JonBoy418

quote: Originally posted by Miller4Prez64:Acie Law is trash. I'm sure GS would rather have Watson and if they don't then that says a lot about Watson. Also, everyone here is raving about his ability to play the 2 as well. Did any of you stop and think the Warriors could just play him there too? If they don't match I'll happily eat crow but I see no reason for them to let a young player that wouldn't cost much walk for nothing. Your first sentence is pure speculation. Nobody except the GS front office knows who they would rather have. Not Otis, not you. But what Otis is doing is forcing their hand. We'll know in 7 days who they would rather have. Personally, I don't see why they wouldn't resign him at the price tag given. But at least Otis is out there in safe low risk high reward situations. It's like the lotto, low risk high reward, that's why it's a billion dollar industry. And let's say GS takes the full 7 days to match and we lose out on Barnes, lost out on Daniels, lose out on Carney, well then there goes our championship dream!!![/sarcasm] Or Nelson goes down after the trade deadline and AJ is required to fill in as permanent starter. There goes our championship dreams![/reality] CJ lessens the blow and we had an opportunity to attempt to snag him on the cheap. You mention that this is a waste of time, what should we be doing in the meantime, completely disregard every single RFA out there, because it will be a waste of time since every team would match given the low $1.7 million price tag? Between PG and SG Golden State has: Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, Acie Law, Speedy Claxton, Azubuike, Marco Belinelli, Corey Maggette, and CJ Watson if they match... That's 8 players for two positions!!! Take out the "scrubs" of Claxton and Law and that's still 6 players! It's safer than most RFA situations out there at this time. Roll the dice Otis who do we have to lose??

The point is, we have only $1.7 million to offer any player. That type of money puts any highly coveted free agent out of our grasp. Meaning 7 days isn't going to break down the entire offseason plan. Otis is out there attempting to sign a decent, young combo guard (he can play SG in short minutes) with ALL the money available. It's not like he's trying to low ball CJ or GS. What else is he supposed to do, sit back and say, we only have $1.7 million to offer CJ, why even try?

quote: Originally posted by Miller4Prez64:Just because Barnes hasn't signed doesn't mean he won't. Daniels is only getting .2 more from the Celtics than he wouldve got from us. I want us to atleast target a player we can actually have. I'm just hoping the Warriors won't wait seven days to match. This is just a waste of time. I'd be happy with CJ Watson, but he's not coming here. GS is not letting a young talent leave for nothing just because they have scrubs like Acie Law and Speedy Claxton. Anyone who thinks he's not getting matched is fooling themselves, including Otis. I think signing CJ is a very saavy part on management's behalf and here are my reasons: - I never understood the need for a player like Barnes or Carney on this team. Between SG and SF we have the following players capable of playing: VC, Lewis, Pietrus, JJ, Anderson. Of that, VC and JJ at SG. That's 2-3 deep at each position. - The glaring need here is a back up PG. With Jameer's tendancy to injury, we need a relaible back up. AJ is good for short minutes off the bench, but we saw where it left us last season. This should be the priority. - CJ Watson is a combo guard that fits this system perfectly. When given starter minutes last season, his stats were just a notch below Jameer's. He's young and has an upside. Now, from my understanding, you're not caught up with whether or not you like CJ the player. Instead it seems you're caught up on contractual timing and terms. And that's fine if you really believe it. But let's look at this from Orlando's point of view: We have a whooping $1.7 million to offer any player. You have a player that you like as a RFA in a system that already has 3-4 PGs. Regardless for GS affinity for him, what do you have to lose? 7 days? Who cares? A 2nd string PG or a 3rd team wing is not the difference between a championship. At $1.7 million, players are going to wait and see their market value before "settling" on that amount. This type of contract usually doesn't get signed before August or September. Why, because the player will try and get more money from teams with more money to offer. Restricted Free Agents are different in the way they can shop themselves because the Warriors can still sign him without affecting their MLE (like we did with Gortat). With RFAs, it becomes more of a need or a necassity with the originating team. The Magic are challenging the Warriors to either keep CJ or allow us to sign him. There's a 7 day deadline to make a decision. You're comparing this too closely to the Gortat situation and how Dallas got burned. But it's not the same situation. Dallas challenged us on a need for this team, we matched. It's the business and the risk. However, their risk was far greater than where we stand. Dallas tried to justify and minimize their risk by stating that we had Dwight and there's no way they would match that amount. So they challenged us on a potential starter with a large sum of money while there were options available. You know how it ended. Again, we only have $1.7 million to offer (where players can afford to wait) on a 2nd string PG. We challanged GS and we've got very little to lose and a small amount of risk.

