BDT Thought of the Day (Mar 3)

That's right Pryzbilla, I've got a new nickname for you!

I want to preface this post by saying that I'm going to be trying to put up at least one post per day from now on. I can't promise this will happen consistently, but I'm going to work hard at it.  Between work, family, watching/playing sports, and podcasts, I have very little to write detailed, stat supported blog posts. So, I'm going to try to post one or two paragraphs a day about any sports topic that interests me. ON TO THE POST!

This was certainly one of the most action filled and exciting trade deadlines of my NBA life. Two bona fide superstars changed teams, plenty of quality starters were moved, and draft picks were handed out like marijuana at a Dave Matthews concert. I started writing a big trade deadline grades post, but then realized that; A) Trade deadline grade columns are being written faster than Baron Davis can gain 20 pounds, B) It's impossible/dumb to hastily assign grades before we see any results, and C) It's already a week past the deadline so everyone has already used up all the fat Baron Davis jokes I wanted to include.

While most of the focus has been on the players that changed teams, and rightly so, I found the trades to be equally as fascinating from the front office point of view. Look, I get that there's a lot of stuff I don't understand about how to run an NBA team. I get that it's easy for me to sit here and rip guys for moves I think are dumb. Fine. Really though, what am I supposed to think when Michael Jordan trades Gerald Wallace to Portland for White Shrek, 2 future D-Leaguers (those 1st rd picks that Jordan is sure to waste), and a bag of basketballs only 8 months after giving Tyrus Thomas a ridiculous 5 year $40 million contract?!?!

Let's recap:
      -Gerald Wallace (good) is given away for almost nothing
      -Deron Williams (superstar) is practically given away for almost nothing
      -The Hawks donate a 1st round pick to Washington to swap one bad point guard (Bibby)
        for another (Hinrich), both with equally unappealing contracts
      -Phoenix gives away yet another 1st round pick along with the talented Goran Dragic to get an
        undersized, injury prone, shoot first point guard in Aaron Brooks who, by the way, is in the last year
        of his contract and will either be vastly overpaid or gone

Those weren't even the worst of the bunch! At least I can sorta defend each trade (but not with a straight face). The dumbest deadline deal this year was the one deal that didn't even go through, thus reaching the apex of ineptitude and incompetency. Yes, I'm referring to the failed OJ Mayo trade. In business, of course, the idea is to buy low and sell high. One would assume that an individual running an NBA team would have these types of basic business principles down pat, but apparently they don't require any type of college degree or common sense to be employed as an executive with the Memphis Grizzlies. Sure, Mayo has not played well this year. Yes, he's had some legitimite off court issues, both before and during this season, that bring his character strongly into question. So what's the problem? Heres the problem; THEY TRIED TO FREAKING GIVE AWAY A SUPER TALENTED PLAYER FOR A BAD 1ST ROUND PICK AND A PLAYER WHO DOESN'T BELONG IN THE NBA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Say what you will about Mayo, but he's really good and the Pacers should be devastated they screwed up an opportunity to steal him.

At this point, you've either stopped reading or you're sitting there thinking, "I thought he said this would only be one or two paragraphs." Yeah, I went long. In all reality, if you listen to my podcasts, you should have figured out there was a 100% chance I was going long. I go long every single time I get riled up (which is very often) and nothing gets me more riled up than stupid NBA personnel moves. I feel I can say this with confidence; the NBA collectively has the worst management of all the professional sports. In what league does a team sign a merit-less player like Tyrus Thomas to a huge guaranteed contract, only to turn around 8 months later and deal their best player for no tangible assets? In what league can you obtain a kings ransom for a draft pick which has the same statistical odds of succeeding as Charlie Sheen does of kicking his addictions? In case you missed it, here's some of the headlines from Trade Deadline 2011. "League loses its mind, good players donated to Salvation Army." "NBA execs prove incompetence, give proverbial middle finger to fan base." "Owners prove how dumb they are, now we understand why teams are hemorrhaging money." "Good players put on clearance rack, was your team smart enough to package crap to trade for them?"