You know you’re burned out on NBA news and rumors when you decide to write 10 haiku to summarize the NBA Summer of 2010. Off we go (in the English 5-7-5 syllable format)…
Atlanta spends big
to keep twenty-eight year-old
Here comes the remorse
Wade, Bosh, then LeBron
Super Friends in Miami
Much to Dan’s chagrin
No doubt cathartic
Dan Gilbert’s manifesto
only hurts the Cavs
Pat Riley, the pimp
But they have to play the games
There’s still work to do
Henry Abbott of TrueHoop writes that there is a ‘non-trivial benefit’ to Dan Gilbert’s LeBron manifesto.
That letter, though … while it did a lot of bad things for Gilbert, it completely inoculated him from anyone ever saying that he traded away LeBron James. He cemented his place as the betrayed, which gave him carte blanche to take part in a sign-and-trade, because everyone knows without a shred of doubt that Gilbert didn’t ship James would leave town. That this was Gilbert’s idea is officially crazy talk, now.
Abbott is a sharp guy, and I usually agree with what he has to say, but I don’t think there is any chance that — without this manifesto — Dan Gilbert would be blamed for trading LeBron away. Almost 10 million people tuned into LeBachelor and everyone knows that it was LeBron’s choice and his alone. Had Gilbert stayed quiet and worked out a trade that netted his team a couple of first round draft picks (like they eventually did), no one would have ever said that he traded LeBron James away. And he might be able to sign a big-name free agent someday. I’m not so sure that’s the case now.
Gilbert’s letter did far more harm than good.
The latest head coach to bring the Steelers a Super Bowl title just got rewarded for his efforts.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that Mike Tomlin has signed a three-year extension with the Steelers through the 2014 season. While no details outside of that have been released, he was previously one of the NFL’s lowest paid coaches at roughly $500K per year. His new deal will likely be double that amount.
While the Steelers under performed last season, there’s little doubt that Tomlin deserved an extension. In his three years in Pittsburgh, he has a 31-17 record, has won two division titles and one Super Bowl. Some like to point out that he won the title in 2008 with Bill Cowher’s players, but keep in mind that most coaches can’t win with their own handpicked players – not to mention someone else’s.
Another thing Tomlin has taken some criticism for is how the Steelers failed to make the playoffs last year despite winning the Super Bowl the season before. But keep in mind that after Cowher won in ’05, the Steelers finished 8-8 the following year. Despite finishing third in the AFC North last season, Pittsburgh still finished with a winning record (9-7) under Tomlin and has yet to have a losing season under him thus far.
The point is that it’s hard to win back-to-back titles in the NFL. The team that wins the Super Bowl automatically has a bulls-eye on its back the following year, making it difficult to repeat. They rarely have easy games because opponents gear up to beat them, so it’s a stretch to say the Steelers collapsed last year at 9-7. (Let’s not forget that free agency allows teams to rebuild quickly in the NFL.)
The extension for Tomlin is a great thing for the Steelers. Most teams don’t keep the same head coach for over three years, but Pittsburgh is one of the few organizations that has managed to find consistency at the position. That’s just one of the many reasons they’ve managed to win so many division titles over the years.
Chris Paul apparently would like to get in on some of this ‘Big 3’ action and reportedly said as much in a speech at Carmelo Anthony’s recent wedding.
According to a person who spoke with wedding attendee Amar’e Stoudemire, Paul made the reference during a speech of a potential union of himself, Stoudemire and Anthony, saying, “We’ll form our own Big 3,” Paul allegedly said.
So how do the Knicks pull that off? Barring an unexpected trade, a few things would have to happen…
1. Carmelo Anthony can’t sign an extension with the Nuggets.
There is an offer on the table extending Anthony for three years and $64 million. Most people think that with a new collective bargaining agreement looming, he’d be nuts not to take the guaranteed money. But if winning is truly the most important thing, and he sees a future with the Knicks, he would let his current contract expire and become a free agent next summer.
2. ‘Melo signs a max or near-max deal with the Knicks.
Assuming Ray Felton makes about $8 million and Stoudemire makes around $19 million for the 2011-12 season, the Knicks would be on the hook — barring any new contracts — for around $44 million heading into that season. Assuming the salary cap jumps $2 million to $60 million, the Knicks would have around $16 million in cap space. That would be enough to sign Anthony, assuming he’d be willing to take a bit of a cut.
3. Chris Paul opts out of his contract and signs a max or near-max deal with the Knicks.
Depending on what the Knicks do with Danilo Gallinari, Anthony Randolph and Toney Douglas, they project to be on the hook for $32 million plus Melo’s deal ($16 million), or $48 million total. Assuming the cap jumps another $2 million, the Knicks would have about $14 million in cap space (or as much as $26 million depending on Gallinari, Randolph and Douglas).
Is it probable? No. Is it feasible? It looks like it.
One hangup might be the fact that Stoudemire’s contract is so large (five years, $100 million) that the Knicks won’t be able to afford to pay anyone else that much, so Anthony and Paul would have to agree to play for less when they are both arguably better players. Also, if the salary cap doesn’t rise at least two million a season, there won’t be enough room to sign both players without slashing salary elsewhere, and the Knicks appear to want to hold onto Gallinari, Randolph and Douglas. Lastly, a new collective bargaining agreement could radically change the salary cap and how free agency works.
Now that Knicks fans know that they aren’t going to get LeBron, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh, they can start looking forward to the Summer of Melo and the Summer of CP3.
Imagine an Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat (Wade, LeBron, Bosh) and Knicks (Melo, CP3, Amare) battling it out. As we learned last week, anything is possible.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting that a pickup truck belonging to Dolphins’ receiver Brian Hartline was found abandoned at 4:30 a.m. on July 3. The report states that the vehicle ran off the road and hit a parked 2002 Cadillac Escalade, which was also abandoned.
“His vehicle ran off road and hit the parked car,” said FHP Sgt. Mark Wysocky. “We don’t know who was driving the vehicle.”
According to an FHP report, a trooper went to Hartline’s home in Fort Lauderdale after the crash and spoke with a guest who was staying there. The woman at the home told the trooper to contact Hartline’s wife, who was in California. When troopers left a message with her, a call was returned by Hartline’s attorney, who told authorities that Brian Hartline was not injured.
The report states that troopers have not heard from Hartline regarding the crash.
Hartline could not be reached for comment Tuesday, despite a telephone message left at his home.
Wysocky could not say what was found inside of the truck. No one has been cited in the crash.
Bizarre. The good news is that nobody appears to have been hurt in the crash, although Hartline could be in trouble if he was driving the vehicle. (Especially if there was alcohol involved.)
There aren’t enough details to speculate any further then that, however, so we’ll just have to wait and see what authorities dig up.
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