unfortunatly daniel stern owns the hornets right now

My main gripe is with the system.

Guys like CP3, 'Melo, Howard all know exactly what they are going to get once they hit the market. Whether they sign with NY, Milwaukee, Chicago, or whomever they know what their next contract will look like. This gives them all the power and completely screws their teams over, as they lose a lot of leverage. While in other sports teams are forced to trade a player due to their not being able to resign them, they do so with a larger market. Jose Reyes would never demand a trade to Team A because he has no idea what his market will be. He might want to sign with Team A but he has no idea if Team B will come calling with a better offer. As a result, more teams can be in on the Reyes sweepstakes.

I don't know how to fix the system other than doing away with the cap, which won't happen, so I don't know if theirs a way to fix this. And, to be fair, no team has had to give away their guy in any lopsided deal yet. I guess my fear is largely in the potential of such a scenario though where a team gets backed into such a corner that they have to trade player X for pennies on the dollar.

Doesn't every owner own a piece of the Hornets?

More yuks from the Dan Gilbert school of ineffective letter writing.


Dear Mr. Gilbert,

...We would like to offer you the chance to play in, or coach our games against the Harlem Globetrotters at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 27 at Quicken Loans Arena. We have already created a personalized jersey, just for you, should you agree to join us.

To show you that we are serious, we'll offer a 25 percent discount on tickets to Cleveland-area fans to watch you and the Generals in action.

We know with your help, we have the chance to end our 40-year losing streak against the world-famous trick-shooters.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Cordially,

Red Klotz

It's off again. LA pulled out this time. Looks like Odom's going to Dallas and LA is going to focus on getting D12.

I think they'll figure it out, it'll get around that fans aren't stupid. at least the season starts on Christmas, because I just watched the movie Valentine's Day and that woulda sucked to start on that stupid holiday.

Wait, we traded Odom for picks? That has to be a sideways CP deal, Lakers don't trade vets for picks -- ever!

They are getting back a trade exemption from the Mavs who got it from the Knicks for Chandler. They'll end up trading the exemption in part of the deal to get Howard.

Okay, that makes sense. Brooks and a big package might still put NJ over LA, but I'll keep my fingers crossed. Bynum and Odom have significant holes in their game, but I won't be bummed if we keep Gasol, amnesty Artest and go for a pg like Billups, with the exception.

To Adam's previous post, this part of the CBA actually bums me out more than anything else. When fading players with big contracts get amnestied, that affects the league competitive balance by allowing top teams to get cheap vet talent, who'll trade $$ for a shot at a ring. So I'd love to get Billups, but is it fair? or Rick Hamilton to the Bulls? That's a clause that really hurts the small market teams, imo.

this whole amnesty thing sounds like a load of crap to me too. imagine howard on the front line with gasol. billips and kobe in the backcourt and gilbert arenas on the wing. it will happen people and the lakers will win the title

Stern has to be fired. Events keep cascading from what was probably the worst abuse of power in NBA history. Here's Kobe's reaction today

(LA Times) Kobe Bryant is not happy.

One of his closest friends on the Lakers, Lamar Odom, was traded Saturday night to Dallas for a first-round pick in the 2012 amateur draft, depriving the Lakers of their top rebounder and a solid character guy in the locker room.

"I don't like it," Bryant said Sunday. "I've known Lamar for a long time, and for the team itself, he's meant a lot in terms of his versatility, his personality. He's a big presence for us in the locker room, just from a team chemistry standpoint. He's great at bringing guys together and things of that nature.



"I trust management knows what they're doing. I let them do their jobs, I never get in the way but it's tough. You're talking about sixth man of the year last year. He played lights out."

Odom, 32, averaged 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds last season.

Bryant wasn't buying into speculation that Odom's off-the-court activities were distractions, including a burgeoning reality-TV career with wife Khloe Kardashian.

"I don't understand the criticism of [the] reality shows. I don't get it. He had his best season last year. It clearly wasn't a distraction. He played his ass off. I don't get where that comes from."

Bryant also didn't like that Odom was sent to the Mavericks, who eliminated the Lakers in last season's playoffs with a sweep in the Western Conference semifinals.

"Especially to them," Bryant said. "We were supposed to come back and get them back, know what I mean?"

Ha, and that part of the CBA doesn't actually bother me. Maybe it's me being used to that as a baseball fan and seeing teams waive their guys but, also like baseball, these amnestied players do have to go through the waiver period so teams have an opportunity to put a claim in on them. Of course, these players are doing all they can to scare teams off from putting in any claims but the system is there if a team wants to do it.

if this chris paul trade to the clippers goes through then the clippers become the best team in the west

This Chris Paul saga just gets more and more ridiculous. I want someone to just punch David Stern and all rest of the owners that are whining about it in the face.

I think that would go to the Mavericks, and not because they won the title last year. They have actually got better this off season.

Clippers deal isn't happening now that Stern is requiring Gordon, Bledsoe, Kaman, that pick from Minnesota, and one other guy.

I don't understand it. The guys the hornets were getting in the lakers deal would have teamed with Trevor ariza and that shooting guard they got from the kings and they would have made the playoffs bringing the value of the team up. Not sound decision making in my eyes. And the clippers trade is even more baffling. Stern should be fired. Is there anyway to fire stern?

If Obama had done this when the US took over GM, we would have had a civil war. It's just sports, but I'd still suggest that Stern might want to avoid LA for a good year or two. Both deals were fair. D. Williams calling Stern "a bully" in the press, Dr. EvilStern is now a meme and the Lakers in total disarray. I can understand why Lakers haters would like that, but even they can't make a case for it being right.

Hopefully they can make the dwight Howard deal happen. I didn't like Paul to the lakers so much but the Paul to the clippers trade made sense. Now no one is going to want to try to trade for Paul and new Orleans is going to get nothing for him. Maybe Dan Gilbert is trying to set him up to go to Cleveland lol

Out of nowhere, Clipper win the Chauncey Billups waiver wire sweepstakes at the ridiculously low price of $2 million, sticking the Knicks with the other $12 million. Clippers with $3.5 million in cap space said they want to max out, then match the Warriors offer DeAndre Jordan. That ain't stupid, the Mike Dunleavy GM-era is clearly dead.

Surprised Lakers and Miami didn't beat this out, but I guess they are over the cap and maybe you can't use a mid-level exception on a waiver claim. I'm not really sure. $2 million just seems low, I guess Billups threat to retire scared some teams off.

Chauncey billips warned any team fron picking him up on waivers. The nba has decided to push the Paul to clippers trade and want it done tuesday

So if a player picked up off waivers can't be traded until next year and the Clips do get CP, I wonder if he will retire or be willing to be his backup?

That's what I was wondering.

I think LA should just counter any trade proposal from Stern with Chauncey Billups.