NBA Free Agency

• Midstate01

  

  Apparently Gilbert is still a mad, mad man. And a madman!
• bases_loaded

  

  A team with no ownership can't be trading away its only asset worth bringing in an owner
• thedynasty1998

  

  Dan Gilbert is a joke.
• Commander of Awesome

  

  thecrynasty1998;1008677 wrote:I is a joke.

  Yes, thanks for the oldnews.com update.
• Al Bundy

  bases_loaded;1008663 wrote:A team with no ownership can't be trading away its only asset worth bringing in an owner

  Not only would the Hornets be trading their only asset, they would be bringing two horrible contracts.
• jordo212000

  

  bases_loaded;1008663 wrote:A team with no ownership can't be trading away its only asset worth bringing in an owner

  
  Then they need to freaking sell the team. And the new owner better be naive enough to think he can talk Paul into staying. NBA probably actually hurt a prospective owner. Hard to think the Hornets get a better deal than this
• Commander of Awesome

  

  lol Turdo, just shut up. Trust me the NBA has been trying to sell the Hornets. Pretty difficult to sell a team when the team is losing money each and every year. Who wants to buy a money pit?
• Al Bundy

  jordo212000;1008683 wrote:Then they need to freaking sell the team. And the new owner better be naive enough to think he can talk Paul into staying. NBA probably actually hurt a prospective owner. Hard to think the Hornets get a better deal than this

  A new owner may not want to be strapped by getting two role players who are owned about $40 million. As far as things stand now, why should the owners want to take on the bad contracts that the Lakers are trying to dump?
  
  If no one wants the Hornets, they should be contracted.
• like_that

  

  thedynasty1998;1008677 wrote:Dan Gilbert is a joke.

  He has a son fighting neurofibromatosis (big word for you, I understand), and does all he can do to help his son and raise money/awareness for neurofibromatosis. You truly are a pathetic human being.
  
  /crynasty looking for emotional appeal.
  
  Also he is a self made millionare, that doesn't put up with shit. You don't do that by going to a community college and then taking a job that doesn't require a college degree.
• Wooball

  

  I appreciate what the owners did here. They locked the players out, were on the verge of missing an entire season, and when they reopen the doors nothing has changed. They had the opportunity to give a big FU to the players here and they did. Good for them.
• thedynasty1998

  

  Gilbert is like the kid who gets picked last in the kickball game and tells his teacher.
  
  Gilbert's realizing he made a bad investment in the Cavs because of the evolution of the league. No one wants to play for the small market teams, unless they overpay. The NBA has always been top heavy, it's just becoming more and more evident.
  
  The thing with this trade is that it is a great trade for New Orleans. They get 3 starters back for a guy who is leaving after 66 games.
• Commander of Awesome

  

  He wrote, in part:
  “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 a 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 think Gilbert makes a great point.
• Wooball

  

  thedynasty1998;1008729 wrote:Gilbert is like the kid who gets picked last in the kickball game and tells his teacher.
  
  Gilbert's realizing he made a bad investment in the Cavs because of the evolution of the league. No one wants to play for the small market teams, unless they overpay. The NBA has always been top heavy, it's just becoming more and more evident.
  
  The thing with this trade is that it is a great trade for New Orleans. They get 3 starters back for a guy who is leaving after 66 games.

  Was Gilbert the only owner that expressed their displeasure with this deal? I think it is kind of funny that the owners pulled this move. Obviously the mid and small market clubs have had enough of this bullshit. There really isn't anything they can do to stop it unless they don't give in to these guys a trade them where they want to go. Not every team is going to be willing to suck for multiple years like the Knicks and Heat did to free up all that cap space. If you hold onto your guys, and make them hit the open market odds are they aren't going to get to team up with multiple stars unless they are willing to take a major pay cut.
• sleeper

  

  As fair as the trade seems, the perspective from Dan Gilbert makes it seem less ridiculous that they vetoed the trade. The league currently owns the hornets and the league is comprised of owners who don't want to help the Lakers by giving them the best player while the owners pay $40M for 2 average players.
• Midstate01

