Browse >
Home / Archive by category '
Featured / To-rant-toe-knee-in'
by Ian Hunter… 
It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I’m come to grips with the fact that Roy Halladay is likely not going to be a Blue Jay for much longer. The poor guy was dangled like chum in front of hungry sharks at the trade deadline, and now Alex Anthopoulous has the daunting task of trading away the franchise’s best player.
By this point, I’m sure Alex Anthopoulos and Paul Beeston have narrowed down the candidates to which they are willing to trade Roy Halladay to. Ultimately, Doc has the final the say the matter so that means any potential suitors must be contendors and give him a chance at winning.
Below is what I believe to be the short list of candidates for Roy Halladay:
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels seem to be the front-runners on the short-list to land Halladay in a trade. They have handily won the AL West the past five out of six years and would give Doc arguably the best chance to pitch in the playoffs.
Whether or not John Lackey walks away from the Angels, they could definitely benefit from having Halladay in their rotation (then again, who wouldn’t?) Plus, Mike Scioscia knows that if he has to yank Roy Halladay from a game, that he won’t give him lip like Lackey did.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are no longer high on Chad Billingsley, and Los Angeles needs a bona fide ace to anchor their starting rotation. A deal swapping Halladay for Billingsley makes perfect sense…not to mention, Halladay would rack up the wins facing teams in the NL Central. No more of this playing second fiddle in the Cy Young voting.
Philadelphia Phillies
At the trade deadline, the Phillies went home with the second-best looking gal at the prom (Cliff Lee) but now they have an opportunity to bring in the valedictorian of the pitching class in the majors.
Luckily for the Blue Jays, the Phillies still have many of the players they were hoping for initially at the trade deadline. If the Phils would part with J.A. Happ and Kyle Draebeck, this deal could happen and would immediately give the Phillies the best starting rotation in baseball.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox probably have the deepest farm system and young major league talent to offer up to the Blue Jays to get Halladay. Whether they would be willing to part with Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, Michael Bowden, or others remains to be seen.
New York Yankees
Out of all the places that Roy Halladay could be traded to, this would be my biggest nightmare. If traded to New York, not only does Alex Anthopoulos give the Yankees an even better chance at repeating as world champions, it also means the Blue Jays would have to face Doc at least three or four times in divisional match ups. Great for television ratings, but bad for our souls.
By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter… No doubt about it, after studying the NHL’s 2009-10 regular season schedule, one can come to only one conclusion, the guy that made it up needs a helmet, and it’s not to protect himself from wayward pucks!
Trying to come up with a balanced schedule in an Olympic year has to be tough. Essentially, the NHL’s regular season is shortened by two full weeks, thus, the obvious thing to do is to make the regular season schedule more compact in order to facilitate all 82 games without the playoffs running through August, and September.
Well, I am here to tell ya, the guy that made up the schedule doesn’t know the meaning of the word compact. In fact, when you look at the schedule, there is plenty of evidence that the schedule maker did the polar opposite, which may very well cost an NHL team, or two, a playoff spot.
Case in point, let’s take a look at the Philadelphia Flyers’ early schedule. The Flyers played five games in 10 nights to start the 2009-10 season. What followed was a complete joke, as the Flyers then played a total of two games in 13 nights; what’s up with that?
If you think October was bad, November is the polar opposite and, depending on how you look at it, worse. The Flyers will play eight games in 14 nights in November, leading to the obvious question, “Couldn’t you have squeezed in a game, or three during that two games in 13 nights stretch???”
December? The Flyers will play a total of 15 games in 28 nights. March? 16 games in 27 nights….once again, could you not have had the Flyers take care of a few of these matches in October???
I am sure the Flyers enjoyed their time off. I read earlier in the year that they had time to do a little fishing and team bonding, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time. That said, this was not the season to essentially be giving teams two weeks off, not when the regular season will be shut down for two weeks.
There are plenty of other examples of poor scheduling, only this time the schedule maker has taken a compact schedule to the extreme. Case in point, the Edmonton Oilers playing seven games in 13 nights in October. And, if that wasn’t enough, the Oilers also play on the 23rd, 26th, 28th, 30th, and 31st of December—Merry Christmas!
In a world where seemingly everyone has a laptop, and computers can create complex programs to run power grids and city streets, you’d think the NHL and its schedule makers could make a schedule that made sense, wouldn’t you?