quote: Originally posted by AddiFB:No. Otis is a businessman and a straight up guy. He made an offer to Hedo that he thought was fair and reasonable for Hedos worth and Hedo (or his agent) turned it down. That's why Otis acted "quickly" to get a solid replacement for Hedo since he clearly didn't want what the Magic had to offer. So they are going to let him (Hedo) try out the free agent market but we'll see if he gets a better deal than he was offered. Otis doesn't beg guys to stay. He has his plan and a budget from RDV to spread out on different guys. I'll miss Hedo, love the guy but the NBA is a business. Not a band camp. Furthermore with what this guy said... You don't want for Hedo to test the free agent market and sit passively. That's allowing the player to control the franchise. As we wait for Hedo, all other options are signing with their new teams. All of a sudden mid August comes and Hedo's the only decent free agent left without a contract and has all the leverage...

Did you just give yourself a Post of the Year Award? That's great! Seriously, Turk and Carter are very similar, but Carter has more tools and athleticism. We don't need both players. What we need is a good PF that allows Shard to go back to his natural position at SF. If you bring in Sheed, you bring a big man rebounder with a legit 3 point touch. You can still stretch the defense, you still have the 2, 3 and 4 as legit three point threats. What intruiges me about Sheed more than anything is the attitude of toughness that this team desperately needs. I still have nightmare visions of Howard trying to dance around Gasol to get to the hoop in Game 5. Plow over him and get the dunk! That's the toughness this team needs and you need that one bad *** player to create that spark. Lambieer, Rodman, Bowen, Shaq, later Shaq paired with Haslem. All these championship teams had a tough attitude. The Magic are more concerned with hurting the other team's feelings.

quote: Originally posted by MagicFanBen: quote: Originally posted by JonBoy418: quote: Originally posted by MagicFanBen:Also for the record, Hedo cannot officially opt out until Jul 1st. Do you think this move might conVINCE him not to opt out since coming back might be less likely and the Magic would be a stronger deeper team if he stays? If you could tell me one professional athlete who took $7 million over a potential 5 year $70 million contract, thus taking a $63 million dollar pay cut.... Then yeah sure, anything is possible. There is no way Hedo gets a $63 million dollar contract. $50-55 million MAYBE but that is starting at $8.5 with raises for 5 years. Okay, would you rather have $50 million dollars or $7 million. Hedo will opt out.

quote: Originally posted by chosen12: quote: Originally posted by JonBoy418: quote: Originally posted by MagicFanBen:Also for the record, Hedo cannot officially opt out until Jul 1st. Do you think this move might conVINCE him not to opt out since coming back might be less likely and the Magic would be a stronger deeper team if he stays? If you could tell me one professional athlete who took $7 million over a potential 5 year $70 million contract, thus taking a $63 million dollar pay cut.... Then yeah sure, anything is possible. Not many teams have the ability ($$) to through at Hedo for that in this cycle! Most who do have room, are looking to through that type of money at the 2010 FA. It is possible! C'mon people!!! His agent is looking at getting up to 10-11 million per year which is around a $70 million contract. Even if Hedo would get the MLE that would be around 5 year $45 million contract, which would then leave $38 million on the table. Hedo will opt out!!! It's not even a discussion, it's not even worth talking about. He'll take the best deal out there. Name me one player IN THEIR PRIME who took a significant pay cut to be loyal?

You're letting your emotions get the best of you. Obviously Lee was a fan favorite, mine too at that. But let's not be jaded to think that Lee will ever, ever be on the same level as a Vince Carter. If not for possible financial implications,; based on talent, you make that trade 101 times out of 100.

quote: Originally posted by MagicFanBen:Also for the record, Hedo cannot officially opt out until Jul 1st. Do you think this move might conVINCE him not to opt out since coming back might be less likely and the Magic would be a stronger deeper team if he stays? If you could tell me one professional athlete who took $7 million over a potential 5 year $70 million contract, thus taking a $63 million dollar pay cut.... Then yeah sure, anything is possible.

Hello to all! I am in an ESPN Baseball Keeper league where we are looking for two replacement owners. You would keep 4 keepers from one of the teams, at least one hitter and at least one pitcher. It's a fun league and a good time during the dreaded offseason. Let me know if you're interested and I'll get you in.

