Players who block title chances

[Reality]

Okay we've talked about players who could join a team at a reduced salary to help earn a title.

Who is just the opposite?  What player(s) top the list of blocking their teams chances at a title.  Due to their fat salaries, fat asses, fat attitudes, # of years on contract, whatever.

The envelopes please.

Topping the list and coming to my mind is....

1.  Chris Webber.  Take a pay cut.  You are not anywhere near an 18 mil a year player.  Free up salary to pursue other players.

2.  Fatquile and his ridiculous 30 mil per demand.  Now dont get me wrong, from a marketing point of view he probably earns the Heat well over 30 mil, just as he *earned* (barf) the Lakers Market over 200 mil a year.   But, he is costing his teamates and would-be Heat teamates.

Previous winners.
Grant Hill.
Zo Mourning Nets.

[rickortreat]

Every NBA player with the exeption of those on the Spurs!  The worst ones are on the teams that didn't win the championship or even come close.

Alan Houston
Patrick Ewing

On the bubble:

Kevin Garnett
T-Mac
Kenyon Martin


 

[WayOutWest]

You can't put Shaq on the list because his presence on a team instantly makes that team a title contendor.  You cannot pay a player like that enough.  Same for TD, thsoe are the only two players in the NBA who CANNOT be overpaid.

Let's try thinking before we post mmmkay...this board is better than that.

[Joe Vancil]

I'm with WayOutWest on this one.  Shaq has no business being on that list.  Heck, his last year in Los Angeles, he proved that he BRINGS IN players willing to take less money for the chance to get a title.

How many folks are taking PAY CUTS to play for a title?  Why is it that they seem to gravitate toward either Shaquille O'Neal or Tim Duncan?  

[Young malleable Lakers]

You can't put Shaq on the list because his presence on a team instantly makes that team a title contendor.  You cannot pay a player like that enough.  Same for TD, thsoe are the only two players in the NBA who CANNOT be overpaid.

Let's try thinking before we post mmmkay...this board is better than that.

Mr. WOW, we want to grow up firm in our Laker convictions, training and way of life.  We want to be Lakers from birth to grave.  However we are confused.  Didn't you also write?:

If you can't see that moving Shaq was the right move for L.A. you don't understand the game and purpose of the NBA. Granted the Lakers SHOULD have gotten more for Shaq, but still Shaq needed to go. The Lakers were not going to win it all with Shaq of the post 2002 season. It actually took the public humiliation of trading Shaq in favor of Kobe to get Shaq motivated enough to do SOME work in the off season.

Kobe is no perfect teammate, he's got all the ego and selfishness of a superstar, BUT Kobe has never called a team mate a flamming faggot ala Jordan. Kobe has never stated he got rid of any player ala Shaq. Shaq has stated on record he got rid of NVE, Eddie and Cambell because it was HIS team.

I'm a huge Shaq fan but I'm a bigger Laker fan and I know the Lakers made the right move. I would have loved for Shaq to retire a Laker but not at the cost of crippling the team with his salary demands.[/size]
 

[WayOutWest]

You can't put Shaq on the list because his presence on a team instantly makes that team a title contendor.  You cannot pay a player like that enough.  Same for TD, thsoe are the only two players in the NBA who CANNOT be overpaid.

Let's try thinking before we post mmmkay...this board is better than that.

Mr. WOW, we want to grow up firm in our Laker convictions, training and way of life.  We want to be Lakers from birth to grave.  However we are confused.  Didn't you also write?:

If you can't see that moving Shaq was the right move for L.A. you don't understand the game and purpose of the NBA. Granted the Lakers SHOULD have gotten more for Shaq, but still Shaq needed to go. The Lakers were not going to win it all with Shaq of the post 2002 season. It actually took the public humiliation of trading Shaq in favor of Kobe to get Shaq motivated enough to do SOME work in the off season.

Kobe is no perfect teammate, he's got all the ego and selfishness of a superstar, BUT Kobe has never called a team mate a flamming faggot ala Jordan. Kobe has never stated he got rid of any player ala Shaq. Shaq has stated on record he got rid of NVE, Eddie and Cambell because it was HIS team.

I'm a huge Shaq fan but I'm a bigger Laker fan and I know the Lakers made the right move. I would have loved for Shaq to retire a Laker but not at the cost of crippling the team with his salary demands.[/size]

Who wrote that crap!

The post 3-peat Shaq was not the same Shaq as before and is not the same as the current Shaq in Miami.  Shaq in L.A. was not the same since the FIRST championship, he continued to decline each and every year to the point he was no longer dominant.  The Shaq in Miami is in as good a shape as the 2001-2002 season.

So maybe I should have qualified the Shaq comment as a Shaq that is in decent shape.  I would pay Miami Shaq whatever he wants, I would NOT pay the same money for the 2002-2004 Shaq, or the unmotivated L.A. Shaq.

Still love the big dumb egomaniac fella.

[Derek Bodner]

If we're going to be giving out serious nominations and not just complain about players, I'm going to go with Shareef Abdur Rahim.  Been a max contract guy on a team never gone to the playoffs.  If there are teams that really need cap room, it's not perpetual playoff teams (like the Sixers or Kings), but perpetually rebulding teams.  Throwing away money to this pf who, while a nice guy, isn't dominant and doesn't play defense, has cost 2 franchises big.

That said, he'll be a nice fit on nj.  A team that already has 2 (borderline 3) stars and was in the playoffs anyway.

[Reality]

How many folks are taking PAY CUTS to play for a title?  Why is it that they seem to gravitate toward either Shaquille O'Neal or Tim Duncan?

