I can’t believe they make that much!

I decided to do some research on NBA salaries and I think I threw up in my mouth twice after finishing my research. These salary numbers were provided by hoopshype.com. Top 10 NBA salaries for 2006-2007 NBA season.


1. Kevin Garnett, Minnesota -$21,000,000-
He signed that huge $128,000,000 contract and is still reaping the benefits. He is consistent scoring 20 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, dishing 5 assists, and blocking 3
shots a game season after season and has done it without complaints. He is arguably the best power forward of his generation. He has hall of fame credentials, but his only long playoff run was with a healthy Sam Cassell. He still has not been able to take the Wolves back to the playoffs. Don’t tell me that he has a horrible roster. Ask Kobe Bryant about bad rosters. Unfortunately, 21 million dollars does not get what it used to, not even a playoff spot.

2. Allan Houston, New York-$20,718,750-
Wow, now this is a waste of a lot of money. A glorified jump shooter who’s one big shot was a game winning runner against the Miami Heat in the 1999 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. He retired in 2005 and is still getting paid. Smartest man alive!

3. Michael Finley, San Antonio-$20,154,625-
He is a two time NBA All Star who had his most productive years while on the Dallas Mavericks while he averaged at least 20 points, dished out 5 assists, and grabs 5 boards. He wasn’t even the best player on the Mavericks, but he made superstar money. The Mavs used the “Allan Houston rule” to cut him and not take a luxury tax hit.

4. Shaquille O’Neal-Miami-$20,000,000-
Arguably the greatest center all time. There is no need to discuss how good Shaq is. At the time he signed this contract, this was a steal because at the time, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose, Stephon Marbury, and Keith Van Horn all made more then $20 million dollars. While he was a Laker, they offered him a 3 year $90 million extension, but turned it down because he a “Big Baby.” Outside of all the criticism he brought a championship to the Heat like he promised. Dwyane may have carried the Heat, but there is no way he gets to the NBA Finals without Shaq.

5. Chris Webber-Detroit-$18,307,008-
In 2001, he signed a 7 year $127 million contract with the Sacramento Kings. He is a big man who is an excellent passer and great post player. On the Kings, he averaged at least 20 points every season, grabbed 10 boards, and dished out 5 boards. His best season with the Kings he scored 26.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 4 assists. The former #1 pick has never lived to his potential as the leader of the “Fab Five” in Michigan. He never could beat the Lakers or could get the Kings to the Finals. He’s never been a player in the clutch. For reference to that statement, see the 1993 NCAA championship and look at all his playoff performances.

6. Allen Iverson-Denver-$18,281,250-
Pound for Pound one of the best offensive players EVER! He stands at 6 feet and 160 pounds dripping wet. He drives and gets to the basket at will. Goes to the line 10 times a game and shoots over anybody he wants to. He has a career scoring average of 27.9 points a game, and has averaged over 7 assists the last 3 seasons. He does all that and can do nothing right. He is the most misunderstood athlete in the history of the NBA. Not to take anything away from him; he is a turnover machine and has always shot a low field goal percentage. The bottom line is the guy is a baller and has never been surrounded with the talent to win a title.

7. Jason Kidd-New Jersey-$18,084,000-
Taking away his marital problems and his kid who had a moustache as a toddler, Jason Kidd is “ballin”. He is arguably the best pure point guard since John Stockton. He is a great passer, defender, rebounder, and playmaker. Watching him on the fast break is like watching Leonardo da Vinci paint a masterpiece. He is third all time in triple doubles, which highlights the versatility of his game. One of the few players in NBA history who can affect a game without scoring. He’s always been a suspect shooter, but made up for it by using his size in the post against smaller point guards. He’s a winner every team he’s been, but after two trips to the NBA Finals has not been able to win a championship.