The regular season schedule serves as an embarrassment for the NHL, and they should be ashamed for approving it. Olympics or no Olympics, there are no excuses for the poor scheduling, I mean geez…With all due respect, ”Corkey” and Helen Keller could have done a better job!
I say Corkey and Helen are out! Next year? 
get a shot, they couldn’t be any worse, could they???
Until next time,
Peace!
***Article is intended to be funny and not to offend. If I offended anyone, sorry in advance…Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles are tremendous human beings, and I am sure Corkey and Helen Keller are/were as well…..
By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter…
NHL GMs are huddling in Toronto this week to discuss a number of rule, equipment, and schedule issues. Among them are the goalie’s trapezoid, which the GMs have agreed to keep in place.
Fact is, the trapezoid has done more harm than good. Once upon a time, NHL goalies were able to roam freely outside of their crease and, if their skills allowed, were able to use their stick-handling skills to help clear the zone.
With the trapezoid in effect, NHL defensemen and forwards alike are getting hammered against the boards at an alarming pace, leading to a considerable number of head injuries.
Before the trapezoid was invoked, the goalies used to give the players an extra second by playing the puck, which helped protect them from checkers flying in from beyond the blueline, which is no longer the case.
So I ask you, Mr. Commissioner, considering only about five or six goalies could really use their stick-handling skills to their advantage, was the rule change really necessary?
It is being reported on NHL.com the Colorado Avalanche have their eye on Peter Forsberg. In a word, why? Why would you want to mess with the early success that the Av’s have enjoyed by bringing in a player who will only be effective if he plays on the first or second line? Don’t play with fire, you’ll get burned…
One of the main reasons for Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson success is his awesome size which, most times, enables him to cover the entire bottom of the net. Another reason is his vision and ability to anticipate the shooters, something that is tough to teach.
Toughest team to win a face-off against? The San Jose Sharks, 56.8%. Toughest player to win a face-off against? Paul Gaustad, Buffalo Sabres, 68.1%. Combined record of both teams heading into Tuesday night? 21-8-3, read into to it what you will…
Once upon a time, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin stated he felt Toronto’s Nikolai Kulemin would have a good NHL career. With all due respect, we’re still waiting Mr. Malkin. Thus far, Kulemin has been less than stellar.
I know he’s had some tough breaks to deal with, but with a 2-11-3 record through 16 games, you gotta think it’s just a matter of time before the “fire Paul Maurice” rumors get started. For the record, if the Hurricanes do fire Maurice, they will regret it.
I started thinking out loud yesterday, and a player’s name I hadn’t thought of in quite a while popped into my head, Angelo Esposito. Originally drafted in the first round (20th
overall) of the 2007 NHL entry draft, Esposito is now buried in the Atlanta Thrashers’ system.
Playing for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, Esposito has a grand total of four assists through eight games. At just 20 years old, there is plenty of time for Esposito to develop, but for a kid that was once considered to be a top five prospect, the road to the NHL looks to be an uphill battle.
Why do I bring up Esposito? Well, for starters, once upon a time he was a tremendous playmaker, and his puck-handling abilities are well documented. With the Leafs looking for a young player to grow with free agent acquisition Phil Kessel, would it be a wise move for Leafs GM Brian Burke to make an offer for Esposito?
Drawing the line at a minimum of four shots taken, two Colorado Avalanche players ranked in the top three in shootout percentage. Marek Svatos sits at a 75 percent success rate (three for four), Milan Hedjuk sits at a 50 percent success rate (two for four). The best in the NHL? None other than Sidney Crosby, who is four for four. Think he’s gearing up for the Olympics?
Heading into Tuesday night;s action, nine (Rick Nash, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dustin Penner, Ryan Smyth, Brad Richards, Corey Perry, Dany Heatley, Brooks Laich) of the top 15 point producers in the NHL were Canadians. That said, the top three (Anze Kopitar, Alex Ovechkin, Marian Gaborik) are all Europeans.
Penner and Laich were afterthoughts, while Smyth, Richards, and Marleau all had various degrees of support from the so-called “hockey experts.” If you could only take two of these players, which ones make Team Canada?
Until next time,
Peace!
by Jeremy Visser… Why am I even surprised anymore? I get the feeling my high school team could’ve scored 120 points against this year’s Raptors, and we didn’t even win a game my last two seasons. A Spurs team without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker outhustled and outplayed Toronto last night, winning 131-124.
