Things the players say

Post #1 » by **HMFFL** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 1:50 am

Etan Thomas goes over 23 things.

http://espn.go.com/espn/commentary/stor ... gotiations

Post #2 » by **HMFFL** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 2:22 am

lol@Nazr Mohammed

"If this deal is accepted...I advise guys to stay in school and get ur degree, Master's if possible. U might be able to make more $ that way than playing in the NBA in ur 1st five years. Being the 1st pick of the draft would mean nothing." http://blogs.herald.com/miami_heat/2011 ... eague.html

evildallas · Post #3 » by **evildallas** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 8:14 pm

That was an enlightening read. I now like the players even less and counter with a few things:

An owner is different than a CEO. A CEO while well compensated is the leader of a business, not it's owner.

They thought Michael Jordan was there to intimidate? Ah the problem of being recognized as a former player. Michael Jordan is an owner. In fact he's an owner of a small market team and obviously unhappy with a system that requires small market teams to choose between fielding a team that compete for a championship or make money. They can't do both. And before anyone cites OKC, the topic of discussion for sometime has been can OKC afford to keep the team together long enough to make a run. Lakers, NY, Chicago, Miami don't have such pressure.

All the stuff about occupy wall street and the economy hurting. Try going to the following web site and put in the league minimum salary:
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/10/ ... t-are-you/

Yes, even the league minimum makes you a top 1% earner. It's not the owners fault that the majority of players end up broke because you made mad money to sit on the end of the bench for years. Does anyone buy a ticket to see you? Do you even play most nights? But yet the owners are required to employ someone at a guaranteed salary for that spot.

You get guaranteed contracts, guaranteed percentage of revenue, and a guaranteed number of jobs. It's hard to sell me on a hard cap hurting you when those things exist. Regular workers don't have any of those things. We can be replaced or told to make do with less employees. Don't pretend we're in similar situations.

If in a year of record revenues and a net profit or breaking even, if that occurs by 8 clubs offsetting the losses of 22 clubs then the system doesn't work. By your own statement the league as a whole did well. If at the same time 2/3s of the teams lose money it isn't just bad management it's a flawed system.

The owners are a group of individuals as well. You see the ultimatum as grandstanding, but did you consider that there might be a limit to how long Stern can keep enough owners together to make that offer.

There a real chance that when basketball resumes that their won't even be a job for you, Etan. I don't say that as a threat but merely an honest appraisal of what you have left. It's noble of you to sacrifice your remaining career, too bad it is a moot sacrifice in that the resulting deal is likely to be no better than what you as a group have refused.

Post #4 » by **HMFFL** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 11:53 pm

Samardo goes on a gay rant on twitter the other day according to what posters on Realgm users posted and now this....

Samardo Samuels: Why why why...no NBA no problem my album is coming out soon please feel free to be more than one copy. Twitter

Post #5 » by **HMFFL** » Tue Nov 15, 2011 12:04 am

Some positive ones. I think more of the players wish they had a voice in it. The more I read on hoopshype, the more I believe this would have been passed today, if all the players could have voted.

Markieff Morris: "Is it really all about the money??" ... "Lol just give everybody a mil and let us play lol because most of us didn't have (expletive) before the league....." Arizona Republic

Marreese Speights: Why did the players do that smfh. Twitter

Garret Siler: "Its crazy I finally got my foot in the door and this mess happens but what can u do but suck it up and get back to the grind" Arizona Republic

Post #6 » by **dms269** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 2:48 pm

The Thomas thing is basically him bashing the owners (CEOs) up one side and down the other. Nothing interesting there.

Post #7 » by **HMFFL** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:26 am

How about this Thomas? According to the General Board it came from twitter.

TyrusThomas a players are going to make more in one year than most people will in their life.. ” #whosfault #workharder

TyrusThomas Tyrus Thomas
"take a bad deal for you and your family so me and my family can be entertained now!" - Fans to Players

evildallas · Post #8 » by **evildallas** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:50 am

^^^^ I have a new least favorite player for that work harder crap.

As far as the take a bad deal stuff, let me address this to Tyrus directly. Yo idiot, I don't want you to take a bad deal just so I can be entertained. I want you to recognize your lack of leverage and realize that you're not getting a better deal. If you done this (decertified) months ago you would have time to work out a deal before losing checks. By waiting this long you've actually strengthened the owners position and you've empowered the hardline owners which works against you in the final deal. If you had spent months working to a solution understanding that in this economy you are going to give things up instead of trying to manipulate public sentiment and focusing over not going beneath a certain level you had a chance of controlling the proceedings by working with the dove owners to built a coalition before the hardliners gained control.

If I thought you'd get a better deal by your tact then I'd have trouble faulting you for it, but I don't see where you've generated enough leverage to do so. Furthermore, the hardline owners who were unhappy with 50% BRI are fine with cancelling an entire season. You're playing into their hands because of pride, when you should have been doing what you needed to do get the best deal all along. That's my too cents.