This is just brutal in every sense of the word. Sorry Perk.
Perk Posterized
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Tag Archives: chris paul
Current NBA Salary Structure Not Up To Par
The way the NBA’s salary structure works today has already lead to star free agents teaming up with each other to form their super-teams. The way I look at it is the NBA is to blame for it. The NBA needed to change this in the new collective bargaining agreement and they did not. I’m sure the players association would have been for what I am about to propose.
I am all for a salary cap, but the league should not be telling teams how to spend their allotment of cap space. There are max contracts allowed in the NBA. When LeBron James was a free agent last summer notice most of the talk was not about money, it was all about where LeBron wanted to play. A team like the Cavaliers did not have a realistic opportunity to sign LBJ. They couldn’t offer more money than any other team. The only reason LeBron would have stayed in Cleveland would have been because he was faithful to his hometown fans. We all know how important that was to him. Why would LeBron rather play for a team that can’t offer a supporting cast over a team like the Heat that had Bosh and D-Wade when money isn’t even a factor? He won’t. No one will.
The NBA players have essentially realized that they can dictate where they want to play and it continues to put their present teams in dreadful situations. Chris Paul didn’t want to go to Boston during recent trade rumors, but what if the Celtics were able to offer CP3 a $30 million per year deal? I’m not saying I would want to do that as a Celtics fan, but I’m sure the extra millions would have made him reconsider. I’m sure the Cavs would have offered LBJ anything he wanted to stay in Cleveland. Losing out on the LeBron sweepstakes ruined their franchise for the near future. Yes, as a free agent the players could still choose where they wanted to play, but assembling super-teams would come at a cost to the players. If the Cav’s were to have offered LBJ $30 million per year, and the Heat only had the cap space for $20 million, it may have changed the situation. Instead we are going to continue to have 5-8 teams in the league with a legitimate title shot, while leaving the remaining teams completely hopeless.
Stern Being Stern
How awesome is the ScoreCenter app? An absolute must have for any smartphone. Anyways, last night I got a notification that Chris Paul was heading to LA. Not exactly what Boston fans wanted to hear. Not to mention they made it happen without getting rid of Bynum. Lookout Howard. Within 20 minutes, I got another notification saying the trade had hit a snag. Come to find out, big bad David Stern stepped in after several NBA owners complained vigorously about the trade. The cause of the problem: The NBA-owned Hornets presenting a conflict of interest. After all, did we not just miss two months of basketball due to issues of “making teams more equal”?
Well today is a new day. And with this new day comes an appeal from all three teams involved in the Chris Paul trade to reverse Sterns decision. One of the NBA’s spokesman said that the deal was blocked for “basketball reasons”. Sure…and the Indianapolis Colts will make the playoffs. The NBA found themselves in a sticky situation and Stern’s just trying to cover the tracks. Good try. The league is making a mockery of itself right now and it’s getting pretty pathetic. Either way, if the trade does end up going through, I’m not concerned. The Lakers are giving up two big names and the hopes of Howard following suit are getting slim. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see how things turn out in the next week or so.
Rondo, Green and Two Picks for Paul is Not Worth it
ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported earlier today that the Celtics are still in the running for Hornets point guard Chris Paul. Reportedly the Celtics have offered Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, and two future first-round picks.
First off, I am all for the Celtics making a run at Paul but this trade makes absolutely no sense to me unless one thing comes from it; and that is if they are able to get Dwight Howard to join up with Paul here in Boston. I am content with trading away Rondo for Paul, and even including one or two draft picks.
Yes, Paul is better than Rondo, not by a landslide, but he is better. How can you also throw Jeff Green into the deal along with two first-round picks though? Let’s reverse back to last season. The Celtics gave up Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to land Jeff Green, so they must have some faith in him. I was one of the few who were not very upset when that deal went down. Jeff Green is a quality player who has averaged just less than 16 PPG as a starter in the NBA. Then you are also going to throw in two first-round picks? I think the Hornets would be stupid not to take the offer, but that’s not the argument here.
Lets just say that trade does happen. How do the Celtics get Dwight Howard? Does anyone actually think Orlando would deal Howard to the Celtics in exchange for what is left on this roster? Obviously they wont trade Pierce. So what is left? You have no draft picks to trade, and no young talent without Green. Orlando doesn’t want Allen or Garnett. They would much rather ship him to L.A. for a Bynum/Gasol combination. Not only do they get more value for Howard, they also keep him out of the conference. So assuming they can’t land Howard this is what their future will look like in three years or so. Chris Paul. That’s it. Allen, Pierce and Garnett are all on their way out and the Celtics would have no picks to draft a quality player, and no Jeff Green to help build around Paul.
The fact that they are willing to trade Rajon Rondo and his underpaid $11 million a year contract, along with the only other player on the team with some upside, and include two first round picks just to have a somewhat minor upgrade from Rondo to Paul just doesn’t make any sense to me. Not to mention they will have to sign Paul to a deal paying him almost double of what Rondo makes.
Some people will try to say if we get Paul, Howard will follow here next season when he is a free agent. The only issue is that Howard won’t be a free agent. If he won’t resign in Orlando they will trade him. There is no way they take the chance Cleveland took and just let their star player walk away and get nothing in return.
Another New Big 3?
According to sources, there is a good chance that Dwight Howard and Chris Paul could be wearing Purple and Yellow this season. Yes, both of them. This story popped up on my news feed at like 2AM last night and I couldn’t believe it. I was sold on CP3 heading to NY to join Amarie and Melo seeing how that’s the only thing he’s been saying. I also think that it would be ridiculous to match those three guys up. But if Dwight and Paul head over to the Lakers, the whole league is in trouble. I know everybody is against Kobe, but we have seen what he can do with a quality big man. Sprinkle Paul (who would be better Derek Fisher) into the mix and you can pretty much say that LA has the West on lockdown. Now, the Lakers would definitely have to dish out Odom, Bynum and Gasol in a deal like this, but I think the return would be incredible. Then again, we have seen how Mike Brown coaches superstars, and no Phil Jackson on the sideline could create some trouble. Nonetheless, the defensive player of the year paired with one of the most dynamic point guards in the league and one of the most clutch players of time? Uh oh…
Rivalry Renewed
One of the most famed rivalries in sports….Celtics vs. Lakers. With promises of the NBA season back in action, who could wait to see these two teams go at it again? Well C’s fans, you didn’t have to wait long. The East Coast, West Coast rivalry is already at battle, this time, off the court.
Two of the NBA’s biggest names being talked about are Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. Rumors have been lingering for months now regarding the C’s interest in Howard. It’s highly unlikely that even getting Howard alone could happen without getting rid of Rondo. But with the cap space and reality of putting Rondo on the trading block, it is possible to go after both. Likely? Maybe a stretch. Rondo does a great job running the offense but Ainge is looking for someone to put up points along side Pierce, which Rondo has never been able to do on a consistent basis. Fast forward a few months to present day and now the Lakers have entered the mix, and their not stopping at Howard. The Lakers want to and are in a decent shape to acquire both Howard and Chris Paul. This idea doesn’t sit well in my stomach. Sure it’s just speculation, but if the Lakers were to trade Bynum and Gasol, for these two stars, you can sure put the seemingly unraveling Lakers of last season back on the map.
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