2010 NBA offseason draft, FA, etc etc...

If things turn out like they look like they will, and none of the very top FAs sign with the Knicks, can we PLEASE put to rest this absurd notion that playing in LA or NYK is worth tens of millions of dollars in extra endorsements?

 

Be funny if The Suns indirectly stick it to the Knicks again like they did with Marbury.

 

I do think Jordan is not Jordan if he did the same thing in Portland. It does help a lot to be in a major market.

 

ucacm...how do you know playing in NYC or LA isn't worth all that extra money in endorsements?

Didn't Forbes get their hands on the Knicks' powerpoint presentation to LeBron? Or was that fake? Just saw a headline somewhere earlier today.

 

One thing to keep in mind: According to http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-freeagency-100629/cap-room-summary, the Bulls do not currently have the cap room to outright sign two guys to max deals. They still need to dump about 3.5 million in salary, or convince someone to take on Luol Deng's 10+ mil per year in a S&T.

If the Bulls do swing for two max players, I would be interested to see if they would be able to hang on to Noah and Rose. Noah's rookie contract is up after this coming season, and Rose's rookie contract is up after the 2012 season. After a couple of seasons, Bosh & Wade would be making in the 17-18 million dollar range. I imagine Noah will demand something like 8-10+ million per season. Rose will demand the max. Then, there's Luol Deng. Deng is scheduled to make 10+ mil through 2014.

18 mil x 2 = 36 mil. 14 mil for Rose. 9 mil for Noah (they better hope Noah's offensive game doesn't improve too much this season, or he could get a lot more). That is 59 million among four players. If the Bulls can't get rid of Deng, he'll be making 12 or 13 mil when Rose is due for an extension. That would be 71 million in payroll. The luxury tax kicks in around the mid 60s. For every dollar a team spends in salaries over, lets say, 66 million, they've got to pay an equal amount in luxury tax. To round out the roster with 2-3 decent players and a bunch of minimum players would push their payroll to the 90 million to 100 million range, not counting luxury tax payments.

There's also the issue of Derrick Rose wanting to be "the man" in a couple of years. Is he the type of guy that's willing to take a backseat to a couple of other players?

 

There's no way LeBron won't make more money if he goes to NYC than staying in Cleveland, but that's not reason enough to go. Chicago would be a great fit, except for the whole "He'll never be better than Jordan." that he'll hear even if he wins a title every year he's there. I'd love to see him stun the world and go play for the Nets or the Mavs, but I doubt there's much chance of that happening.

 

LeBron's on Twitter. Not a single post. But 46,000 followers.

http://twitter.com/kingjames

A publicist confirmed it's really him. I'm guessing he breaks the news on this. King James. At least he doesn't have an oversize ego.

 

how many of those 46K followers are NBA reporters?

 

Two quarterbacks named Manning. One Super Bowl Ring each. Which one is the major endorsement star? The one in Indianapolis, not the one in New York.

 

really getting exciting now.

 

See Favre, Brett.

As evidence that New York does not help - look at Eddy Curry. I don't think he has gotten one endorsement opportunity since he has been with the Knicks.

 

Bad comparison. The NFL has maybe 5-7 guys who are recognized enough to get national ads. Plus Peyton is about 100X better than Eli. Also, Peyton is an admitted whore for commercials.