8. Jermaine O’neal-Indiana-$18,084,000-
A consistent big man who has averaged 20 points, 10 boards, and 3 blocks a game for the last six years. I admire him for waiting his turn to become a star playing behind Rasheed Wallace and Arbydas Sabonis in Portland. After his trade to the Pacers, he became a six time all star and one of the best power forwards in the league. He’s led Indiana to some successful seasons, including a 60 win season, but has not been able to lead them to the NBA finals. The Pacers have failed to put a winning team around O’neal and he has voiced his frustrations. Perhaps a change of scenery maybe needed.

9. Kobe Bryant-Los Angeles Lakers-$17,718,750-
The most gifted offensive player in the NBA who has led the NBA in scoring the last two seasons. This price is a bargain for what he does for the Lakers. He is a once in a lifetime player, and will probably go down as one of the best shooting guards of all time. It’s a shame that the Laker management has surrounded him with crap and he has not been able to lead the Laker team passed the first round of the playoffs since Shaq was traded.

10. Tim Duncan-San Antonio-$17,429,671-
The “Big Fundamental” is a winner through and through. This man made David Robinson, a perennial loser, into an NBA champion. He is the centerpiece of the best run franchise in the NBA. This contract is a bargain for the Spurs for what Duncan has done for the franchise. If he wins another championship he may dethrone Shaq as the best big man of his genereation.



Players in the 06-07 season who made too much money

1. Theo Ratliff, Boston-$11,666,666

2. Adonal Foyle, Goldent State-$8,125,000

3. Eddie Jones, Memphis-$15,090,826

4. Jason Williams, Miami-$8,250,000

5. Raef Lafrentz, Portland-$10,905,000

6. Wally Szczerbiak, Boston-$11,000,000

7. PJ Brown, Chicago-$8,000,000

8. Desmond Mason, New Orleans-$8,036,667

9. Jalen Rose, Phoenix-$16,901,500

10. Grant Hill, Orlando-$16,901,500



Players in the 06-07 who made too little money

1. Al Jefferson, Boston-$1,618,320

2. Josh Smith, Atlanta-$1,460,640

3. Josh Howard, Dallas-$1,577,353

4. JR Smith, Denver-$1,067,400

5. Andris Biedrins, Golden State-$1,986,960

6. Quinton Ross, LA Clippers-$771,331

7. Maurice Williams, Milwaukee-$1,920,000

8. David Lee, New York-$926,040

9. Leandrinho Barbosa, Phoenix-$1,679,733

10. Kevin Martin, Sacramento-$1,002,840


Long Term Contacts that make you scratch your head

1. Wally Szczerbiak, Boston-$25 million over the next 2 seasons

2. Larry Hughes, Cleveland-$38.5 million over the next 3 seasons

3. Eric Dampier, Dallas-$41 million over the next 4 seasons

4. Cuttino Mobley, LA Clippers-$27.3 million over the next 3 seasons

5. Bobby Simmons, Milwaukee-$29.6 million over the next 3 seasons

6. Stephon Marbury, New York-$42 million over the next 2 seasons

7. Steve Francis, New York-$33.5 million over the next 2 seasons

8. Samuel Dalembert, Philadelphia-$43.7 million over the next 4 seasons

9. Darius Miles, Portland-$26.25 million over the next 3 seasons

10. Brad Miller, Sacramento-$34.13 million over the next 3 seasons

Heavy Hits

- The Lakers have shown why the NBA needs them to be good to be successful. The Lakers/Suns game had the highest ratings of all the NBA games over the weekend. Imagine the ratings if the Lakers were good.


- The Golden State Warriors are ballin! They were able to steal a game from the Mavs. Imagine the NBA was back to the best of 5 or even a best of 3. The Warriors would actually have a shot, but in a best of 7, the best team will win, which means the Mavs will pull through.


- The Yankees/ Red Sox seem to be the only thing that is interesting about baseball. Once again, they deliver a great three game series. The Red Sox have proven that they are the better all around team at the moment. We’ll see how good everybody is in September.


