More On Contracts And The NBA
Theo Ratliff's Expiring Contract
Lang Whitaker chimed in on the ridiculous rules regarding trades and the salary cap:
What’s more interesting to me is the concept of teams trading valuable pieces for nothing. It has to do with the salary cap and is all really confusing, but there are ways for teams under the cap to deal with other teams and not have to match the salaries. It sucks if your team is the one trying to get under the cap, but these things happen. Money doesn’t grow on trees, or in NBA arenas.
But what’s really strange is that the complex NBA trading rules are, in a way, set up to protect fans and not allow teams to basically just give players away. Unless your team hasn’t spent enough money to be over the cap, in which case they can do anything they want. Which doesn’t seem quite right.
According to Camby’s agent in the Rocky Mountain News, the Nets were also interested in trading for the Camby Man. One big problem, however…
“Kiki really wanted Marcus,'’ said Camby’s agent, Rick Kaplan, referring to New Jersey general manager Kiki Vandeweghe, the general manager in Denver when the Nuggets traded for Camby in June 2002. “But he didn’t have enough of nothing to give.'’
So, at least in NBA terms, nothing either actually equals nothing or it could also be something substantial.
My friend Tim, a Boston native and die hard Celtics fan, says:
As a Celtics fan, I'm here to say that last year our most prized player after PP and the occasional Gerald Green backboard-rattler (dunk, not J) was Theo Ratliff's Expiring Contract.
- Yup, that's the NBA.
- Things can turn around mighty quick.
That said, the Nuggets couldn't get A LOT more for Camby??? 3.8 blocks per game!...UMass grad!!!
Indeed. Apparently Camby's less than thrilled with this move, too. From the Rocky Mountain News, via rotoworld:
Marcus Camby is not happy with the Nuggets for trading him to the Clippers.We use the word "trading" loosely, as Denver got nothing in return for the talented big man. "Blindsided, distraught, disrespected. All those adjectives," Camby said. "I felt like I was the scapegoat for all the first-round exits (five since 2004). Definitely frustrated because I felt that I gave it my all." Camby will probably happily report to L.A. and then set his sights on making the Nuggets pay for shipping him out of town.
The NBA Is Broken
Camby Dunks on the Kings
What a mess.
Forget the reffing scandal, or The Brawl, or Seattle losing the Sonics, or any of the other craziness that happens with the NBA. The number one reason why the NBA is broken is because stuff like this can happen. Twice.
First the Lakers traded a decent prospect, a tall guy who was broken by Michael Jordan and more valuable for his expiring contract than for his ability on the court (plus some scraps) for one of the best power forwards in the league. The Lakers/Memphis trade was so bad that not even Kobe could defend it.
And now this. The second trade in less than a full season that would have been vetoed in any decent fantasy basketball league. Here's what ESPN has to say:
The Clippers on Tuesday night swung a trade to import Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby as their Brand replacement for the miniscule cost of giving Denver the option to swap second-round picks in 2010, capitalizing on the Nuggets' need to shed salary to create their own financial flexibility.
So the Nuggets got almost nothing back. Actually, that's not right. The Nuggets got absolutely nothing back. Zilch. Nada. Zero.
In 2007-08, Camby was the NBA's #2 rebounder, and he led the league in blocks, by almost a full block per game. Here are Camby's average stats for last year:
| REB | STL | BLK | AST | PTS |
| 13.1 | 1.06 | 3.61 | 3.3 | 9.1 |
In exchange for Camby, one of the Nuggets' best players, the Clippers will give the Nuggets the option to switch future second round draft picks. They didn't get an extra pick next year. They didn't get a first round pick. They didn't get a second round pick. The Nuggets only got the option to switch second round picks. That's it.
There must be more to it, right? Well, the real benefit for the Nuggets is that they got to remove Camby's salary from their books. Granted, getting rid of an awful, bloated contract can be a big deal. But not in this case. Camby's contract is reasonable. He'll only make about $15m over the next two years. A bargain basement price, by NBA standards, for a skilled, defensive-minded seven footer.
Camby (full career stats), when healthy, is one of the best defensive big men in the NBA. He was the the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year in 2006-07, can run, will do the dirty work in the post, and once even dragged the eighth seeded Knicks deep into the playoffs. His PER last year ranks Camby as the 13th best center in the league, one spot better than Shaq. Analysis by 82games.com shows that Camby was the second best all-around player on the Nuggets last year, behind Carmelo but better than AI. And the Clippers got him for nothing.
I feel bad for Nuggets fans. They must be furious. And all non-LA fans should be upset, too. Teams don't put winning first anymore. Profit is job one, and fans are just suckers, to be fleeced or ignored. This isn't really news, but now it's just so transparent, so brazen, so insulting. League executives and owners with the power to push for change should act to stop these lopsided trades. They're bad for the league, and they're bad for the game.
Meanwhile, my home town Warriors have done nothing with their $10m trade exception (which can be exchanged for a salary player of the same value). Worse, the Oakland Warriors also went out and spent the same money that Camby will make to bring in the underwhelming gunner Corey Maggette.
