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On July 1st the NBA free agent courtship period began. And all I can say is OMG!!! This is probably the greatest time, financially, to be a part of the NBA. Players are making some serious coin.
The salary cap has jumped approximately $20 million dollars from this past season so every team is in play. Next season the cap is projected to increase another $12-$15 million, so it’s not over. This is just the beginning.
This season’s big prize is obviously Kevin Durant, who has yet to decide on where he will go. But once considered mediocre players are cashing in. Ryan Anderson, a 3-point specialist has agreed to a 4-yr/$80 million dollar contract, Hassan Whiteside for 4-yrs/$98 million, Mike Conley for 5-yr/$153 million, Timofey Mozfov for 4-yr/$64 million, Nicolas Batum for 5-yr/$120 million, Chandler Parsons for 4-yr/$98.5 million, Kent Bazemore for 4-yr/$70 million.
The thing that all these guys have in common is that none of them have been to an all-star game, none have been elected to All-NBA anything. With the exception of Mike Conley, they are all role players.
And let’s look at Mike Conley. His deal is the richest contract in NBA history! Really?! Conley hasn’t been an all star, nor has he led the Grizzzlies to an NBA Finals appearance. He’s an outstanding point guard, but $153 million?
But let’s not blame the players, they’re simply cashing in on what they agreed to in the most recent collective bargaining agreement. If these are what the new market rates are, by all means, they should get their money. Baseball has been doing it for years.
Many NFL stars had a lot to say about the new deals, as did many old school NBA stars. But it’s a new day, with an influx of new TV money that is allowing player salaries to balloon like never before. This is what the players union worked towards, and the players are reaping the benefits.
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There is always debate from generation to generation on who the greatest positional players are in the NBA. It’s difficult to compare players from different generations due to the number of teams in the league at any given time, the various rules changes that have taken place through the years, etc. However, you can always look at the body of work, and the affect that player had on the game for current and future generations. So let’s get your opinion. Of the candidates below, who is the greatest point guard in NBA history?
- Magic Johnson
- John Stockton
- Bob Cousy
- Mark Jackson
- Steve Nash
- Isiah Thomas
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Earlier this week we lost 2 legendary members of the coaching profession, Pat Summitt and Buddy Ryan. They each left an indelible mark on the their respective sports. Each of them spent more than half their lives roaming the sidelines, giving their all to the sports they loved. They will be sorely missed.
Before the money, TV contracts, and mass popularity for women’s basketball, there was Pat Summitt. Pat Summitt was women’s collegiate basketball personified. She began her coaching career at The University of Tennessee in 1974, and would hold that position for 38 seasons. In that time she won over 1,000 games, took the Lady Vols to 13 Final Fours, winning 8 NCAA Championships. When she retired in 2012, her 8 NCAA championships were an NCAA women’s record. She was one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history, and was the first NCAA coach to reach 1,000 wins. In addition to her NCAA success she had international success as well. Winning a silver medal in the 1976 Olympic Games as a player and leading Team USA to a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics as the head coach. Her accomplishments, and what she’s meant to women’s basketball speaks for itself.
Buddy Ryan, whom many consider the father of modern day defense in the NFL, began his coaching career at the high school level in 1957. In 1968 he became the defensive line coach for the New York Jets. As one of the architects of the 1969 Jets defense, he was very instrumental in helping the Jets pull off that Super Bowl upset against the Baltimore Colts. Ryan would remain with the Jets until 1975. After spending a couple seasons with the Vikings as their defensive line coach, he was then hired by George Halas to become the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears in 1978. It was here that Ryan made his mark. Ryan formulated, and is the father of the 46 defense. A scheme that put a premium on pressuring the QB. Ryan perfected this scheme in 1985, helping lead the Bears to their first Super Bowl, and a victory over the New England Patriots. Ryan parlayed this into a head coaching career with the Philadelphia Eagles and later with the Arizona Cardinals. Though Buddy had been retired from coaching for 20 years, his aggressive defensive style and spirit live on in his twin sons, Rob Ryan (Buffalo Bills Defensive Coordinator) and Rex Ryan (Buffalo Bills head coach). I think dad would have loved to see his boys roaming that sideline together. But I think he’s definitely smiling down on them.
