Money over Championships

[Tully365]

Duncan did not do anything special, even with his "pay cut" he is making more than Brand will be making with this new Philly deal. What Tim did was way overblown...

Duncan has accomplished a lot more than Brand. What Duncan did was pay back the team that has in the past rewarded him. Is it unheard of? No. But is it rare, and therefore special? Yes. It doesn't happen very often in the NBA.

[JamStone]

Duncan's last contract plus the extensions amounted to over $140 million. He's a top 10 paid player this upcoming season, and is scheduled as of right now to be the fourth highest player paid in the following season. His "paycut" amounts to about $3 1/2 million from about $22 million down to around $18 million. He'll still be one of the top paid players in his "paycut" salary years at an age where players typically get paid much, much less anyway.

What Duncan did was not special. Is he worth the money he's making? As far as NBA contracts go, absolutely. Is Duncan a good guy? Definitely appears to be. Is he a rare and special saint for taking a a couple fewer million dollars after making well over $150 million in the course of his professional career? Don't kid yourselves. A paycut would have been Duncan dropping from $22 million down to about $10-12 million a year. What Duncan did was hardly worth mentioning and is absolutely not worth the sainthood some Spurs fans attach to it.

[Marcus Bryant]

Duncan is a saint. Go yourself.

[brettn]

Duncan is a saint. Go yourself.

I don't think I've laughed harder all day.

[johngateswhiteley]

Duncan's last contract plus the extensions amounted to over $140 million. He's a top 10 paid player this upcoming season, and is scheduled as of right now to be the fourth highest player paid in the following season. His "paycut" amounts to about $3 1/2 million from about $22 million down to around $18 million. He'll still be one of the top paid players in his "paycut" salary years at an age where players typically get paid much, much less anyway.

What Duncan did was not special. Is he worth the money he's making? As far as NBA contracts go, absolutely. Is Duncan a good guy? Definitely appears to be. Is he a rare and special saint for taking a a couple fewer million dollars after making well over $150 million in the course of his professional career? Don't kid yourselves. A paycut would have been Duncan dropping from $22 million down to about $10-12 million a year. What Duncan did was hardly worth mentioning and is absolutely not worth the sainthood some Spurs fans attach to it.

you're right on...i don't know why some Spurs fans are so blind to it. what TD did was nice, but it wasn't anything that special. and if he wants to win in the latter part of his career...maybe he should think about restructuring his deal. i'm not a CBA expert but you s can figure it out...

[Marcus Bryant]

Go yourself too.

[brettn]

hahahahahahahahahahaha

[itzsoweezee]

hilarious. you're ing about players choosing money over championships. what about our own pathetic spurs front office. if there's anyone that has shown they'd prefer money over championships, it's that worthless piece of Holt.

[Que Gee]

Its not like the Spurs system is super friendly to guys just coming in. EVERYONE has always struggled. The Spurs problem is there aren't any solid 30-32 year old players who have been in the league for awhile and feel this may be there "last chance." If you play in the league and you watch the Spurs...I can't think of 1 of these free agents who would think, "wow, I wanna go play in the Spurs system." You get used irregularly...the rotation is inconsistent at best...you have to sit and watch players like Finley suck all year, but still you don't play...why go to the Spurs?LOL...j/k. kinda. Anyway, I don't see a huge draw as to why any of the guys out there would "want" to go to San Antonio...I know, I know...4 les, blah, blah, blah...non of these guys are in that stage of their career,and none want to be 4th fiddle to Tim, Manu, or Tony....and maybe even sit behind a guy like Bruce Bowen who averages 4pts a game and is more of an offensive liability, then a defensive stopper at this point in his career. (Overall)

[sabar]

Well, once again, it's clear that for most players in the NBA, pursuing a Championship is a secondary consideration, the first being money. Players who are already multi-multi-millionaires turn down chances to be with contenders, and choose to go with crappy teams that offer a little more money.

We've seen this over the years but it just seems like it's getting worse. There's probably no cure, and maybe it's good because it spreads talent throughout the league. That's the idea of the salary cap, right?

But as a Spurs fan, it just galls me year after year to see these players pass on a proven Champion like the Spurs, to go play with the Clippers or the Warriors or whoever. You would think that the chance of getting a ring would work in the Spurs' favor, but it doesn't. It always seems to pale in comparison to that extra 2 or 3 million dollars.

In my ideal world, the league would try to rectify the situation by adding some incentive for players to want to win a Championship. You know, something like prize money? That's what boxers and tennis players compete for. Imagine if there was some incentive to winning a Championship besides just a ring and "bragging rights"? I think then you'd see players wanting to be on better teams like the Spurs, and possibly playing harder.

But I'm biased on this because I'm a Spurs fan. For the rest of league, this system is probably a good thing.

Because people are greedy. I don't know how people can live with themselves with their 200 room homes and 50 car garages. Your salary comes from all those cheering fans. Maybe give something back to them like a school or something.

Latrell Sprewell is a joke of a human.

[Obstructed_View]

If you pay me about 150 million dollars you might be surprised to find that I'd be willing to part with a few million over a few years in order to win.