Now one side wants to get rid of Billy Hunter, Players Union Director, because no agreement has been met. No one who isn't inside the room when the negotiating is going on can really judge just from what people are saying, but I will. Why is the blame being placed on the side of the NBAPA because there isn't an agreement already? I mean, the NBAPA is probably being stubborn, but so is the NBA Owners etc. As this dilemma has progressed, I have become further and further impartial to both sides. Actually, I have been campaigning strongly for the third party in all of this, the real injured party, the fans, and the people whose livelihood needs the NBA. I think Jayson Williams from the New Jersey Nets said it best on a recent guest appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman (and I am paraphrasing here too...) "Don't worry about the players or the owners in all of this, we all get paid too much, worry about the hot dog salesman that comes to the games and has to feed his family." As this dilemma progresses, it is obvious that the two negotiating sides don't give a stuff about why everyone plays ball in the first place. Money. Easy Money.
I know everyone would like to have the romantic notion that the players play for the love of the game. Sure, they love basketball, but do you think they would be doing this if they weren't going to get paid? I don't think so. Easy Money. That's the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so (sorry, I have been watching too much WWF... *S*).
That is presuming that there is such a thing as easy money anymore. It used to be that you would finish your four years of college, come to the NBA, get paid a pretty good sum of the green stuff, and if you were lucky you would get an endorsement contract or two. At the very least, you would get noticed when you walked down the street and have the opportunity to sign a couple of autographs. Then kids started leaving college as juniors, the sophomores, then freshmen. NOW kids aren't even going to college, they are coming straight to the NBA from high school. And why is that? The money. College was mostly seen as a stepping stone to the NBA, but it was invaluable to the players. Learning how to play in a team where you weren't the go to guy ALL the time, like most freshmen were in high school. They learned the fundamentals of defense which the NBA sometimes just puts aside. They learned to play ball. College ball prepares you for the NBA. Imagine being one of the players from Kentucky, playing under Rick Pitino, a coach that demands the best from his players and knows how to get it out of them. high school players don't get that sort of treatment. They get their egos fed because they are the big fish in a small pond. They get some really good numbers playing against kids, and that's what they are, kids. They are what age? 16 to maybe 18 years old. Then they jump to the NBA to become a very small fish in an incredibly huge pond. And why? The money. The EASY MONEY. More so, the illusion of easy money. Where is Jermaine O'Neal now? Where is Tracey McGrady? Makin' minimum wage at a 7Eleven. OK. That's a bit harsh, but you look at the players who have made a fortune from the NBA. People who have gone to college and know how to market themselves and take care of their money. Now, I hear everyone saying, "What about Kevin Garnett?" Well, the only answer I can come up with is he will be the one in a hundred that actually makes it into the bigtime. But why did he come to the NBA? The money. What is he earning? BIG money. I read somewhere a couple of times that he has a photographic memory. If that's true, and I am not taking it as gospel, but if it is true, he is in the NBA making WAY too much money (I will get back to paying for potential another time) but realistically, he is making WAY too much money for a talent he is gifted with. If it wasn't for the money, he could put his talent to use to help people. A person with a photographic memory could easily become a doctor, or many other things that could benefit mankind. But the lure of the big $$$ has got him being a ball player. Funny how money has that sort of effect.
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