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So let’s talk about the AFC. After last year’s victory by the Broncos, the AFC has now won 3 of the last 4 Super Bowls. In total, the NFC leads the AFC 26 – 24 in the 50 Super Bowls played to date. Last year the typical cast of characters made the playoffs, teams like the Steelers, Patriots, Broncos, Bengals, and Texans. Joined by the Kansas City Chiefs who went on an 11-game win streak to close out the season as the hottest team in the league. But the AFC title game came down to two familiar foes in the Patriots and Broncos, with the Broncos winning out and going on to win the 3rd Super Bowl in franchise history.
So what’s in store for the AFC this season? With the retirement of Peyton Manning, and Brock Osweiler leaving in free agency, there is a lot of uncertainty at the QB position for the defending champs this season. Mr. Butt Fumble himself, Mark Sanchez, is currently the starting QB and recently drafted rookie Paxton Lynch is not ready for prime time. Last season’s league leading defense is still intact, but the issue is going to be whether or not they can score. Time will tell.
The AFC front runners should continue to be the Patriots, Broncos, Steelers, and Bengals. But there are a couple of teams that are expected to make a pretty big splash due to some great off season moves in free agency and the draft. In addition to the front runners, expect to hear noise from the Raiders, Jaguars, Colts, and Texans.
The Raiders made some real progress last season. Derek Carr continued to improve as the teams franchise QB. The drafting of Amari Cooper lived up to its billing with him breaking several franchise rookie receiving records. The addition of Michael Crabtree added to Carr’s arsenal of weapons. Khalil Mack became the first player to be named all-pro at two positions, OLB and DE. The sky’s the limit for the Silver and Black this season. With the free agent signings of Kelechi Osemele, Bruce Irvin, and Sean Smith, the Raiders have solidified the defensive side of the ball, and are primed to break their 13 year post season draught.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are poised for a breakout year this season. Blake Bortles made some real progress as the Jags’ franchise QB. And the Allens (Hurns and Robinson) showed signs of becoming one of the most prolific pass catching duos in the league. TJ Yeldon showed signs of becoming a go to RB, and the signing of Chris Ivory in free agency has solidified that backfield. Telvin Smith is healthy and the steal of the draft, Myles Jack, make the Jags a force to be reckoned with.
With Andrew Luck battling injury for most of the season, the Colts struggled throughout the season on offense. However, 2016 should be different in many respects. Luck is healthy, and the core of the team returns. Matt Hasselbeck though injured himself, was able to guide the Colts to a respectable 8-8 record. With a healthy Luck and the return of last year’s team intact, I expect the Colts to be playoff bound once again.
They still have JJ Watt and DeAndre Hopkins. And they signed Brock Osweiler, and Lamar Miller in free agency. They also drafted speedster Will Fuller. The Texans appear to be in good shape. The biggest question for them is whether or not they can finally get past the first round of the playoffs. I have a strong feeling that this is their year to make a breakthrough. Will they win it all? NO. But they definitely win a first round game.
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It’s almost here! The moment that a lot of us have been waiting on. NFL training camp will open in a few weeks, and fans across the nation will throw on jerseys, car flags, lawn flags, you name it. You’ll know exactly who’s a fan of whom.
The Super Bowl was thought to be a crowning of what many thought was the best team all season (Carolina Panthers). But the Broncos had other thoughts. A turnover by the MVP, Cam Newton, resulted in a quick score for the Broncos. From there, they never looked back. Carolina’s offense never got on track, and Von Miller and the rest of the Bronco defense made sure of it. The victory gave the Broncos their 3rd Super Bowl trophy in franchise history and helped Manning win the 2nd of his decorated career.
So what’s in store for this season? Who will the contenders and pretenders be? The defending NFC champs return mostly everyone from last year’s squad with the exception of all-pro corner back Josh Norman, who was lost to free agency. This season they will have the services of Kelvin Benjamin who missed all of last season with a knee injury. On the surface there’s no reason to believe that the Panthers can’t repeat as conference champs, but sometimes a Super Bowl collapse can have long lasting ramifications.
