The NBA needs a true salary cap

[splitsecond]

/debate

 

[PDXChris]

They need non-guaranteed like the NFL to make this work since you have too many Eddie Curry's out there. At least they have the rookie salary scales working correctly.

 

[Bufalay]

The NBA needs more Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol trades.

How about Channing Frye for Chris Bosh?

 

[AzStevenCal]

The NBA needs more Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol trades.

How about Channing Frye for Chris Bosh?

Actually, that's not a bad idea. Jerry West did his old team a solid, maybe we can tap into BC's fondness for the Suns fans he left behind.

Steve

 

[justAndy]

Actually, that's not a bad idea. Jerry West did his old team a solid, maybe we can tap into BC's fondness for the Suns fans he left behind.

Steve

Me too - it's just sickening how the Ultimate Laker - Jerry West - was able to convince his boss on the Grizzlies to sign off on that obvious collusion.
Of course that smug toad David Stern couldn't have been happier - Kobe never has won squat without a good big man sidekick.

If BC did something like that for the Suns I believe a-hole Stern would get on his high horse about it and nix it.

 

[Renz]

You guys know that Chris Wallace was GM of the Grizzlies when Pau was traded, right? Jerry West left Memphis the year before.

 

[AzStevenCal]

You guys know that Chris Wallace was GM of the Grizzlies when Pau was traded, right? Jerry West left Memphis the year before.

Supposedly, he still had the ear of the owner.

Steve

 

[Covert Rain]

You guys know that Chris Wallace was GM of the Grizzlies when Pau was traded, right? Jerry West left Memphis the year before.

Jerry West is said to have brokered the deal that never would have happened had Jerry not had the ear of both teams.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Memphis also got Marc Gasol, who's a pretty good player.

There's other much more glaring examples of people trading something for nothing out there to save a buck.

 

[Bufalay]

Memphis also got Marc Gasol, who's a pretty good player.

There's other much more glaring examples of people trading something for nothing out there to save a buck.

And I imagine that the Lakers wouldn't be the defending champions if they were trying to develop two young centers at the same time.

 

[AzStevenCal]

There's other much more glaring examples of people trading something for nothing out there to save a buck.

Can you give us an example of a trade that involved something really significant for nothing? Something that would qualify as a "much more glaring" example? Unless you're going to point to the Kurt Thomas trade I can't really think of any that fits this description.

Steve

 

[Covert Rain]

Can you give us an example of a trade that involved something really significant for nothing? Something that would qualify as a "much more glaring" example? Unless you're going to point to the Kurt Thomas trade I can't really think of any that fits this description.

Steve

I am with you. This is about as glaring as it gets. Across the country people were saying it was one of the most lopsided trades in history.

The only way it could be worse if the trade included guys like LeBron, Kobe or Wade.

 

[azsportsfan01]

I am with you. This is about as glaring as it gets. Across the country people were saying it was one of the most lopsided trades in history.

The only way it could be worse if the trade included guys like LeBron, Kobe or Wade.

Well there are a couple. First the most obvious is Babe Ruth. He was sold for $100,000 and a $300,000 so he could finance a play of his. If you want basketball what about Dr. J? The Nets needed cash so they sold him for $3 mil?

If you want another one from Suns history what about Tom Gugliotta. We send him two first round picks (16th overall pick in 2004, 9th overall pick in 2010), a second round pick, and cash in exchange for Keon Clark and Ben Handlogten, both of whom never played for the Suns. You think the Suns wouldn't mind those picks back? In 2004 Josh Smith was taken at 17 and Jameer Nelson went 20. This year Cole Aldrich is projected as the 9th pick.

The Gasol trade obviously was a bad deal but at least the Grizzlies got something back in return.

 

[Covert Rain]

If you want another one from Suns history what about Tom Gugliotta. We send him two first round picks (16th overall pick in 2004, 9th overall pick in 2010), a second round pick, and cash in exchange for Keon Clark and Ben Handlogten, both of whom never played for the Suns. You think the Suns wouldn't mind those picks back? In 2004 Josh Smith was taken at 17 and Jameer Nelson went 20. This year Cole Aldrich is projected as the 9th pick.

The Gasol trade obviously was a bad deal but at least the Grizzlies got something back in return.

Your pulling out Babe Ruth? and Dr. J? I think we are all referring to trades that have been made with the current rules in place. What came before it has no bearing at all. In terms of the current rules, there has not been a more lopsided trade in the NBA.

Also, the Tom Gugliotta trade was a different animal. Tom was done. We wanted him off our books and we found someone willing to do it by taking our picks. That is way different then trading scrub players for an All-Star. Way different.

 

[azsportsfan01]

Your pulling out Babe Ruth? and Dr. J? I think we are all referring to trades that have been made with the current rules in place. What came before it has no bearing at all. In terms of the current rules, there has not been a more lopsided trade in the NBA.

