I can’t get a feel for the Bulls — I mean, that’s the same team that gave Luol Deng away in January, then claimed publicly that they weren’t quitting on the season. Huh???? It’s also the same team that plays in the third-biggest TV market in America and could sell for $2 billion tomorrow (not a misprint), only they operate their business like they’re stuck playing in Indiana or Milwaukee. Keep getting dem checks, Jerry.

I agree.

Jerry has always been willing to go over the cap for great players. He was willing to do it for Kobe in 2007 and LeBron and Wade a few years later. He just won't go over the cap like he did in 2012 without having a chance to win a championship.

Does he consult with bernstein to find out if the team has a chance to win a championship?

I think he realizes having the best player in the NBA gives you a great chance to win it all. As well as having 2 top 10 players.

It's never that simple. Right now we have a team with two top 10 players about to get swept by a team with none.

I agree.

And yeah, Bill is right.

No he's not. What player could the Bulls have gotten but we're too cheap to get?

The majority of the time the team that has the best player or 2 top 10 players will win it all.

It's never that simple. Right now we have a team with two top 10 players about to get swept by a team with none.

It's never that simple. Right now we have a team with two top 10 players about to get swept by a team with none.

Jerry has always been willing to go over the cap for great players. He was willing to do it for Kobe in 2007 and LeBron and Wade a few years later. He just won't go over the cap like he did in 2012 without having a chance to win a championship.

Wasn't San Antonio up 2-0 a couple years ago in the WCF, and then lost 4 straight to OKC?

Literally dozens, if not hundreds, of players. They've been in the luxury tax once, ever. Compare that to NY, LA, NJ, Dallas and it's clear Bill is right.

Grantland is now dead to Dan.

If Bud Selig's commissionership were a heist movie, we'd now be at the part where the thieves were gathered in a dimly lit room to count out the loot, and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf would be the one with a gun in his hand, telling everyone to back away from the table slowly.

I used to work with an associate / pal of Reinsdorf's...after being party to some of their calls & emails (professionally, *not* eavesdropping), let's just say Jerry Reinsdorf and Donald Sterling see eye to eye on a lot of things.

The weird thing is, Sterling's POV on minorities and women is really like a lot of wealthy self-made businessmen I've crossed paths with (Reinsdorf included) - it's not "I despise all of them" (how could you own an NBA team if you did?), it's "I view them as a lower class of person." And from what I've seen, Sterling represents the rule, not the exception.

This is becoming a pet peeve of mine. Do people like Simmons and Bernstein seriously expect sports organizations to be truthful? Are they supposed to come out and admit they're tanking? That would be absurd.

Yup. Naive, dumb, and lazy thinking. That being said, the Philly owner recently acknowledged tanking, and quite unapologetically so. He may represent a new generation of younger owners who recognize the futility of hiding or misrepresenting otherwise obvious information in an era characterized by the ease of access to such information.