NBA Salary Cap Debunked

Jet here,

This Kidd/Mavs trade is the best comedy of the NBA season so far - and that's beating out some stiff competition considering that we're in the age of the Isiah Thomas and Steve Kerr regimes.

Mark Cuban is making a joke out of the NBA salary cap. I think the League has a real Catch-22 on its hands. On the one hand, it likes the excitement generated by all of the blockbuster deadline deals. I'm sure Stern is salivating over the hype that's building for the Western Conference playoffs just as much as we are.

On the other hand, this trade (and some of it's predecessors, but this one is the most blatant yet) is making a total joke out of the NBA salary cap. The only reason that this deal is happening is Mark Cuban's willingness to burn millions of dollars to make his team better (in theory). He was already punting over 3 million to get the deal in its original format, and that's not counting the millions that he would have spent (again) to re-ink Stackhouse after the 30 day waiting period imposed by the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. Too bad Stack's loose lips blew that wide open, as flouting Cuban's plans to circumvent the cap to such a degree was something Stern could not stomach despite the positive effect for the League. Now Cuban is dropping another "stack" of millions to sign Keith Van Horn out of his unofficial retirement. This will put him into the luxury tax range, costing more millions...

We can't really complain - as NBA fans, we get to observe the latest NBA experiment along with a boatload of drama to talk about. The Mavs might not actually be any better, but they're putting on a show for sure. The Nets get Devin Harris and unload Kidd - they're the biggest winners of all. Big spender Mark Cuban is picking up the tab for all of us. He's got the $ to burn, and there's obviously enough loop-holes in this NBA Salary Cap to knit Jason Kidd a Dallas Mavericks sweater...

-Jet out

Last Year's Rookie/Soph Challenge

Jet here,

I dug this post up from last year - I threw it up after watching last year's Rookie/Soph Challenge. I'm hoping to watch this year's contest (tonight). I'll blog on it if I can.
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Just got done watching the "NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam" (I refuse to mention the stupid sponsor in the title). Wow, this was actually entertaining to watch even though the Sophomore's stomped the Rookies by about 40 points. Personally, I was disappointed - Portland fan here, I had tuned in to watch Brandon Roy, who deferred the whole night and wasn't very involved. Oh well, I guess this sort of event isn't really tailor-made for Roy (he's not a flashy player).

The guy I was impressed with was Monta Ellis. Wow, this guy can absolutely fly! I had no idea! Why isn't Ellis in the dunk competition? I'm sure he'd be better than some of the guys they've got this year, and he could have been in there last year easily. Nate Robinson is just going to miss about 15 dunks again, why do we have to watch him? (oh yeah, he's the champ after totally robbing Andre Iguodala)... Dwight Howard can certainly touch the clouds, but when was the last time a man that big did anything impressive in the slam dunk competition? If a young Amare Stoudemire can't win this contest, Dwight Howard certainly isn't going to. Ellis looked like he was on wires for a couple of those dunks in the Rookie Challenge... I think the NBA is dropping the ball on this one.

David Lee gets the MVP for the game after making a ridiculous 14-14 shots (probably 10 of them dunks). He shouldn't have been the MVP, but I have to feel good for Lee, who absolutely has no business not starting for the Knicks. I guess Isiah Thomas prefers watching Quentin Richardson brick shots and pull back muscles over Lee's hustle, defense, and surprising (for a white boy) ability to throw down finishers. The jury is still out on whether Lee is an East Coast version of Nick Collison or something special, but there's no doubt that he deserves more minutes than any other Knick.

The real reason the Sophomores dominated was the play of their stud point guards, Deron Williams and Chris Paul. Williams set the tone and had the ball whizzing around to Sophs for open shots and uncontested dunks. He was the MVP, in my eyes.

The Sophomores really had a loaded team - Paul : absolute stud (what is it with Chris Paul, he suddently pulls out these bada$ dunks sometimes), Williams : awesome. Granger - sick athlete and some great handles for a pretty big guy. Lee is the hustle player that every team needs. I still think Bogut is a bit of a stiff, but he's got the potential to be a Divac type some day. Ellis certainly looked sick tonight (see above). Head and Felton are both nice players, - there's just no way the Rookies had a chance in this.