  

  On sportscenter at 10:30 last night (3:30am et) they were talking to someone and they said small market and large market owners alike were in disagreement with the trade. Gilbert is getting the blunt of publicity for his letter, but he wasn't alone and it wasn't just small market owners. Gilbert certainly has balls. He's not afraid to speak up that's for sure. But it's gonna be nearly impossible now for the cavs to attract free agents.
• Wooball

  

  Exactly. How can a league run team trade away their only valuable asset for pieces and parts, and look attractive to potential buyers? If and when there is a new owner in place of the Hornets and he wants to bring on 3 role players with hefty price tags that is their business.
• Wooball

  

  Midstate01;1008794 wrote:On sportscenter at 10:30 last night (3:30am et) they were talking to someone and they said small market and large market owners alike were in disagreement with the trade. Gilbert is getting the blunt of publicity for his letter, but he wasn't alone and it wasn't just small market owners. Gilbert certainly has balls. He's not afraid to speak up that's for sure. But it's gonna be nearly impossible now for the cavs to attract free agents.

  As opposed to all the free agents that the Cavs attracted before?
• Commander of Awesome

  

  Midstate01;1008794 wrote:But it's gonna be nearly impossible now for the cavs to attract free agents.

  lol, how in the hell do you figure this? Also who gives a fuck about FAs? Home grown talent is how you do it. Almost all the good FAs are S&Ts anyway.
• like_that

  

  If a player is going to be butt hurt, because Gilbert doesn't put up with shit, then i don't want that pussy playing for the Cavs to begin with.
• Skyhook79

  

  http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-wojnarowski_chris_paul_lakers_hornets_nba_120811
  
  "Demps is “disconsolate” over the heavy-handed move from the commissioner’s office, a source told Y! Sports. Demps considered resigning his job on Thursday, league sources said, and had to be talked out of it. The Hornets had scored a terrific deal for Paul, a trade that was lauded by some of Demps’ peers throughout the league. Officials involved in the trade talks said the league office was consulted throughout the negotiations, and there was never an indication Demps didn’t have the power to make a deal. In fact, several teams negotiating with New Orleans to get Paul asked the league office and were told Demps had full authority to execute a trade." But now, there’s no way that the league can allow Chris Paul to be traded at all; otherwise, Stern is basically deciding where one of the top players in the league is going versus having any fair process."
  
  Interesting. Also it has been reported that Mark Cuban was also lobbying Stern heavily to veto this trade, I wonder why...
• sleeper

  

  With what I previously said, I hope the trade goes through so Kobe has another chance to win a championship on the back of another perennial All-Star.
• Iliketurtles

  

  Commander of Awesome;1008803 wrote:lol, how in the hell do you figure this? Also who gives a fuck about FAs? Home grown talent is how you do it. Almost all the good FAs are S&Ts anyway.

  Yeah its pretty funny. Here is a good stat for people NBA Titles: Celtics- 17, Lakers 16... the next 2 are the Bulls(6) and the Spurs(4). How did the Bulls and Spurs get there titles? They draft a superstar player then a few years later they drafted another superstar player.
• bases_loaded

  

  The league should just go to 8 teams and disappear. Bring the blue jackets to Cleveland and be done.
• like_that

  

  bases_loaded;1008874 wrote:The league should just go to 8 teams and disappear. Bring the blue jackets to Cleveland and be done.

  Honestly wouldn't surprise me.
• KR1245

  

  thedynasty1998;1008729 wrote:Gilbert is like the kid who gets picked last in the kickball game and tells his teacher.
  
  Gilbert's realizing he made a bad investment in the Cavs because of the evolution of the league. No one wants to play for the small market teams, unless they overpay. The NBA has always been top heavy, it's just becoming more and more evident.
  
  The thing with this trade is that it is a great trade for New Orleans. They get 3 starters back for a guy who is leaving after 66 games.

  Gilbert is simply expressing the thoughts of every owner in a NBA city not named LA, Miami or NY. I