Your NFC front runners should continue to be Carolina, Arizona, Seattle, and Green Bay. I would expect some noise to be made by teams like the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Minnesota Vikings.
The Rams return to L.A. after spending the last 2 decades in St. Louis. They used the #1 pick in this year’s draft to take Cal QB Jared Goff, and have last seasons offensive Rookie of the Year in Todd Gurley. The defense is solid, so the question is whether or not the rookie can get it together quickly and lead the team to a playoff berth. The good thing is they have a guy like Gurley that they can lean on to keep the chains moving. He’s one of those backs that gets stronger as the game goes on, which is perfect for Jeff Fisher. He will definitely “feed the beast”.
The New York Giants experienced some growing pains under Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system last season. They started rough, but the offense turned the corner about mid way through the season and became really solid. McAdoo is now the head coach, replacing Tom Coughlin. With Eli now comfortable in the system, and weapons like Odell Beckham, Jr. and newly drafted Sterling Shepard, I think the leagues DBs need to be on notice. This could become one of the most prolific pass catching duos in the league.
The Redskins finally found their franchise QB in Kirk Cousins, and moved on from the RGIII era. Kirk had a fantastic season for the Skins last year, getting them into the playoffs for the first time since RGIII rookie season. With the pass catching trio of Garcon, Jackson, and Reed, there’s no reason why this squad can’t capitalize on last year’s success. In the off season they added all pro CB Josh Norman which will definitely help their pass defense. On offense they added TE Vernon Davis, maybe he can get back to the form that helped the 49ers make the Super Bowl a few years ago. In addition, they drafted Josh Doctson from TCU, who can flat out fly. Things should be quite exciting in the nation’s capital this season.
The Vikings surprised a lot of people last season. I don’t think they’ll sneak up on anyone this year. They were 1 missed field goal away from upsetting the Seattle Seahawks in the wild card round. All of their stars like Teddy Bridgewater, Adrian Peterson, Stefon Diggs, and that young, fast, athletic defensive front 7 all return. Through the draft, they added Laquon Treadwell out of Ole Miss, who may have been the best wide out in the draft. All this coupled with moving into their brand new stadium in downtown Minneapolis should make this season pretty special up north.
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On Friday July 1st the NBA free agent sweepstakes begin. And of course the prized possession out there this season is none other than the “Slim Reaper” himself. Most of you know him as KD or Kevin Durant.
After coming within 1-game of making the NBA Finals, many wondered if Durant would stay in OKC or move on to another team to try and enhance his chances at winning his first NBA title.
Many have thought for months that KD would explore opportunities with the L.A. Lakers now that Kobe has retired. However, it was recently revealed that he may not even meet with representatives from L.A. Just how far have the once mighty Lakers fallen?
Over the past 3 years the Lakers franchise has been unable to sign any high profile free agents. The franchise has been in a tail-spin since the nixing of the CP3 trade, and has not been able to stop the bleeding. Bad trades, coupled with bad coach signings have all caused this once mighty juggernaut to become an afterthought during the free-agent signing period.
So with free agency approaching, who will go where? Will KD stay in OKC to try another run at the NBA title with “Russ-diculous”, or will he team up with Derrick Rose and Carmelo in New York to create the newest “super team”? Will Hassan Whiteside leave Miami for L.A., where his opportunities outside basketball will increase and he can become the defensive cornerstone of a franchise in search of its next big thing? Will DeMar DeRozan leave Toronto and go home to L.A. to help his hometown team get back on top? These questions and many more will be answered in the coming weeks.
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In less than 2 months the entire world is scheduled to descend on Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympics. I’ve never been there, but I hear Rio is a beautiful place, with beautiful people. But behind all this beauty lies health scares, scandal, and financial instability. Can they pull it off?
First we heard about the contaminated water off of the coast of Rio. As many of you know there are several open water events held during the Olympic games (e.g. swimming, kayaking, etc.). The water quality tests reveal the equivalent of sewage being in the water. Anyone who knows anything about water quality knows that you don’t want to come into contact with raw sewage. It caries disease and can cause major health risks. While the Rio government says that the water is safe, and the events will go on, we can only wonder what, or if there will be any lingering affects for the participants.
