Arena The NBA Thread

for the love of all that is holy in Lakers land, can they find a taker for Young

 

The thing about the Wade disrespect angle is it goes deeper than just offering less than he could (would) get elsewhere.

To me, it's rooted in that James/Bosh/Wade team. The one where Wade took less to make it happen. And then ownership traded away pieces that were still a viable part of that team, cogs that were useful in pursuit of a title, for the sole purpose of saving money against the luxury tax. A billionaire owner making money hand over fist, and he needed to save a some money and cost that team having their optimal chance at the title.

Those money-driven trades are a big part of why James left the team. Which closed shut the window of opportunity for that team to win a title.

So, you've got Wade. He's given up money already in the prime of his career. To win a championship. Which his billionaire owner then cared about money more and saved money at the expense of giving the best chance at the title. Which lead to one of his best friends leaving, Which meant no more titles. And then wanted to save more money by not paying Wade as much as he could?




Nah. You're right. Can't see why it's disrespectful to Wade, at all.

 

There's just an incredible amount of entitlement in that comment that I'm not going to bother with. That's where the perception of disrespect seems to come from, delusions of entitlement.

But, if you want to continue, what money driven trades? Refresh my memory.

 

The current topic of discussion reminds me of Shaq and Penny, and the 30/30 film That Magic Moment, where Shaq felt disrespected by Orlando and signed with the Lakers. Which reminds me when Shaq felt disrespected by Kobe and left the Lakers.

Wade won't be the last superstar to feel disrespected for their contracts.

 

I think he's referring to when they traded Mike Miller so they wouldn't go into the luxury tax. That's the only one I can think of.

 

relative to the rest of the nba, and the way that world functions... which, technically is the context that MATTERS in this instance, not the way we view the world, it is disrespect. just saying.

 

i guess that's sort of the crux of my problem. only the owners are entitled to anything, the players can only have "delusions" of entitlement. i mean that is the reality of the situation, i'm not even arguing. but in that climate the players should absolutely do what's best for them whenever they have a chance to control their own circumstance. if the players aren't entitled to anything where is the incentive for loyalty? yet it's the players who almost always get blasted if they leave their current team. if they sign a big contract with a non-contender they value money over winning, if they sign with a better team they're taking the "easy road", and no matter what they're traitors. they're always in these no-win situations, but if management moves a guy or refuses to match a competitive offer well "basketball's a business".

i don't even disagree with that last part, and i realize i'm not really arguing against you anymore ct, but i just wish we could drop this double standard.

 

When in doubt, refer to Zach Lowe:

http://grantland.com/features/nba-m...james-chris-bosh-houston-rockets-free-agency/

 

lol. if you're going to call one person entitled, call both of them. weren't heat fans/owernship/riley acting entitled by hoping that wade would take less to play for them, and then bashing him when he didn't? why is it entitled for wade to want to work somewhere he is appreciated and valued at the level he believes he should be? if i'm working somewhere and another company comes along and says they'll give me more money, in addition to more appreciation and respect for the work i'm doing, am i entitled for taking that job?

that makes no sense.

 

What Trimbo said.

You'd probably feel disrespected if your employer came at you with a super lowball offer compared to what you're worth-- and especially so if you'd sacrificed for them hardcore in the past.

And yet, someone in abject poverty would look at you like "WTF 10 GRAND IS AN INSANE AMOUNT OF MONEY CT SUCK IT UP"

I hate using the "employee-employer" example here since I think leaving a sports team can be way more than that, but it gets across how the "perspective" thing may be true but doesn't mean someone's immune from-- or wrong for feeling-- disrespect in this sense.

 

I've never said they are, though.

They're not entitled to Wade. They can make their offer, and he can turn them down. I've said this already.

I agree, I've said this.

Wade served out his contract in good faith. His obligation to Miami is over.

He should do...well, whatever he wants to do.

I think there is none.

Okay, but not by me.

That last part is my attitude, all the time, always.

If a player leaves, that's their business, not mine.

That's up to other people, because it's not a double standard I hold.

I think we should call this stuff out on both ends.

I didn't know they've been bashing him, but I'd call those people entitled, too.

It's not entitled to simply hope a player will take less to play for you, but it is to expect it, demand it, and then get mad and act like an ass when he doesn't.

It's not, and I never said it was.

I mean, you didn't actually read my comments, did you?

Because you're way off here.

I literally said this on the last page:

I disagree, I think the wider world matters a lot, but even in this specific context, it's not disrespect.

It's not disrespect to disagree with an employee's sense of value.

If an employee thinks they're worth 25 million, and you disagree, that's not disrespect.

If an employee can get more money elsewhere, and respectfully goes "bye", it's not disrespect, it's business.

I think this is obviously a bad comparison.

There is a huge, HUGE difference, between what players like Wade make, and what the vast majority of the country makes.

That difference is so critical.

I hate using "employee-employer" too, but for an entirely different reason.

We're not talking about a common laborer struggling for an extra $0.25 per hour.

Referring to this as "employee-employer", as if it was, grossly ignores reality.