To his credit, Manu Ginobili couldn’t miss in the second half. Still, that doesn’t excuse Matt Bonner getting to the rack four times on his patented sweeping drive that should never, ever work. San Antonio manhandled the Raps on the boards as well, out rebounding them 51-42, including 16-5 on the offensive glass. Toronto committed 35 fouls as well, several of which were about 200 feet away from the basket. Ugly, ugly stuff.
Plenty to like offensively tonight, but not enough to shed any light on an otherwise horrible game. Chris Bosh had another big one, scoring 32 points and adding 10 boards, and Hedo Turkoglu had a season-high 20. Even with foul trouble, I would’ve liked to see Jay Triano get the big guns back on the floor earlier in the fourth, since Turkoglu is apparently some sort of late-game killer.
Jose Calderon offensive resurgence continued with a nice 13-point, nine assist game, but he had trouble checking George Hill off the dribble in the first half and didn’t get much in the way of help from his bigs. Hill, in place of Parker, scored 22 points on 8-of-15 and had five assists.
Anyway, lots to say about this one, so I’ll check in with more tomorrow once I’ve cooled my jets.
By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter… Was he really recovering from off-season rotator cuff surgery, or was Phil Kessel’s debut delayed because he was finishing off his classes at the Vatican? After all, the way Leaf fans are talking, Kessel is Toronto’s Savior, a Savior that has great expectations.
Kessel, who was signed as a free agent by Toronto Maple Leafs general Manager Brian Burke, will suit up for the first time for Toronto tonight, against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
While Kessel was sidelined, the Leafs managed to scrape together a record of 1-7-4, good enough for last place in the NHL standings. Clearly, Kessel is coming into a tough situation, a situation that he will be given the challenge of fixing.
As the saying goes, “the only way to go is up” and, with the addition of Kessel to the lineup, that’s exactly what management and fans alike expect. Given the fact that Burke gave up two first rounders (2010/2011) and a second rounder for Kessel, failure is not an option.
Question is, are the expectations being thrust upon Kessel too high, or can Kessel deliver at the level that is expected?
Kessel is a talented player. As a member of the Boston Bruins in 2008-09, Kessel lit the lamp 36 times, which put him in a tie for 12th overall. It should be noted that Kessel had the benefit of having Ultra-slick Marc Savard as his centre in Boston, a player that posted 63 assists, which ranked him sixth overall.
Kessel will not have the same benefit in Toronto. The money is on Matt Stajan, a player that registered a career high 40 assists in 2008-09, to lineup as Kessel’s centre, at least for now. That said, all this could change if Stajan and Kessel are unable to find some chemistry early on.
All in all, Kessel is arriving in Toronto at a good time. The Leafs are coming off a five game road trip which saw the Leafs post a 1-1-3 record. On the surface, that doesn’t look very encouraging, but, seeing as the Leafs started the season 0-7-1, it’s a start, certainly something to build on.
Defenseman Tomas Kaberle is hot. Kaberle registered two goals and eleven assists in his last five games and is coming off a four point night in Montreal on Saturday night. Kaberle’s penchant for passing the puck should serve Kessel well on the power play, they are bound to make sweet music together.
On the injury front, the Leafs finally have goaltenders Jonas Gustavsson and Vesa Toskala back, which seemingly solidifies their goaltending. Other than defenseman Mike Van Ryn, who is out for the season, there are no other injuries to report at this time, which bodes well for the Leafs going forward.
Much like October, November will be no easy ride for the Leafs, but there are, what many like to call, some “winnable” games against the Minnesota Wild (Nov, 10th), Ottawa Senators (Nov, 17th), Carolina Hurricanes (Nov, 20th), New York Islanders (Nov, 23rd), Tampa Bay Lightning (Nov 26th) and the Florida Panthers (Nov, 28th).
The Leafs are averaging a paltry 2.50 goals per game (24th overall). Kessel should add another dimension to the Leafs offense, but don’t expect him to come out gangbusters as, outside of a few practice scrimmages, he has not played an NHL game since the conclusion of the 2008-09 NHL playoffs, so he will need to shake off some rust.