On the rookie team, I thought Bargnani looked pretty good. Morrison can score, I'll give him that. As a Blazer fan, I can tell you that Roy is much better than he showed tonight. In his defense, they had Foye running the point while the starters were playing, and Foye just doesn't pass. I guess it was the Rookie Challenge, but Foye was a black hole in this game. He's an impressive player, but I think he's less of a point guard than Brandon Roy is right now. Millsap is a great hustle guy who is all over the glass. They should have started him, then maybe they would have had a shot to keep in under a 20 point lead for longer than the first 10 minutes of the game. Morrison, Gay, and Bargnani were like matadors on that Rookie interior defense. Gay is a freak of nature with his leaping ability and wingspan. I saw a nice shooting touch out there, too. I know Shane Battier is a great "glue guy," but I think the Rockets might really regret that draft-day deal in a few years.

Some impressive young players, it will be fun to see how they develop over the next few years. I think Brandon Roy still wins Rookie of the Year, but Gay, Foye, and Bargnani could be primed to give him a run for his money over the second half.

-Jet out

Images : Noah Graham (NBAE), Kevork Djansezian (AP), Mark Terrill (AP)

The SECOND best Super Bowl I've ever watched...

Jet here,

I just finished watching Super Bowl XLII, and I have to say that this is one of the best and most exciting Super Bowls that I've ever personally witnessed. The Rams/Titans thriller of 2000 will always hold the top spot for me, but this one was just as exciting. Despite the final score and last minute nature of the game, I felt like the best team definitely won the game. The Giants dominated the game in terms of line play on both sides of the ball, pressuring Brady without even blitzing on most downs, and giving Manning great protection.

The final drive by the Giants was something that could not be scripted, highlighted by the most unbelievable offensive play in the history of the Super Bowl (I would contend). Manning appeared to be nearly sacked by at least three Patriots before completing a desperation 32 yard play to David Tyree with an equally incredible finger-tip-to-helmet-while-extended-and-pulled-to-the-ground catch - how does one even describe this play? Prior to it, I would bet that most people expected the Giants to bow out of their incredible Super Bowl performance with dignity, but in loss. Afterwards, I fully believed that they could win the game. It was just that mind-changing.


As a football fan, I was drawn to the Giants as the underdogs. As a Rams fan, I was incensed after reading the news earlier in the day that the Patriots had taped my favorite team's pre-Super Bowl closed practice session just prior to their improbable Super Bowl XXXVI upset. All morning, I thought back to that game in 2002. The Rams, then at the height of their "Greatest Show on Turf" offensive prowess, would move the ball with ease until they neared the red zone of the Patriots. For over half of the game, they would always hit a wall whenever they reached this point. When they finally did reach the red zone in the fourth quarter, turnovers or sacks would ensue, and it seemed like the Patriots defensive players would know exactly what the Rams offense was about to do before the ball was snapped. Even on the Rams first touchdown to make it 10-17, it was only because a penalty negated a Patriots fumble recovery (again, the Patriots defender was on top of the play as if he knew where the Rams were going before they even moved) that the Rams were finally able to score a touchdown. The report tells us that the Rams ran their red-zone plays in the closed practice session that was alledgedly taped by the Patriots, making a clear connection between painful memory and shocked realization for this football fan. Am I biased Rams fan? If this was the only evidence against the Patriots, I would say yes. However, everyone knows that the Patriots have been caught at this game. The league has seen the evidence and has sanctioned the Patriots. Mangini, the coach that blew the whistle, is a former member of the Patriots organization. I think it's fair to project that we haven't heard the last of the Patriots "Spy-Gate." History will not be changed, but I do believe that the Rams were the far better team in 2002. Without their perhaps unfair advantage, the Patriots might have lived up to their 14-point underdog status...

As you can imagine, I was elated to see the Giants win this game for more reasons than one. The Patriots 18-1 season is an incredible achievement, but the Giants epic, upset victory will become the true legend of the 2007-2008 NFL season. The delight of those who celebrate in the Patriots' downfall is telling. The arrogance and ruthlessness of New England is not without consequence. And now that the Patriots are shorn of the one saving grace that has protected them from these consequences - that they "just win" - how will they be viewed now?

- Jet out.