Overpaid or retired old players are incredibly valuable.
Bad contracts become positives towards the end.
Teams make trades looking at clearing cap space 1,2, or even 3 years in the future.
Some of the best players are traded for crap so one team can get current bad contracts off the books to sign new bad contracts in the offseason.
I don't like the fact that some teams have to sit out the trades because they don't have components that make a lot of money with little time left on the deal.(I know the Bulls have had opportunities to trade players like this).
I don't like the fact the Ben Wallace sucks, but his contract is not bad enough for him to be traded but in a year or two it probably will be.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't like the fact that just about every trade is so lopsided in terms of talent being traded. It just seems that there is less skill involved in these trades and it's a lot more luck.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Some good points, but I think this also makes it the funnest trade deadline of any sport. Theres always alot of anticipation and usually some blockbuster deals going down. Plus its high comedy watching the overwhelmed shitty GMs get killed. I love how Chris Wallace trades away Pau for 25 cents on the dollar, didnt get rid of Brian Cardinals contract in the deal, and the best piece they got back was a young, promising PG, of which they already have three. That's one of the rare deals that had me laughing out loud throughout the entire AP article.

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Fare you well, fare you well
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Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I laughed when Brian Cardinal originally signed that deal. I love Cardinal and I'm glad he got his huge payday but he was overpaid for that one.

The trade deadline is the most dramatic, and a lot of stuff happens that is amusing or interesting, but I really don't know if I like the fact that the NBA champion this year could be decided by the Timberwolves dumping Kevin Garnett(besides Jefferson) and the Grizzlies dumping Gasol for nothing.

It also is pathetic that John Paxson can't figure out how to fleece another GM besides Isiah Thomas(and even that's debatable).

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I actually like the Minnesota trade now. I think Mchale got a bit lucky, but Al Jefferson looks like one of the best forwards in the game already, and hes what, like 22? They should have tried to get Rondo instead of Telfair, Telfair's type of play will never improve teams or teammates. I like Gomes, and think he can be a solid rotation guy. I think Minnesota's future would be pretty bright if it wasnt for the fact that McHale is still their GM.

The Grizzlies trade was a shocker. I just cant even comprehend how Chris Wallace explains that trade. He has three young promising PGs, and gets another one. He said the trade was made for cap reasons, yet couldnt get rid of the worst contract on the team. The picks he got will be in the late twenties. I swear Im not exagerating when I say that I, and at least a few of you guys from talking to you, would be better GMs than 20% of the ones out there right now.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I don't think it's all that bad

What I do find ridiculous is something like the Van Horn situation, where someone is just signing him to a contract to make the numbers work, owning the rights to his contract years after he retired

Will this guy actually pocket a couple million because of this? For doing nothing?

I have nothing against the expiring deals too. Just when you think a lot of the bad contacts in the league are getting purged, someone will come along and sign Brian Cardinal or Jerome James to a ridiculous deal

I hate guaranteed contracts, period. And the NBA has the most overpaid athletes going. The ridiculousness of the trading that goes on is just a result of the ridiculous contracts. The NBA would be sooooooo much stronger if it weren't for the fact that about half of the teams are bogged down with garbage contracts.

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Lets not exagerate too much there Nas. The NFL doesnt have guaranteed contracts and its not like the players have no power. You can make an argument for and against guaranteed contracts, but I dont think its a coincedence that the NBA has guaranteed contracts, and you see alot more players have career seasons during contract years(See Baron Davis ) than in probably any other league.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

See: Wallace, Ben
See: Francis, Steve

I don't hate guaranteed contracts, but that a players level of motivation to improve or maintain production drops considerably when they know that they will get paid no matter what and if they are bad enough of a cancer on the team they will get bought out and make even more money by signing a new contract.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

The only person to bash for the Ben Wallace debacle is John Paxson.

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"It's not exactly a rocket surgery." D.J.

So Ben Wallace not playing well is the fault of John Paxson? It was a stupid signing but Ben Wallace should still be producing better than he is and he definitely should be a better team leader.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

It's all speculative, but I find it hard to believe that Ben Wallace would be this bad as both a leader and a player if he was playing to try and make sure he didn't lose his nice big contract.

Chris Webber wasn't good before he got to Detroit. Then his play improved greatly. I doubt he suddenly got healthy.
Alonzo Mourning had a similar revival.

I would say that guaranteed contracts have been partly to blame for many of the players in the league we have seen who have improved greatly after going to another team.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

This is what happens in a league that has a salary cap and guaranteed contracts. The NFL doesn't have the same types of trades because you can dump players at any point and only take on the salary cap hit for the bonus.

Anyone think the Bulls get anything done before the deadline ? I doubt that they do, but it's almost comical now to hear some of the excuses about trades being hard to pull off in-season because of contracts, etc.

I could see Khryapa get released so he can go back to Europe (which is his desire) and Duhon get moved for a 2nd round pick.

Ah, nothing like a trade for the sake of making a trade

I bet they do something really small. No big names. Nothing franchise altering. idk, I think pax is a decent drafter but I dont trust him when it comes to trading at all anymore.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I kind of hope they start to look to next season. Not that I want more draft picks, but I'd be seeing what guys like Chris Duhon and Joe Smith could get - both could be dependable role players off the bench for a playoff team.

At the same time, moving some of these spare parts could allow the Bulls to get extended looks at Tyrus Thomas, Jakeem Noah and Thabo Sefalosha.

I don't have much hopes in moving Ben Wallace.