Page 271 of 2955

      A good breakdown of the NBA’s labor situation

      June 29, 2011 /

      Andrew Brandt, who has been covering the NFL labor negotiations for ESPN, outlines the differences of the two sides in the NBA negotiations.

      In both disputes, the players are “playing goalie,” trying to protect what they already had in their latest agreements and fighting off clawbacks from the owners. Both ownerships question the “bad deals” they made with the players several years ago, which is where these disputes are similar.

      However, there are differences. The NFL has not said its teams are losing money, but that its teams are not as profitable as they once were. The NBA is saying its teams are losing money — the league claims it is 22 of the 30 teams; the players claim that number to be less than 10 — and has subsidized one of its franchises, the Hornets. And although the NFL salary cap is not a true “hard cap,” as proration of signing bonuses creates extra cap room, the NBA salary cap is replete with “exceptions” that make it a very soft cap — a yarmulke, if you will — that the league is desperately trying to “harden.”

      There also are some differences in leadership. In football, Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith are negotiating their first CBA. David Stern and Billy Hunter have history and have been through this before. That doesn’t necessarily make it easier, but there is a different dynamic.

      The general feeling seems to be that the NBA situation is more dire than the NFL, but the NFL also has the benefit of being further along in the process.

      NBA

      The 2011 MLB All-Prospect Team

      June 28, 2011 /
      Kansas City Royals Eric Hosmer hits a RBI double in the third inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during their MLB American League baseball game in Kansas City, Missouri, June 9, 2011. REUTERS/Dave Kaup (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      The Objective: Compile a MLB roster complete with only the top minor league prospects.

      The Rules: As long as they were viewed as a prospect coming into the 2011 season, they can be on this team. Thus, just because guys like Jeremy Hellickson and Eric Hosmer are already contributing at the Major League level, doesn’t mean they can’t be included on this team.

      That’s it.

      Let’s get nasty, Ricky.

      C: Jesus Montero, Yankees
      There’s no doubt that Montero is the future at catcher for the Yankees, but he may have some maturity issues to iron out first. He was benched twice earlier this month for showing a lack of energy and apparently loses focus at times. But that doesn’t mean the 21-year-old isn’t a great prospect, which he is. As soon as he shows he has the mental makeup to handle catching a big league staff, he’ll be up. In fact, I have a hard time believing the Bombers won’t recall him at some point in 2011.
      Honorable Mention: Gary Sanchez, Yankees; Devin Mesoraco, Reds.

      1B: Eric Hosmer, Royals
      Hosmer has been slumping recently but he’s still hitting .268 with five home runs and 26 RBI this year for the Royals. Those aren’t terrible stats for a 21-year-old trying to make adjustments to big league pitching. Considered the top first base prospect in baseball, it’ll be interesting to see how he fares throughout a grueling second half.
      Honorable Mention: Brandon Belt, Giants; Freddie Freeman, Braves.

      2B: Dustin Ackley, Mariners
      The M’s called Ackley up in mid-June and already the youngster is hitting over .300. In a recent win over the Marlins, Ackley went 3-for-5 with a double and a triple while scoring the go-ahead run in the 10th on a wild pitch. Once pitchers adjust, his batting average will likely drop but Seattle has to be thrilled so far with his production.
      Honorable Mention: Jason Kipnis, Indians.

      3B: Mike Moustakas, Royals
      Yet another one of the Royals’ young hitters makes this mock roster. Moustakas hit his first big-league homer in just his second game with the Royals earlier this month and has now reached base in seven of his last eight games. Outside of the one home run, his power hasn’t translated to the big leagues so far, but it’s still early. He has a short, compact swing and despite having an aggressive approach, he doesn’t strikeout a lot. He could be a star in Kansas City for years to come.
      Honorable Mention: Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays; Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians; Nick Castellanos, Tigers.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, MLB

      David West to enter free agency — impact on Chris Paul?

