Nixed Chris Paul trade creates firestorm of problems for NBA

Lakers Paul trade fiasco is a bad look for the NBA:

There are a lot of ways to take in what transpired yesterday involving Chris Paul and a host of other big names being traded, only to have NBA commissioner/czar David Stern kill the deal. It sets a disturbing precedent for the league right after all of the hand wringing of the labor dispute that has already knocked the season down to a 66-game schedule. Most fans already see Stern as a meddle some power drunk leader who seems to have way too much power over his league. It was first reported by Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojonarowski that the NBA owners pushed for this not to happen. Now the one thing that I was say is that the NBA does own the Hornets and so that means they do have the final say in their basketball operations. This is the biggest problem with the whole situation. The entire trade was put to a vote from the owners and it was declined. It was inevitable that Paul was going to leave New Orleans when his contract expired and even Hornets president Hugh Weber said as much this year. New Orleans didn’t want to be held hostage like Denver with Carmelo Anthony or just let Paul walk like Lebron James did in Cleveland. The Hornets GM Dell Demps engineered one heck of a trade that saw his team land Kevin Martin who averaged 23.5 points last season, Lamar Odom the versatile power forward. Goran Dragic a decent backup point guard and a first round draft pick. Seems pretty fair to right? The Lakers were giving up their entire identity as they traded away two of the three 7’footers that has defined them over the past few years.



When the league owns a team, then it can pretty much do whatever it wants with it. Cleveland Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert, who of course had his own about face with big time superstarLebron James, wrote a letter to Stern that pretty much sums up what most of the other owners were thinking. This is the letter:





Commissioner,

Cavs Owner Dan Gilbet

It would be a travesty to allow the Lakers to acquire Chris Paul in the apparent trade being discussed.

This trade should go to a vote of the 29 owners of the Hornets.

Over the next three seasons this deal would save the Lakers approximately $20 million in salaries and approximately $21 million in luxury taxes. That $21 million goes to non-taxpaying teams and to fund revenue sharing.

I cannot remember ever seeing a trade where a team got by far the best player in the trade and saved over $40 million in the process. And it doesn’t appear that they would give up any draft picks, which might allow to later make trade for Dwight Howard. (They would also get a large trade exception that would help them improve their team and/or eventually trade for Howard.) When the Lakers got Pau Gasol (at the time considered an extremely lopsided trade) they took on tens of millions in additional salary and luxury tax and they gave up a number of prospects (one in Marc Gasol who may become a max-salary player).

I just don’t see how we can allow this trade to happen.

I know the vast majority of owners feel the same way that I do.



When will we just change the name of 25 of the 30 teams to the Washington Generals?

Please advise….

Dan G.

Hornets GM Dell Deps

Do you feel that stinging feeling of hate and spite from Gilbert? Now maybe that is taking it too far but what other way do you interpret this letter? Its understandably disheartening for small market owners to have to swallow yet another superstar getting his request and being traded to big market team (which was one of the key issues in the recent labor strife) but its another thing for them make such a bold move of this magnitude.

 Lamar Odom

This makes the entire brand of the NBA look superficial and presents more questions then answers. Now what do the Hornets do? Can they not trade Paul at all this season, setting up a scenario where he walks away fom nothing? How do the Lakers explain to Lamar Odom (Who was reduced to tears on radio and then later went on a rampage on twitter) and Pau Gasol? Houston thought it finally had its premier big man and now they are back to square one. And how about Hornets GM Dell Demps? He was so distraught that he reportedly almost quit his job and had to be talked into staying. They have taken away all of his power to be able to do his job. The NBA has to find a way to get this right. Even if the owners are lobbying for it not to, this would set an unprecedented scene for a league that should want nothing to do anymore legal wrangling. The Hornets got what they wanted, ridding itself of the drama that would have ensued with Paul this year, The Lakers got the best Point Guard it would have had since Magic Johnson, and the Rockets got the big man they coveted in Pau Gasol so what is the problem here? David Stern and his cronies have some explaining to do or this could get ugly fast.

The Tennessee Sports Fan Conundrum: Why can't Tennessee's Professional Sports Teams Acheive Post-Season Success?

