June 19, 2013

WFNY Podcast – 2013-01-22 – Craig and Andrew Talk All Things NBA

January 22, 2013 by 18 Comments

WFNY Podcast LogoCraig has had a pretty long string of guests on who, when talking about the NBA, have prefaced their opinions with a disclaimer that they don’t really follow the NBA much. So I begged Craig to let me come on and talk about the sport. He was nice enough to oblige. Some topics we touched on:

  • Post-LeBron NBA hangovers
  • Did the old system fail?
  • Will the new system work?
  • The disgrace that is the potential move of the Sacramento Kings
  • Will Byron Scott be around when the Cavaliers make the playoffs?
  • Where the Cavaliers are in the rebuilding process
  • And more

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Cavaliers Have Paid 6th Highest Amount in Luxury Taxes

July 26, 2012 by 29 Comments

The luxury tax in the NBA has been around for 11 years now already. According to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com, in that time, 23 of the league’s 30 franchises have paid luxury taxes. The 7 teams who have never paid luxury taxes are the Bulls, Bobcats, Warriors, Clippers, Hornets, Thunder, and Wizards.

Of possible interest to Cleveland fans is that the Cavaliers have paid the 6th highest luxury tax amount:

  1. New York Knicks – $195 million
  2. Dallas Mavericks – $150 million
  3. Portland Trail Blazers – $89 million
  4. Los Angeles Lakers – $84 million
  5. Boston Celtics – $46 million
  6. Cleveland Cavaliers – $43 million

In total, Dan Gilbert paid $43 million out of his own pocket to support the last 3 years of LeBron’s time in Cleveland. Unfortunately for both Gilbert and Cavalier fans, the team doesn’t have a Championship to show for it. The only teams to pay more in luxury tax and not win a title are the Knicks and Blazers.

Another interesting point revealed in these numbers is that if you’re going to win an NBA title, you should probably expect to pay a tax for it, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst points out:

For now, the Cavaliers remain safely under the tax threshhold, but if the Cavaliers return to playoff contention in the next couple years, Dan Gilbert has shown he is willing to pay out of his own pocket to make title contention a reality. Hopefully for both his sake and Cleveland’s, the future will yield a better return on that investment.

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Dan Gilbert Among Owners Holding Hard Line Stance in NBA Negotiations

September 8, 2011 by 19 Comments

As the days begin to shorten and the weather feels more like fall every day, this should be a time to enjoy the start of football while gearing up for another season of NBA basketball. Well, fans can enjoy football still, but there’s no NBA basketball to be found at this point in time.

As the lockout continues to drag on, it’s only fair for fans to not only feel nervous about the prospects of losing out on an entire season, but also for them to question what exactly is going on with negotiations. After spending much of the summer acting like a couple of cliques of spoiled children in lieu of actually holding meaningful discussions in hopes of finding resolution, the players and owners are finally beginning to feel the urgency and holding real negotiation sessions. [Read more...]

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Browns Season Tickets Have Arrived

July 25, 2011 by 8 Comments

I am sure the Browns were going to send out these tickets regardless of the news from over the weekend, but I just had to share the “free” gift that the Browns sent out this year.  A flag that really says it all.  ”It’s Always Football Season.”

Update: According to a Facebook fan of WFNY and then a message board, the Ravens apparently sent out bumper stickers as their fan gifts.  The Ravens fans can put those on their cars where the “Honor Student” bumper stickers should be.

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Should NFL Players Support Manning, Brees, Jackson and Mankins?

July 21, 2011 by 10 Comments

Yesterday I said that I didn’t feel like talking about the NFL and their lawsuits.  Apparently that was just a fleeting feeling yesterday.  This morning I read a column by Jason Cole at Yahoo! lambasting NFL players like Vikings punter Chris Kluwe who referred to the players in the title of this article as “#douchebags” on Twitter.  We don’t normally roll with language like that on this family-friendly site, but it is kind of important to the story.  A member of the union lashing out at some of the highest profile players who attached their names to a lawsuit in order to represent fellow players went from heroes to – you know – that.

There is no doubt that in a situation like this from a pure negotiating standpoint it would always be best to have a unified front as a union.  Even though this union “decertified” themselves, it has been clear all along that they have been mostly unified.  Then all of a sudden as the CBA seemed to be on the verge of getting a unanimous thumbs up, the lawsuit that players signed on to in order to increase leverage and bargaining power has now, apparently been classified as an individual power and money grab.

Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Vincent Jackson, and Logan Mankins were apparently (maybe?) looking for immunity from the franchise tag, unrestricted free agency and / or a financial settlement rumored to be $10 million.  If I sound wishy washy in that last sentence it is because I am unsure if any of these rumors are true.  Almost universally, it seems that everyone from media to players found this to be distasteful and counter-productive to getting a deal done.  Except Jason Cole at Yahoo! apparently. [Read more...]

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A Cleveland Fan’s Guide to Contraction, Casinos and The CBA

October 26, 2010 by 7 Comments

With opening tip rapidly approaching, we reached out to a friend of the program to provide some insight on what the pending CBA negotiations (contraction!?) could mean for a team that is in a giant state of flux.  The following are the words and wisdom of one Joe Kotoch, an opinion-filled legal expert of all things hoops who just so happens to hail from Cleveland.  Do enjoy…

Opening day for the NBA’s most highly anticipated season. After a long summer in which The Decision dominated sports headlines and Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul each tried to indirectly force their respective teams to trade them to the New York Knicks, it is now time for basketball. No more trashing of LeBron’s character or laughing at the outrageous contracts awarded to mediocre players by teams. No more talk about Oklahoma City being the next big thing or the Miami Heat being the team to beat.

As the season begins fans care about two things: their team and whether there will basketball played beyond this season. As for the first part, the old adage around the league is that within one month teams will find out who they really are.

The second part, however, is much more complicated. [Read more...]

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Collective Bargaining Sure To Impact Cavaliers Rebuilding Process

October 5, 2010 by 14 Comments

As most of you know by now, the NFL isn’t the only sport facing the danger of a lockout on the horizon. With the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire on June 30, 2011, and both sides still far away from finding common ground, there’s still a good chance we see the NBA locked out at the start of the 2011-12 season.

Though there are many issues to be considered in the negotiations, the two main issues at the heart of the disagreement between players and owners are what percentage of the Basketball Related Income (BRI) should go to the players vs the owners, and whether the salary cap should be a hard cap or a soft cap. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting… More on Shaun Rogers, Celtics Lose to Clippers, and a Delonte West Injury Update

February 26, 2009 by 29 Comments

While We’re Waiting aims to be the round-up of the recent WFNY-esque information for your morning viewing. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email in the sidebar.

Another thought on the Shaun Rogers/Eric Mangini issue: “The NFL collective bargaining agreement ends at the end of the 2010 season. This brings some uncertainty to free agency and the dollars teams will be able to spend. The threat of Lockout by the Owners is making agents and players approaching their peak earning years very, very nervous. Players are looking to cash in now under the current agreement. Rogers may just be the first in line of players looking to opt out and sign a short term, high guaranteed dollar contract, vs. a long term, high total dollar contract. (notice the Nnamde Asomugha contract. Biggest contract in the NFL. HUGE dollars in the first two years, all guaranteed, with a club option for the third year. If the CBA changes the salary cap structure, the Raiders can opt out of the top contract in the league in year 3).” [Shaver Sports]

[Read more...]

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