That's a good question.  Have any NBA players done this?  Some have restructured their contracts, but I think they still get every cent.

Sarunas Jasikevicius, while not taking a pay cut, is a foreign rookie joining the Pacers at the scouting of Larry Bird.  For less then he was offered by non contenders.

I think it's cool what he did, but then I'm serious about wanting to see good matchups.  I hope he and the Pacers toast the Sixers and Heat.

"It really came down to who he could win a championship with next year," (agent)Neustadt told ESPN.com. "He saw a chance to contribute and win and couldn't pass it up."  

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2115697  

[Young malleable Lakers]

You can't put Shaq on the list because his presence on a team instantly makes that team a title contendor.  You cannot pay a player like that enough.  Same for TD, thsoe are the only two players in the NBA who CANNOT be overpaid.

Let's try thinking before we post mmmkay...this board is better than that.

Mr. WOW, we want to grow up firm in our Laker convictions, training and way of life.  We want to be Lakers from birth to grave.  However we are confused.  Didn't you also write?:

If you can't see that moving Shaq was the right move for L.A. you don't understand the game and purpose of the NBA. Granted the Lakers SHOULD have gotten more for Shaq, but still Shaq needed to go. The Lakers were not going to win it all with Shaq of the post 2002 season. It actually took the public humiliation of trading Shaq in favor of Kobe to get Shaq motivated enough to do SOME work in the off season.

Kobe is no perfect teammate, he's got all the ego and selfishness of a superstar, BUT Kobe has never called a team mate a flamming faggot ala Jordan. Kobe has never stated he got rid of any player ala Shaq. Shaq has stated on record he got rid of NVE, Eddie and Cambell because it was HIS team.

I'm a huge Shaq fan but I'm a bigger Laker fan and I know the Lakers made the right move. I would have loved for Shaq to retire a Laker but not at the cost of crippling the team with his salary demands.[/size]

Who wrote that crap!

The post 3-peat Shaq was not the same Shaq as before and is not the same as the current Shaq in Miami.  Shaq in L.A. was not the same since the FIRST championship, he continued to decline each and every year to the point he was no longer dominant.  The Shaq in Miami is in as good a shape as the 2001-2002 season.

So maybe I should have qualified the Shaq comment as a Shaq that is in decent shape.  I would pay Miami Shaq whatever he wants, I would NOT pay the same money for the 2002-2004 Shaq, or the unmotivated L.A. Shaq.

Still love the big dumb egomaniac fella.

Gosh Mr. WOW,

You really didn't post it that way.  We are glad you cleared it up for us tho.  Is mind reading a power we can get by following the Lakers for years and years faithfully?  Will there be a Marvel comics Shaq movie coming out?  

Mr. Wow, we are wondering.  Since Shaq slacked off conditioning from '02'04, is it a given he will keep his conditioning up once he signs the extension with The Heat?

 

[WayOutWest]

Gosh Mr. WOW,

You really didn't post it that way.  We are glad you cleared it up for us tho.  Is mind reading a power we can get by following the Lakers for years and years faithfully?  Will there be a Marvel comics Shaq movie coming out?

Didn't it post it correctly, I don't have much time to post so it sometimes goes out without a proof read pass.  Mind reading is overrated, but not being blinded by dumb hatred and ENVY helps one see much clearer.    

Mr. Wow, we are wondering.  Since Shaq slacked off conditioning from '02'04, is it a given he will keep his conditioning up once he signs the extension with The Heat?

It's not a given.  Nor is it a given he will not bump knees, tweek and ankle, run into the stands for a fan beatdown or choke like a Michican't wuss.  I would pay max dollars for last years Shaq, given he cruised durring the regular season but come playoff time is where you get the most out of him.  Too bad Indiana ruined more than just their own season.

[Guest]

I would pay max dollars for last years Shaq,

Mr WOW,

See, Shaq is requesting a multi year Max extension deal.  The question is would you sign him to that now?  Not last years one year performance.






 

[WayOutWest]

I would pay max dollars for last years Shaq,

Mr WOW,

See, Shaq is requesting a multi year Max extension deal.  The question is would you sign him to that now?  Not last years one year performance.

Shaq is asking for 3 years, that's about the max I would offer him.  He's probably only dominant for one or two more years but he will still be in the top 5 after two years.

No way I offer more than 3 years at his age, he's getting old in basketball years.  That goes for any player in history.

[WayOutWest]

I would pay max dollars for last years Shaq,

Mr WOW,

See, Shaq is requesting a multi year Max extension deal.  The question is would you sign him to that now?  Not last years one year performance.

Shaq is asking for 3 years, that's about the max I would offer him.  He's probably only dominant for one or two more years but he will still be in the top 5 after two years.

No way I offer more than 3 years at his age, he's getting old in basketball years.  That goes for any player in history.

[Reality]

The talk is 4-5 years.  I don't know how that gives Miami a better $$$ chance to sign other players and avoid lux tax, but....here it is below.  Also I am hearing nothing out of the Heat as to the injury sustained from Pacers J Oneal.  Which leads me to believe its still there.  

"We have agreed to agree to agree to move forward," Riley said Friday. "And it would be absolute insanity not to try to work out ... a deal that's going to keep Shaquille O'Neal in Miami for the next four or five years."

"Shaq is scheduled to to make $30 million next season, but the Heat would like to re-sign him to a longer contract, potentially five years, that gives them a better chance to sign other players while avoiding a luxury tax hit."

 

[jn]

What? No mention of Marbury on this list? Larry Brown's next medical condition will be a bruised trachea as the Albatross that is Stephon yanks on his neck.