Same here, the NBA just isn't the same anymore. College Basketball >>>>>>>> NBA
The big problem in the NBA is the complete lack of parity. Either your teams sucks or they are a title contender. The teams in between are just stuck with average picks, overpayed veterans and are done after one playoff round. There are just not enough upsets, especially in the playoffs. The title basically always goes to one of the teams with a top 5 payroll.
The big problem in the NBA is the complete lack of parity. Either your teams sucks or they are a title contender. The teams in between are just stuck with average picks, overpayed veterans and are done after one playoff round. There are just not enough upsets, especially in the playoffs. The title basically always goes to one of the teams with a top 5 payroll.
Very true, plus the lack of defensive effort by most players in the league. Its disgusting, its just a ****show of a league, thats the only way I can describe it.
Lol at Billups threatening other teams not to pick him up because he won't play hard if he doesn't get to chose where he wants to play. Some leader he turned out to be. He's always complaining the last few years.
Maybe at one point he was a great teammate but he sure doesn't sound like it anymore. And yes, I understand where he's comming from always getting traded but he should keep quiet
Lol at Billups threatening other teams not to pick him up because he won't play hard if he doesn't get to chose where he wants to play. Some leader he turned out to be. He's always complaining the last few years.
Maybe at one point he was a great teammate but he sure doesn't sound like it anymore. And yes, I understand where he's comming from always getting traded but he should keep quiet
No team will touch that contract anyway. The guy already has his championship ring. Complaining about making millions for playing a game makes him sound like a ****ing piece of ****.
This is interesting. I'm guessing that if he wins, He'll have to sell his stake in the Nets. I don't imagine a head of state can or should own a NBA team
Quote:
Russian Billionaire Prokhorov to Challenge Putin in Presidential Election
By Ilya Khrennikov - Dec 12, 2011
Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov said he’ll run for president against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in March elections after the biggest anti-government demonstrations in a decade emboldened Russia’s opposition.
“This is the most important decision of my life,” the New Jersey Nets basketball team owner told reporters in Moscow.
Prokhorov, Russia’s third-richest man with a fortune Forbes magazine put at $18 billion, quit as leader of the Pravoye Delo, or Right Cause, party on Sept. 15, accusing President Dmitry Medvedev’s administration of blocking the group’s preparations for parliamentary elections in December.
No team will touch that contract anyway. The guy already has his championship ring. Complaining about making millions for playing a game makes him sound like a ****ing piece of ****.
pretty sure the team that picks him up on amnesty only has to pay what they bid above his contract. they're not stuck with the whole thing
Apparently, D-Howard wants the Magic to get Billups in order for him to stay(which I find hilarious). Sooooo, what does Billy King do? Exactly.
Here's the story(courtesy of Netsdaily.com) :
Quote:
Dwight Howard may not get a chance to woo Chauncey Billups for the Magic. With only an hour and a half to go before Billups becomes a free agent, Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that the Nets were "debating" whether to make a modest bid for the NBA and FIBA World Champion point guard.
"Near the deadline on amnesty waiver wire, Nets are still 'debating' putting in a claim for Chauncey Billups, league sources tell Y!," Woj tweeted shortly before 4:30 p.m. NBA teams have until 6 p.m. to put in bids for Billups, waived by the Knicks over the weekend so they could come up with cap space to sign Tyson Chandler. He was embittered by the move. Billups played with Net target Nene while in Denver.
Woj described the Nets' thinking this way: "If Orlando believes signing Billups could help keep Dwight Howard, clearly Nets are suggesting: Well, maybe Big Shot won't be a free agent".
The Bobcats may also bid for Billups, who just turned 35. He averaged 16.8 ppg and shot 40% from deep in 72 games last season. Under the waiver rules, teams make blind bids on players. At the deadline, the winner gets rights to the waived player and must pay him the amount of the bid. However, the winning team cannot trade the waived player until July 1.
^ he doesnt. I think Howard is simply blowing smoke to try to ease off the belief that he's gone by instead stating that if Orlando signed such-and-such, he'd be more inclined to stay.....
...and then when the time comes(whether it's the Trading Deadline) or the Offseason.....BAM! He leaves the Magic.
I don't see how Billups of all players would convince Howard to stay in Orlando. Doesn't make sense. How does he make them a championship team?
Because he's a lot better and less injury prone than Jameer Nelson.
That being said, the Nets claiming him would be beyond stupid, and they take Howard wanting Billups to literally. Howard doesn't want Billups. He wants a good player on his team. The Nets already have a player twice as good as Billups in D-Will.
So since the Nets are going to ignore common sense, they'll claim an unhappy Billups, waste cap space, and have him ride the bench.
Can someone explain to me the whole CP3 thing and the Lakers? How can the league stop a trade from a team they own that was agreed to by both teams?
It just seems pretty unfair to me. How are the players that were being traded supposed to react now?
Technically, as the owners of the team, the league can do as they wish in terms of player personnel. The deal was agreed to by the team's GM, who has more or less been reduced to a figure head with no power. Its just absurd how they're rejecting these deals now.
As for the players, well, they don't usually react too well. Lamar Odom was very unhappy, and requested a trade (and has since been traded to Dallas). I don't know if any of the others have been as open about being unhappy, but I can't imagine anyone is overly thrilled having been traded and then being told they're staying.
My personal guess on the situation is that within 48 hours we'll either see Paul traded (or about to be traded) somewhere, or we'll be hearing about a lawsuit/grievance against the NBA, likely on the grounds of collusion and/or illegally prohibiting player movement.
Technically, as the owners of the team, the league can do as they wish in terms of player personnel. The deal was agreed to by the team's GM, who has more or less been reduced to a figure head with no power. Its just absurd how they're rejecting these deals now.
