A.I. and Webber to reduce salaries

[Reality]

In a tearfilled but very happy press conference, Allen Iverson and Chris Webber have announced plans to reduce their salaries, "giving back to the community and giving the 76ers a much better shot at the NBA Title."

The press conference, which included family members and Sixers management, had Webber taking the mic to explain the 1st of 3 events that lead to their decision.

"I was downtown with my son when he stepped off the curb a little early on a red light.  Another car did not see him and was headed right for him.  With my bad leg i move so slowly i was unable to reach him in time.  That is when a bearded man lept out and pushed my son out of harms way.  The man then barely escaped getting killed himself, instead taking a blow to his ankle as he jumped out of the way.  He insisted he would take nothing for saving my son."

Webber then went on to relate how he had one of his 3 chauffers follow the man.  He ended up in a very run down part of town.  Webber then fought back tears to no avail.  "We found out he did not have a home.  Instead we found him in the back of an abandoned building laying down with his injured ankle in the air."  Webber said he would momentarily finish relating what happened upon seeing this man next to the building.

Iverson now took the mic and related what happened to him.  "It was on the same day Chris had his experience with his son.  My daughter was at kindergarden.  She come home in tears.  At class that day she had related to the entire class in show n tell how our dog has diamond encrusted food and water bowls.  Her classmates all started to laugh and called her prima donna."

"I then got a call from Chris.  He asked me to come down to the part of town where the homeless man was.  When i got there and they related how he saved Chris' son, it was too much."  Iverson began to choke up.  "I'd forgotten where i came from."

The man was given medical attention.
Webber and Iverson decided to give a million each to build a homeless shelter right on the spot where the man was.  The man, Edwin Mulberry was to be the manager of the shelter.  
"We both make more in a year then Dr J. made in a career, this is really nothing.  Its time to give back"  A standerbyer who joined the many at the building shouted to AI and Webber "How about giving us a title?"  "Chris and I both decided there and then that we would take our multi millions and try to land some players to help us make a title run."  

Sixers mgmnt is now pursuing many options with the freed up salary.
Iverson has already offered to buy out Luis Scolas salary to have him join the 2005-6 Sixers.  However sources say Tim Dunkan, Manu Gnob and Tony Parker are so moved by the Sixers experience that they may offer to buy Scolas salary.

[Derek Bodner]

Apparently, reality got upset that he got schooled.

Still haven't answered, did I miss when TD, Gnobili and Rasho reduced their salaries?

[rickortreat]

This is an amazeing story, that two top salary players are willing to give up some of their money for the good of the team and it's future prospects.

It's not unheard of, Charles Barkley did it in Houston so they could pay Pippen.  But IMO, this shows how serious Chris and AI are about winning a title here.

It also suggests they're honest enough about themselves and their ability to realize tehy need some help to bring a title to Philly.  

Makes me proud to be a Sixers fan!   :cheers:  

[Reality]

Apparently, reality got upset that he got schooled.

Still haven't answered, did I miss when TD, Gnobili and Rasho reduced their salaries?

i got skooled.

I better learn to accept gold caps on dogs teeth and watered down NBA teams.

Did you miss when I said I hoped Duncan, Manu and Parker would similiarly lessen their mega salaries so the Spurs could sign a difference maker?  Yes you did.  But thanks for adding Rasho.  Man he is the most overpaid at this point.

I can still hope that Sarunas Jasikevicius lays a 10+ assist game as the Pacers blast the Sixers.  Even if he does only have one chauffer.





 

[rickortreat]

Turn away from the darkside Reality!  Can't you see the Sixers are attracting good karma with all these selfless acts?  

This is right out of John Nash's theory:  That by working together, people can accomplish more collectively and individually than if they persued their objectives single-handedly.  

How can you be anti the Sixers when so much good news is comming out?    

[Reality]

Turn away from the darkside Reality!  Can't you see the Sixers are attracting good karma with all these selfless acts?  

This is right out of John Nash's theory:  That by working together, people can accomplish more collectively and individually than if they persued their objectives single-handedly.  

How can you be anti the Sixers when so much good news is comming out?

   Thanks for pulling me back from the dark.

Indeed, Webber, AI, are gonna help sign a couple more players that will bring Philly to the A list.

Their selfless giving will be contagious, the NBA will go back to the days of the 80s with some rockin lineups.

A.I.s dog will even pal up with the other neighbor dogs.  Drinking/sharing out of the same non diamond encrusted bowls.

[rickortreat]

As a Sixers fan I miss the 80's, but it's clearly better for the league that more teams have a legitimate shot at the title.   My biggest complaint about the league is that the talent is much more diluted than in the old days, so the quality of play has declined along with the entertainment value.

But why be sarcastic about AI and Webber's willingness to give up money, or it's impact on the rest of the league?  At first other players may laugh at AI and Webber, but if it does bring the Sixers a title or two, you can expect other players on other teams to consider the idea as well.

It certainly is a nice change from Shaq's attitude of wanting to be the highest paid player in the league, no matter what.

 

[Laker Fan]

Touche' Rick, as much as I dislike Iverson and detest Webber, I aplaud this move, Shaq should take notes, because he co-authored the book on "It's all about me".

[Derek Bodner]

Guys, it's a fake article by reality based off of his posts in the previous thread that players who don't cut their salaries are ruining basketball and it taints their accomplishments.

As for "it's all about me", that more describes larry brown than allen iverson.  but i'm not going to get into that with dan.