What a great state Tennessee is to live in. If anyone knows this state its me, as I was born in Memphis and raised in Nashville. I have been to numerous sporting events in Knoxville and Chattanooga. You just can't go wrong here as you have two of the most influential music cities in the world in Nashville and Memphis. You also have one of the best college towns in the nation in Knoxville and a crossroad to Atlanta in Chattanooga. Only in Tennessee can you see Graceland, the Grand Ole Opry and a sea of bright orange clad fans at Neyland stadium. This is a state that loves its sports and has to be one of the most passionate bases in all of America. Tennessee is home of the Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators and the Memphis Grizzlies. All three teams have enjoyed varying degrees of success. The Titans have had the most as they have been to the NFL playoffs six times (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, and 2008) and to the Super Bowl once since arriving from Houston in 1998. The Grizzlies have been to the playoffs three times and will make their fourth appearance this weekend. This is the first time in the post-Pau Gasol era Memphis has made it in. I will try to refrain myself from speaking on the Gasol era and trade, I could talk about that all day about Jerry West’s generous offering to his former team in L.A but again I will refrain. The Nashville Predators have yet again scratched and clawed there way to another playoff berth. The scrappy Preds have made the playoffs six out of the last seven seasons.

However, even with all of the regular season success by these teams, there is a certain negative undertone with them as well. If you talk to any casual Tennessee sports fan from, the Bar-b-que pit master on Beale Street in Memphis to the country singer on the corner in Nashville, they will all say “Yeah we made the playoffs and that’s it.” That it is about right when you look at the history of professional teams in the Volunteer state. The Titans haven’t made it past the second round of the playoffs since the late great Steve McNair (RIP) and Eddie George were leading the team in 2003. The Predators and Grizzlies have NEVER made it past the first round in there respective leagues. The long suffering sports fan in Tennessee has come expect failure from the big three sports teams here. We root hard for our teams only to have them fall flat on their faces a la Charlie Sheen style. We have tempered out expectations in the proverbial “Hope for the best but expect the worse” notion of thinking. How could we not? Tennessee is a small-market in a big market nation. The salary cap and revenue sharing keeps the Titans competitive in the NFL but the Grizzlies and Predators perennially rank in the bottom of payrolls in the NBA and NHL. Whenever you hear about those two teams it’s usually in the form of them being the scrappy underdogs that have as much chance of winning as of Mike Catherwood had on Dancing with the Stars.

Our precious state is a small fish in a big pond. When you look at the Nashville Predators payroll, it tops out at $58,922,000. Now compare that to the New York Rangers payroll of $77,471,000 (information provided by sportcity.com). That is roughly a $20 million dollar difference in players salaries! If you take a look at the Memphis Grizzlies it’s the same thing just a different league. Memphis checks in at $68,189,375 for its payroll. That is pocket change to the league’s highest payroll in L.A which comes in at $91,570,472. Any way you shake it, the big cities with big payrolls will always have the advantage when it comes down to it. They can sign bigger and better players because they have the funds in which to do so. At any rate, big payrolls don’t always result in winning teams. The San Antonio Spurs of the NBA have proven that small market teams can win championships when constructed correctly. The Green Bay Packers had the fifth lowest payroll in the NFL at $ 94,018,300 and still won the Super Bowl. The Titans actually had the seventh highest payroll at $ 126,017,443 and as we all know didn’t even make the playoffs. The Packers and Spurs success prove that it’s about how the team meshes and fits it parts as much as it is about pay.

Although Tennessee may be at a disadvantage payroll wise, some things cannot be blamed on the money nor can they be explained. The Predators have for the most part never been favored to win in a playoff series other than in 2006, when they had home ice advantage and still loss. The Grizzlies seem to always squeak in the playoffs only to get swept by the one or two seed. They are the eighth seed once again out west this year and will face San Antonio. Do you think they have a chance for the upset? Yeah me neither. The Titans collapsed right before our eyes after starting the season 5-2. Vince Young ran himself out of town and carried the stressed out Jeff Fisher with him. The future is uncertain with all the turmoil. This is a team with a plethora of new coaches and staff members and no quarterback. The road to the playoffs for this team is more blurred than a guy who had one too many shots of old No.7 (to those not from Tennessee that’s Jack Daniels).

