNFamous SWaGG

by DMVLeGenD on Sep 29, 2011 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree with the part about the owners wanting to spread out the elite talent

STRAIGHT CASH HOMIE

by everybodylookin on Sep 29, 2011 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions

I'll repost my comment from the other thread here

.
1. Owners want a hard cap to make more moneyThe ammount of money the owners spend is determined by the BRI split. A hard or soft cap is only going to influence how the money is going to be distributed amongst the players.

So, for example, if the owners and players agree on a 50-50 split tháts what they’ll pay. Hardcap or not.

If anything a hardcap is going to distribute the costs more equally amongst teams. A cheap ass team like the Kings would have to pay more to reach the salary floor while a big spender like Dallas is going to pay almost half of what they paid last yr.

The Kings already lost money paying 43 million and paying more isn’t going to help their profitability at all. The Lakers paid 93 million and still made a profit. Paying less would mean more profit for them. To account for this, the league forces itself to do more revenue sharing.

2. Hard cap doesnt provide parityYes it does. A hardcap would force teams to put the money where their mouth is. 2 or 3 really good players are your core and the role players are replacable. It’s the role playing non-stars who currently make 3 to 10 million for no reason.

A hardcap forces a GM to make choices on who to pay a lot and on who he doesn’t needs to pay a lot. The GM that manages his roster well, will be contending. The ones that screw up will be bottom dwellers and get their asses fired. Pay your stars and choose your average joe’s carefully.

If OKC, for example,would see Durant and Westbrook as their core, they will pay them. Harden, Ibaka and Perkins are role players and should make money accordingly. Its those types of players GM’s tend to overvallue and overpay down the road.
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As you can see, this would not be good for the avarage NBA Joe and would be very good for the stars of the league. Since there are more average Joe’s than there are stars, you can understand why the NBAPA is opposed to a hardcap. Its one player, one vote….

"My logic fails all the time...especially when talking to females" Rook6980

by Dutch Hoopfan on Sep 30, 2011 3:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Stern's threat of canceling the season is bogus...

Does he really want Kobe, LeBron and D-Wade to sign overseas or in China for the rest of the year….

If Stern really canceled the NBA season – there would be ABSOLUTELY NO REASON for the star players to ask for “NBA out clauses” in their contracts. It would completely open up the Chinese Basketball League for every NBA player to sign a one-year contract…

Spanish, French, Italian, Russian and Baltic Leagues would open up their arms to the Super Stars…. bidding for their services…

Then David Stern would be STUCK. Even if the Union and Owners somehow came back to the negotiating table – and even if they struck a deal …. and even if they wanted to play a truncated season – the Stars would be under contract to play in Europe/China…. So long marquee players – good bye fans…. adios to any good will built up after last year’s fabulous season – fans would leave in droves – wave bye bye to any possibility of profits for several years.

HUGE MISTAKE – to threaten canceling the season this early.

I used to have super powers until my psychiatrist took them away.

by Rook6980 on Sep 29, 2011 10:49 PM EDT reply actions

Stern better pray the players don't call his bluff

I used to have super powers until my psychiatrist took them away.

by Rook6980 on Sep 29, 2011 10:50 PM EDT up reply actions

You might have noticed we're having a little crisis of our own around here

I seriously doubt NBA stars could make more over here in Europe than they can in the U.S.

Also, China aint the promise land either since JR Smith is now the highest-paid player in the Chinese Basketball Association making an astronomic $3 million…..

"My logic fails all the time...especially when talking to females" Rook6980

by Dutch Hoopfan on Sep 30, 2011 4:08 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm sure Kobe doesn't need the $3 Million he'll get from Italy

or that Dwight Howard NEEDS the paltry few millions (god, that was hard to say)… that some European team will throw at him…

Point is.. if the players REALLY, REALLY wanted to play hardball… and call David Stern’s bluff – the Super Star players could all decide to go play basketball overseas for a year… Without them, there is NO LEAGUE; and the Owners can give up $4 Billion in revenues.

I used to have super powers until my psychiatrist took them away.

by Rook6980 on Sep 30, 2011 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Why does everyone treat the 80s as a golden age for the NBA?

Magic and Bird were great, but only four teams won a championship in the entire decade and really only three or four teams had a realistic shot each year. I’d actually prefer that the league be more like it was last season or in 2007 where there were a few teams that could conceivably pull it off.

Follow me on twitter -
http://twitter.com/TheRealTPruitt

by pantslessyoda1 on Oct 1, 2011 9:09 AM EDT reply actions

Because it was AWESOME!

by jmpalomo on Oct 1, 2011 12:55 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

DWADE and Lebron walking into a David Stern Trap on Friday???

Sounds more like David Stern ran into a D-Wade buzz saw on Friday !!

I used to have super powers until my psychiatrist took them away.

by Rook6980 on Oct 1, 2011 10:42 AM EDT reply actions

Thats why you dont bring people who are not part of the process.

They are a distraction and a side show.
Talks almost broke off because of interjecting a new dynamic.

by jmpalomo on Oct 1, 2011 12:54 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Yeah - but Stern better be very, very careful

Of all the players in the League, Dwyane Wade has enough pull, is respected, and has a dynamic enough personality to pull the Players together into a cohesive unit. Not only that, but he’s good friends with ALL the Super Star players.

Stern better tread lightly with Wade – or he’ll wake up on Monday with a Player’s revolt on his hands….. No season… and a ton of pissed off fans. That won’t go over well with the majority of his bosses either.

I used to have super powers until my psychiatrist took them away.

by Rook6980 on Oct 1, 2011 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions

Good. Stern is horrible for the owners

The owners can get a better deal without Stern.
If Stern leaves and the hockey owners get to pick their commissioner to complete the CBA the players will be begging for him back.
Who is the commissioner that has rashard making $23million, baron davis $13 and kirilenko $17million?

by jmpalomo on Oct 1, 2011 3:10 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions