Hey NBA guys: Live with the consequences of your decision

Here’s one to gnaw on.

You’re hearing a lot, and are going to hear more, about this NBA player and that NBA player and this other NBA player – mostly high-profile guys, it would appear – at least investigating the chance to play somewhere in Europe now that there seems to be no way out of a long, stupid, season-threatening lockout.

I think this week I read that Kevin Durant may go somewhere, saw something yesterday about Matt Bonner and the NBL Canada team in Halifax and another item that Tiago Splitter’s going to Valencia.

There are certain to be more as the days unfold, more players of varied talents exploring options.

It’s wrong. Bad moves all around.

Now, forget the message this sends to the other NBA players. You know, the message that says:

“Hey, I’m going to get mine because I can, best of luck to my union brethren, I’m with you to a point and we all need to share the pain but a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do and, frankly, I’m looking after myself and screw you.”

That’s bad. Has been bad for anyone who’s gone to Europe already armed with a contract “out” already, those who were willing to take care of themselves rather than stand with the guys who he shares a union bond with.

Consider the other side?

What’s the message sent to the poor schmoe who just lost his job. The guy in Europe, where rosters are already set for this season with firm limits on the number of non-Euro-passport-carrying players each team can have? Or the guy in Canada who now has to go home and tells his family:

“Well, I was professional basketball player for a while and was doing okay until this NBA guy – you know, a guy who has a guaranteed seven-figure contract to go back to as soon as everyone comes to their senses, decided he wanted to play and our ownership fawned over him and saw dollar signs and decided marketing is more important than loyalty.”

Guys making, relatively, a pittance who might or might not get another chance could very well be denied a career because someone with a high profile wanted get a run in, as long as he was able to escape the minute the NBA came calling.

It’s wrong.

NBA players -- for good or for bad – have decided as a group to turn down a contract offer and let lawyers and judges help determine when they will work again.

It was a conscious decision taken for whatever reason, hopefully after careful thought and consideration. And there are consequences to every decision we make, one of them shouldn’t be to take the job of a guy already working because you don’t want to do yours.

Sorry. This is nothing personal but it’s wrong. Let the guys who are playing make a living.

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Hmm.

One day, we jokingly suggest Super Dog might be less, um, energetic than you’d like.

Next day, she’s at the desk hour early clamouring for the morning constitutional and I can dutifully report it’s chilly about 5:20 a.m.

Maybe she’s brighter than I thought.

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A Where Are They Now?

Well, if you go deep into the annals of HOTH lore and care about Quincy Douby …

Check this out.

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You give a guy a little time on the couch in a late afternoon with the clicker and nothing to do and who knows what he might find.

This, my good people, was a vastly under-rated TV show, wasn’t it?

At some point, doing Six Degrees of Separation from this cast would be a classic exercise.

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Question:

If Americans own Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, will that satisfy those among you who think Americans don’t care about the HOTH?

Nah.

Look, I have no particular issue with the passports of the people at the top; American, Irish, Slovenian, Japanese, Brazilian.

If they can afford it and want to run it and seem at least a wee tiny bit committed to giving the men who run their sports franchises the money and support needed to put a winner out there, who really cares?

The whole MLSEL monolith is far more than sports, anyway. It’s condos and restaurants and land deals and television networks and any manner of big business. Of course, that may be the biggest obstacle to sporting success, the attention paid to other endeavours, but that’s a chat for another day.

If these dudes our paper wrote about yesterday have deep enough pockets to make it work, good luck to ‘em.

Look at it this way:

There isn’t a long and storied level of success with the thing being run by Canadians, is there?

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I tell ya, you live in Hazelville and magic happens.

Poof. Leaves gone!

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Okay, seriously, how ridiculous is this?

This whole banning of balls in a schoolyard story would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.

I’m all for safety, it’s a good thing, don’t get me wrong, but there is just something about not letting kids play with or exercise with soccer balls or basketballs or whatever that strikes me as the wrong message.

Are we worried as a society about the lack of physical exercise our kids get? Don’t we want them out in the fresh air doing things to be fit rather than standing around or sitting in front of some TV or computer screen playing games? Isn’t childhood obesity a growing blight? Doesn’t play time outside help?

Shouldn’t we actually be encouraging them – through increased supervision, more playtime, more freedom to move and do as they please within reason – rather than taking things away from them?

Weird. Odd. Wrong.

Good on the kids for complaining about it.

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Oh yeah.

Mail. Here. Please. Lots yesterday but there's always room for more.

Thanks.

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Comments

[wuycik]

I wouldn't be surprised if many of the players looking to play overseas are being pressured by the sponsors that pay them as much, if not more, than the teams that employ them. Nike and Adidas, in particular, can't be happy with the millions they are paying for nothing with the lockout ongoing. Don't doubt that they are ringing up the agents and telling them to send their clients out to exploit and develop some new markets.

[m]

@chris c
"I think the NBA should be more like golf. Pay related to performance. Kobe earns $450000 a week. A week. And he is on strike. Wow."
What strike? How long have you followed this topic? Do you even know the difference between a strike and a lockout?
I'm amazed at how many people would rather support the owners who have nothing to lose but some of their tax write off. The bulk of them conned the municipalities they're in to fund their arenas, I imagine that they have a great responsibility to their communities to keep a team active to justify the handout they've received.

[Mike D.]

On the issue of NBA players finding other work:

- I agree completely that it's a very bad signal to their union brethren

- Not sure how I feel about the issue of them going down-market and bumping other players....after reading some of the other posts, it does seem consistent with other real-world situations

- I do think that if any of the NBA players are looking to play elsewhere because they need the money it's pretty pathetic. Nobody earns NBA-level income (in any profession) without taking on substantial risk that those levels of income could stop abruptly, which means you should be saving a chunk of it just in case. Of course, it's also possible that some of them (I suspect the legendarily frugal Red Rocket falls in this category) are playing elsewhere to keep their skills rather than for the money.

[Lake Simcoe]

Really there is/are big difference(s) between Lock Out and Strike?
In both cases, the players refuse pay cut, right? They why should they go out to seek an even lower income job?

[doug]

you know sometimes we need to sit and reflect on life...I owe some people on here a apology as anyone that knows me in real life knows I never mean to be disrespectful or rude, ever...sometimes my passion for views, discussion etc, causes me at times to overstep the lines....to me discussion, whether it is emotional etc. is the essence of life....today in the car i was driving along and Adele's "Someone Like you" came on, all of a sudden as people that have lost a loved one or one's knows you have good days or bad days, while that song was playing, I became melancholy as I was thinking how much my late wife would have loved it and we would have played it and talked about it, then my thoughts drifted to my kids who also are gone...on facebook is me and my little princess, ...i don't care about sympathy or whatever, life is life, but in there this blog has captured my feelings for sports, but greater then that to see people care, have passion and it is my little oasis away from the "real"world...so if in there I offend, or maybe step out of turn , it is what it is, as that is me, and to me that is the essence of this blog...and to Doug it's appreciated, as whether there is bad days or good days the one constant is this blog....so thanks....ok cheers and carry on as that's all we can all do...

[Sam M]

@doug
I forgive you

[m]

@lake simcoe
There is a big difference between a strike and a lockout.

[Lake Simcoe]

Usually I do not response to empty statement, and have no interest in word games.

But I just read a comment on the riot in Penn State U. on the legend coach related to child abusessssss....., and speechless......

[Dan Flemming]

Newsradio is on Netflix now, and it's one of the main reasons I'm happy with my Netflix account. Loved that show, including Phil Hartman but I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of pro-Foley comments on a Canadian website.