      June 28, 2011 /
      New Orleans Hornets forward David West (30) celebrates as his team defeated the Toronto Raptors 85-81 during their NBA basketball in New Orleans, Louisiana January 17, 2011. REUTERS/Sean Gardner (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

      Once David West went down with a season-ending ACL tear, I thought he would surely play out the final year of his contract (for $7.5 million) to prove to everyone that he was healthy and cash in next summer. But the 30-year-old forward must feel good about his rehab, because he has decided to opt-out of his deal and enter free agency a year early.

      West told the Times-Picayune that he has not ruled out staying with the Hornets, who might benefit from new rules in the next collective bargaining agreement that are expected to make it even more beneficial than it has been for free agents to stay with their current teams.

      “Definitely not, definitely not,” West said. “When I signed the original (contract), my intention was always to opt out. With my knee, I had to examine things a little more closely. But after going through the rehab and feeling good about where my knee will be, we decided to stay on course with what I originally intended to do.

      The Hornets were something of a surprise this season, taking the defending champion Lakers to six games in the first round of the Playoffs. That would have been encouraging had Kobe and Co. gone on to win another title, but with the way they were swept by the Mavs has to leave the Hornets wondering if they are on the right track.

      As always, the key is Chris Paul. Can the Hornets convince him to stay? After some grumbling last summer, CP3 put his big boy pants on and brilliantly filled the role of franchise point guard. But now he’s just one year away from free agency and his sidekick could be playing elsewhere next season.

      Unfortunately for the Hornets, West’s possible departure doesn’t leave the team with a whole lot of wiggle room to sign anyone else, so their best bet is to overpay West to stay. That puts the franchise in the same position they were in this season — good enough to make the Playoffs, but not good enough to do anything once they get there.

      The writing is on the wall: Provided Paul stays healthy, the Hornets will win 40+ games again this season, but he’ll enter free agency next summer and be playing elsewhere in 2012.

      External Sports, NBA

      NBA heading down same path as NFL

      June 27, 2011 /
      NBA Commissioner David Stern speaks at the state of the league press conference during the NBA All-Star game weekend in Los Angeles, February 19, 2011. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL HEADSHOT)

      There’s a good chance that both the NFL and NBA will be under lockout once the NBA’s current CBA expires on June 30. There hasn’t been much progress made in the NBA labor negotiations.

      At Tuesday’s meeting, the union proposed a five-year deal in which the players would receive $100 million less per season in salaries, and the owners countered with a proposed 10-year deal that would set a target of $2 billion in player salaries each season — a reduction from the $2.17 billion the players earned in the 2010-11 season.

      The same story says that the two sides are “several billion dollars apart” but it appears that the players are offering a $100 million per season reduction (for five seasons), which was deemed “modest” by commissioner David Stern, while the owners want $170 million per season (for 10 seasons). That’s a total difference of $1.2 billion ($70 million * 5 years + $170 million * 5 years) if one assumes that the players aren’t willing to give back any salary for years 6-10.

      The NBA as a whole would benefit if contracts were shorter (max of four years instead of six) and weren’t fully guaranteed. A team should be able to cut an underperforming player and save (say, 50%) on the remaining years of his contract. That way, the player still benefits from the deal, but his contract isn’t an albatross that keeps the team from contending.

      I’d also like to see a hard cap in the NBA. The NFL has a hard cap and there isn’t a league with better parity. Small market teams like Cleveland, Sacramento and Milwaukee have a tough time competing in today’s environment unless they luck out and land a player like LeBron James in the lottery. San Antonio and Oklahoma City are examples of how small market teams can compete, but the Spurs were lucky to win the #1 overall pick to draft Tim Duncan while the Thunder were fortunate to have Kevin Durant fall into their laps at #2. Without those two picks those franchises wouldn’t be any better than the Bucks or Kings. (Give credit to the Spurs and Thunder for not screwing up those picks, but those were pretty much no-brainer picks at the time, unlike the Bucks’ selection of Andrew Bogut at #1.) The soft cap enables big spenders like Mark Cuban continue to add salary until he finds the right mix of talent to win a title.

      External Sports, NBA

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