Looking at tonight’s matchup, the Lightning are coming off a 6-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers last night and are 0-4-1 on the road this season. Steven Stamkos has goals in six consecutive games and has been the Bolts best player to date.
Vincent Lecavalier, once the face of the franchise, has struggled to find his game and, with just one goal, nine assists and a minus -8 rating, will need to pick up his game if the Bolts have any chance at making a playoff run.
If the Leafs are to be successful this evening they will have to contain Stamkos and get off to a fast start. The Leafs have been abysmal in first periods this season, scoring the first goal would go a long way in attacking the Bolts fragile confidence.
To all Leaf fans, I preach patience and understanding. After all, Kessel may be able to part defense’s, but, unlike Moses, he cannot part the sea. Miracle maker? No. Great player? We’ll see…
Until next time,
Peace!
By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter… 
NHL GMs are huddling in Toronto this week to discuss a number of rule, equipment, and schedule issues. Among them are the goalie’s trapezoid, which the GMs have agreed to keep in place.
Fact is, the trapezoid has done more harm than good. Once upon a time, NHL goalies were able to roam freely outside of their crease and, if their skills allowed, were able to use their stick-handling skills to help clear the zone.
With the trapezoid in effect, NHL defensemen and forwards alike are getting hammered against the boards at an alarming pace, leading to a considerable number of head injuries.
Before the trapezoid was invoked, the goalies used to give the players an extra second by playing the puck, which helped protect them from checkers flying in from beyond the blueline, which is no longer the case.
So I ask you, Mr. Commissioner, considering only about five or six goalies could really use their stick-handling skills to their advantage, was the rule change really necessary?
It is being reported on NHL.com the Colorado Avalanche have their eye on Peter Forsberg. In a word, why? Why would you want to mess with the early success that the Av’s have enjoyed by bringing in a player who will only be effective if he plays on the first or second line? Don’t play with fire, you’ll get burned…
One of the main reasons for Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonas Gustavsson success is his awesome size which, most times, enables him to cover the entire bottom of the net. Another reason is his vision and ability to anticipate the shooters, something that is tough to teach.
Toughest team to win a face-off against? The San Jose Sharks, 56.8%. Toughest player to win a face-off against? Paul Gaustad, Buffalo Sabres, 68.1%. Combined record of both teams heading into Tuesday night? 21-8-3, read into to it what you will…
Once upon a time, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin stated he felt Toronto’s Nikolai Kulemin would have a good NHL career. With all due respect, we’re still waiting Mr. Malkin. Thus far, Kulemin has been less than stellar.
I know he’s had some tough breaks to deal with, but with a 2-11-3 record through 16 games, you gotta think it’s just a matter of time before the “fire Paul Maurice” rumors get started. For the record, if the Hurricanes do fire Maurice, they will regret it.
I started thinking out loud yesterday, and a player’s name I hadn’t thought of in quite a while popped into my head, Angelo Esposito. Originally drafted in the first round (20th
overall) of the 2007 NHL entry draft, Esposito is now buried in the Atlanta Thrashers’ system.
Playing for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, Esposito has a grand total of four assists through eight games. At just 20 years old, there is plenty of time for Esposito to develop, but for a kid that was once considered to be a top five prospect, the road to the NHL looks to be an uphill battle.
Why do I bring up Esposito? Well, for starters, once upon a time he was a tremendous playmaker, and his puck-handling abilities are well documented. With the Leafs looking for a young player to grow with free agent acquisition Phil Kessel, would it be a wise move for Leafs GM Brian Burke to make an offer for Esposito?
Drawing the line at a minimum of four shots taken, two Colorado Avalanche players ranked in the top three in shootout percentage. Marek Svatos sits at a 75 percent success rate (three for four), Milan Hedjuk sits at a 50 percent success rate (two for four). The best in the NHL? None other than Sidney Crosby, who is four for four. Think he’s gearing up for the Olympics?
Heading into Tuesday night;s action, nine (Rick Nash, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dustin Penner, Ryan Smyth, Brad Richards, Corey Perry, Dany Heatley, Brooks Laich) of the top 15 point producers in the NHL were Canadians. That said, the top three (Anze Kopitar, Alex Ovechkin, Marian Gaborik) are all Europeans.
Penner and Laich were afterthoughts, while Smyth, Richards, and Marleau all had various degrees of support from the so-called “hockey experts.” If you could only take two of these players, which ones make Team Canada?