Camby would have been perfect for the Warriors' up-tempo style. He runs. He passes. He rebounds, blocks shots, plays defense. He knows how to play. Instead, the Warriors will continue to lose to any team with a decent big man, and Maggette will shoot twenty times per game.
So. Sad.
JPMorgan's Attorneys Blew It (Like A Ref)
An old friend of mine, a guy I've known since I was 10, was in town last night. It was a rare treat to see him, as he works a lot and lives in NYC with his wife and son. We hung out, caught up, and watched the Warriors/Lakers game. And what a game it was. The Warriors are the best show in the NBA.
Says Truehoop:
The Lakers and Warriors better meet in the playoffs. It's unbelievably fun to watch them play each other. If sports are an analogy for war, then the Warriors, it occurs to me, play the role of terrorists. They'll never rule, but they'll take somebody down with them.
The Lakers got the win thanks to a horrible call by the refs on a dirty, dirty play by Fish. Also, Monta Ellis is an amazing finisher. Unreal.
Anywho, my friend works for Bear Stearns, and he told us a little bit about a tiny mistake that's causing HUGE problems for JPMorgan. Apparently JPMorgan's attorneys mis-worded one sentence in one clause of the contract formalizing this huge, extremely complex acquisition. The result? By the language of that sentence, JPMorgan agreed to be responsible for Bear's debt, no matter what. In other words, even if Bear's shareholders rejected the offer and the deal fell through, JPMorgan would still be on the hook for billions. Ummm, whoops? Do over?
MARCH 24, 2008, 9:30 AM
Did JPMorgan Chase get snagged in a legal loophole? A careful read of its guaranty agreement with Bear Stearns, part of its deal to acquire the troubled investment bank, suggests that the agreement may be much broader than JPMorgan intended. This apparent oversight likely played a role in JPMorgan's decision over the weekend to consider raising its offer for Bear. [Upped from $2/share to $10/share. Also, Bear agreed to issue more shares to JP, giving them enough of a stake to push the deal through regardless of what the shareholders want.]
Under the merger agreement, if Bear's shareholders vote down the takeover deal for a year, Bear can terminate the agreement. This we already knew. But it also appears that, in such circumstances, JPMorgan's guarantee to backstop Bear's liabilities stays in place - forever. That is, even after the rejection from Bear's shareholders, JPMorgan's guarantee would continue to apply to any liabilities Bear accrued up to the termination of the agreement. This provision could allow Bear's shareholders to seek a higher bid while still forcing JPMorgan to honor its guarantee. The guarantee would not apply to liabilities accrued after termination of the agreement. Still, as The New York Times reported Monday, the agreement may have been much broader than JPMorgan and its law firm, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz,* meant it to be.
According to The Times, one participant in the negotiations described James Dimon, JPMorgan's chief executive, as being "apoplectic" as he sought to have the sentence modified.
* No relation. My father's side of my family is from Brooklyn!, but they're more likely related to the Katzes from Crim in Terry (one of the guys casing the store) or Katz (the wiretap case).
Sports & Congressional Priorities
Even when dealing with a subject as frivolous as sports, Congress shows that The Show is more important than the impact. Says The Sports Guy:
It's legitimately incredible that Congress wasted so much time on the moronic Roger Clemens hearings, and yet here's an issue that truly matters -- the ongoing problem of professional sports owners extorting taxpayers with the threat of relocation, with Seattle as the latest victim -- and Congress is nowhere to be seen. I just love the fact Roger Clemens' appearance at Jose Canseco's pool party takes precedence over 41 years of professional basketball in Seattle with the people who run our country. Awesome. I'm moving to Canada soon.
Red the Puppetmaster
I got to thinking about the KG to the Celtics deal, and realized that there must be more there than meets the eye.
McHale, as Bill Simmons has stated, is a Celtic forever.
My hypothesis? This is a long-term conspiracy, planned out by Red. McHale isn't a horrible GM, but instead was just doing his master's bidding.
The final piece of Red's diabolical plan has Larry Bird, the greatest player he ever coached, making a bunch of bad trades (see: last season's trade with the Warriors) until Jermaine O'Neal gets so angry he demands a trade. Bird will then send O'Neal to Boston for Perkins, an expiring contract (after Boston signs PJ Brown for $20M for two years before this season) draft picks and a big ol' trade exception after next season.
Starting 5 for the 2008-2009 Season:
Rondo, Jesus, Pierce, KG, O'Neal
I can just picture Red, smiling down from the Heavens, cigar in hand...
[Update: My friend e translated to Harry Potter terms: Red as Dumbledore and McHale as Snape. I guess that would make Danny Ainge Harry, and Bird... I don't know, maybe Mad Eye? Hagrid? For more on the ramifications of the KG trade, see TrueHoop's Handicapping the New East.]
[Update #2: The Bulls never had a chance for Garnett, who was either staying in Minnesota or going to Boston, because Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale played for the Celtics and wanted to hook up his good friend, Boston boss Danny Ainge. McHale could have gotten more for Garnett.]