In conclusion, to be sports fan in Tennessee is to suffer a bit. We usually have teams that are good enough to make the post-season but not to win them. We have been letdown so many times by our sports hero’s that it doesn’t even sting anymore. For every good moment in our sports history, there is a bad one. The Music city miracle was one of best plays in football history. Who can forget Mike Keith’s famous call and the look of sheer joy on Steve McNair’s face as Kevin Dyson streaked up the sidelines? That prodigious memory is only one upped by Kevin Dyson’s outstretched hand on the one-yard line on the final play of Super bowl XXXIV. The Nashville Predators finished the 2005-06 season ranked fourth in the Western Conference with a franchise record 110 points (51-23-8-110 pts) and still managed to lose to San Jose in the quarter finals. Its just an all to familiar situation here in Tennessee. The more things change the more they stay the same. One day one of our local teams will pull through and win a championship. Until that day the saying will always remain true, “Yeah we made the playoffs and that’s it.”

NBA season tip-off

The NBA season gets underway tonight with two games featuring three of the prohibitive favorites going into this season.

The Miami Heat face-off with the defending Eastern conference champions Boston Celtics and the defending world champion Los Angeles Lakers take on the Houston Rockets.

After an off-season in which they dominated the headlines with the free agent signings of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh; Miami finally gets the chance to state their case for the championship. I wasn’t at all thrilled with the choice of Lebron James and the whole “Taking my talents to South Beach” thing. It changed my view of James, who I thought was more of a Michael Jordan type leader. The decision to join forces with Wade and Bosh seems like an easy out for him. Everyone had something to say rather it be negative or positive with his choice. I’m not going to bash the guy for using his rights as a free agent to pick the team of his choice. But I will never view him as the fierce competitor on the level of Jordan, who took his team on his shoulders and carried them to multiple rings. I guess we all should have seen have as more of a Magic Johnson type player.

Boston has flown under the radar as much as a conference winner can. They did add Shaquille O’neal (not the big diesel anymore, more like the big unleaded.), Jermaine O’neal and Delonte West. Those additions will make them one of if the not the deepest team in the league. Their season will hinge on health issues of course as they are one of the oldest teams in the league. The big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen still have their say in the Eastern conference. They are like the old men in the neighborhood who still have enough fight in them to be a cause for concern. The most important player of the team now is Rajon Rondo. His play last year was elevated to an all-star level.This team could very well win the championship OR have multiple injuries and limp to the finish line with nothing.

In the second game of the doubleheader, The Los Angeles Lakers will face off with The Houston Rockets

The Lakers are looking for a three-peat following their championship run of last year. The biggest question mark for this team is the health of their leader Kobe Bryant and starting center Andrew Bynum. Bryant had off season knee surgery and the same goes for Bynum. Kobe was quoted as saying he thinks his knee is 75 -80% going into this season. Andrew Bynum on the other hand will be out until at least late November. The Lakers made some good off season pickups to pick up the slack with Matt Barnes, Steve Blake and Theo Ratliff. Even with Kobe not at 100% they should easily win the Western conference crown. I look for Pau Gasol , Derek Fisher and Ron Artest(as crazy as he is) to hold down the for fort until Kobe is back to 100% and Bynum is returns. A three-peat is likely as this team has the experience and talent to duplicate last year’s results.

The Houston Rockets are a team that hinges on the health (this is becoming redundant) of its big man Yao Ming. He looks to recover from a broken foot that has hindered him all of last year. Aaron Brooks took control of the team in his absence and the Rockets also traded for the sharp shooter Kevin Martin. Luis Scola had a nice tournament in the FIBA world championships, leading the tournament in scoring. This team has a lot of moving part but if it comes together and by that I mean in large part the health of Ming, they should be right in the thick of things for the Western conference.

The opening tip-off games are usually good match-ups and this year is no different. I look for Miami to pull out the victory over Boston and the Lakers to overmatch the Rockets. Enjoy the games, I know I will.