Also, the Tom Gugliotta trade was a different animal. Tom was done. We wanted him off our books and we found someone willing to do it by taking our picks. That is way different then trading scrub players for an All-Star. Way different.

I never saw anywhere you asked for contemporary players. On a side note the Gugliotta trade was not done just to save money. It was done so Sarver would buy the team. Googs' contract was up that year but Sarver wanted it off the books so the team would cost less. Had we kept him til the end of the year we would have had the cap space plus the 2 first rounders.

 

[Covert Rain]

I never saw anywhere you asked for contemporary players. On a side note the Gugliotta trade was not done just to save money. It was done so Sarver would buy the team. Googs' contract was up that year but Sarver wanted it off the books so the team would cost less. Had we kept him til the end of the year we would have had the cap space plus the 2 first rounders.

I think it was obvious people were talking about the NBA but if that is not how you took it I digress. In terms of Tom that is not what I said. I said they traded Tom to get him off our books (clear up finances for Sarver) and because Tom was done.

The Suns had been rumored to try and trade Tom even before the sale to Sarver. He had played a total of 71 games over 2 seasons. That is not even close to a full season. His career averages were at an all time low. In 00-01 he averaged 6.4 PPG, 01-02 6.5 PPG, 02-03 4.8 PPG. This is a guy that when we traded for him was averaging 20 PPG with Minnesota.

Clearly Tom was washed up and done. The Suns didn't want him regardless of the sale to Sarver. Trading a washed up player whose contact was killing your team is not even close to the Gasol trade. The Suns had to include all those picks in return for Utah taking on that contract that year for a player who clearly wasn't even worth what was left on his contract.

Plus your forgetting one thing. Sarver also did not want all those picks in the draft because he didn't want to pay them regardless of cap space. Part of the condition of the sale was to shed as much salary as possible. Signing multiple picks in a draft does not get that done.

It is much more acceptable in NBA circles to trade a bloated contract if the team getting said player get picks to compensate them for absorbing it. The Suns got what they wanted (Tom off the books) and Utah got what they wanted in picks for the future.

Trying to compare that to a trade where scrubs are traded for Gasol clearly is not the same thing. Now if Tom was still an All-star 20 PPG player at the time of the trade and we included those picks.....I would agree with you 100%.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Actually, one of the things fairly unique about the Gasol deal and something that really irked the rest of the league is that apparently it was done on the sly. There were a lot of teams that would have loved to enter the Pau sweepstakes that were never given a chance to deal. It's that fact more than anything that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Steve

 

[elindholm]

There's no reason to have a hard cap unless the league is interested in parity, which it isn't. The current system, with championships restricted to a small handful of teams, works just fine.

 

[Cheesebeef]

There's no reason to have a hard cap unless the league is interested in parity, which it isn't. The current system, with championships restricted to a small handful of teams, works just fine.

were you complaining about how championships a restricted to a small handful of teams when Colangelo was abusing the soft cap back in the Barkley run?

 

[elindholm]

were you complaining about how championships a restricted to a small handful of teams when Colangelo was abusing the soft cap back in the Barkley run?

I'm not complaining. Colangelo fielded contenders because he was willing to spend more than most. A hard cap levels the financial playing field, which the league has no interest in doing.

 

[D-Dogg]

The NBA needs more Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol trades.

How about Channing Frye for Chris Bosh?

That's ridiculous. Even Marc Gasol thinks you are out of your mind.

 

[D-Dogg]

Jerry West is said to have brokered the deal that never would have happened had Jerry not had the ear of both teams.

SAID BY WHOM?

FFS, Jerry West said he had no part. The Memphis FO said he had no part. Everyone except for whiny haters say he had no part.

He didn't "broker" a GD thing. Chris Wallace really is that stupid all on his own.

 

[AzStevenCal]

SAID BY WHOM?

FFS, Jerry West said he had no part. The Memphis FO said he had no part. Everyone except for whiny haters say he had no part.

Maybe you're right but with the uproar around the league and the veiled and not so veiled accusations about collusion do you really think any of the people involved would have said anything different.

Steve

 

[elindholm]

Maybe you're right but with the uproar around the league and the veiled and not so veiled accusations about collusion do you really think any of the people involved would have said anything different.

Right, exactly. Which is more likely: That the Grizzlies woke up one morning and decided to give away Gasol for nothing without taking any bids, in spite of the fact that there had been rampant speculation about when he might be traded for well over a year; or that a couple of people are lying about an inside deal?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Right, exactly. Which is more likely: That the Grizzlies woke up one morning and decided to give away Gasol for nothing without taking any bids, in spite of the fact that there had been rampant speculation about when he might be traded for well over a year; or that a couple of people are lying about an inside deal?

You know or course, that makes us "whiney haters". I was hoping for "happy idiot" but Donald was running low on the "happy" labels.

Steve