OSU Beats Michigan & Continues Impressive Play as March Approaches
February 27, 2010Browns’ Brass Take the Podium at the Combine
February 28, 2010While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.
Phil rips the NBA rules and the Z trade: “It’s something that’s going to have to be addressed in the next (collective bargaining agreement)…It’s a sham of sorts to make that kind of trade. You’re not really trading a player. You’re just trading a money situation. It’s a sham, and I think it’s a disrespect for the league and the players to be involved in this type of a thing…They got a real good player and [have] not lost a thing.” [Chris Tomasson/Fanhouse]
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Antawn’s fit in the Cavaliers offense: “The most impressive thing, however, may be the fact that Jamison is learning to play off of the entire Cavs team and not just LeBron James. After assisting Jamison’s very first basket for the Cavs, LeBron James has accounted for only 7 of the remaining 20 assisted baskets (35%). In four games, Jamison has been assisted by Mo Williams five times, Delonte West three times, and by Anthony Parker, Daniel Gibson, Jamario Moon, Anderson Varejao, and Shaquille O’Neal one time a piece. Being assisted by eight different Cavaliers on 28 field goals made (21 assisted) in only four games is definitely an achievement that highlights Jamison’s ability to integrate himself into any offense.” [Cameron/NumbersDont.com]
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Does combine hype really translate to the field: “Agent Drew Rosenhaus, acting as an agent ought to, declared Campbell a lock for the top 10 of the draft. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Bruce Feldman each breathlessly repeated the news. And the love affair with the 40-yard-dash, which is scarcely relevant to even wide receivers, has hit a new nadir of disproportionate attention. There is no reason to care what Campbell’s 40-yard dash time is. Oh, it’s certainly an accurate reflection of his athleticism, especially compared to the other offensive linemen. But Campbell will never, ever be asked to run 40 yards in a straight line as fast as possible during an actual game.” [Adam Jacobi/SB Nation]
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Eagles still mulling QB options but will not release Vick at this point: “The Philadelphia Eagles are widely expected to pony up the $1.5 million roster bonus quarterback Michael Vick is due on March 5th, rather than release him. Instead the Eagles plan to continue holding on to the quarterback for the best available trade offer, perhaps a third- or fourth-round draft pick. The members of the Eagles’ front office do not seem have reached a consensus when it comes to which of the team’s three quarterbacks — Vick, Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb — is the best option going forward.” [SI.com/Delaware News Journal]
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Analyzing the Branyan deal: “The Indians were willing to give the same $2 million to Jamey Carroll, who received $3.8 million spread over two years from the Dodgers. The Indians also know that if Branyan is hurt again or falls apart, only $2 million of the deal is guaranteed — and they can cut him. They say it’s not like when they gave Dave Dellucci $11 million over three years or signed Jason Michaels to a two-year deal, as Branyan’s guarantee is for a single season.” [Terry Pluto/Plain Dealer]
23 Comments
I think somebody called out Scott for saying that Phil Jackson had been highly critical of the trade. I’m glad Phil went ahead and demonstrated his superior class more convincingly this time around. And hooray for WFNY’s ability to read between the lines.
After the making fun of Z, the stupid chair, this disgustingly stupid comment about trading “money situations,” and his reaction to the Christmas Day debacle…can anyone say Phil Jackson is a class guy?
Sorry, someone other than Marc Jackson…
For someone who has 10 rings, Jackson sure does whine a lot.
@ Jack – I was the one who “called out Scott.” My point then is the same as today. Phil is right. It is a sham of a trade. Tell my one thing he said in that link that is wrong?
The only reason we are defending it is because we, as Cavs fans, are benefiting from it. If the Lakers, Magic or Celtics picked up Jamison the same way we would all be up in arms. Lets put it this way, we all complain about the economic inequities of MLB and how the playing field isnt level. This is as close to that comparison in the NBA as we can get. We have LeBron, a winning team and an owner willing to spend huge amounts of money to keep it that way. Because we have those things we are able to take advantage of this loophole in the rules. I am not saying the Cavs shouldnt do it or the Cavs did anything wrong. But I agree with Jackson that it should change.
I will concede that Big Chief Triangle is only complaing because we are a real threat to the Lakers.
As if trading Kwame Brown’s corpse for Pau Gasol was any different than a “money situation”…
And regarding taking advantage, we wrote at least three pieces last year about McDyess. All said we were disappointed. All said that we understood that its fair game.
@Mark Yes lots here would probably be whining if the shoe were on the other foot.
But #1 It feels good to be on the RIGHT side of ridiculous deals like this for ONCE. And #2 it’s such a joke hearing all of the righteous criticism coming from league professionals who have been involved in the exact same sham deals over the last few years en route to rings (Rivers, Jackson etc).
@Scott – no one is questioning if the trade is within the rules. The question is should those be the rules? Are the rules fair?
@Mark – Pretty much in line with the other responses…I agree. The trade is a sham. It’s silly. And I don’t begrudge anyone a complaint about this trade or the structure of NBA business mechanics per the current CBA…UNLESS, it’s tremendously overstated and reeks of hypocrisy.
I thought Doc Rivers did it better. He sort of jokingly mentioned the fact that he liked it when they did it a couple years ago, but knows that it’s a sham and “now he hates it.”
