NBA

[Guest xsilentangel]

Celtics played absolutely HORRIBLE in the last two games. WHAT THE HELL!

We start off OK then it all goes downhill.

We need Mr. Clutch.

[Guest a-o]

Question: T-Mac has a 23 million dollar contract this year, but he has played what like 20 minutes so far, does he still get the full 23 million for doing nothing? Same thing for Yao how is his situation is gonna work is he still gonna get his millions even though he will most likely not play any games at all this season?

I believe player contracts in the NBA are generally guaranteed despite injury unless there are some sort of injury/performance related incentives or terms/conditions in a player's contract. I think it's also not guaranteed if a player should retire early while still under contract for non-medical reasons. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

From what I've read, the Rockets are going to try and trade McGrady. He's a hot commodity just because of his expiring contract, but making the salaries work for the trade to go through will be an issue. If they can't trade him, they might negotiate some buyout with him, but it'll largely depend on where he's at right now, i.e., if he still wants to play at all this season, which teams would be interested in signing him as a free agent at this point in the season, if he wants to play for a contender, if he'd be willing to take on a lesser role. If he wanted to just sit this season out to focus on his game or to rehab longer, he would probably just stay put and stay away from the team. Similar to the Stephon Marbury situation last season without the drama.

Yao should still be getting his money for this season unless there were some injury or performance related clauses in his contract.

[Guest 432521]

does anyone know when yao becomes a free agent?

[xman150]

^next season with an option for 2011, i think. as for McGrady, that game that he claimed he wanted to make his return was when the Rockets was starting to make money off of him not playing and collecting insurance money. i think they were able to collect a portion of his game day checks for the games he didn't play.

[Guest DOVAHKIIN]

I guess the days of T-Mac in a Rockets jersey is over. I understand why he wants for minutes, but right now our team is doing great without him and like coach said adding him into the mix could ruin the chemistry the team has right now. I don't really know how I feel about the whole situation because he is one of my favorite players in the league, but he is so injury prone and he has been out of action for so long he can't just expect to be put into the game for 30 minutes. I wonder what team will pick him up whether he leaves a free agent or through a trade. He just isn't the T-Mac of the old and next year being the big free market agent, he either has to take a huge pay cut or just retire.

Question: T-Mac has a 23 million dollar contract this year, but he has played what like 20 minutes so far, does he still get the full 23 million for doing nothing? Same thing for Yao how is his situation is gonna work is he still gonna get his millions even though he will most likely not play any games at all this season?

Yep. Rockets have been able to recover most of McGrady's salary through insurance, like 80% I believe, but he himself will still get $23 million all to himself. It's not a matter of how injury prone he is. Other injury prone guards like Kevin Martin immediately get thrown back with starter minutes and some slowly come back with increasing minutes off the bench back into the starting lineup like Michael Redd or Gilbert Arenas. Playing 7-8 minutes a game isn't a matter of health or caution, it's just Adelman wanting McGrady not to play so the Rockets can keep winning with their balanced rotation. He can just play T-Mac 20 minutes-ish, I'll take him over Chad Budinger but obviously the coach hasn't bothered.

T-Mac will be traded at some point in the season for sure, thanks to his huge expiring contract. Just wait for some teams to fall out of the playoff race (ie the Knicks) The question is, which players can be sent to the Rockets to match the $23 million salary? You'd have to send 3-4 guys to match that most likely which means the Rockets would probably have to throw in some guys with tiny contracts that will expire or can be waived.

Peja Stojaković played only 13 games in 2006-07 for the Hornets and was still paided like the full $13 million. Yao still gets paid his entire salary, most superstars don't get an injury clause I think. Likewise the Rockets get money back from insurance. I don't even think the NBA allows contracts with player incentives and signing bonuses.

[Guest res0nate]

I hope McGrady, Iverson and Amare start the allstar game.

