Matt wonders:
speaking of dreams. what the hell are the pistons going to do? brand is gone now too. i like maggette.
Yeah, the potential for perestroika of the Pistons seems to be dwindling by the minute (though Pat’s deal for Andrew Bynum still makes sense to me.) I like Maggette, but I maintain an old school fear of overly-muscled basketball players. You’ll ruin your jump shot!
I don’t blame Elton Brand for moving on (unless he had told BDiddy he was definitely going to resign), though I’m not sure the Clippers got entirely hosed. Who wants to sign an oft-injured aging big man to a long-term deal? Build around Kaman and Paul Davis. The Central Mich Chips and MSU Spartans rep hard. And pale.
The Sixers could definitely do some damage in the East, and if Brand is healthy then at least he’ll be able to whiff the playoffs again.
York brings up an interesting issue:
If Baron Davis does not back out of the contract with the Clippers, he is preparing himself for several years of professional agony. Sure, maybe he can be in some TV shows or movies while he’s in LA (its not like he’ll need to spend much time preparing to play basketball) but he’ll be miserable being sent out in the starting lineup of a COMPLETE non-contender year after year (YES, it IS different than being with GState where they might not have had a great chance of winning it all, but they were consistently a competitive team).
Unless you’re Kevin Garnett, how much does winning matter to the average professional athlete? If you’re Baron Davis and you can make a ton of money and hang out Jessica Alba and be a star in your hometown, that’s not a bad gig, right? We want pro athletes to make winning and losing the greatest priority in their lives (because their on-court activity is our only connection with them) but is it really professional agony to be rich in Los Angeles? Work, at the end of the day, is not the sum of our existence.
If Elton Brand had gotten equal money and the chance to keep doing the film stuff he’s been doing, don’t you think he would have stayed with the Clips regardless of the fact that Philly gives him a better chance of getting to the Finals?
July 9, 2008 at 11:02 am |
wait elton brand was in films? baron davis is certainly going to be doing them? im not gonna jump to conclusions but i dont think those are happening.
July 9, 2008 at 11:14 am |
elton produced the very good werner herzog film “rescue dawn”, with christian bale.
bdiddy produced this documentary:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_7tQzpcRrvE
and i think i heard he has some other stuff in the works.
July 9, 2008 at 11:30 am |
I can see how your sentiment makes some sense Sloan, but I don’t agree entirely.
I think very very very few professional athletes play ONLY for the money. If youa re good enough to be the best in the world at anything, chances are you are pretty competitive.
On top of the competitiveness (which I don’t think you can argue), unlike most of us who are doing jobs specifically for money because a) we have bills to pay and b) not all of us can be actors or writers or directors or the sons and daughters of rich people or in successful bands or professional athletes who play sports for a living–Professional athletes are ACTUALLY DOING what they love to do. Call me niave, but I doubt the Arcade Fire would be happy putting out album after album of Nickelback covers. I doubt Sean Penn would be happy being in a ‘Baby Genuises’ sequel. I don’t think Raymond Carver would be happy writing a gossip column for Perez Hilton. The same thing goes for a great athlete playing on a shitty team, it seem ok for the money at first, but it’ll get old real quick.
Baron Davis may like the fame game and what not, but he’s not gonna like the basketball in LA.
July 9, 2008 at 11:31 am |
isnt anyone thats rich a ‘producer’?
July 9, 2008 at 11:40 am |
anyone can just plop down money and finance a film, but i got the impression at least with elton brand that he’s really interested in the industry. and baron grew up there and is good friends with jessica alba’s husband, who is some sort of producer himself.
July 9, 2008 at 11:44 am |
baron is friends with cash? must be nice. get to hang out with alba all day.
July 9, 2008 at 11:45 am |
if the arcade fire made a straight cash grab like that, they’d also probably alienate their fans and hurt their careers. so i think that’s a hard comparison to make.
but isn’t playing basketball roughly the same wherever you are? i can understand that losing blows. i can also understand that if you’re karl malone and at the end of the road and richer than rich then you’re going to try to win a ring before your legs fall off. but i don’t think most athletes value winning as highly as making the most money possible. obviously, it’s nice for the fans when they’re willing to work with the teams (like tom brady structured his contract) to allow them to bring in more pieces, but i don’t think that’s generally how the pro athlete thinks.
July 9, 2008 at 11:46 am |
i think he was on baron’s high school bball team? and i think JA adande went there too.
