"I just don't believe that's going to happen."
I love Jerry West. Ever since I was a kid collecting basketball player cards. Well, being a Lakers fan had a lot to do with it, too. Then when he went to the Lakers' bench to be the coach, he was excellent at it. Then stepping up to assistant General Manager with the Lakers, then, finally, the GM of the Lakers. All along the way...the league found it within themselves to make a silhouette of West the league's logo. I mean, what more can a man ask for in his NBA career than what West has contributed to the league?
Now he's touching on something that makes complete sense to me. I mean, it's time for some NBA team to show some gumption, and call the bluff of some of these "superstars" with their trade demands.
I think it's time for the league, "teams," not the league office in New York, to take control of their franchises, and put these uneducated players in their place.
Let's take the case of Dwight Howard in Orlando for example. First, I know that Howard is a huge man, and with his leaping ability the man's input on a game is remarkable. Now, I want you to get what I'm saying straight. The man's physical ability is so profound that with it, he changes the game through his defense alone. But, when you talk about actual basketball skill...he is not all that skilled. If he actually had basketball skills, combined with his physical abilities...he would, probably, be one of the best all-time players. But, since Howard's game is defined by his physical ability alone, he will never be in a discussion as an all-time NBA great.
Pau Gasol has more basketball talent than Howard does, but Gasol doesn't have the physical ability that Howard does. But, let me put it this way: when we match up physical ability, Howard can be compared to Wilt Chamberlain. But, when it comes to basketball ability, Howard has zero ability compared to Chamberlain. You could, probably, say the same thing if we compared Howard to Hakeem Olajuwon. Can you imagine Howard making all the low post moves of a Olajuwon with his physical ability? In short: Howard isn't a true basketball player. He's physical freak of nature with some serious leaping ability.
But, with the marketing of today's NBA players as superstars, these guys are put on a pedestal to the point where they are able to hold their current teams, and the league, hostage. As West said: the inmates are running the asylum.
Like, West, the thing that really gets to me is how Howard's demand contains everything that plays to his advantage. He's trying to pick which team to get traded to, plus, with Orlando "complying" with Howard, they're adding Howard an additional 25-30 million dollars to his next contract.
Why should Orlando help give Howard the 25-30 million dollars when Howard is basically disrespecting them in every way imaginable?
As mentioned by Yahoo Sports, and by me many, many times over, the new CBA makes it almost impossible for teams to sign superstars from other teams, and still have enough money to fill out the rest of their roster with qualified players to contend for a championship, just ask New York.
Like, West, I say let Howard walk to a team where he'll sign for less money, and gut that team at the same time, meaning he'll never win an NBA championship in his career. And if he's never going to win an NBA championship in his career, he might as well go for the money, which happens to be in Orlando.
The only question is this: does Orlando have it in them to call Howard's bluff? Does Orlando have it in them to help other team owners to stop these spoiled players from taking the league hostage, and dictating the terms of a trade that will net them the maximum amount of money, too? Why do they get to have their cake and eat it, too.
Orlando, if they call Howard's bluff, might come out with nothing for their efforts as far as player assets go, but they might just have done enough to turn the tide that, at this point, has the players with too much power considering that most are seriously uneducated people.
mike t.
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