So, have a gander at these numbers here. They’re contract numbers. It’s one of those eye opening things that is fascinating and upsetting at the same time.
Lord knows I love Elton Brand, but even in his prime, he didn’t deserve the contract he has now. Neither does Josh Smith, who was one of the two PFs who came to the Sixers to fill the vacancy not filled since Barkley. Granted, Brand is currently giving us exactly what he is being paid to do (20/10 a night, mostly defensive rebounds) – it’s just too much. I suppose across the league all PFs get paid this sort of money, but it just seems a bit… wrong, I guess.
All things considered, the Sixers are still not as bad as the Lakers, cap wise. The Lakers are the Yankees of basketball – and they spend $30 million more on payroll than the Sixers. Unlike baseball, there’s a cap and a luxury tax, which is near 1:1 for every dollar over the threshold. Now THAT is dedication to winning.
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How about Larry Brown‘s Bobcats, eh? Everything that man touches literally turns to gold. On paper, they’re an underwhelming team, but Brown has them playing above .500 ball, and they just beat the Cavaliers.
Now, Lisa will grouse how we shouldn’t have let him go, which is true if it were possible, but Larry Brown is a nomad. He’s well traveled across the NBA, and while his tenure with the Sixers was his longest (six years), it wasn’t enough to keep him from uprooting and moving on. Besides, both Michael Jordan and Larry Brown are former Tarheel basketball players, and apparently NC basketball camaraderie runs deep (MJ partly owns the Bobcats).
By the way, you should really take a look at Larry Brown’s wikipedia page. That man was born for the sport of basketball.
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