July 9, 2008 at 11:48 am |
cash warren is athletic? is that his name? from wwtdd he looks like a goober pile.
July 9, 2008 at 11:56 am |
I’m not saying anything about fanbase or a straight cash grab. All of that aside. The Arcade Fire is an immensly talented band. They would not be happy wasting their talent on stupid shitty Nickelback covers, touring behing records they didn’t even care about or doing things that didn’t challenge them to be better.
I think that most athletes, once they’ve been in that sort of situation for any extended period of time, would feel the same way about playing for a bad team that is continually bad and makes no serious attempts at bettering the situation.
Maybe you’re right and maybe its not the same for “most athletes” but I think that serious competitors (like Baron Davis, who clearly enjoys competing) would not be happy in a situation like that for any extended period of time. Shit, Stephon Marbury isn’t even happy in New York and the guy only played like 30 games last year, he lives in the greatest city in America to live in, gets paid an assload of money and didn’t even have to work last season.
Maybe he’s not the best comparison…but I do think that anyone who is a true competitor at the peak of their talent would not be content playing for a horrible team for 5 years regardless of cash, ass, or fame.
July 9, 2008 at 12:11 pm |
well, starbury won’t be happy anywhere. if you can’t be happy playing next to KG, you’re in trouble.
July 9, 2008 at 1:35 pm |
baron davis, we want more of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H88j_eZC-d4
and especially this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrAD0JmytCM
I like the chriqui chick, but only to look at.
July 9, 2008 at 1:37 pm |
To add to the York-Indeed debate, i get both of your points: i think money is always important. That’s why I’m scared the C’s will lose Posey this year.
It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the difference in NBA salaries once you’re talking astronomical figures, because in my mind, once you’re a multi-millionaire then you’re a freaking multi-millionaire and you can afford anything you want.
But I suppose it’s like someone choosing between an average job–one they are good at, but don’t always enjoy–that pays $50K and a job they love for $40K. It is a decision that would require some thought. (That being said, I think I’d die from happiness at this point to have a job I love, paying $40K.)
I think the Baron is a smart guy, and he seems to be legitimately interested in film. Considering how injury-prone he is, he might be looking at his future and the possibility of changing careers once he retires. Being in LA is going to be the best place to make that happen.
July 9, 2008 at 1:43 pm |
yikes, that was a long comment.
July 9, 2008 at 1:43 pm |
well, i think one of the things that has made capitalism so successful is that rich people don’t seem to think in terms of, “well, i’ve made x dollars, i can stop worrying about money and finally be happy.” there’s this insatiable need for more more more money.
everyone says “i’m going to go to law school and be a public defender for 40 grand a year!” but making 150 working downtown is hard to stay away from.
July 9, 2008 at 2:15 pm |
haha,
I never want to be a public defender.
July 9, 2008 at 2:17 pm |
but you are completely correct. Once a law student works at the public defender’s office, he says, nope, not really my thing. I think I’d rather defend people who are worth defending. whatever that means. probably: not gang members.
July 9, 2008 at 3:56 pm |
Please. Any gang that can’t get their shit together like the Barksdales and hire their own lawyer/financial advisor isn’t organized enough to deserve a public defender.
I LOVE YOU BODIE!
July 9, 2008 at 3:59 pm |
Also, let’s not forget, I’m not saying Baron Davis should go anywhere for less money necessarily. He quasi-accepted one big offer. I’m sure he’ll get other similar offers from other teams. I’m not saying he should sign with the Celtics for the veteran minimum or anything. If he went to Cleveland, they would reward him handsomely. Probably.
July 9, 2008 at 5:04 pm |
cleveland’s problem is that they don’t have enough cap space or good players to do anything. it turns out there are negative consequences to signing a lot of bad players for too much money.
July 9, 2008 at 7:09 pm |
I think davis will not play more than 50 games in any season for the clippers. once they are out of playoff contention his knee or back will be sore and he’ll go make movies.
July 9, 2008 at 9:18 pm |
wait a minute, were there references to both raymond carver and the wire in this thread? if so, then it is one of the best basketball related posts ever. and matt’s complete disgust with public defending, you’d almost think it would go without saying. that being said, the picture of my dad in a porsche is so unconvincing you’d assume there had to be photoshopping involved.
July 9, 2008 at 10:50 pm |
Yeah, I also DIDN’T mention the Incredible Hulk, Oysters or The Carl Pickens Era Bengals. See how I can filter myself sometimes? Oh…shit.