1. Linsanity 2.0
I recently read an article that claimed Jeremy Lin is the dumbest harvard graduate ever for asking for an extra $5 million during the third and final year of his contract with the Rockets. In essence, pricing out the Knicks who would've had to match the $14 million dollars and pay a substantial luxury tax equaling $43 million over the life 
of his contract. Instead the Knicks signed Raymond Felton, who they'd already shipped off to Portland once and who, while there, imploded to become the most hated player on the Blazers (if you're hated in the land of lattes and forests you might need to consider some serious life changes) and Jason Kidd, who apparently is still in the NBA. Despite a spike of something like $600 million in the value of the MSG co. during Linsanity last year the Knicks and president Jim Dolan let Lin walk, and both parties ultimately missed out on untold milllions and gazillions in future marketing. Was it spite? Was it bad business? What seemed like a marriage made in basketball marketing heaven went south and left many scratching their heads. Simple business they said. I disagree. Lin made the right move, maybe he lost some money in the long run but despite what he might have said, he never wanted to stay in New York. It's not an easy place to play, ask A-Rod. When every turnover and bad pass is dissected and scrutinized and you become the beacon of hope for every disgruntled New York fan and their insatiable appetite for success it can be overwhelming, especially when you're the reason the team can't sign any more free agents. An intelligent, analytical guy understands that to hone your craft as a young player you need the space and freedom to make some mistakes, by staying with the Knicks it can pretty much be assumed you won't get that space. Not to mention who wants to stand back and watch Carmelo massage and caress the ball while simultaneously making love to the right side of the floor for 40 minutes a game?
On the other side, Dolan and GM Grunfeld, you made the correct move, even if your childish reasons for making that move defy business logic, from a basketball standpoint you deserve a pat on the back. After years of Isiah Thomas throwing money around like it's 3am at a Vegas stripclub, the Larry Brown debacle and the rickety knees of Amare etc, the Knicks need a little stability, and the uncertainty of Lin's long-term value on the court meant it was yet another risk. (And you can't bottle Linsanity for consumption, it was amazing while it lasted but like FernandoMania or NomoMania or BieberFever these things die down and their value wane) Maybe you lose a few
let it go 'Melo, let it go million, but fans don't care about the value of MSG they want to win or at least this season be better than the Nets. Perhaps Felton is ehhh, and maybe Kidd is struggling with early-onset Osteoporosis but you know exactly what you are going to get and that's a good thing. It's not a championship thing but it's a good thing. Of course, the lingering question remains how good is Lin? He's only started a handful of games and sure he was awesome but can he continue to be awesome? Knicks fans will be keeping a close eye on Houston, if in fact Lin continues to be the player we saw last year then you have to wonder if fans will be in the streets of Manhattan asking for Grunfeld and Dolan's head on a platter.
2. Always bet on the Bobcat
We all know Michael Jordan was a great player and is a terrible dresser but what you don't know is he's the savviest owner in professional sports. Say what?! No, seriously, sports is a business, like all businesses the goal is to make money. Most owners go about this by winning games and championships, not Mr. Jordan. It's become clear to me in the last few months that he has, in a The Producers-style stroke of genius, come up with a way to satiate his betting desires and beat the house. He's delicately put the pieces in place to build the worse basketball team ever right under our noses, then bet the farm 
that the Bobcats won't reach that magical futility number of 9 wins that the Sixers 'achieved' in '72-'73. How else do you explain a Bobcats team that in a strike shortened year compiled the worst winning percentage ever (10.6%) last season only to fire the likable Paul Silas and hire Mike Dunlap, a coach whose only previous full head coaching jobs were with Cal Luthern (who?) and Metro State (Is that really the name of a University?). If I knew anyone could get the job I would have applied, I was once assistant coach at my Junior High for 4 games and we won 2 of them. Take note Mike, that's a 50%! winning percentage. The team then went and acquired Ben Gordon as their marquee signing, an underachieving, ball-hogging shooting guard whose sole job is to jack up 20 shots a game in an empty arena. I'm on to you Mike, so two weeks ago I drove over to Vegas and put down $500 on the Bobcats to finish with the worst record ever at 3.75 to 1. So maybe you're not convinced yet, but come April, Michael and I will be laughing all the way to the bank.
3. So why did we have a lock-out?
Last season didn't get started until December after owners and the players association bickered and pointed fingers for months and months. Revenue sharing was at the heart of it, but also small market owners fed up with players joining forces for super-power alliances in large market cities. These teams wanted to maintain parity and still have a shot at a championship. So, change revenue sharing, up the luxury tax for exceeding the salary cap and voila! no more super powers right? Wrong, we have reached the age of the super-friends superheros. The Lakers, the Heat, the Nets-ish, The Knicks-kinda, The Thund...no wait, not the
Thunder because the Thunder play in a place called 'Oklahoma' which as far as I can tell isn't not one of those places you'd actually ever want to move to (I actually spend every summer there as a kid watching MASH and eating Dairy Queen, I can confirm it is in fact not a place you'd want to move to). So after winning the Western Conference last year Oklahoma City tried to keep their triumvirate of talent together, except they couldn't afford the newer, harsher luxury tax because now only teams in bigger markets can now afford the higher salary cap restrictions, so they had to trade James Harden, a star in the a making to the Rockets. Despite getting a good deal for him, and securing long-term security the Thunder sacrificed any hope of winning the championship this year. Where were does that leave the NBA? Has it turned into the Premier League or Formula 1 or simply modern day capitalism where the rich devour the poor? I, for one don't mind, who doesn't want to see a team with four future Hall of Famers like the Lakers work through the season-long nuisances of team-building to destroy all competition then have to face the beast of the east, the Heat in the finals. Two super-powers with hate in their eyes whose ownership won't accept anything less than a championship, that's what made the NBA great in the 80's. Casual fans don't care about the Pittsburgh Steamrollers or the Cincinnati Royals or any of those random teams that arent from LA, NY, Chicago, or Miami. There is a reason why the Premier League is the most watch sporting association in the world, because the concentration of stars on a few well known teams make the product. For James Harden it's the best thing that can happen to him, he'll turn into a star and help Jeremy Lin fulfill his potential alongside him (to the chagrin of Knicks fan everywhere) and when this contract is over he can do what all self-respecting superstars do, navigate toward the bright lights in search of a super-team.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 5:26PM 
