FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Everyone awake now?

Everyone is thinking that its better to get paid 20 Mil and go 0-82 per year or go 60-22 win 4 titles and get paid 15 mil a year- seems like people are only worried about the cash.

Let me throw a name out to you.

Karl Malone.

EVERY time the Jazz got a DIME of Cap space- he wanted his contract redone to GET THAT DIME- since Stockton signed a LONG TERM MAX deal-

THose two players KILLED the cap- and since the Jazz wasn;t going to pay the tax- and had no other way to entice players (Hmm Miami and Utah are offering the same deal- man those Mormons are hot though)

No real free agents to improve- and it cost them some GOOD players over the years. Imagine if Karl took LESS than the MAX- played his contract and let the Jazz get 2-3 Million in space- you know Like Worthy/Magic/Kareem did

(much as I hate Kareem- he was VASTLY underpaid)

But the Lakers were able to KEEP cooper and Scott etc. Imagine Cooper at SG on the Jazz, or even add Thunder Dan or HErshey Hawkins to that Jazz team.

Eaton
Malone
Darrell Griffith
Michael Cooper
Stockton

add a defensive stopper to that 50 win team in 88-89 and maybe they have a Title in Utah

But moving on.

If Lebron takes the MAX

and add say Amare at the MAX

you have the same problem

2 great players- with scrubs- Toni Kukoc 2.0 becomes your third best player (Jeff Malone/Honracek)

I don;t care HOW good LeBron is- that team is not winning the title

Yes, He dragged a sad sack Cleveland team to the Finals. You might think that sad sack team plus Amare might be enough to get it done.

that had to be the weakest NBA COnference of all time that year- and they got BLOWN OUT by the Spurs-

add Amare to that team and they STILL lose the Finals in 5 games as Lebron averaged less than 25 points a game- and Duncan always takes Amare's lunch money.

add him to THIS Cavs team (whom by the way only have 18.9 mil on the books for 10/11)

and they MIGHT be the team to beat- with Mo Williams, Amare and Lebron- add a good 2 guard and maybe a 2nd teir center (Okur?)

thats a title team.

Okur makes $8,500,000 right now.

Say Lebron takes LESS than the 26-28Per he can.

he takes 23, Amare takes 23 - that leaves 10 Mil for Okur

with a cap space of 75 Mill - right around the projected cap number ~74

Thats only 9 players- so they will have to pay a tax on the salary of 3 bench warmers- or ask LeBron/Amare to take 22 (can they feed thier family?)

Okur
Amare
LeBron
who cares?
Mo WIlliams

Think that might be worth an extra 3 million a year?