He seems to really be getting off on his "season in peril" rhetoric. Mr. Hard Ass.

I think this thing might be resolved with maybe 1 month of the season being lost at the most. It seems like both sides are headed to a near 50-50 revenue split, and the owners will probably back down on some of the other demands. I really do agree with the players though, that the owners need to improve revenue sharing amongst themselves to help out the smaller market clubs. But will LA, Chicago, Boston and others go along with that?

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Thats one reason I'm not optimistic. There's two fights going on. Owners vs players and owners vs owners. The superstars should just say fuck it and go play overseas with a guaranteed out clause in whatever contract they sign.

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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 love how the reports of Kobe's possible contract scenarios included a 1 game contract

I think the owners will work something out. The small market clubs would probably be better off just cancelling a season, unless they can get a better revenue sharing plan done with all of the other owners. The big market clubs will lose a boatload of money if the season is cancelled. I think they will come together and get something done. It might not be this weekend, but hopefully they can lay the groundwork for getting a deal done. Stern is just talking tough and negotiating every minute of the day.

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I'm 100% convinced these are the dumbest owners in sports. They're basically having an extended lockout because they can't figure out how to protect themselves from making incredibly stupid decisions. Like 30 Dan Snyders.

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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

Stop pissing on my optimism.

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Charles Barkley, the always colorful and controversial analyst from TNT's "Inside the NBA", has maintained from the start of the lockout in July that he doesn't think there will be one actual game played this season. That being said, I don't know if NBA Commissioner David Stern is serious in his reported threat to cancel the entire 2011-12 season if the two sides don't make significant progress in negotiations by the end of the weekend. Right now, I think Stern is using the threat of a cancelled season as a negotiating ploy. In plain English, I think Stern is bluffing...

Here's my question. I was reading that the owners want to include an amnesty clause that allows teams out from one bad contract on the roster. If you are the Bulls do you consider buying out Boozer?

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yep, some owner actually green lighted Eddy Curry's deal.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Wasn't that someone Isiah Thomas with the Knicks?

I think they have to. I can't see why they wouldnt.

_________________
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 dont even think that was one of the three worst contracts handed out in the past decade.

_________________
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

Yeah Taj does a pretty good Boozer impersonation for so much less cost. I think you have to seriously consider it.

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Well, the Knicks did have quite a few bad contracts...

Doesn't this describe most sports owners.

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Not to mention Taj is already twice the defender Boozer ever was. Taj needs to add some weight and a much better offensive post game(considering Noah doesnt have one), but he should be an above average starter for years.

_________________
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

It's a chicken and egg argument though. Small market owners have to decide between overpaying players to get them to come here or being perennially terrible, called cheap, and letting the fan base become apathetic. It sucks that Atlanta had to overpay for Joe Johnson but the system made it the only viable option.

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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!

Maybe. I guess its just more apparent in the NBA.

_________________
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

We've had this debate several times before and that is simply not true. See the Thunder and Spurs if you want. All overpaying for JJ did was guarantee mediocrity for Atlanta.

_________________
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

Yeah they could have traded him before he became a FA got some return and then built through the draft. Most big ticket NBA signings don't have a history of working out great especially if you are a tier below superstar and you are taking up a max deal. It's not like fans in Atlanta really would care if you have to rebuild for a few years they barely show up when the team is good.

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Two words for the Atlanta Hawks...Basketball hell!

That's not mutually exclusive. If you remember, part of the theory is that you simply really suck for a long time and pray that you get a future hall of famer. Good luck selling that to your fan base.

Most teams have no choice. Be mediocre(Indiana) or be really bad and hope you win the lottery. Otherwise, it's the same 5-10 teams that will always be the best.

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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!

Would they be any better though? Atlanta, by signing Joe Johnson, kept a team that is the fifth best team in a conference where Chicago, Boston, and Miami basically have the next 3 or 4 years locked down.

It sucks for them. Basketball hell is because of the system and not the owners. They don't have a choice.

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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!

Again, Im not sure what you are basing any of this on. You dont have to suck "for a really long time" to get a HoF player. Why would you think that?

Of course you need a star player to do well. You need that in a big city also. Ironically, Detroit is not a big market team and is the only team that has won without a superstar in the last 30 years.

_________________
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

What are you missing here? The owners do have a choice, and its the opposite of the choice you think they are forced into. By giving JJ a max deal after getting swept by 25 PPG by Orlando, Atlanta's owner guaranteed that they will not be a contender in the next 5 years. The obvious choice wouldve been to let someone like the Knicks overpay for him and let him handicap their franchise, then go the RC Buford/Sam Presti route of making smart financial decisions, drafting well, staying flexible with the cap and building around a guy you KNOW can be a franchise guy.

_________________
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

If they tanked for a few years traded off their pieces for draft picks and somehow landed a star then yes they would be better off. More than any other sport you need a superstar to compete in the NBA. I don't think any of us would argue that Joe Johnson is a superstar.

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Yeah, except the Bulls were pretty much forced to overpay Boozer to get a "big-name" to come here. They continue to be good because they got lucky in the lottery.

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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

3 worst deals in basketball history:

Jim McIlvaine (7 yr/33.6 mil)

Adonal Foyle (6 yr/42 mil)

Eddie Robinson (5 yr/32 mil)

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That E Rob deal was pretty awful. That was still under Krause right?

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