And then there’s the Zika virus. This has serious potential health risks for everyone, especially pregnant woman. NBC’s Savannah Guthrie has decided not to cover the games due to the risk of the Zika virus. Champion golfer Rory McElroy has also bowed out due to the threat of Zika. Will there be more?
Just recently we learned that Jamaican sprinter Kemar Bailey-Cole had contracted the Zika virus. While he still plans to participate in the Jamaican Olympic trials, what are the risks for him and other countrymen that he comes in contact with?
And while we know the imminent danger to pregnant women with regard to birth defects, what are the long term affects of this virus and those who contract it, and the children who are born with it. Is the world community being given all of the information it needs to combat this virus? We shall see.
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Last night the NBA held its annual draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Of the 30 players drafted, 16 of them were international players. But let’s take a deeper look at the problem with this year’s draft.
This year, as well as many other years, we saw an increasing number of underclassmen being drafted. But are they ready?
Several years ago the NBA along with the NBAPA came up with a plan to stem the tide of high schoolers entering the league. You had to be at least 1 year removed from high school to enter the draft which led to players enrolling in college for one year then bolting for the NBA.
This has had a negative impact on both the NBA and the NCAA. First off, you get guys in the league who aren’t ready to play “grown man” basketball, and it has watered down the quality of the game. This is why you have so many teams with low shooting percentages, high turnover rates, and guys who throw temper tantrums on and off the court.
Secondly, it’s having a negative effect on the college game. While March Madness is still an extraordinary phenomenon, fans like myself no longer have players to follow for more than a season at a time.
By no means am I saying that these guys should be banned from making money, but there has to be something done about the influx of “not ready for prime time players” in the NBA.
One solution I propose is to utilize the D-League (DEVELOPMENTAL LEAGUE) similar to how the MLB uses minor league baseball. Allow these guys to come into the league, but if they’re not ready, sit them in the D-League until they are.
If a guy doesn’t want to go to college let’s use the D-League as a viable alternative. Let these young guys go to a league where they can actually hone their skills before they make it to the big club. After all, college is not for everyone.
I would much rather see guys like Buddy Hield, Kris Dunn, and Denzel Valentine get drafted, rather than guys who have only gone through a 1-season audition and may never live up to their “potential”. Not to say that these upper classmen are sure things, but at least you’ve seen the body of work, and know what you’re getting.
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We just witnessed one the most epic NBA Finals in history. The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers put on one for the ages.
Congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers for pulling off what many are considering one of the biggest upsets in modern sports history. Not only did they beat the team with the best regular season record in NBA history, but they also beat the first ever unanimous MVP in league history. At the same time they achieved the first NBA title in franchise history, and the first title of any kind for the city of Cleveland in 52 years.
So how did this happen? Many conspiracy theorists have pointed to the game 5 suspension of Draymond Green for what was determined to be a flagrant foul on LeBron James. The Dubs were up 3-1 at the time and headed home to Oracle where they had been 39-2 during the regular season and had only lost 1 game there during the playoffs. I think that the Dubs were clearly out coached and under-manned. The Cavs put the ball in the hands of their 2 best players and let them go to work. The Dubs had no answer for the iso, bully-ball tactics of LeBron and Kyrie.
Was Draymond missed? Of course, but the rest of the team just didn’t show up. What’s more is their rim protector, Andrew Bogut, injured a knee and was ruled out for the remainder of the series.
The combination of Green missing game 5 and Bogut getting injured in that same game proved too much for the Dubs to overcome. Not making excuses, but the Cavs seized the moment and took advantage of the situation.
In game 6 the Dubs were blitzed from the outset going down by 20 in the first quarter. After fighting back and getting the lead to under 10 in the 4h quarter, the MVP, Steph Curry, picked up his 6th foul on what looked to be a questionable call. To make matters worse, Steph received a technical foul and ejection for chucking his moth piece and inadvertently hitting a fan.
In the 7th and final game we finally got the close, competitive game that fans craved for. Both teams wanted to win badly, and it went into the final minutes being a 1 possession game. It turns out that the Cavs wanted it more, earning the first NBA title in the city’s history. Congrats again to the Cavs, LeBron James, and the city of Cleveland, OH (The Land), on a great season.