This is Jackson’s second sound bite about it. This one is more inflammatory. And he didn’t even set himself up well by calling it a trade for a “money situation.” As Scott highlighted, dumping Gasol for dimes on the dollar was nothing more than a preemptive financial maneuver that the Lakers exploited.
I was just merely pointing out that criticizing Jackson is warranted. The fact remains, he WAS and IS critical about this trade and not in any sort of self-acknowledging way like Rivers. It’s like he pretends that his organization DIDN’T make the most lopsided trade in league history that impelled a rather brutal financial cascade throughout the league. Just like Christmas Day when he blamed the refs for the fans reactions (implicitly). No one is saying that what he said was wrong in the sense that it is untruthful. And Scott never did either. We are just pointing out that these comments seem “wrong” in that they are overtly whiny and hypocritical and a guy with ten rings shouldn’t worry about getting back Z in a money situation after what his organization is done while maintaining the league’s largest payroll. We are not criticizing the content…more the approach and the persistence.
For being a “Zen Master” the guy sure lets a lot of little things bother him.
Mark
I think the rules are fair and fine.
For one thing, they were the result of negotiation among equally sophisticated parties.
For another thing, they are allowing a team in financial difficulty to find their way out; I bet the parties foresaw this scenario as more acceptable than the alternatives that were on the table. Some teams will and some teams won’t be in a position to work with that team. The Cavs were in such a position.
To be in that position was a matter of chance that all parties accepted.
Phil is a coach – not a party, and, thus, his opinion is no more meaningful than mine or yours.
Fairness, to me, is a question of how things start – did we start on an even playing field? How things ebb and flow from there is fundamentally fair until a new deal is worked on an even playing field.
@2 Ain’t that the truth even better why doesn’t Jackson demonstrate what a great coach he is and go to a place like Minnesota or Indiana or New Jersey instead of teams stocked like Chicago and LA? Oh wait we never said Jackson wasn’t smart just arrogant, conceited, whining and just about every other adjective I can’t think of right now. I think Larry Brown is a better coach I know he certainly has a heck of alot more guts then Jackson for having coached where he has in his career both in college and the professionals.
I hate when people compare our situation to the mlb. That’s total dung. The mlb is set up so that only the big market teams can spend enough money. The nba is set up that the GOOD teams, not rich teams can spend to better them selves. The wizards could be making the same move in 3 years if they get their franchise turned around. We will likely be dumping salary if lebron leaves. Every team over a period of time can get a piece of the pie. Also if it were the mlb we would sign lebron, wade and bosh this off season. I have spoken!
Realgm is reporting that Z has decided to resign with the cavs. ZZZZZZZZZEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reghi reported the Z news on Friday night, I believe.
In that case I take it back. !!!!!!!!!!EEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Phil is an idiot. Like all those all stars didn’t help him become a legend. Pluto continues to be a homer for the Indians too.
Phil Jackson Whines too much especially about whats going on over here! He is literally afraid the Cavs are too good, and he will crap his pants if he loses another Finals especially to the Cavs.
This please me.
*pleases
Phil is a coaster, if he didn’t have Jordan, Shaq, Kobe, do you think he would have ever taken another franchise with out the best players ever to play the game to the Finals and win?
Never. He’s the luckiest coach in the history of the NBA. Lucky!
Well he is in a ‘relationship’ with his bosses daughter.
Ok, a couple of minor points to all of this:
@8 Jack – fair enough. I’m not one to defend Phil’s whininess.
@9 Matt#2 – I have no doubt the trade/wave/re-signing rule was created in fairness. But I think we have to ask ourselves is it fair now? I wouldn’t change anything unless both side want to open up the CBA. I do not think a change will occur until the CBA runs out and the lockout starts. By that point it will be pretty far down the list of concerns. I will say that Jackson, a coach who has won 10 titles, opinion is more meaningful than ours.
@ 11 typo – Yes, the MLB comparison is not apples to apples. But, when you state, “the nba is set up that the GOOD teams, not rich teams can spend to better them selves”, how do you explain the Suns? They are a good team with 2 great players and an owner who cannot afford to add to them because of the luxury tax. They dumped Shaq to us for players they immediately bought out. But I digress…
I think what makes the Z/Jamison trade different is that the players involved hold so much value. We can point to the McDyess trade but he wasn’t the main player in that one. It really was Iverson for Billups. With the Cavs, we traded a valuable asset, got a more valuable one back, and then we will get our 1st asset back. Look, not every trade can be fair in terms of preceived value but shouldn’t a team like the Cavs risk something in the deal?
@Mark
We did take a risk in the trade, we gave them our first round pick. The risk wasn’t large, but still a risk. They could draft the next Jordan.
Mark@20
Whether it is fair now is a question of whether there was then equal opportunity to be in the position that the Cavs found themselves. I have heard nothing that indicates that there was any bias or prejudice in the system that set things up for the Cavs or that disenfranchised other teams with respect to being in position to make something happen with the Wizards. Do you know of an inherent bias or prejudice in the system that is stacking the deck concerning the future?
(Jackson, again, is a non-party. Winning ten titles does not make him an expert on fairness. And I have heard nothing else on his resume that indicates his expertise on fairness. So, no, I do not defer to him on this.)
yeah we did take a risk, now we are out of two centers for at least a month. isn’t it sad when the “haves” (as in nba titles) start pointing fingers at the “have-nots”??