- The HBO special, 24/7 Mayweather and De la Hoya once again delivers great TV, well, at least anytime de la Hoya is not on TV. Unfortunately he lives a much too perfect life with a perfect wife and perfect kids. I am entertained by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his family. The heavily favored is playing the role of the villain perfectly. It reminds of Apollo Creed taunting Rocky Balboa, but Oscar has a much slimmer chance of winning this fight.


- NFL Draft is coming. The NFL is King of All Sports, and will prove it once again. The NFL Draft will gain more ratings then the NBA Finals. That is a Heavy Hitter Guarantee!

HEAVY HITS

- Joey Crawford was suspended for the rest of the season and the playoffs. He lost his cool and tossed Tim Duncan while he was on the bench. Duncan says that Crawford challenged him to a fight. Wow! David Stern is setting up next year’s All Star Game festivities, but this isn’t the love fest between Charles Barkley and Dick Bavetta. Duncan vs. Crawford in a falls count anywhere match.



- A-Rod hits another home run for the Yankees. That gives him 8 for the season. I think the Yankee fans will cheer for him until the end of the week or until his next error. At least we won’t have to hear him talk about how much of a bitch he is.



- Who is watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs? They are televised on a channel nobody knows how to pronounce.



- Vince Young will be on the cover of Madden NFL 08. As a Charger homer, thank God LaDainian Tomlinson is not on the cover. LT avoided being another victim of the “Madden Curse.” Check out the myspace page "Save LT From Madden." The site had 1400 signatures for a petition that was going to be sent to EA sports to have LT not be on the cover. If this curse is legitimate, then Osama Bin Laden or Kim Jong Ill will be my vote to be on next year’s cover.



- The NFL Draft is in 10 days. I will have a NFL Draft exclusive and my mock draft. Looks like the Raiders will draft Jamarcus Russell. Knowing their luck, Brady Quinn will be the next John Elway.



- I hope the Golden State Warriors make the playoffs. They are a young and exciting team, who can give the Dallas Mavericks a run for their money. They have not made it since Chris Webber was on the team in 1994. If they make the playoffs, then the Clippers stay home and enter another draft lottery. Go Warriors!



- Shameless Boxing Plug! I recognize that there are very few boxing fans out there, but I still am a big follower. HBO did a great job with the De la Hoya/Mayweather 24/7 documentary. Excellent insight into both their training camps. Check out on Sat, Apr 21st on HBO boxing after dark, Acelino Freitas vs. Julio Diaz. Two lightweights who are going to try to brawl for the lightweight title. I love it.

Joakim Noah – Why is he a Star?

Plays and looks more like Anderson Varejao then an All Star.




As the Florida Gators capture their 2nd straight national title, CBS focuses on Joakim Noah entering the crowd to see his father, former professional tennis player Yannick Noah. I begin to ask myself, how is this tall, awkward kid the star of this game?

CBS fell in love with Joakim Noah and he was force fed down our throats over the last two years. His hair and personality makes him a larger then life college star. His overall basketball skill has yet to be seen. First of all, he is not even the best player on his team. Corey Brewer and Al Horford are much more polished college players then Noah. After watching the national championship game, you can see that the Florida Gators do not win without Brewer or Horford, but Noah’s presence was not felt during that game. His line for the game was 8 points and 3 rebounds. If that’s what it takes to be a star then I will punch Sasha Vujacic’s ticket to the All Star Game every season. Second, he was outclassed by a much better center in Ohio State’s Greg Oden who scored 25 points and 12 rebounds. Greg Oden showed that he is leaps and bounds above Noah, physically and in basketball talent.

Every great college team has a star that fans can recognize. Florida is a damn good team. They were able to win two national championships in a row in an era of stars bolting for the NBA. Brewer and Horford were not interesting enough to be stars so the media anointed Joakim Noah to be the star of the Florida Gators. He has the makings of a star except the talent to back it up. He is no Carmelo Anthony or Grant Hill. Noah is a polarizing figure that emanates either hatred or love. The Florida fans love him and his intensity while critics make fun of his hair and the weird rotation of his jump shot. Noah incites crowds the same way as Triple H incites WWE crowds. An example of this is when Florida played Kentucky earlier this season. He drove toward the basket and hit the deck very hard. He ended up in the lap of a Kentucky cheerleader who waived her blue and white pompom in his face. Noah responded by swatting the pompom out of her right hand. Very good sportsmanship Joakim!