As for the players, well, they don't usually react too well. Lamar Odom was very unhappy, and requested a trade (and has since been traded to Dallas). I don't know if any of the others have been as open about being unhappy, but I can't imagine anyone is overly thrilled having been traded and then being told they're staying.
My personal guess on the situation is that within 48 hours we'll either see Paul traded (or about to be traded) somewhere, or we'll be hearing about a lawsuit/grievance against the NBA, likely on the grounds of collusion and/or illegally prohibiting player movement.
Thanks, I need to read up on this stuff. Haven't been keeping up all but then I read the story about CP3 potentially being a traded a few days ago, and then the league being able to reject it even though it was agreed to. Just made me go WTF. It seems the lockout didn't actually accomplish much, as Dwight and Chris Paul will most likely end up on 'super-teams' when all is said and done.
Edit: I'm also reading that all the owners stepped in and just said 'this is unfair', seems like the league has just created a huge problem here. Stupid decision. The GM was trying to get something for Paul who was obviously just going to walk after this year.
Also as much as I hate the Heat - I think Battier was an excellent pickup for them. Guy is an excellent team player and very very good defensively.
Thanks, I need to read up on this stuff. Haven't been keeping up all but then I read the story about CP3 potentially being a traded a few days ago, and then the league being able to reject it even though it was agreed to. Just made me go WTF. It seems the lockout didn't actually accomplish much, as Dwight and Chris Paul will most likely end up on 'super-teams' when all is said and done.
Edit: I'm also reading that all the owners stepped in and just said 'this is unfair', seems like the league has just created a huge problem here. Stupid decision. The GM was trying to get something for Paul who was obviously just going to walk after this year.
Also as much as I hate the Heat - I think Battier was an excellent pickup for them. Guy is an excellent team player and very very good defensively.
Anyone who felt this lockout was going to change anything in terms of competitive balance was nuts. The NBA is a star driven league, as the individual has a far greater impact than in any of the other major sports. Players want to win, so the stars know they have to join forces with each other. The reason it happens to all come back to big markets is because they are always willing and able to put up the money to pay these guys their money (assuming the salary cap situation allows). And those big markets are more desirable for these aging veterans to sign for cheap to join these stars. I want to say Bill Simmons wrote in a recent NBA article that kids grow up dreaming of playing on the Lakers, the Knicks, the Celtics, the Bulls, etc. Except for maybe people from the area, you don't dream of hitting the game winning shot for the T-Wolves, the Bobcats, or the Pacers. Unless those markets refuse to spend their money, they'll always be a desirable location. There are systems that can restore competitive balance, but this CBA didn't do it.
One key reason that can not be overlooked for why the league keeps rejecting the Chris Paul trades: the league wants the Hornets to be sold to a new owner. Their goal is not necessarily to receive "fair value" for Paul. Their goal is to make the team as attractive to an owner as can be. Grand scheme of things, its more valuable with 1 star player (Paul) than none. Even though they can assemble a nice group, it lacks that star power that could get someone excited to buy this team. Someone has to overpay by such an absurd amount to get the league to shift from that view for now. They're not thinking about the long-term of "trade him now or lose him for nothing next year." They're looking at 'lets sell this team as soon as we can.'
And Battier was an excellent pick up. He won't step in and dominate a game. But he's a solid defensive player and can play multiple positions. Could be very huge when they want to give LeBron or Bosh a few minutes to rest (depending on the kind of lineup they want to put on the floor). Could even play him in Wade's spot depending on the situation as well. That flexibility, his demeanor and leadership, and his skills are a huge addition. Its glue players like that which go a long way for championship teams.
The few moves that have happened are actually great fits so far. Odom will be great for Dallas having lost Butler. Solid role player and veteran presence. Chandler will be great on the Knicks as they could use some defensive presence in the front court. Caron Butler is a great addition for the Clippers, and Billups could be as well assuming he is willing to go there and play nice with everybody. When is someone going to pull a Jerome James and give someone useless way too much money?
Nets Set Deadline for Howard Deal; Will Move on Later This Week
The Nets will put aside the pursuit of Dwight Howard by the end of of the week if the Magic doesn't agree to a trade and pursue Plans B, C, and D, likely starting with the signing of Nene Hilario, Colin Stephenson reports, quoting "person who has been briefed on the team’s thinking."
Stephenson writes, "It won’t go past this week," the person said, adding that while Howard is the No. 1 target, the Nets "have a Plan A, B, C and D." Plan B, suggested Stephenson, would be the Nene signing. The Nets have reportedly offered the 6'11" PF/C $64 million over four years. Nene and Howard have the same agent, Dan Fegan.
If the Nets walk away from a trade for Howard this week, it doesn’t mean they couldn’t make another attempt to trade for him during the season. The trade deadline is March 15.
Calling talks between the Nets and Magic "ongoing" but not imminent, Marc Stein and Chad Ford report the "most active" proposal that the Nets and Magic are engaged in would send Gerald Wallace from the Trail Blazers to Orlando with Brook Lopez. In addition to Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu, the Nets would also take on the contract of Chris Duhon from Orlando.
"Other players would have to be added to the deal to make the salary-cap math work" Stein and Ford write, "but sources said Portland would receive multiple first-round picks as part of the exchange for surrendering Wallace and facilitating the trade."
The Magic have NOT signed off on any deal, ESPN notes. "Yet it remains to be seen if the Brooklyn-bound Nets can convince the Magic to indeed go through with trading Howard before the season starts." As David Aldridge notes in his own tweet, "Still a longshot D12 goes 2 NJ before start of the season, but nobody's better at putting together multiple multi-team deals than Billy King." To which Sam Amick adds, "Or D12's agent, Dan Fegan."
