The Wolves bought out three players this year. Antoine Walker wishes it were four.
NBA Quarterly Report
With the Timberwolves already mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, I’m severely limited in the number of angles I can approach the team from. I suppose I could wax poetic about trying hard and building momentum towards next year, but I feel that topic has been beaten to death. Instead, I’m going to touch on a topic that covers the NBA a little more broadly, but has still had a noticeable effect on this year’s Wolves: Contract Buyouts. Since the Kevin Garnett was traded away, the Timberwolves have bought out three players, and would have made it four, had they fulfilled Antoine Walker’s request for one after the trading deadline passed. In the case of the Timberwolves’ first buyout candidate, Troy Hudson, the franchise was able to cut ties with a disgruntled veteran who did not fit into the team’s plans, had several years left on his deal, and was practically untradeable. The situation was clearly a win-win for both sides. However, the following two buyouts did nothing to improve the team and only served to save Glen Taylor some cash and “free” some aging veterans from the Wolves’ difficult season.
The Wolves certainly weren’t the only team to perform a buyout this year. In what was perhaps the most power-altering negotiation of them all, the Clippers released Sam Cassell, allowing him to ditch a lottery team and hitch his wagon to the league-leading Celtics. Earlier in the year, Damon Stoudamire got his contract bought out by the woeful Grizzlies and was picked up by the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Another big-time buyout was derailed by commisioner Stern, when Jerry Stackhouse mouthed-off to the press about the Mavericks illegally pre-meditated intentions to trade him to New Jersey for Jason Kidd and then resign him 30 days after the Nets bought him out.
With the exception of Troy Hudson, all the buyouts and potential buyouts I’ve discussed made little to no basketball sense. Sam Cassell, Damon Stoudamire, Jerry Stackhouse, Juwan Howard, Theo Ratliff, and Antoine Walker are all quality players who could have contributed significantly to their teams. If they weren’t, the ones who were released wouldn’t have been immediately scooped up by title contenders. In the case of Jerry Stackhouse, he was so valuable that the Mavericks refused to trade him away after learning they could not re-sign him if he was indeed bought out. The fact that these moves are allowed to happen under the NBA collective bargaining agreement is a disgrace. Not only do they set up a system in which the rich get richer and struggling teams lose their quality veterans, but they send the message loud and clear that players no longer have to honor their contracts.
It’s that last point that has me fired up the most. After the Timberwolves refused Antoine Walker’s buyout request, the Shimmy-meister referred to his time with the T-Wolves as a “wasted season”. I don’t know about you, but I’d love to be able to consider a span of six months where I got paid 8.3 million dollars to do nothing but play basketball a “waste”. I just don’t get how these players think that they’re automatically entitled to play for a championship contender. If they wanted to play for the Spurs, or Celtics, or whoever so badly, then why didn’t they ink their contract with those teams? They didn’t, because they wanted the cash. They sold themselves to the highest possible bidder, except now they feel they owe that highest bidder nothing in return. They somehow feel it’s honorable to sign a 5-year, 40 million dollar contract, collect 100% of the money from the first four years (even though they barely played due to injury), then cash in on 75% of the last year’s 11 million (even though they again barely played due to injury), and then cut a deal for 50-60% of the remaining 25% so they can go sign another contract for $1.3 million to play for the Pistons. Just remember that when you’re cheering for Detroit this May because Theo’s a “good guy” who left “all that money” on the table to win and therefore “deserves” a championship.
If you’re somebody like Walker, it’s true that you may have never intended to end up on the Timberwolves when you signed your deal with Celtics all those years ago, but when you ink that contract you know that you could eventually end up anywhere via trade. It’s not like Walker’s been completely shafted either, as he got to be a part of the Heat’s 2006 Championship team along his journey. If you’re going to sign a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract, then own up to the responsibility of it. If you want to pick which team you play for every season, then don’t sign anything longer than a one-year deal. Of course one-year deals don’t tend to be as lucritive as multi-year deals, so nobody does this. They just sign and then whine when they realize they’re on a lottery-bound squad.
One-year deals also aren’t nearly as safe as their multi-year counterparts, which brings me to the most ludicrous aspect of all these contract buyouts. If Theo Ratliff… Wait – bad example! If Juwan Howard had experienced a devastating injury during the pre-season that severely limited his ability to play, he would have fully expected the Minnesota Timberwolves to pay him the remainder of the 14 million dollars owed to him over the next two years. However, when the Timberwolves traded away Kevin Garnett, a move that pretty much guaranteed they’d be bottom-feeding for quite some time, Juwan wanted no part of holding up his end of the bargain. The logic is this: They should have to pay me when I’m a cripple, but I shouldn’t have to play for them if they aren’t playoff bound. It absolutely blows my mind. Please, somebody explain to me how that makes any type of sense!
It doesn’t, but unfortunately these non-sensical negotiations which undermine the legitimacy of the league are completely within the rules. Until the NBA decides to make bought out players forfeit the rest of the season, these ridiculous scenarios will continue to play out. The ultimate solution would be to institute a hard salary cap and non-guaranteed contracts with guaranteed signing bonus money up front, like the NFL does. This would solve a multitude of the NBA’s problems and usher in an era of competitive balance which would revitalize the league in many areas of the country. Though, I’m not holding my breath for any of these developments to take place. No, the most I’m hoping to get out of this buyout fiasco is that the Timberwolves continue to “waste” Antoine Walker’s time and let him spend the majority of the 2008-09 season in a suit and tie. Well, at least until we trade his dead-weight expiring contract to the New York Knicks so that Isaiah Thomas can use his Bird-rights to ink him to another 6-year, 71 Million dollar deal!
Predictions:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division:
1. Boston
2. Toronto
3. Philadelphia
4. New Jersey
5. New York
Central Division:
1. Detroit
2. Cleveland
3. Chicago
4. Indiana
5. Milwaukee
Southeast Division
1. Orlando
2. Washington
3. Atlanta
4. Charlotte
5. Miami
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
1. Utah
2. Denver
3. Portland
4. Minnesota
5. Seattle
Pacific Division
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Phoenix
3. Golden State
4. Sacramento
5. Los Angeles Clippers
Southwest Division
1. San Antonio
2. Houston
3. New Orleans
4. Dallas
5. Memphis
PLAYOFFS:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
1. Boston
2. Detroit
3. Orlando
4. Cleveland
5. Toronto
6. Washington
7. Philadelphia
8. Atlanta
First Round:
Boston over Atlanta
Detroit over Philadelphia
Orlando over Washington
Cleveland over Toronto
Conference Semifinals:
Boston over Cleveland
Detroit over Orlando
Conference Finals:
Boston over Detroit
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. San Antonio
3. Utah
4. Houston
5. New Orleans
6. Dallas
7. Phoenix
8. Golden State
First Round:
L.A. Lakers over Golden State
San Antonio over Phoenix
Utah over Dallas
Houston over New Orleans
Conference Semifinals:
L.A. Lakers over Houston
Utah over San Antonio
Conference Finals:
L.A. Lakers over Utah
NBA FINALS:
Boston Celtics over Los Angeles Lakers
