I have no issue with guys following the rules of the system to go where they want to.  (I don't like tamper if it happened.  I don't like the hoopla around it that they decided to create)


I have bigger issues when players force teams hands to trade them to specific teams, thus lowering the return teams can get. 

Aren't wade and lebron not on max contracts? Obviously that's technically fine but a little bush league IMO. In an extreme case its like if Kevin Durant came from wealthy billion dollar background and played for the minimum for a team. His talent level is a max contract but he'd get paid like a bottom league player. It just kind of circumvents the system a little as far as acquiring talent on a team

Why?  We love when the players on out own team take "home town discounts"


If a player is willing to sacrifice a little money for a better chance of winning, I have no issue with them.

I really don't understand all the hate for the Heat.

Yes, the Decision was really obnoxious and stupid. But they got their comeuppance for that with last year's humiliating Finals defeat, and this year they have all made comments to the press that they regret the way they went about doing it. That's the end of that story, there's no reason to continue haranguing them for something they've already paid and then apologized for.

Besides that, what's the problem with them? That they are good? So what? I personally LIKE how many dominant teams are in the NBA these days. It's a complete crapshoot who is going to win the title. It wasn't that long ago that the NBA was pretty weak in terms of talent ... there were maybe two real contenders, then a handful of good teams. These days, Thunder, Bulls, and Heat are all incredibly dominant, but all with some glaring weaknesses that prevent them from getting a real edge on the others, and then there's a large core of really good teams (Indiana, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Denver, San Antonio, Dallas, Clippers, unfortunately the Lakers though I hate to admit it because I hate them).

Also, it's ridiculous to claim the Heat are going to win the next 5 titles. Honestly, it isn't even a lock that they will win this year. Sure, they are killing it in the regular season, but so are several other teams.

What's wrong with having a good but also in some ways flawed team around? I'd rather have a slugfest in the east than no competition whatsoever.

I commend LBJ, Wade and Bosh for their decision to all sign with the Heat in the interest of winning. The great contradiction of the measure of NBA success is that we want our stars to win titles for validation, then we say that achievment is diminished if they don't do it alone.

The 1986 Celtics had 5 Hall of Famers. Are Bird, McHale, DJ, Walton or Parish's legacies tainted because that team was so talented?

The 1996 Bulls had three Hall of Famers in their prime.

The 2011-2012 Heat presumably have two Hall of Famers and maybe Bosh.

The Heat share the basketball and play a cohesive and fluid game. I prefer this much more to watching Kobe put up 30 shots in a game, while everyone says that he's "the man" in LA.

Players are told from grade school on to sacrifice their own personal interest for the success of the team. LBJ and Bosh decided that they would prefer to be contributing members of an extremely talented team rather than "the man" in Cleveland and Toronto.

Hate them because they made life more difficult for every other NBA franchise, not because they decided to play together.
 

I would much prefer to see a trend of star players sacrificing money as opposed to seeing salaries continuously raising to prohibitive levels.

Well those Celtics and bulls teams acquired there talent differently. And if pippin and jordan decided to take significantly less money and were able to sign Shaq to their team to I think it would have been a joke. I wouldn't be impressed by them sacrificing money. Id say they took a short cut.

Im just trying to make a point, that there is somewhat of an argument to be made there. LBJ and Wade didn't do this to the extreme, but I think with the amount of money these guys make outside of bball and with the future them making even more, I could see this potentially turning into a problem where the salary cap doesn't mean as much and possibly turning into baseball with no salary cap which I hate

To your point about Pippen, he actually did receive less money than three other players on that Bulls team:

Rk Player Salary
1 Michael Jordan $3,850,000
2 Toni Kukoc $3,560,000
3 Ron Harper $3,120,000
4 Scottie Pippen $2,925,000
5 Dennis Rodman $2,500,000
6 Luc Longley $2,300,000
7 Bill Wennington $1,000,000
8 Randy Brown $900,000
9 Dickey Simpkins $845,000
10 Steve Kerr $800,000
11 Jason Caffey $627,000
12 Jud Buechler $300,000
13 Jack Haley $225,000
14 James Edwards $225,000
Source: BasketballReference.com

Is it a joke that he made less than Ron Harper and Toni Kukoc? And are you not impressed by his contribution to that team because he made less?

 

I would much prefer to see a trend of star players sacrificing money as opposed to seeing salaries continuously raising to prohibitive levels.

Quote from: CelticG1 on March 08, 2012, 11:47:32 AM

Well those Celtics and bulls teams acquired there talent differently. And if pippin and jordan decided to take significantly less money and were able to sign Shaq to their team to I think it would have been a joke. I wouldn't be impressed by them sacrificing money. Id say they took a short cut.

Im just trying to make a point, that there is somewhat of an argument to be made there. LBJ and Wade didn't do this to the extreme, but I think with the amount of money these guys make outside of bball and with the future them making even more, I could see this potentially turning into a problem where the salary cap doesn't mean as much and possibly turning into baseball with no salary cap which I hate

To your point about Pippen, he actually did receive less money than three other players on that Bulls team:

Rk Player Salary
1 Michael Jordan $3,850,000
2 Toni Kukoc $3,560,000
3 Ron Harper $3,120,000
4 Scottie Pippen $2,925,000
5 Dennis Rodman $2,500,000
6 Luc Longley $2,300,000
7 Bill Wennington $1,000,000
8 Randy Brown $900,000
9 Dickey Simpkins $845,000
10 Steve Kerr $800,000
11 Jason Caffey $627,000
12 Jud Buechler $300,000
13 Jack Haley $225,000
14 James Edwards $225,000
Source: BasketballReference.com

Is it a joke that he made less than Ron Harper and Toni Kukoc? And are you not impressed by his contribution to that team because he made less?

 

Was he a max contract guy? 1 year of the salary doesn't really show much. But doesn't diminish it.

Isn't what they are doing just another way of picking and choosing who they want to play with? It makes it less about building a team from the gm standpoint and more about the players controlling what happens. Isn't the salary caps idea to control parity in the league and isn't this just exploiting it for how it was originally meant for?