Hello to all! I am in an ESPN Baseball Keeper league where we are looking for two replacement owners. You would keep 4 keepers from one of the teams, at least one hitter and at least one pitcher. It's a fun league and a good time during the dreaded offseason. Let me know if you're interested and I'll get you in.

quote: Originally posted by Jackie Treehorn:I find it interesting that cornrows are so often mentioned in this kind of discussion. The notion that a certain hairstyle has anything to do with someone being a good person or not is absurd to me. And when you look around, the cornrows really aren't that common in the league. It's not like every team has three guys that wear them. But even if that were the case, I fail to see how that has any relevance unless "cornrowed thugs" is simply a substitution for "black people". On a related note, I tend to take an unpopular stance when it comes to athletes and the money they make. I know a lot of people seem to be of the opinion that these guys make way too much money and that they're spoiled or whatever else gets thrown around, which somehow makes the games less fun to watch. I don't buy that. These people are entertainers, and when you take into consideration the vast amount of money that flows through these sports leagues, the salaries seem plenty fair to me. I've never really understood why guys like Terrell Owens are so universally despised. The guy doesn't break laws, he doesn't hurt anyone. He entertains, and he gets people to watch the games. Same with Chad Johnson. This becomes even more absurd when you consider how widely respected Ray Lewis is. I used cornrows as an example to further perpetuate my original idea. The perception to White America is that these are cry baby thugs with cornrows. It's a stereotype that hits straight to the core of racism. Yes thugs with cornrows is a euphamism to say black people. Yes this issue is deeply rooted in racism because it is the black athelete that is being nakedly marketed. I realize cornrows aren't common in the league. And personally, I can only think of Iverson with cornrows (and to be honest, I can't even remember if he has them now). But remember, I am talking about perception, not reality. It's ignorance and it's sad. We here all have one thing in common: we love basketball. That's why a significant protion of our time is dedicated to this site. We are passionate about the game and find it exciting. We are not a part of this article, so we can easily find the absurdity of my argument. But remember, I'm discussing perception and racism fuels that perception. As for the money and ego aspect of it: yes all players are entertainers. However, a lot of people (you yourself said it's an unpopular stance) look at them getting paid to play a game. Other entertainers could include singers or actors, but how many people do you know go to the stage to perform to blow off some steam, as opposed to hit the courts? Sports is an area that all people can relate, empathize and involve themselves with. That's why we hold atheltes to a lower standard of entertainer than the pop superstars and A list actors. But I'll hold to my original theory, that despite the NFL's malcontents, the NBA markets to its players (good characters or bad) who are out there without the helmets or pads to disguise themselves. That's why there is so much more negative attention.

I like some of the suggestions on this board, but I think it's a little bit of everything. Here's my take on it: I think it's a combination of the current marketing stucture and racism. Let me explain: Basketball in the '50, '60's and '70's the '80's were dominated by mainly the Lakers and the Celtics. You had great players like George Mikan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem, Magic, Larry Bird, etc. However, right around the time David Stern took over as commish, Jordan took over the league. David Stern saw the potential with Jordan and took a new apporach at marketing within the NBA. Before it was a team approach, Celtic vs. Laker with a sub-story line of Bird vs. Magic. Now it was Michael Jordan (not really the Bulls) vs. the NBA. This was when the marketing frenzy really took over: McDonalds (off the arch, off Grimace's head, nothing but net), Gatorade (Be like Mike), and of course the single aspect that will change sports marketing forever: the Air Jordans. But you know what? It worked. The NBA was the most successful during that time, with 6 of the top 9 Nielson ratings. But change was coming. As Jordan retired, the marketing model stayed. More players came into the league and more players were marketed. How many different players have you heard being called the next Jordan? This created a perfect storm for young NBA players without the charisma and work ethic of Jordan to receive major media spotlight. Couple that air time with major money contracts being signed, the player ego had taken over. From there, you have players like Spree saying he needs money to feed his family or Iverson's practice comments, or Kobe's **** trial, or Kobe vs. Shaq feud, or Artest running into the stands or Josh Howard's comments about the National Anthem. It's gotten to the point that if a team's star player doesn't like the coach, well that star player will eventually get his way and the coach will be fired (writing is on the wall for Terry Porter). Players are even now demanding to be traded, publicly. The players currently hold the power, and they know it and sometimes abuse it. The perception to White America is that the NBA is full of cry baby thugs (with cornrows) who always get what they want. Yes, there is a major theme of racism at this point, because now the black athelte is held in the forefront with the current marketing model. It has White America asking, "well who's the next Larry Bird?" This has a little bit to do with the lack of sporting equipment as well as eluded to in the original article. No helmet, no caps or masks. The NBA player is bare out there, and it ultimately perpetuates to White America that this is a black athetle acting this way. The NFL, MLB and college game is run much differently, from a marketing standpoint. Teams are still marketed. You go to watch the Yankee's vs. Boston. Not A-Rod vs. Big Papi. You go see Duke vs. UNC, you go see the Tampa Bay Bucs. With basketball, you go see Howard vs. Garnett or Kobe vs. CP3. It creates a very unstable fan base becuase with the amount of player movement within the NBA, they loyal following is not there. For a closer example of this: have we seen, here in this forum, as sharp decline of Carlos Arroyo followers? What has that done for the Magic, or the traffic to this website? This kind of fan base team jumping does not occur in the NFL, or in MLB. I guarentee that Packer fans did not abandon their Green Bay team in order to now root for the Jets. Now, how many people here (and be honest with yourselves) would abandon the Magic if Dwight Howard left for another team?