Until next time,
Peace!
by Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter… 
Net, “Nyet”
Dear Lee Stempniak,
The net is the thing painted red that was eight feet in front of you when you had your breakaway, you know, when you shot the puck five feet wide and into the boards. That’s some nice shooting there “Tex”, remind me not to go hunting with you!
Pass the Tylenol
When it comes to head shots, nobody seems to have a good read on what the NHL standard is. There are several criteria that the NHL considers, amongst them, was the hit late? Does the player have a history of this kind of hit? And was the hit intentional?
How about we just make it easy for everyone, if a player gets nailed in the head by his opponent and he goes off the ice on a stretcher, the opposing player gets suspended, terms and fines contingent on the NHL’s criteria?
Time, after time we are stuck debating the validity of a hit with no real consensus ever reached as to whether, or not the suspension, or lack thereof was warranted. No hit to the head is warranted, whether by mistake, or with the intent to injure. The NFL “gets it”, why doesn’t the NHL?
If a tree fell in the forest, would anybody care? If Jason Blake never played another game for the Toronto Maple Leafs, would anybody care?
Statastic!
Anze Kopitar—NHL scoring leader with 21 points…Andrew Raycroft—1.13 goals against average, leads the NHL…Craig Anderson—eight wins, leads the NHL…Phoenix Coyotes—6-4 through 10 games…Rookie forward Ryan O’Reilly—plus-10 rating…all true stories.
Leafland
Is it just me, or is Leafs’ head coach Ron Wilson incapable of cracking a smile? This guy looks more uptight than an anorexic at a Chinese buffet. Come on Mr. Wilson, I know your team stinks right now, but surely you have something to smile about…then again…
For Leaf fans, the Phil Kessel era can not start soon enough. Here’s a thought, what if Kessel flops? How many Leaf fans can we expect to jump off a cliff? One thing’s for sure, given the Leafs slow start, the Boston Bruins management team has some pretty sore hands right about now, you know, with all the high-fives going around.
Quick thought: Even though he has started off slowly, coming off last night’s 6-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks, does anyone think Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson will win 20 games this season? Any comments?
Crystal Ball gazing
Hindsight is everything, especially when it comes to signing free agent NHL players. I bet there are more than a few GM’s that wished they’d took a closer look at Marian Gaborik. With 10 goals and 18 points, Gabby is proving his worth.
Nazim Kadri update—Through 11 games, Kadri has five goals and four assists, which nets out to nine points. That puts him 98th overall amongst all Ontario Hockey League forwards. He’s not ready Leaf fans…
In the battle for first overall at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, through 16 games, Windsor Spitfires forward Taylor Hall leads the OHL with 16 goals and 34 points. Comparatively, through 14 games, Plymouth Whalers forward Tyler Seguin has 17 goals and 30 points, clearly, it’s neck and neck right now.
Which injured player hurts his team the most? Ilya Kovalchuk (Atlanta)? Sergei Gonchar (Pittsburgh)? Daniel Sedin (Vancouver)? Marc Savard (Boston)? Let your opinion be known in the comment box.
Until next time,
Peace!
by Jeremy Visser… If Major League Baseball has any sense of accountability, they need to tell Phil Cuzzi to take the next few weeks off. Yes Phil, that means no more left field umpiring assignments for the rest of the playoffs — no more making fair or foul calls on plays that happen ten feet away from you.
Seriously, if there has ever been a worse call in the history of baseball, I’d like to see it. It hasn’t been the best of weeks for the men in blue (or black? Why do we call them “blue” when they usually wear black?) — after all, a botched hit-by-a-pitch call Tuesday night gave Minnesota a chance to play in the postseason in the first place and a couple of blown calls at first base by C.B. Bucknor caused a bit of an uproar in Thursday’s Red Sox-Angels opener. Still, Cuzzi’s call stands out as the worst and his reputation for being an idiot come playoff time doesn’t help his case. Too many umpires in the majors think the game is about them. It’s not. If Cuzzi isn’t disciplined, he should pull himself for the rest of the postseason.
Another note on umpiring: If TBS is so set on using this “PitchTRAX”, they need to stop sticking up for the men behind the plate. Either that, or ditch it altogether. The umps are constantly calling pitches strikes that miss the target, yet Chip Caray & co. keep whispering sweet nothings about how great a job they’re doing. Either the umpiring sucks or PitchTRAX is useless. Tell me which, Chip.
By Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter… 
So, through two games the Toronto Maple Leafs are ranked 26th overall in goals against per game. Where did the Leafs finish in that category in 2008-09? 27th…
With that in mind, why all the hoop-la about the Leafs defense, or lack-thereof? Sure the Leafs did add defenseman Mike Komisarek to the mix, who coincidentally has spent about as much time in the penalty box (17 minutes) as he has on the ice (45:34).
The Leafs also added defenseman Garnett Exelby, who has played all of 12 shifts thus far and they also added veteran defenseman Francois Beauchemin, who has looked slow and owns a team leading -4 rating after two games.
The point is, in order for the Leafs defense to improve, it will have to come from the new additions and, thus far, none of the new additions have been an improvement on last season’s crew.
Up front, the Leafs continue to be a legitimate threat. Currently, with an average of 3.50 goals, the Leafs are ranked 11th overall in goals per game. The 2008-09 season saw the Leafs finish 10th overall in that department.
So, nothing for nothing, it’s status quo for head coach Ron Wilson and his Toronto Maple Leafs, lot’s of “O” and, on the back end, lot’s of “Oh, no”….
Now, two games does not make a season and I suspect the Leafs will make considerable improvement over 2008-09, but Leafs fans need to understand that change/improvement is going to take time, we’re talking 20 games here.
Every Leaf fan from coast to coast is ready throw goaltender Vesa Toskala under the bus. Yeah, two games into the season, with a defense corps that has struggled in front of him, you want to throw Toskala to the fishes? Give your collected heads a shake!
To be fair, if Ron Wilson elects to go with Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators then so be it. Who am I to argue? In fact, from the outside looking in, having just come back from offseason surgery, it would seem as if Toskala is not yet ready to assume the starting role.
That does not mean Toskala should be forgotten or thrown under the bus for that matter. Fact is, Toskala needs to be handled with kid gloves, or, in another words, with a little patience.
Give it some time Leaf fans. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. ”Patience”, my friends, “Patience”….
Until next time,
Peace!
by Stephen Brotherston… 
Maybe this is just a rant, but!
For over a year now, media reports have had Chris Bosh leaving Toronto to sign with New York, Miami, Dallas, and nearly every NBA city except Toronto. The only consistent part of these story lines is a complete lack of creditable confirmation from the player involved that he is even considering any of these teams as a future home. The absolute best recent interview on this topic is when a “reporter” asked Bosh if he was coming to New York next season and Bosh couldn’t stop laughing.
Chris Bosh hasn’t been alone in this media speculation. His 2003 draft contemporaries, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are facing similar speculation. Most coming under the heading of if you don’t have any real news, make something up! Major media outlets have even gone so far as to poll their own writers to create stories about which stars are most likely to change teams in the blockbuster 2010 free agent pool.
What they are not saying is NBA players who can command maximum dollar contracts almost never leave their original team except by trade. And there are really sound reasons for why max free agents re-sign with their old clubs. MONEY!
It has been widely written (and the math isn’t that hard to do) that if any of the big 3 (maybe 4?) free agents were to directly sign with another team, they would be giving up annual raises averaging more than $1,000,000 per season plus a guaranteed 6th season putting about $30,000,000 of their projected lifetime earnings at significant risk.
Imagine Bosh sitting down with his agent going,
CB, “I just read over this max offer from the Raptors. It looks like I’m done for the next 6 years? What about that deal from Miami, I really like Wade.”
Agent, “Like I explained before, the Miami deal guarantees you $30,000,000 less. I’m just looking out for your best interests.”
CB, “Couldn’t we shorten it so I’d lose less money or is there something else?”
Agent, “Sure there’s things we could do, but it will cost you something and how’s that knee? That brace you’ve been wearing hasn’t gotten smaller each season! One bad move or unfortunate accident and no one will give you a contract that even approaches the guaranteed money you can sign for right now.”
CB, “So you’re saying the smart move is to sign with Toronto?”
Agent, “You got it! And if you’re not happy in a year or two, you can force your way out. Remember Vince?”
Has the whole world forgotten that this is a professional sport? That the 2010 big free agents are not in their thirties looking for that elusive championship before they retire on the hundreds of millions already made. This contract is “The Contract” for these free agents. The next one will only be for similar or better money if they make it to their thirties in Kobe Bryant type shape with Kobe Bryant type production – and how many players actually accomplish that?
