NBA Articles
Remember this? I bet you do.
Who could forget right? Even though LeBron's legacy is yet to be written, I really feel like his place in NBA lore is well on it's way to being complete. Love him or hate him (LeBron's Jersey is the #1 selling jersey afterall), he seems destined for a statistical career elavating him to the top tier of the great G/Fs of all time. The Big question remains if he will win a championship, or how many, but there are some things we know for certain. 1 - LeBron is and may be the most athletically gifted to play in the NBA. 2 - LeBron's Agent (as well as Bosh's and Wade's) helped LeBron make this situation available to him, and while everyone thinks building the super team was in the works all along maybe the agent simply looking at the financial landscape and capitalizing on the salary opportunities while they were still available. Now that the lockout is here, and shit is about to hit the fan on player salaries, sure seems smart that Bosh, Wade and LeBron all became Free Agents the year before a new CBA had to be negotiated right? Right?
Remember how LeBron signed that 3 year extension (player option for year 4) in 2006? Well, thanks to the power of the interweb, this article written by TheClevelandFan.com in July of 2006 provides some interesting quotes:
We did extensive research and with the way the CBA is set up, it makes the most business sense to sign this extension and then look at another new contract in four years. If I didn't believe in this team and this organization and the direction that we're headed, I wouldn't have signed the extension, James said.
Interesting. I wonder what would happen to James in 4 years? Well, according to this espn.com article, I think LeBron/Wade and Bosh picked a good summer to become free agents.
LeBron James: 6 years, $110.1 million dollars.
Chris Bosh: 6 years, $110.1 million dollars.
Dwayne Wade: 6 years, $107.5 million dollars.
Now, admittedly, all 3 could have made more money (a la Joe Johnson) if they didn't care about playing together. But, when you are guaranteed to make over $100 million dollars wouldn't you rather play on a really good team as well? Most people would (except Joe Johnson). And they all can opt out in 2014 if they want. Crazy.
In a 2006 Article about Wade: The same shit appears again...
It was widely reported in recent days that Wade agreed to sign a five-year extension with the Heat, but no such pact was ever in place. Instead, this deal gives Wade the chance to secure another long-term extension before the NBA's current collective bargaining agreement expires...Wade signed a long-awaited contract extension on Wednesday. The deal is for three seasons, beginning in 2007-08, and has a player option for a fourth year -- much like the one agreed to earlier Wednesday by LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers
Bosh, the same thing:
Chris Bosh signed a three-year contract extension with the Raptors on Friday beginning in 2007-08, with a player option for a fourth year. Bosh signed a deal similar to fellow class of 2003 stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who bypassed five-year deals for three years with an option for a fourth and the chance to become free agents sooner and potentially make more money.
That's right, LeBron first, Wade second and finally Bosh all signed similar deals. Which is why they were all able to sign ridiculous max deals, with salary figures that probably won't be available again for some time. Have you seen some of the projections for contracts AFTER the new CBA? It doesn't look pretty. Even the best players will feel the pinch, not just the Brian Cardinals and Edie Curry's of the world.
Where did it all go wrong? How did we get to this point? In the next piece of this series, we will take a look back at the real reason why Stephon Marbury left Minnesota. And it wasn't all about the cold, or his level of batshit crazy-ness.
Some good news today for sports fans, it looks like the NBA may be making some serious progress in negotiations. Which is weird, right, because the season isn't over yet and there is still some time yet ahead before negotiations become "last minute," which as every college kid knows if the only time anything meaningful gets done. 
Here are a few encouraging quotes from "sources" close to the negotiation (via Espn.com).
Although the players quickly rejected last week's proposal, sources close to the process have expressed mild optimism about the league's increased willingness to negotiate before the current labor agreement expires June 30.
ESPN.com's Henry Abbott reported Tuesday that Stern and NBPA executive director Billy Hunter have been quietly meeting face-to-face to negotiate on a fairly regular basis. The sides, sources said, met last week in Chicago with staffers from both sides present. The two sides are also set to talk this week in New York.
Don't get me wrong, the NBA has a long way (much, much longer from a revenue standpoint than the NFL) to be able to make ends meet. The ESPN article also points out that, despite the great ratings and a 1% increase in ticket sales this year, the NBA still lost $300 million dollars overall and 22 out of 30 teams lost money.
More good stuff from SI's Zach Lowe:
"Sources also said the league's proposal would ban fully guaranteed contracts," he wrote. "All contracts would have limits on the amount of money a player would be guaranteed to receive, and those guarantees would decline during the life of each contract. In other words, a player making, say, $5 million per season over four years would actually be guaranteed less than $5 million in each of those four seasons -- and the amount guaranteed would drop each season. The idea is for teams to be able to get out of undesirable contacts more easily and avoid ugly, Eddy Curry-style buyout talks."
Abhi once dedicated a full article to Eddy Curry, and his crappy ass 100% guranteed contract. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest issues in the NBA today...so if there is a possible solution on the horizon it could eliminate a big expense teams have each year from paying players who no longer contribute on the court.
As Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated adds via Twitter: "Sense I get is though the NBA is playing hardball now, they would settle for contracts being 50 percent guaranteed throughout."
I don't know if I have my rose-colored glasses on too early, but it sure seems like the NBA is taking extra steps to ensure their potential lockout doesn't get ugly like the NFL lockout.
WhiskeyDizzy is a writer and Co-Founder of TheRealShaq. Have more links, tweets or funny articles? Email WhiskeyDizzy here and we'll get them up on the site for you. You can always Email The Real Shaq with general comments or questions about the site. Follow us on Twitter and get the more interesting links and retweets from the NBA and it's players, all in 140 characters or less!
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We haven't done a show in over a month, because Carl is too cool for school. However, enjoy this throwback show.
Here we talk about the Knicks Nuggets trade, Spurs, the awesomeness that is Derrick Rose (and his SAT skillz), the Jimmer (not a condom), and Hakeem Olajuwon performs on Dancing with the Stars!
Here you have it folks, the 2nd installment of TheRealShaq's Radio Show. Here we talk some more about the Knicks, Bibby's effect on the Heat, NBA/NFL Lockout woes, and Updated Western and Eastern Conference playoff outlooks. We hope you enjoy this one as much as you did the last.
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This is what happens when you're either single with no prospects of a girlfriend, or married. Pick your poison. Listen to us ramble about the LA Blakers (Blake Griffin), the crazy NBA trade deadline, the Mavericks prospects for the playoffs, and so on. If you wait a second after you start playing the clip, you can skip around. You just have to let it load first. Thanks for listening.
ENOUGH! I've had ENOUGH already!!!! Deron, how many times have I told you to cut your DUMBASS HAIR?!?! Don't try to hold me back ref, I got a razor in my pocket and I can end this once and for all!!!
(CLICK 'READ MORE' TO SEE THE REST FULL CONVERSATION)
