Wednesday, January 23, 2008

The Kings of 3-Point Land

The Kings of 3-Point Land
Check out the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday as they drained 15 treys en route to a 128-94 rout of the Nets.

Buyouts are for quitters, apparently
Sadly, Chris McCosky is best known amongst bloggers as the guy who thinks bloggers post from basements whilst wearing pajamas. As for that assumption, well, I'm not going to waste time trying to discredit something that doesn't even deserve our attention to begin with.

On Sunday, Chris decided to whine a bit about NBA teams that want to buy their players out of contracts.

McCosky's words are bolded. Mine aren't. Save for the bit when he gets into percentages. I'm assuming you'll be able to tell the difference. If you have an issue, email me.

AUBURN HILLS -- It would not surprise me one bit if commissioner David Stern takes on the issue of buyouts this summer, or maybe at the next round of collective bargaining discussions.

It is getting out of hand, if you ask me. You want to give owners a way to extricate themselves from bad contracts, but recently, it's becoming a tool for unhappy players.

The team doesn't want the player around. The player doesn't want to be on the team. The player gives up a bit of money, the team forks over cash to the player and the union between employer and employee is dissolved. Everyone's happy. Except Chris McCosky.

It should also be noted that about two or three players a year, out of around 450 NBA denizens, are bought-out of their contracts. OUT OF HAND!

More and more players seem to be maneuvering themselves toward buyouts as a way to get out of a losing situation and onto the winning team of their choice.

It's a real shame players are giving up guaranteed money to go to teams that have a better chance of winning a championship. That line of thinking is abhorrent, and these players should have to play for the horrible GMs that signed them for way too much money to begin with. I am being sarcastic because I am not good at coping.

Chris Webber isn't the only player to do it, but his is the most recent example and most local. He was miserable in Philadelphia. He managed to work out a deal, giving back just a wee little bit of the money he was owed to buy his freedom.

The Pistons got a starting center for about a million dollars, without giving up a thing.

Except for "about a million dollars."

The Grizzlies, who last year bought out Eddie Jones (now thriving in Dallas), are contemplating doing the same with Damon Stoudamire. The Clippers could end up doing it with Sam Cassell, though they are more likely to trade him. The Knicks, the masters of the buyout, have long thought about buying out Stephon Marbury.

The Grizzlies shouldn't have traded for Eddie Jones, knowing that he was scheduled to make about 15 million dollars in 2006-07. They shouldn't have given a four-year contract to a 32-year old Damon Stoudamire back in 2005.

The Clippers shouldn't have given a second year to Sam Cassell in 2006, and the Knicks never should have traded for Stephon Marbury four years ago. These are the team's mistakes, and the players are willing to give up less money to get off these mistake-laden teams. Where's the problem?

It's quite conceivable that the balance of power in either conference could be greatly impacted if a couple of these players become available for the veteran's minimum.

Ah, now we see the problem. None of these players are going to the Pistons. Detroit is right on the cusp of paying the luxury tax, doesn't want to add Chris Webber and pay the tax, and certain Detroit-area writers don't want to see Sam Cassell and/or Damon Stoudamire end up on the Celtics for the veteran's minimum. I grok (that's basement-speak for "understand.").

"What I could see Stern doing is putting a stipulation on players who are bought out for non-health reasons -- make that player sit out the remainder of the season he was bought out in. Put those players in the free-agent pool for the following season.

Or, he could put some restrictions on the buyouts themselves to dissuade players from taking them. For example, the Grizzlies' original buyout offer to Stoudamire was 20 percent of the $5 million-plus that he's owed. In other words, Stoudamire would have to give back 80 percent of his money."

(It's a quote, from Chris. Trust me.)�

Obviously, he is going to make a counteroffer. But the league could write something similar into its rules, putting a percentage on how much a team can pay a healthy player to leave. Twenty percent is too low, obviously. But say it were 60 percent. Would that dissuade some players from taking a buyout? They would have to truly hate their current situation to leave 40 percent of their money on the table.

Yeah, screw those guys. Let's put restrictions on how adults can bargain their way out of deals that aren't to their liking.

No doubt the player's association will howl about all of that. They don't want any more restrictions on player movement. And there probably are other ramifications that I am unaware of.

Such as "happiness." The "ability to give up some cash for an enlightening personal reward." And, of course, "the chance to play for a team challenging Detroit for the Eastern Conference crown."

But teams such as Boston, Cleveland or Phoenix -- teams that most likely will be lining up if Stoudamire shakes free -- shouldn't be able to just pull in a quality ringer like that at the prorated minimum without giving up a player or a draft pick or something.

So bad teams that make bad decisions should be rewarded for signing past-their-prime players to bad contracts, and if the teams decide they don't want the player around any more (and the feeling is mutual on the player's end) teams should be further rewarded with a huge chunk of the player's contract back, plus "a player or a draft pick."

Oh, sorry, "or something."

How does that jive with Stern's efforts to maintain competitive balance throughout the league? Not so well, I would think.

Pretty damn well, I think. Stern's system gives each team a chance to do what it wants to with the collectively bargained piece of the pie. It's not Stern's fault that bad decisions are being made in Memphis, or Los Angeles, and that the Pistons decided to bid against themselves to sign Flip Murray while pushing themselves too close to the luxury tax threshold.

Let's recap.

Team doesn't want player around.

Player doesn't want to be on team.

Player gives some money back to team. Team happy.

Team releases player. Team and player happy.

Player joins different team for less money. Player happy.

Chris McCosky? Unhappy. So, the system must change.

This is how it works, cats and kittens. Maybe if you took off your footies once in a while and climbed up those basement stairs, you'd understand.



Assist of the Night: Steve Nash
Hocus pocus! Check out Steve Nash as he comes up with another variation on his long list of great assists.

Dunk of the Night: Dahntay Jones
Check out the smooth reverse dunk Dahntay Jones releases on the Nets on Tuesday.

Haier Play of the Day: Dahntay Jones
The Kings may have rained 3s on the Nets on Tuesday, but Dahntay Jones' reverse dunk was our Play of the Day.

Suns 'Nash' on Bucks
Steve Nash scored a season-high 37 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, in the Suns' 114-105 win over the Bucks.

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