This is their job. It’s not a college game where the players are in it for the glory and a shot at the pros.
It has been proposed by some that the injury issue (of not signing for 6 years) can be covered off by insurance. This is an interesting issue and how the cost of insurance is treated under the CBA is not especially clear, at least to me. There are insurance companies that have underwritten just about every kind of risk. But a policy to guarantee an athlete, no longer under contract, will earn over $20,000,000 five years from now will cost a lot of money!
What should be clear is giving someone an insurance policy that extends beyond their contract has a financial value and a cost that one should expect would be included in the player’s salary. The same concept as CBA defined deferred salary being applied to the earlier years of a player’s contract. (But the insurance idea seems like a blatant attempt to work around restrictions in the CBA.)
There is always the argument, especially from the New York media, that players can make more money from endorsements by being in the major markets (say everywhere except Canada). Let’s ask around. Say, Vince Carter, “How’d that move to New Jersey pan out in terms of better endorsement deals?” (crickets)
Sometimes there are suggestions that teams can arrange off-the-books deals to entice a player to sign with them. The CBA deals with this situation. From the NBA Salary Cap FAQ
“I suppose it could happen, but the NBA will investigate if it suspects that an outside person or organization is paying a player on behalf or at the request of a team. If they find out that such an event has occurred, they will penalize the team. For the first offense by a team, the fine can be up to $2,500,000, forfeiture of a first round draft pick, and/or voiding the player’s contract.”
How about income taxes? Tax rates are different in each state and everyone knows Canadian tax rates are high. Well the CBA addresses this issue too. From the NBA Salary Cap FAQ
“For example, since Florida has no state income tax, an offer from Orlando will offer a higher net income than the same offer from Los Angeles. However, the league added a regulation to help neutralize the tax disadvantage of Canadian teams. All teams are permitted to offer a signing bonus of up to 20%. For U.S. residents in Canada, this bonus is taxed at just 15%. Using this bonus, Canadian teams can nearly achieve tax neutrality.”
So which of the current 30 top paid players in the NBA has actually changed teams by signing a free agent max deal under the 2005 CBA?
Aside from Rashard Lewis, who was coming off career years where he averaged 21 ppg and over 5 boards on a team that had just lost 51 games, the most since the team’s 2nd year as a new franchise over 30 years ago, and the team was under-going some serious ownership issues? Aside from that unusual set of circumstances, no one has. (Even this deal was officially a trade, wink-wink and more than a few people have questioned if it was an above-market offer.)
Gilbert Arenas, who signed as a free agent in 2003 with Washington (before this CBA), now has a rule about free agent signings named after him!
Kenyon Martin who didn’t actually sign a max deal, was traded in 2004 for 3 first round draft picks.
Predrag Stojakovic, who signed for much less than the max in 2006, ended up in a trade deal.
Larry Hughes signed a free agent deal with Cleveland in 2005, but for less than the max.
Elton Brand signed a free agent deal in 2008 with the 76ers. But it wasn’t just for less than the max, it was for less than he was earning the previous season.
Joe Johnson, who reportedly signed an offer sheet with Atlanta in 2005, was in effect traded for Boris Diaw and 2 first round draft picks.
Over half of the top 15 paid players in the league have only ever played for one team. Think of Duncan, Bryant, Nowitizki, Redd, Pierce, Ming, Stoudemire, and Kirilenko. And not all of these players are on perennial championship contenders.
Teams have “lost” free agents primarily because they didn’t want to pay them what other teams were willing to cough up. Teams haven’t lost players when they were willing to offer max money.
While nothing is impossible; and one of the league’s premier free agents could have a mental meltdown. Or financial constraints could stop a team from offering a max contract to a deserving player (Something like this is not going to happen in Cleveland, Miami, or Toronto.) It is going to take a very unusual set of circumstances to get any player to decline a guarantee of the maximum money available under the CBA.
So what’s the likelihood of Chris Bosh walking away from a max money deal to sign with another team? Not likely. If Bryan Colangelo decides to make the offer, CB4 isn’t going anywhere.
Now the trading of max contract players can and does happen. But that’s a different story.
« Previous Page — Next Page »
Recent Comments