[xkrndreamer]

kobe does is it again

that's why free throws need to be made

or the black mamba is just gonna kill ya

[Guest jas0n]

Damn that 3 from Kobe came out of nowhere, but it was a close match.

[OMGHIyori2U]

Gilbert Arenas and a teammate allegedly drew guns on each other inside the Wizards locker room during practice.

Say goodbye to that fat contract of yours Gilbert!

Oh and maybe their former team name is more appropriate. The Bullets lol

[xkrndreamer]

the lakers losing to the clippers was bound to happen sooner or later

[Guest aznkc]

Gilbert Arenas and a teammate allegedly drew guns on each other inside the Wizards locker room during practice.

Say goodbye to that fat contract of yours Gilbert!

Oh and maybe their former team name is more appropriate. The Bullets lol

he also brought 4 unloaded pistols to his locker

[OMGHIyori2U]

Gilbert Arenas is suspended without pay indefinitely.

Look for the Wizzies to void his massive contract...

[Guest DOVAHKIIN]

^ Uhm, they can't void it if he doesn't get charged with a felony. If it's a misdemeanor, they can't void it.

The guns allegedly drawn in the locker room are the same unloaded ones Arenas brought before.

Common sense people, who threatens with unloaded guns?

Here's the "clarified" version:

The gist of the situation involved a card game on the team charter in which a large amount of money came into dispute. Arenas and Crittenton bickered over Arenas leaving the game because the dollar amount got too big. The subject of shooting Arenas in his bad knee and "getting Crittenton a gun" came up. A day or so later Arenas, the consummate jokster, put several guns on a chair at Crittenton's locker and told him to "choose one" – Crittenton tossed the unloaded guns back at Arenas, saying he had his own. That's the gist of the story.

Stern is suspending Arenas because of this in the recent 76ers vs. Wizards game:

Not to mention Gil was been writing lame John Wayne references on his Twitter making light of the situation. Oh and he called David Stern a "very mean man" to the press when they asked if he was scared of facing Stern more or the government authorities.

So in reality, all Gil did wrong was bring guns to NBA property, which he's not allowed to do. Everything else from there was just childish goofing off.

Or so the fluctuating news keeps saying.

[OMGHIyori2U]

^ Uhm, they can't void it if he doesn't get charged with a felony. If it's a misdemeanor, they can't void it.

Some contracts stipulate certain agreements that a contract can be voided if said person violates those agreements.

From ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4802267

"It is rare for contracts to successfully be voided in the NBA. As such, the Wizards plan to wait out the legal process before deciding whether they will attempt to void Arenas' contract, one source close to the situation told ESPN.com's Marc Stein"

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...rtarenas-100106

Washington Post:

"The Wizards could potentially look into voiding what's left of the six-year, $111 million contract Arenas signed in 2008, but according to multiple sources it is not an option that the team has begun discussing. One source said that the team wouldn't seriously consider it until the legal process plays out. "

Warriors could've voided Monta Ellis' contract after the moped incident, but ultimately decided not to.

If Arenas is suspended for the season, he'll be out $9 million.

[Guest DOVAHKIIN]

Some contracts stipulate certain agreements that a contract can be voided if said person violates those agreements.

From ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4802267

"It is rare for contracts to successfully be voided in the NBA. As such, the Wizards plan to wait out the legal process before deciding whether they will attempt to void Arenas' contract, one source close to the situation told ESPN.com's Marc Stein"

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...rtarenas-100106

Washington Post:

"The Wizards could potentially look into voiding what's left of the six-year, $111 million contract Arenas signed in 2008, but according to multiple sources it is not an option that the team has begun discussing. One source said that the team wouldn't seriously consider it until the legal process plays out. "

Warriors could've voided Monta Ellis' contract after the moped incident, but ultimately decided not to.

If Arenas is suspended for the season, he'll be out $9 million.

