Was listening to The Ticket this morning. They commented on the difference between Dirk and Duncan's attitude regarding salary contracts and Kobe's. Dirk is now taking 3 for 25 mil and Duncan will be taking 3 for 29 mil. First of all, the 3 for 30 mil rumor was crazy enough. Now we are hearing Dirk went 5 under. That's just nuts.

However, it does show the commitment of both to the organization, as well as the desire to win another ring. Now compare that to Kobe's contract last Fall for 2 years and 48 mil.

Not saying Dirk and Duncan should be nominated for Sainthood. Both have made over 200 mil in their careers. However, it does show the difference between a "We" versus "Me" mentality, as well as a commitment to winning. Wish we saw more of this in sports.

Didn't realize Vince Carter was 12th all time in earnings with over 160 mil. Now I'm not so happy for him taking that contract with the Grizzlies. You would thing a guy with no rings would be willing to take less money to be on a championship caliber team. But I guess that 1.27 mil was just too much to pass on.

http://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paid-nba-players-all-time-2014-4?op=1

[This message has been edited by AgBeliever (edited 7/16/2014 9:23a).]

Are you trying to say the Mavs are a championship caliber team? And moreso than the Griz are?

The Mavs are clearly better than Memphis at this point.

Probably a 4 or 5 seed. And a 4 or 5 seed with Carlisle coaching is a dangerous team.

And with the Clippers's problems with getting anyone in free agency (due to the Sterling thing), the Mavs are getting close to being the 3rd best in the West in talent.

The Clippers, Mavs and Rockets are all pretty close in talent at this point.

ha ok.

Dirk

Agree that it's disappointing that Vince didn't take the Ray Allen route and go ring chasing on one of the elite contenders (spurs, thunder, lebrons)

Agree kobe is further exposed by Duncan and Dirk as being the selfish POS we've always know him to be.

But I like how this thread was derailed instantly into the usual Mavs/spurs/rockets pissing match.

[This message has been edited by Internetfan02 (edited 7/16/2014 10:26a).]

This board gets pretty quiet when only one Texas team is good. You can only discuss the Spurs' latest assistant coach hire or marginal role player pickup for so long.

Apparently all 3 Texas teams are now championship caliber teams so it should be an exciting next 11 months on this board.

quote:

---

But I like how this thread was derailed instantly into the usual Mavs/spurs/rockets pissing match.

---

No kidding.

The Mavs take the Spurs to 7 and improve their roster but ha ha for thinking they are better than Memphis or thinking they have any chance of making a deep run in the playoffs.

I guess the parental controls are turned off for our kiddies.

You have to respect a player for doing this for sure, but at the same time I just can't fault a player for not doing it. Odds are that Dirk will never win another championship despite his paycut. The same thing applies for Kobe. Even if he took a paycut I still don't see the Lakers winning before his career is over so why take the cut?

Dirk will likely look back and realize that he left 100 million dollars on the table and never sniffed another title. That is a huge fortune to pass on regardless of how rich you are.

At least Duncan's efforts was a collective decision among Tony, Tim and Manu so the odds of winning a title increased greatly when three players do it versus one.

You lost me when you said the mavs closer to a championship than the grizz

I'd say it's actually highly unlikely that Dirk looks back with any level of "what could have been?" on the money front. He just doesn't think that way as is evidenced by his consistent behavior in this regard. It's not the first time he didn't take the max to help the team. He simply wants the best opportunity available in Dallas to try and win a title.

He's just a different cat.

quote:

---

Was listening to The Ticket this morning. They commented on the difference between Dirk and Duncan's attitude regarding salary contracts and Kobe's. Dirk is now taking 3 for 25 mil and Duncan will be taking 3 for 29 mil. First of all, the 3 for 30 mil rumor was crazy enough. Now we are hearing Dirk went 5 under. That's just nuts.

---

Duncan is in the second year of a 2y/~20mm contract.

Hey machine, I guess you didn't get the memo. The Mavs got Tyson Chandler and Chandler Parsons so that takes them from a team that stayed out of the lottery by 1 game to a championship team.

This guy. Last year was only the 2nd time since 2000-2001 that Dallas didn't win at least 50 games (excluding the lockout year). They won 49. Memphis was 1 game better, despite posting a 1-3 record against Dallas over the season. And that 1 win was in overtime.

And for 2014-2015, Dallas upgraded PG, SF and C. By quite a bit. What has Memphis done this offseason besides resign Zach Randolph? Replace Mike Miller with Vince Carter?

In a fight? Hmmm...give me Kobe

quote:

---

I'd say it's actually highly unlikely that Dirk looks back with any level of "what could have been?" on the money front. He just doesn't think that way as is evidenced by his consistent behavior in this regard. It's not the first time he didn't take the max to help the team. He simply wants the best opportunity available in Dallas to try and win a title.

He's just a different cat.

---

This is true, and one of the reasons he is so popular in Big D.

quote:

---

Duncan is in the second year of a 2y/~20mm contract.

---

Looks like he is the middle of a 3 year 30 mil contract.

Regardless, the point still stands. He and Dirk will take a hit salary wise in order to make another run at a ring.
http://www.spotrac.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs/tim-duncan/

quote:

---

. Last year was only the 2nd time since 2000-2001 that Dallas didn't win at least 50 games (excluding the lockout year). They won 49. Memphis was 1 game better, despite posting a 1-3 record against Dallas over the season. And that 1 win was in overtime.

And for 2014-2015, Dallas upgraded PG, SF and C. By quite a bit. What has Memphis done this offseason besides resign Zach Randolph? Replace Mike Miller with Vince Carter?