I like Noah’s hustle and his grit, but he is not a superstar. He is Anderson Varejao in hair and in skill. He will be a good role player in the NBA, but nothing like the stardom he gained in Florida.

Manny Pacquiao – Please Hire Me

Following Manny’s not so surprising victory over Jorge Solis, I plead with him to rearrange his team and hire me.

I have read many articles on the legal problems that have surrounded featherweight sensation Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and I have a solution for all of them. Manny, you must fire your manager, lawyer, Franklin “Jing” Gacal and get rid of all the people you have surrounded yourself with. The next thing you must do is hire me to be your lawyer and manager because I will probably do a better job then both of them combined. I have given a list of reasons why you, Manny, “The Pride of the Philippines ”, should hire me:

I would have never let you sign two promotional contracts at the same time.

According to your trainer, Freddie Roach, in fall 2006 you signed a promotional contract with Oscar De la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and were promised $5 million per fight and a $500,000 signing bonus in straight cash homie!(Randy Moss reference) A month later you then sign another promotional contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank, your promoter from your previous fights. According to my legal expertise, you can’t do that. Your current legal team probably did not take the class that I took at Cal Poly Pomona on contract law. Apparently, you can’t have two promoters for each fight. What the hell was Franklin Gacal doing while you signed both of these contracts? Unlike the stupidity of your current legal team, I would have sign only one contract.

I would have had you sign with Golden Boy Promotions.

You decided to stay with Top Rank, but Golden Boy Promotions has the best featherweight fighters under their promotion. It makes no sense! Earlier this year you had some problems negotiating a rematch with Mexican superstar, Marco Antonio Barrera, which would have been a huge and lucrative fight for you. Instead, Juan Manuel Marquez cashes in and you have a fight with unknown fighter, Jorge Solis. If you were with Golden Boy the negotiations would have been easy because Barrera is promoted by Golden Boy. The only thing that Top Rank could offer you is double Golden Boy’s bonus at $1 million dollars. The only fighters that Arum’s Top Rank can offer you are Jorge Solis and Humberto Soto, who are both unknown and unworthy fighters. Listen to me Manny, great fights make great fighters. You have the potential to be one of the best featherweight champions of all time. In order to reach that level, you must fight the best fighters at your weight class. You should be fighting champions like Barrera, Marquez, Joan Guzman, and Edwin Valero; not the scrubs that Bob Arum sends your way. Come on Manny! You’re better than that! If you hired me, I would do everything in my power to make you the great fighter that you are.

I would have never let you get involved in the political scene of the Philippines.

You have decided to run for congress representing South Cotabato . Dear God! Where do I begin with this one? Stay away from politics especially in the Philippines . Let’s say I have heard stories of the corruption that exist and it is much worse then a left hook from Marquez. Manny, you are not qualified or ready for this. You are uneducated and all your greatest achievements come from knocking guys out. I understand that your “pare” told you that you should run for politics, but all he cares about is taking advantage of you. Stick to what you’re good at. It’s like Jessica Alba deciding to go to school to become an accountant. We all have our talents and yours is knocking out Erik Morales. We need to keep your distractions to a minimum and minimize the politicians who will take advantage of your fame. Not only that, your opponent, incumbent Darlene Antonino-Custodio is an educated and talented politician. She is the youngest women lawmaker in the Philippines congress and her family, the Antonino clan, is political royalty. Good choice for an opponent, Manny! You team pick the best politicians for you to run against, but mediocre boxers to face in the ring. Another point for me!


I feel that those reasons are more then enough for me to get hired. Manny, call me or shoot me over an email. By the way, great San Miguel commercial with Freddie Roach and Erik Morales.