11/05/24
August 15, 2005
"Bring out your dead!": The NBA's Amnesty waiver deadline is midnight tonight. Interestingly the "Allan Houston rule" was not used on Allan Houston.
posted by lilnemo to basketball at 06:21 PM - 19 comments
Only the Knicks would pass up an opportunity to get Houston off the books. Of course, they do have a plethora of bad contracts to choose from. I hadn't heard about Hoiberg. I sure hoped they worked something out with him or at least let him know. It's not much different than any injured player (for example, Houston's knees), but at least Hoiberg got a rebound or assist once in a while unlike $100 Million Man.
posted by dusted at 08:30 PM on August 15, 2005
Amazing amounts of cash going to some of these players! I mean, aren't these GMs responsible to anybody for making such crap decisions?
posted by billsaysthis at 10:15 PM on August 15, 2005
Last minute award goes to the Mavs for waiving $15 million man Michael "I'm lovin' it" Finley. I'm just praying he doesn't wind up in either Phoenix, San Ant, or Houston. If he does, I guarantee he'll hit the winning shot in a playoff game against Dallas. Good luck, Fin. Go East, old man.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:16 PM on August 15, 2005
Damn, that Hoiberg cut was the most unkindest cut of all. Cold as ice. Still, when I heard he had to have a pacemaker installed, even if it was an ICD (an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator), I kind of figured he was done. Hopefully he went with a Medtronic or some brand other than Guidant at least.
posted by chris2sy at 11:25 PM on August 15, 2005
It was a Shame about Hoiberg, he is a class guy. He still gets the remaining money on his contract and if he can play again someday he may wind up with the T-wolves anyway.
posted by daddisamm at 12:28 AM on August 16, 2005
Taylor claims he waived Hoiberg so that there'll be no pressure on the Mayor to come back early. Supposedly, Hoiberg can coach this year and will be welcomed back onto the roster next year. You can believe that or not... I'm not sure where I stand.
posted by cobra! at 09:03 AM on August 16, 2005
Interesting Marc Stein column about the 4-5 teams most likely to get Michael Finley now that he's been waived. If I had to bet, I'd go with Phoenix, since he could compete with Raja Bell for a starting job. I can't see him in Miami with 'Toine again. That partnership helped wreck his career.
posted by dusted at 11:51 AM on August 16, 2005
Being from Minnesota and being a Wolves fan for as long as I can remember, Hoiberg was one of my favorites ever. He is such a nice upstanding guy, and if anyone deserves millions, its him. I still think it's awesome he never once got a technical in his career.
posted by tina at 08:02 PM on August 16, 2005
I like the Hoiberg move...he gets the money, the team saves on the luxury tax, and no one is pressuring him to have an impact in the postseason. Maybe he'll even be able to show Hudson what an open 3-point look is...
posted by BearsNextYear at 12:22 AM on August 17, 2005
Hoiberg is destined for a Spurs or Pistons uniform. He'd be perfect. Maybe Miami or Phoenix. This will end up being good for Fred. Unless he really, really loved Minnesota. I can't believe they didn't use this on Houston. That makes no sense whatsoever.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:33 AM on August 17, 2005
That's because you don't live in New York and have to watch the Dolan brain trust operate each year. To them, no sense always makes sense.
posted by ajaffe at 08:44 AM on August 17, 2005
Knicks best case scenario: Waive Junk, Houston retires and they'll save a combined $81 million in salary and tax payments. Knicks worst-case scenario: Houston doesn't retire and plays 10 minutes per game while making top-five money. Source. Read the entire article - it's amazing how badly that team is run.
posted by dusted at 11:20 AM on August 17, 2005
The Allan Houston fiasco is not one of those situations that at the time it was okay, but in retrospect it was dumb. At the time, everyone said "WHAT??!! That's far above market for a player of his caliber. What are the Knicks thinking??" And it has only gotten worse from there.
posted by bperk at 11:41 AM on August 17, 2005
I remember seeing an interview of him on FSN north, and he said he wanted to stay in Minnesota for the rest of his career because of his family. He thought is was the best fit for them. His story is so sad to hear. :(
posted by tina at 11:51 AM on August 17, 2005
His story is so sad to hear. :( Uhm, the part about him making a ton of dough to play basketball or the part where he may have to live in a nice condo in some other city 5-6 months out of the year if he decides he wants to keep playing rather than retire now?
posted by yerfatma at 12:03 PM on August 17, 2005
Mark Cuban's contrite explanation of why Michael Finley was waived: Although we have succeeded on the court to the point of 5 straight 50 plus win seasons, we certainly didnt do it “the best way” . We did it the most expensive way. It cost us flexibility and created lots of bad habits. That was my mistake and it ended up costing us Mike. The Mavs calculated that by waiving Finley, they would save $90 million over the next three years. Even Cuban, worth an estimated $1.3 billion, thinks "thats a lot of money."
posted by dusted at 01:42 PM on August 17, 2005
Come on!!! He had heart surgery, it is really sad to hear. And I think he deserves every nice thing that comes his way.
posted by tina at 10:26 PM on August 17, 2005
Dan Rosenbaum on Mark Cuban's explanation:
"[I]f a player produces less than his contract is worth, he is not an asset to the Mavs or any other team that he might be traded to. This reality becomes more important in a league with a luxury tax that doubles (or more than doubles) the costs of adding a player. In essence, we get back to the principle that a player is an "asset" only if his marginal productivity exceeds the marginal cost he adds to the team . . . players who don't fit into a role on a team . . . run the risk of seeing their asset value fall over time."
posted by yerfatma at 11:48 AM on August 18, 2005
A lot of the players who were "waived" were already bought out by the team but apparently still counted against the tax. Saw-it-coming-a-mile-away Award: Los Angeles Lakers for waiving Brian Grant. Thats-cold-Obi-Wan Award: Minnesota Timberwolves for waiving (allegedly) Fred Hoiberg. Who just recently had a pacemaker installed.