[Laker Fan]

Actually the "All about me" comment was aimed at Shaq, not Iverson, and I would agree with you, Larry Brown was Shaq's co-author.

[Derek Bodner]

Ah, you did.

I actually think Shaq has a very big heart.  A little egocentric on the basketball court?  Sure.  But on the court doesn't bother me nearly as much.

[Laker Fan]

I agree, off the court he can be very generous, his "me me first or I'm not playing" ala' Scotty Pippen is what I was talking about. His last 2 years in LA when it was all about him making more money than everyone else and not giving 100% when he was already getting overpaid IMO to give precisely that is what bothers me, I think he ambushed the Lakers to prove his point by coming in more fat and out of shape every year, and than he had the unmitigated gall to ask for more jack?!?! To me, that almost negates some of the things he does off the court.

[Skandery]

In a tearfilled but very happy press conference, Allen Iverson and Chris Webber have announced plans to reduce their salaries, "giving back to the community and giving the 76ers a much better shot at the NBA Title."

The press conference, which included family members and Sixers management, had Webber taking the mic to explain the 1st of 3 events that lead to their decision.

"I was downtown with my son when he stepped off the curb a little early on a red light. Another car did not see him and was headed right for him. With my bad leg i move so slowly i was unable to reach him in time. That is when a bearded man lept out and pushed my son out of harms way. The man then barely escaped getting killed himself, instead taking a blow to his ankle as he jumped out of the way. He insisted he would take nothing for saving my son."

Webber then went on to relate how he had one of his 3 chauffers follow the man. He ended up in a very run down part of town. Webber then fought back tears to no avail. "We found out he did not have a home. Instead we found him in the back of an abandoned building laying down with his injured ankle in the air." Webber said he would momentarily finish relating what happened upon seeing this man next to the building.

Iverson now took the mic and related what happened to him. "It was on the same day Chris had his experience with his son. My daughter was at kindergarden. She come home in tears. At class that day she had related to the entire class in show n tell how our dog has diamond encrusted food and water bowls. Her classmates all started to laugh and called her prima donna."

"I then got a call from Chris. He asked me to come down to the part of town where the homeless man was. When i got there and they related how he saved Chris' son, it was too much." Iverson began to choke up. "I'd forgotten where i came from."

The man was given medical attention.
Webber and Iverson decided to give a million each to build a homeless shelter right on the spot where the man was. The man, Edwin Mulberry was to be the manager of the shelter.
"We both make more in a year then Dr J. made in a career, this is really nothing. Its time to give back" A standerbyer who joined the many at the building shouted to AI and Webber "How about giving us a title?" "Chris and I both decided there and then that we would take our multi millions and try to land some players to help us make a title run."

Sixers mgmnt is now pursuing many options with the freed up salary.
Iverson has already offered to buy out Luis Scolas salary to have him join the 2005-6 Sixers. However sources say Tim Dunkan, Manu Gnob and Tony Parker are so moved by the Sixers experience that they may offer to buy Scolas salary.

A truly heartfelt fairy tale, but why don't we get back to "Reality" here shall we?

Webber and Iverson are no sooner going to give up their multi-million dollar contracts (diamond encrusted food bowls and all), then Tim Duncan is going to offer to give up his multi-million dollar contract (diamond encrusted golden parrot beak and all).  

You play well, you get paid, if you aren't surrounded by dufuses (dufusii?, dufusees?) in charge of personnel, you get a team around you that you can compete with.  If the chips never seem to fall right and you find yourself in Ewing or Barkley's shoes, 15 great years in the NBA with no ring to show for it, you can start thinking about being underpaid, undervalued, getting a reduced role, etc. etc. on a championship team.  

For you to start lumping Keyon Dooling, Michael Redd, Ray Allen, and Shareef into that category of player isn't fair to them and isn't fair to the spirit of competition.  The philosophy of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" has never sat well with me.

[SPURSX3]

Guys, it's a fake article by reality based off of his posts in the previous thread that players who don't cut their salaries are ruining basketball and it taints their accomplishments.

As for "it's all about me", that more describes larry brown than allen iverson.  but i'm not going to get into that with dan.

i was looking at this wondering why they had not gotten the fact that it is a fake article......the whole Scola thing should have given it away.

[rickortreat]

I knew it was too good to be true, especially when I couldn't find any reference to it anywhere else.   :cry:

Fine Reality, you got me, but only because I WANTED to believe that these players would be willing to do that.  

But I think a lot of this depends on the player and what he wants.  For Shaq, it's clear that money is a big motivator, particularly now that he has titles.  I also think he is really pissed at KObe and the Lakers for what he perceives as a dis.   No doubt Shaq is pleased that his team did better than the Lakers this year, and I also am sure that he intends to win a title with the Heat to prove he could do it without Kobe.  

It seems clear Barkley wanted a title more than anything.  He probably figured he had more than enough money anyway.

I wonder at what point does this fear of not winning a championship play into a players decision to go somewhere else.  At the end of a career it's a little too late, as these days there's no such thing an an instant championship, and it takes time for a team to gel.

When AI's next contract expires, if he still has no ring I place high odds on him leaving Philly for the hottest team in the league.  Webber too.  And, I'm fine with that, since it's up to the Sixers to assemble the players to win.  

The joke is, I think the Sixers would be better off if they could trade AI and Webber.  They may be the Sixers stars, but Dalmebert and Igoudala are coming into their own, and the Sixers would be better off with Amare.  Next time reality, write about a trade like that!