Jordan Brand Classic from NY..Sat 6:00 ESPN2

[Sleepy51]

I did not see one future champion in that Jordan game.

I saw a bunch of future Carmelo Anthony type underachieving, overhyped sneaker pimps. None of those kids looked like anyone's future franchise player. I know they are all young, which is why it's a terrible idea to put them on a nationally televised stage, but that looked like a lot of kids who believe all thier own hype and will not reach their potential because of it.

The NBA (or even better Congress) should shut down all these prep-combine events. There's no reason for anyone selling anything to be anywhere near these kids until they are over 18 (or the NBA's age limit) and can sign on the dotted line. If you want to support the prep game and give the kids instruction and opportunity, do it through a not for profit, keep the TV camera's and logos out of it.

I found the whole thing to be a big waste of my time.

[FNQ]

^ JRue/Evans hater

For the most part, the ball-dominators were terrible... Jennings was the worst offender, as was Malcolm Lee...

I couldnt find much wrong with Jrue and Evans though... 2nd straight game where they've looked damn solid. I cant wait to see them in college... Evans is going to make MEM something else, and Jrue will steal the job from Collison by midseason if Collison doesn't declare..

[TB]

the sneaker circuit is terrible. shady companies trying to network with teenagers to use them when they get older. Thats why the college rule came at a good time. These kids would all think they are the **** and go straight to the NBA. Now they get to see what team ball is all about.

I cant say enough how great of a decision it was for Evans to go to Memphis.

Maybe we can draft him and Calipari next year.

[Sleepy51]

Pssst . . . the NBA ain't about team ball either.

[TB]

Pssst . . . the NBA ain't about team ball either.

i was referring to college ball they will be a part of next year. But your right, the NBA is the iso league, maybe they should just skip to the nba after all?

[Sleepy51]

I would be in favor of it.

I preferred the college game without the non-academic players. I don't want to see Darius Miles taking Stephen Curry's scholarship, or even roster spot if Curry was a walk on. I don't have any problem at all with the non-academic kids chasing a career in athletics. I think the NBA should be doing everything in it's power to develop the D league as a viable career builder option, a place where guys can play until the playing's done, and then turn that experience into a career coaching, or training, or learning the front office ropes (like MILB.)

The age rule, and the unholy alliance with the NCAA really pisses me off (not at the NBA, but at the NCAA for being whores.) There's no reason at all the NCAA should be willing or downright eager to take non-academic athletes off of the NBA's hands to do thier weeding out/dirty work for them. Any age rule that isn't designed to increase graduation rates is a farce and makes a mockery of higher education (which intercollegiate basketball and football have been doing for the better part of this century.)

If the NBA wants to lock out players who don't have an AA or a Bachelors degree, I will carry the petition for them. That would be a rule that has the real best interest of the athletes at heart, but the 2 year age rule is just about making sure that the NBA doesn't have to pay to develop talent (which baseball has to do) and to make sure that the NBA's "can't miss" prospects get as much national exposure and hype using the NCAA's history and marketing cache to accomplish, all the while, everybody gets a paycheck except the kids.

I don't blame the NBA though, and I don't blame the sneaker pimps. Business people are going to do business, that's their job, and to expect them to do any different would be naive and anti-free market.

My problem is with the NCAA who has a specific mission AND not for profit status as a 501(c)3, so why are they in bed with every marketing entity in the world with an interest in exploiting thier charges? They could lock all the money grubbing scumbags out by locking out the athletes with no interest in a college degree. All they would have to do is flip the switch that makes athletes accountable for their scholarships, and athletic departments accountable for graduating thier athletes.

But they won't do it. The IRS needs to pull their non-profit and make them start paying taxes like everybody else. Then Congress needs callt hem on a carpet for hearings about these pathetic graduation rates for "student" athletes in basketball and football.

[TB]

^ what he said. i'll let you do all the thinking and typing, and i'll just cosign it. Well done.

[FNQ]

Pssst . . . the NBA ain't about team ball either.

Winning in the NBA is...

Unfortunately, the money's not in winning anymore

[Sid the Squid]

You can't win unless you play together..I have no idea what you guys are talking about...I love basketball because you can't win unsless care about winning...Look through the teams that have champs...Look at the spurs..My gosh..Or the pistons...What about the blazers and warriors of the 70's ..total team ball

I hate the bashing the NBA takes...NBA hoops and Euro pro soccer are the two highest forms of sport.

[Sleepy51]

There were at leat 100 nationally televised CAVS games this season and maybe 10 detroit games. NBA hoops is about selling Gatorade and Nike's and don't you forget it.

[FNQ]

Selfish basketball isnt conducive to winning... it's conducive to the $$$$, which takes away from the sting of never winning

[Sid the Squid]

I watch LP..I watch good basketball...The best teams win..The players that care the most about winning win...What is there not to like? You want a fake league that is void of selfish losers? How boring.

[Sleepy51]

As I've been harping on for weeks, the league is rigged so that losing doesn't impede profitability. If you have enough money to get in the club, the league is not going to let a member lose money running an NBA franchise. It's how they protect the value of everyone's investment.

The knicks took a 42 million dollar operating loss this year (I believe the largest loss to date for any NBA team) yet the franchise has grown in value by about that much year over year for as long as cablevision has owned it.

I can't help but chuckle when people say it's a players league.

It's an owners league dummy.

[Sleepy51]

So I'm looking over that Forbes list agian and it strikes me that almost every franchise in the league (except Seattle and Memphis) has returned double digit increases in value since the last ownership change.

Why on earth don't cities just float a bond issue at 8% and buy the damn teams when they go up for sale?

[Sid the Squid]

I know I'm simple minded, but I dont care about the politics or the $$$..All I care about is basketball..That's why I'd love to see a 21 year min age for the NBA....That's why I dont care that Carmelo has a 50 million dollar shoe deal..I dont care..I know he's a lozzzer..The game knows he's a lozzzer..When Carmelo leads the nuggets to a championship as the best player on his team? Then I'll care..The game kills off selfish azzholes like Melo..That's why this is the only American sport I watch

[Sleepy51]

Why do you love z's so much?

[Mylie10]

I know I'm simple minded, but I dont care about the politics or the $$$..All I care about is basketball..That's why I'd love to see a 21 year min age for the NBA....That's why I dont care that Carmelo has a 50 million dollar shoe deal..I dont care..I know he's a lozzzer..The game knows he's a lozzzer..When Carmelo leads the nuggets to a championship as the best player on his team? Then I'll care..The game kills off selfish azzholes like Melo..That's why this is the only American sport I watch

Fantastic post Sid!!