---

Yeah, some people around here are obviously not following the offseason moves.

Regardless of if he looks back on it himself or if others do for him, he still potentally left $100 million on the table. It's one thing to take a few million off, its another thing to turn down a tenth of a billion.

I appreciate what Dirk and Tim have done, I am just not sure you can criticize those that don't share the same sentiment to play a game. You can do a lot of positive things with that kind of money that go well beyond the game of basketball.

Not sure who was being critical of those with that mindset but I sure wasn't. If Kobe wants to make sure he gets a max deal first and foremost, so be it. He's earned that ability through his skill and accomplishments.

Were I in their shoes i'd probably take the money, TBH. Dirk is just a different kind of person, tho...that's my only real point.

I just hope that someday I have problems like deciding if I'm happy with 8 million per year or I want to go for a real payday.

I didn't mean to come across as criticizing Kobe so much as showing my appreciation (as a Maverick fan) for Dirk and Duncan.

I'm not sure what I would have done in that situation. Although I am pretty sure I would not have gone lower than 30 mil for 3 years. That is just nuts.

quote:

---

I just hope that someday I have problems like deciding if I'm happy with 8 million per year or I want to go for a real payday.

---

Amen.

Sean jones and machine,

If we can get a reputable escrow, I will bet either or both of you that mavs have more wins than Memphis this year. I would also be willing to bet on which team goes farther in the playoffs. Any dollar amount is fine but I won't bet unless we use an escrow.

Mav fans are pretty delusional.

I could see the Mavs finsihing better than the Griz they seem like pretty even teams to me, its the whole Mavs are a championship caliber team and will be a 4 or 5 seed in the West that was laughable. I'm down for a bet on the Mavs not being a top 4 team in the west and/or a Mavs vs Rockets season wins bet.

Personally, I think it goes

SA

OKC
LAC

Houston

Then Dallas, Golden State, Portland, and Memphis (and Phoenix?) in pretty much any order. That is to say, I think Dallas can contend for a 5 seed with an outside shot at a 4 since Houston got slightly worse. If pressed, I'd say Golden State is the best of the 5, but not by a whole lot.

Even so, last season the difference between being a 4 seed and missing the playoffs entirely was 6 games. Phoenix nearly won 50 games and missed the playoffs. As it was, they could have been a 3 seed in the East with the same record. The west is ridiculous, and aside from the Spurs, Thunder, and Clippers, I don't see a ton of separation.

SA
OKC
LAC
Portland
Golden State
Dallas
Phoenix
New Orleans
Memphis
Houston

quote:

---

I could see the Mavs finsihing better than the Griz they seem like pretty even teams to me, its the whole Mavs are a championship caliber team and will be a 4 or 5 seed in the West that was laughable. I'm down for a bet on the Mavs not being a top 4 team in the west and/or a Mavs vs Rockets season wins bet.

---

One person said dallas was probably a 4 or 5 seed, which is very realistic, and that if you give Carlisle a 4 or 5 seed that team can be dangerous. There is nothing ridiculous about that statement.

It's also obvious the mavs are favorites to do better than Memphis. You acted like this was a ridiculous assertion and made a few snarky comments, so I offered to bet you on it. Since you won't take the bet, it's clear you dont actually believe Memphis is better than dallas. I guess you were just trolling.

I don't want to bet that dallas is a top 4 seed. I can see them anywhere from 4-7 honestly. But it's not ridiculous to say they have a legit shot at being a 4 or 5 seed or at least making the second round (no matter what seed).

Houston v dallas (along with gs/Portland) should all be very close for 4 seed. Dallas has gotten noticeably better and Houston has gotten a little worse (lost parsons Asik and Lin).

I made one comment about the Griz on this whole thread and nowhere did I say they are noticeably better than the Mavs. The hilarity ensued when dude said the Mavs are championship caliber and are even in talent with the Clippers.

quote:

---

I made one comment about the Griz on this whole thread and nowhere did I say they are noticeably better than the Mavs.

---

I think you implied it. And I'll walk it back why I inferred that's exactly what you meant.

quote:

---

Are you trying to say the Mavs are a championship caliber team? And moreso than the Griz are?

---

From this comment, I inferred that you were saying that Dallas is not a championship caliber team, and that the Griz are more likely to compete for a championship than Dallas. That would make them noticeably better than Dallas.

Then machine20 stated:

quote:

---

You lost me when you said the mavs closer to a championship than the grizz

---

To which you replied:

quote:

---

Hey machine, I guess you didn't get the memo. The Mavs got Tyson Chandler and Chandler Parsons so that takes them from a team that stayed out of the lottery by 1 game to a championship team.

---

From this, I inferred that you were implying again that Memphis was a better team, and certainly more likely to compete for a championship than Dallas, since the tone of the comment seemed to suggest that you were using sarcasm to agree with machine20's point (that the OP became less credible when he suggested that Dallas was "closer to a championship than the grizz").

Now, it just so happens that I agree with you to the extent that Dallas is not on the same level as the Clippers. I also agree that Dallas is not a contender for the championship at this stage of the offseason without actually seeing how the team friggin plays together.

I disagree to the extent that the argument is that Memphis is closer to the trophy. Especially after the way this offseason has gone.

Now, here's a link to a vine from Brittany Riddle before the ESPY's so we can all be friends again.

I don't bet on toss-ups

quote:

---

You lost me when you said the mavs closer to a championship than the grizz

---

Doesn't sound like you thought it was a toss up.

I'd even be happy to give you odds on the bet. I'll give you 1.2:1. So if it's truly a tossup, the bet is clearly +EV for you.