Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
The NBA and its network partners expect to reach an agreement in principle on new long-term media deals by the start of the regular season, according to sources on all sides of the discussions.
Talks have progressed so rapidly that details are emerging on a massive agreement that would see the league’s annual rights fee more than double, with ESPN and Turner combining to pay more than $2 billion per year on average. One source said ESPN already has committed to pay “well over” $1 billion per year, and Turner is not far behind for a media rights extension that would kick in with the 2016-17 season.
Using those figures – including a flat $2 billion for the new contracts – the salary cap, which is determined by the NBA’s Basketball Related Income, would rise by $15,960,833.
You’ve probably read me reference the big boost in the salary cap when discussing the Rondo situation. In a chart I use to keep track of Celtics salaries, I’ve been working with an $80 million salary cap for the 2015-16 season, so that big bump in the cap is something that a lot of people are waiting for.
This is why LeBron James did a 2-year deal in Cleveland. He wants to see how much more money he can make as the best player in the game on a max contract.
But this eye to the future is a big part of why I think paying Rondo works for Boston. Of course, the caveat is that he regains his All Star form and silences doubts about his knee, but considering the Celtics cap space next year, and the boost in everyone’s cap the following year, paying Rondo doesn’t cripple the franchise. If they are smart about it, they can add a few top-tier players at the proper market value while still having money left over.
Even if you’re anti-Rondo, the Celtics can let him walk, take the added cap space, and pursue big-time players with their ability to sign them outright, or maneuver more freely in the trade market. Remember, teams under the cap don’t have sign-and-trade restrictions like capped-out teams do under the new CBA. The Celtics don’t just have to be players in the free agent market, they can maybe be a player in the “disgruntled star” market too.
No matter how it plays out, the fact is the Celtics are set up very well financially, with or without signing Rondo to a long-term deal. And if you thought some contracts were crazy now, wait until you see the insane money thrown around in a couple of years. That summer of 2016 is going to complete madness.
Page 2: The Hawks racism fallout will be far-reaching
Danny Ferry issues statement, insisting comments on Luol Deng were gathered “from numerous sources” in scouting process and weren’t his own.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) September 9, 2014
Says Hawks GM Ferry: “Those words do not reflect my views, or words that I would use to describe an individual and I certainly regret it.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) September 9, 2014
Fallout of Ferry comments having immense impact in NBA. Front offices discussing language, how ethnicity and race get framed in scouting.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) September 9, 2014
This is such a messy situation for the NBA. If you haven’t heard about what’s going on with the Hawks, here’s the latest complete rundown of the mess. If you want the short version:
Yahoo! Sports and the Journal-Constitution, in subsequent reports Monday, quoted Ferry as saying of Deng: “He is still a young guy overall. He is a good guy overall. But he is not perfect. He’s got some African in him. And I don’t say that in a bad way.”
WSB-TV reported Monday that Ferry continued by saying: “But he’s a guy who would have a nice store out front, but sell you counterfeit stuff out of the back.”
From there, the owner sent an email about attracting more white fans that was apparently full of racial stereotypes. He’s now going to sell the team. Ferry, who was reading from a scouting report prepared by someone else during a conference call with the team, has been disciplined and will keep his job.
Sigh.
Where to start.
First, obviously, a lot of people in the NBA need a little refresher in sensitivity training. There’s obviously no place anywhere for racisim… or any sort of “ism” or “phobia” that de-humanizes anyone. That much should be clear.
I’m not shocked, though, at the attitudes behind this.
Professional sports is a business that de-humanizes all players of every race. While someone was clearly failing at an attempt to characterize Luol Deng’s ability to be clever on the court, scouts and General Mangers in all sports are in the business of breaking players down to various attributes, rather than treating them as people.
Go to any front office, and you’ll see. Danny Ainge very likely has a book or file or something somewhere on Marcus Smart that treats him like a piece of meat with various measurements of his athletic ability. There’s a psychological profile of him that is quite thorough, and quite stark in how callously it characterizes him. That’s just how it is. That’s true of the Celtics, the Heat, the Raiders, the Minnesota Twins, the… you get the point.
Players are, first and foremost, virtually non-human characters in a real-life video game at the scouting level. On paper, they are numbers and words that are treated as commodities for the purpose of evaluating a monetary value and assessing whether they can help the team’s success.
Teams don’t want to make the mistake of signing the wrong guy. If a team spends too much on a guy who sucks, or if they pass on a guy who doesn’t suck, or if they sign a guy who flies off the handle off the court, they face serious backlash from fans. When that happens in a place like Atlanta, the already fickle, sparse fan base will wither away some more.
I’ve long said that Hawks fans are among the worst in the NBA. We joke about Heat fans, but regular season Hawks games can be played in a Division II arena and still not be full on some nights.
Does this excuse this behavior? Absolutely not. But put the wrong person in a pressure situation where he’s breaking down a player in a non-human way, and you get some non-human assessments.
And there’s no way that in this extensive scouting system run by 30 NBA franchises that everyone who puts words to paper in these evaluations is an enlightened, 21-st century individual who recognizes that racial stereotypes truly serve no purpose in any way, and there are better ways to describe an individual no matter what the situation. Someone, somewhere, in some franchise probably has a report somewhere that is similarly offensive. I wouldn’t be shocked if it exists in many franchises, just because the percentages tell me some guys with great basketball evaluation skills harbor offensive prejudices about certain people.
So let’s not be too surprised if something like this surfaces elsewhere. This is quite the microcosm of race in America. Even in a league that relies almost exclusively on young Black males for its success, there exists in its power structure a bias against them at some level, be it the scouts who evaluate their talents, or the owners who sign their pay checks.
The Donald Sterling and Hawks situations have shown that this exists. It’s not horribly surprising, sadly. But hopefully the way the NBA is dealing with it now shows teams have to take a close look at how things are being done, and by whom, so they can clean things up without delving into the sordid debacles we’ve seen thus far.
It’s a new era, and it’s going to take some time to clean things up. Every team will be affected by this. Don’t be surprised if more is revealed.
And Finally…
Rest in peace, Marvin Barnes. You were a great talent, and a very unique person who struggled with too many demons. As a Rhode Islander, especially, I enjoyed hearing the stories of the exploits of Barnes at Providence College and beyond.
The rest of the links:
CSNNE: C’s Prez: Roster makes C’s more competitive | ESPN Boston: McCarty says C’s staff prepared for a new year | SheridanHoops: Rondo 6th best PG in the league
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