quote: Originally posted by zollman1:Go to ticketmaster for the 11/18 game against the Raptors. Enter the password BUZZ1TOR in the Complimentary Ticket Offer box. Make sure to select TicketFast as your ticket delivery method. Cost $9.80 for 4 tix, they are upper bowl behind the basket, but I got row E Let's load up the Amway Arena and make some NOISE! Our crowd is so soft most of the time it is a disgrace.. Wow!! What a great deal!!! How did you find out about this? I'm taking this opportunity to take my 2 year old to his first Magic game!!!!

quote: Originally posted by Lewis4thewin: quote: Originally posted by JonBoy418:The problem now is that administrators and superintendants now focus on the lower level student to increase his test grades, therefore raising the schools grade. With all that focus, the overacheiving student is being lost. If a child gets an A on the FCAT, then there really much emphasis put into further developing his education. Whereas an F student gets school sponsered tutoring sessions, he gets streamlined (which you are probably describing Smack), and gets a lot more teacher involvement. For this reason above, I do not agree that each child's education should be equal. A child with a 140 IQ should not have the same education, teachers, ciriculum and tools as a child with a 90. Education should strive for each student to try and reach the next level his or her intelectual potential, but because of the FCAT and No Child Left Behind, all the focus is on the lower level student. It's causing our low level students to become average students, our average students to stay average students and our great students to become good students. Frankly, we're creating an education system that perpetuates and strives for mediocrity. Our great students are still continuing to overachieve as schools keep including programs that deal with competition. The biggest instance of this is the late elementary-middle school math program. My youngest sister just went into 6th grade at the same middle school I went to. From 4th grade on if you can test into the advanced math section you get to learn in an honors type of setting. Right now in 6th grade she's taken Pre Algebra(something that wasn't offered to me in the gifted program until 8th grade). Now shes on track to be taking Algebra I in 7th grade, Algebra II in 8th grade, Pre-calc as a freshman, Calculus AB as a sophmore, Calc BC as a junior, and whatever math they decide to make available as a senior. That's great for your sister, it really is. However, you're just mentioning Math classes as her accelerated accomodation. I ask you to test her school and see if the same opportunity exists within English, Literature, Sciences like Biology, Chemistry and Physics. What about History or Communications? The state of Florida requires each school to have a "gifted accomodation" in at least one subject. Most schools offer just one, as it is the minimmum requirement Usually it's in Math or English, seeing as those are core classes. Now it sounds like your sister is gifted, if she's on such an accelerated path. Now, another question is her teacher in those course have her gifted endorsement? A lot of teachers in that position are just thrown into a gifted class to teach. But in relaity, how do you teach a ciriculum to a student with a higher IQ than yourself? That's exactly what happened with my wife. As I said earlier, she taught 7th grade English and got thrown into a gifted class (her school did not offer an accelerated program for Math). She used that as motivation to get her gifted endorsement through Ornadge County (she had to pay for those classes, BTW). Now with those classes and endorsements she better equipped and prepared to reach, challenge and motivate those students. Without it, the students got bored and turned "lazy." Another question: does her class have a student or two that really don't belong in that class? Are they failing because they can not grasp the information or the connections being made? They are typically the ones with behavioral problems, act out in class, are unmotivated and need excessive time to "catch them up" to the rest of the class. This is called main streaming (I called it streamlining earlier, my apologies). This is where an average or good student(s) are placed in a class above their intellectual skill level in hopes of challenging their education. Obviously, through the examples cited above, they tend to bring down the rest of the classes quality of education. Okay, one more question: does your sister have specialized tracking in her gifted education where she gets one on one attention with her teacher? In my wife's school lower level students (or the PC term ESE students) have an ESE teacher that follows the same group of ESE children (approx. 12) around the entire day, from class to class and co-teach with each regular teacher in an attempt to main stream these children. This ESE teacher helps these students by organizing their school work and homework for them (entitilement complex?), is available for one on one sessions, and of course this teacher must be ESE certified so she is prepared and equipped with the tools to help each and every student. So it's great that your sister is lucky enough to coincidentally attend a school that has gifted classes towards her gift. If she wasn't gifted in Math but gifted in English, she'd be stuck in normally taught English ciriculum with no possibility to move to a school that offers gifted math. It's painfully obvious to see where the priorities lie and I think it's wrong. All it's doing, as I said before, is breed a mediocre education and guarentee that the next great business man, or scientist, or inventor will not be coming from the United States.