Afternoon Roundup

I read Steve’s post about Kaman and he makes some excellent points. If you are 7 foot tall and have a pulse, you get paid in the range of contracts that guys like Kaman, Dalembert and Chandler got paid.

But are they REALLY worth that much? My answer is no.

It’s true theres a supply shortage of 7 foot traditional Centers in this league, and thats why mediocre players get signed to ridiculous contracts for being able walk and chew gun. We could go on for hours and multiple pages listing centers that have been overpaid in their lives and can maybe only count on 1 hand the truly dominating players at the position for the last 50 years. There is a huge chasm between breathing air and being 7 foot tall, or being Yao Ming or Shaq O’Neal.

As far as value though, and worth, these are pretty subjective things. Sure there is a demand for traditional centers, theres really only 4 guys in the league that teams would want to build around at the position, and the rest are seen as contract burdens on their respective teams. Its interesting to note that Steve compares Kaman to both Dalembert and Chandler, 2 guys who’s teams are also trying to unload in order to free those salary requirements for more dynamic scorers at other positions.

Then you look at the way teams are moving towards a running game and how most 6’10-7 foot kids are playing PF/C instead of being traditional Centers. The league is morphing into a quicker, more athletic game, and that includes the guys playing the 5. Many teams will sign 5 PF’s and rotate their guys between the 4 and 5 spots in order to get quicker and to get better offensive production.

That makes me believe that the market for air breathing 7 footers that occasionally try to block a shot is deteriorating. Those players that were signed to these kinds of deals are being moved around, teams have concluded that they simply arent worth the hit to their salary cap for the production they are putting out on the floor. If they were truly playing at the level of expectation based on what they were being paid, they wouldnt be on the trade block to begin with. They would be immovable, you couldnt throw enough money at the team to get them to part with the player. But that isnt the case.

Then you look at the success stories in the league. Teams are running and gunning with 3 guards or 3 forwards on the floor and no center for miles unless its to give fouls to stop clock. People are trying to get faster, quicker, more athletic, have more threats on the floor at a single time rather than running your traditional half-court game. Everyone wants to be the new D’Antoni. They want a franchise PG that can run the team now, not a franchise C that bangs down low.

So yes, while Chris was signed during a period where the average 7 footer made 10m a season, that doesnt make it a good deal. It was a bad deal. Better than Ostertags deal, but still a bad deal. Thats why every other team that signed a guy for the same amount of money (Chandler, Dalembert) is trying to get rid of them. They arent getting what they paid for. Sure that might have been where “the market was” for a player “of that type (size)” but that doesn’t mean they are actually worth it. In each of the cases where the C is up on the block, who are they competing with for minutes on the depth charts? More athletic PF/C’s with offensive mindsets (Hilton Armstrong, DeAndre Jordan and Marreesse Speights).

The game is changing. I dont think that we’ll be seeing ridiculous contracts for air breathing 7 footers anymore, especially with the economy as hampered as it is. These contracts will float around, trying to be traded with the excuse that the salary will drop off the books. But each of these teams has come to the same conclusion regarding their big men: they arent worth what they are getting paid.

Kaman isn’t an air-breathing center. He was the best player on the team in the first half of 2007, and arguably should’ve been an All-Star that year. I remember people talking about either Kaman or Camby for that spot, forgot who it wound up going to. Kaman’s main problem has been his inability to stay healthy. Even in these last few games when he came back, he showed flashes of Kaman 2.0. I say hang on to him, or at least make him part of a trade for a decent wing. This “over-paid” non-sense needs to stop, you can make that argument for more than half the guys in the league.

kamen is a worldclass stiff who has never done anything to improve his game or to get stronger so that he can finish at the rim-something guys half his size can do with ease. moreover he has the brain wattage of a dim bulb & can rarely catch the ball when it is thrown to him. of course at the end of games he gets easily rattled & usually throws the ball away. yes he has raw talent,but what’s the point if the result is pathetic. i blame some of the above on our wonderful coach who has never done enough to make it clear to chris that there would be consequences if he didn’t try harder & who trated him like a loveable goofball rather than as a professional athlete making $10 million a year. could kamen turn out to be a decent player?-possibly,but playing for this coach.

Who is Zach’s attorney? I want him on speed dial. I plan on hittin the Hollywood clubs this weekend doing some sambuca shots, bitch slapping Rihanna and swerving home at 120 MPH flashing my lights at crane operators with a .18 BAC.

Go Clips!