But I got to say what I wanted earlier. I feel that we, the public, should invest less resources into professional sports. We should re-examine our priorities. When players make the money they're making, but act as if there is some terrible injustice going on, we should not sympathize. When owners talk about how a hot dog has to cost $15 or they'll go broke, we should not sympathize. We should reconsider if these people, and what they're doing, are worth our investment.

 

eh, i'm honestly happy the players make as much money as they do. a lot of them come from poverty and personally it's way cooler to see those guys make it and make millions than some guy who was born into billions or got insanely rich on tech stocks or whatever. our entire economy is rigged for very small group of people and if we're advocating a marxist revolution i'm all for it, but otherwise i'm actually really glad to see a few kids from the inner city get to punch their ticket to the one percent. yeah, most of them won the genetic lottery but they've all also worked very hard to get where they are.

i do think it could be scaled back quite a bit in the terms of how much things cost the fan, and both sides could still be very wealthy. especially now that so much much of their revenue is coming from the tv deal. that part does bug me. they have a chance to pass on some their windfall to the fans themselves and they never will. if there was legitimate movement behind a boycott i would probably join, but i don't think it's that crazy. depending on the market of course. i went to a blazers game this year. it was 30 bucks. decent seats. i did have a couple of 7 dollar beers, but it was still comparable to a night out with dinner and a movie or whatever. hopefully i can get in early enough to snag some warriors tickets this year.

 

Honestly?

June 19th tells me it's worth it. All of it. It's worth it. The inflated price of a hot dog. The price to park my car. It's worth it.

 

yeah, i'm just totally hooked on nba basketball. and now this?




can't quit now, lol.

 

I'm rather pleased that the Blazers managed to pick up Ezeli for cheap. We needed a rim protector, and he fits the bill!

 

given that they were expecting it, and have asked it of him repeatedly over his career, and then they slammed him for leaving? that's disrespect in any work environment, doesn't matter how much you're making. if your employee told you you had to take a pay cut in order to bring in someone else that would help the company make money but they aren't sharing with you... what's that? that's exactly what they've done with wade.

and you're ignoring the simple fact that in that world, which is the one that they're living in and what they're dealing with on a professional level, compared to EVERYTHING ELSE IN THAT WORLD, he's being disrespected. we don't know what promises were made to him, but i strongly suspect that over the years there probably have been a few. if you're looking at it based on percentages, then what he's saying and talking about is not out of line at all. the problem is that the percentage is of such a huge amount of money. but is there anything wrong with the players getting a fair share of that amount of money? no. there is not. at all. frankly they should get it, if it has to go anywhere. they're the ones physically doing the most. if the amount of money were less then it would be the same percentage, just less total money. like the previous cba. compared to what he was getting, percentage wise under that, yes, he was being severely disrespected. especially with everything he's given the team over the years. people want players to be loyal to a team, they value the tim duncan's and dirk nowitzki's of the world so much, but when it's the other way around and the team doesn't do anything to reward that loyalty the player should just suck it up and deal? how's that make any sense? we'll never see another duncan or nowitzki or bryant. that time is done, because the teams simply aren't willing to do anything to reward it anymore. which wade is currently learning to deal with.

and yes, i realize that's the "employee-employer" thing you don't want to compare it to... thing is it's a valid comparison, because that's exactly what they are.

 

Me either





Also CT-10093-390whatever am I supposed to respond to that cause you def didn't get my point at all homie

 

Respond to what? You already responded to my last comment.

I didn't get what point?

 

lmao are you mixing up me and inty cause we have cavs colored icons

 

lol yes, I am

 

It remains worth it to follow sports, because of the great drama & theater (especially in the NBA next season... holy hell!), the sense of community that's created, and so forth. Too many interesting memories for me created over the years in following the Lakers & Dodgers (among others)... that'll continue until the day my life ends, even if one of my beloved teams remains inaccessible on television.

 

Happy Anniversary, my fellow Cleveland fans.

On this day six years ago, our hearts were broken. In what seemed like an irreconcilable way.

We rallied behind our billionaire owner, who became the champion of the people for his poetry in Comic Sans, about a Self-Titled Former King.

We watched in the distance as national telecasts showed fans burning jerseys.

We wondered how one of our own didn't understand.

We opined about him taking the easy way out.

We wondered if our franchise was doomed, if Las Vegas or Seattle might be calling.

We likened our once hero to Anakin Skywalker. And not a good version. The Episode III version.

"I'm taking my talents to south beach" became our new go-to slang for dropping a deuce, replacing "taking the Browns to the Super Bowl".

We became Mavs fans. Spurs Fans. *shudder* Celtics fans. Gam Over "team" became our rallying cry.

Now, though, we don't have to settle for the darkness. We have our fairy tale:



So, Happy Anniversary. The day our souls were crushed, it turns out, was just setting the plate for the sweetest serving of redemption possible.

 

IT'S TOO EARLY IN THE DAY FOR TEARS INTY

 

That's a great contract. Olshey is a heck of a GM.

 

blazers should be fun again next year. can't see them matching on crabbe tho, that's an insane offer from the nets.

and speights signs with the clippers for the minimum. could the warriors have brought him back for the same? or was that impossible because they needed to renounce him to get his cap hold off the books? wish i understood these cap rules better.