Ocotillo
06-02-2008, 09:24 PM
Can we dispense of the notion that some player will sacrifice money for the chance to play with a championship contender?
Guys like Elton Brand are not going to give us a modest two year deal so he can have a shot at a ring.
The only time free agents play cheap for a contender are when they are past their prime. Free agents in their prime want to play for a winner and they all want a ring but when it comes to contracts, they look at money and to a lesser extent, playing time. Everything else is just fan fantasy.
You can't blame them. I remember the first time Tim Duncan was a free agent and a lot of us who post here convinced each other that Grant Hill being a quality guy and all, would take a small short term deal just so he could team with David Robinson and Tim Duncan. The Spurs being a magnaminous front office would them reward him with a max contract at the end of his deal in return for the sacrifice.
Well what happen to Hill is why players don't sign goodwill deals that benefit teams and the fans of those teams. Had Hill signed such a deal, there is no way he would have made the money he made due to his injury problems.
Also, let's dispense with the crazy trade ideas. You know what I mean. Things like, hey we could trade Bonner, Splitter's rights, Barry and whoever else for Jermaine O'Neal. Please try and think of what the other team will think of your insane offer. For a trade to happen, the other side has to feel like they are getting something, Memphis notwithstanding.
The draft is one of my favorite times for the NBA. I am a real nerd and while I don't know a lot about basketball and evaluating talent, I love sitting for three to four hours seeing who the heck the Spurs are going to take with the 57th pick (only to groan when it is some Eastern European I have never heard of and then groan again to find out he was traded to T'Wolves after Bruno says he dominated some obscure Ukrainian league). I still love it.
The championship isn't going to happen this year so now we can focus on what the 08-09 Spurs will look like. Let's just try to keep it real.
Guys like Elton Brand are not going to give us a modest two year deal so he can have a shot at a ring.
The only time free agents play cheap for a contender are when they are past their prime. Free agents in their prime want to play for a winner and they all want a ring but when it comes to contracts, they look at money and to a lesser extent, playing time. Everything else is just fan fantasy.
You can't blame them. I remember the first time Tim Duncan was a free agent and a lot of us who post here convinced each other that Grant Hill being a quality guy and all, would take a small short term deal just so he could team with David Robinson and Tim Duncan. The Spurs being a magnaminous front office would them reward him with a max contract at the end of his deal in return for the sacrifice.
Well what happen to Hill is why players don't sign goodwill deals that benefit teams and the fans of those teams. Had Hill signed such a deal, there is no way he would have made the money he made due to his injury problems.
Also, let's dispense with the crazy trade ideas. You know what I mean. Things like, hey we could trade Bonner, Splitter's rights, Barry and whoever else for Jermaine O'Neal. Please try and think of what the other team will think of your insane offer. For a trade to happen, the other side has to feel like they are getting something, Memphis notwithstanding.
The draft is one of my favorite times for the NBA. I am a real nerd and while I don't know a lot about basketball and evaluating talent, I love sitting for three to four hours seeing who the heck the Spurs are going to take with the 57th pick (only to groan when it is some Eastern European I have never heard of and then groan again to find out he was traded to T'Wolves after Bruno says he dominated some obscure Ukrainian league). I still love it.
The championship isn't going to happen this year so now we can focus on what the 08-09 Spurs will look like. Let's just try to keep it real.