As various NBA stars play exhibitions and sniff out contracts overseas for the 2011-2012 season, leave it to a Laker to come out and say what makes people hate the Lakers specifically and the NBA in general. First, he tries to portray NBA players as sympathetic underdogs against the evil all-powerful NBA owners. Ironically, he tries to portray the owners as the group with a sense of entitlement.
Reality check. The last time I looked, the players were the ones strutting their sense of entitlement. For example, I think of Carlos Boozer at Utah. He would sit out games, entire weeks, for hangnails and stomach aches. He would delay treatments and surgeries for legitimate medical issues. Then again, Carlos had a long-term, guaranteed contract. Then again, he had a nice wardrobe of designer suits which he wore sitting behind the bench or at the end of the bench while his team suffered through his absences.
For example, I think of Ralph Sampson, getting paid millions by the Kings for years after his medically-induced early retirement. For example, I think of Pervis Ellison, an NCAA tournament star who quickly became an NBA malingerer for the same Kings.
The ugliest example of player entitlement occurred this week when Laker center Andrew Bynum was caught on camera hogging a handicapped parking space with his pimped out vehicle. No doubt, he parked there because he felt he deserved the short walk and no-ding assurance of that very wide space.
Yesterday, Derek Fisher, ancient point guard of the Lakers, spouted off about never signing off on a new collective bargaining agreement that included a cessation or reduction of guaranteed, long-term contracts. His new disingenuous argument? The NBA game's integrity would be damaged! Why? Players would have to play selfishly and become gunners to boost their stats so they could ink the best deals for themselves on an annual basis.
One could argue the game's integrity is already hanging by a perilous thread, what with questionable officiating, coaches having to play second fiddle to prima donna star players (see Jerry Sloan and Deron Williams last season in Utah), and trades meant to keep the big-market teams long into the playoff season.
One could even argue that the game's integrity is most threatened by those guaranteed, long-term contracts that Mr. Fisher is so impassioned to save. After all, fans pay hard-earned cash for seats, and they deserve more than players sleepwalking through half a season four years from their contract's end.
Addressing Mr. Fisher's theory, he is undermining player integrity, essentially admitting that all players are in it for themselves, not the team. They come first, second, and last. I believe D-Fish is wrong here. Some players do care and play for the team, not themselves (see San Antonio and Dallas and Boston). Some players do play hard every minute and every game (see Kobe Bryant).
Mr. Fisher is also simplifying matters. Not all players would become gunners, trying to boost their points per game average. Rebounders would be fighting for rebounds. Shot-blockers would be blocking shots. Point guards would be making more assists. Players would be fighting to be more efficient players in their specialties. Is that such a bad thing? It's called effort.
D-Fish, take note: owners, general managers, and coaches remember who makes a team perform better and who makes a team perform worse while they are on the court. In the NBA, there is no place for a player to hide. In 2010-2011, the average NBA salary was $5.8 million. We're not talking the Tim Duncans, Dwight Howards, Kobe Bryants, and Dwyane Wades who deserve superstar status and put fannies in the seats. We're talking the Luke Waltons (about $5.9 million for 9 minutes a game) and Derek Fishers (about $3.4 million for diminishing statistics and playing time at almost age 37).
It's curious why Mr. Fisher is president of the NBAPA in the first place, when his own track record makes one question his own integrity. After all, he bolted the Lakers once before. Then, he bolted the Utah Jazz under questionable circumstances, using the sympathy card of his daughter's medical issues when all he really wanted to do was rejoin Kobe and the Lakers and grab a few more championship rings. Mr. Fisher is also opposed to the amnesty clause established in the 2005 CBA because he could be the player singled out for it by the Lakers in 2011. At least he's consistent where self-interest is concerned.
In conclusion, we already know the players won't budge on the issues (a hard salary cap, a 33% reduction in salaries, the end of long-term guaranteed contracts) the owners are pressing for until it's guaranteed that training camp and the preseason schedule are eliminated. Then, the owners will be ready for a long lockout/stalemate. Personally, I'll be happy to see Deron Williams board a plane for Turkey. I hope he stays there.
No comments:
Post a Comment