That's different, Ellis didn't get charged with any crimes. He just violated a clause in his contract saying that he can't engage in dangerous activities away from basketball. He just DID it, no question what kind of crime it is, since it wasn't even crime. Ellis simply drove into a moped bike which is obviously legal and crashed it.

And your sources are a few days too old. The latest news have clarified the misdemeanour vs. felony consequences for Arenas:

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=14859

Look, you even quote it yourself: "As such, the Wizards plan to wait out the legal process" They can't just do it right now.

[Guest a-o]

From Gilbert's side of the story, I can understand him wanting to make light of tough situations and poking fun at them in order to not let them get the best of him, but he just doesn't seem to be truly apologetic or really get/understand the magnitude of what's going on.

If him wanting to keep the guns away from his daughter was his true intention, that's great, but to bring them to the workplace? Lack of better judgment with a lot his recent actions.

EDIT - Larry Coon sheds more light on the whole suspension/contract angle:

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/201...and-the-league/

[Guest j_and_d_show]

Gilbert Arenas is suspended without pay indefinitely.

Look for the Wizzies to void his massive contract...

http://janddshow.com/?p=660

ultimately, the wizards might have a blessing in disguise because yes, they need to unload his contract and his behavior can void the terms... hes gonna lose out on $80mil if that happens.

i am a big fan but he put himself in this situation by being goofy instead of serious and apologetic.

[OMGHIyori2U]

That's different, Ellis didn't get charged with any crimes. He just violated a clause in his contract saying that he can't engage in dangerous activities away from basketball. He just DID it, no question what kind of crime it is, since it wasn't even crime. Ellis simply drove into a moped bike which is obviously legal and crashed it.

And your sources are a few days too old. The latest news have clarified the misdemeanour vs. felony consequences for Arenas:

http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=14859

Look, you even quote it yourself: "As such, the Wizards plan to wait out the legal process" They can't just do it right now.

What you were saying, or at least how I interpreted what u said, was that the only way a player's contract can be voided is if the player is charged with a felony. That isn't the case, even though your article may say so. It's just VERY HARD to void a contract. A felony just makes it a slam dunk (pun intended) to void a player's contract. If the Wizzies wanted to, they could try to void Arenas' contract now, but it'll be more advantageous (though still difficult), to try and void his contract after the legal battle is over. For one thing, he's suspended without pay. Another, he'll most likely be suspended until the investigation is over. So, without having to pay Gilbert, why not wait till the legal stuff is over and done with in order to try and void his contract?

And like the poster above who quoted the NY Times:

http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/201...and-the-league/

"Any fine or suspension levied by the commissioner concerning the integrity of the game can be grieved if the total financial impact on the player exceeds $50,000. Arenas will be able to grieve any suspension, including the current one, because he stands to lose more than $147,000 for each game he misses.

One thing Stern cannot do is terminate Arenas’s contract. But the Wizards can.

The standard player contract allows the team to rip up the deal if the player fails to conduct himself according to the standards of good citizenship, or engages in acts of moral turpitude. The Wizards could decide that Arenas’s actions meet that standard, and seek to void the rest of his deal."

Again, from ESPN:

"Then there's the future of the roster as a whole. The Wizards could try to void the remainder of Arenas' six-year, $111 million by invoking a morals clause, and team president Ernie Grunfeld might break up the rest of the struggling team as the trade deadline approaches."

As for Monta Ellis, like I said previously, the Warriors could have voided his contract due to the "no dangerous activities" clause, but ultimately decided not to, because of the possibilities of Ellis getting better and ending up in a different team as their competitor.

[Guest DOVAHKIIN]

What you were saying, or at least how I interpreted what u said, was that the only way a player's contract can be voided is if the player is charged with a felony. That isn't the case, even though your article may say so. It's just VERY HARD to void a contract. A felony just makes it a slam dunk (pun intended) to void a player's contract. If the Wizzies wanted to, they could try to void Arenas' contract now, but it'll be more advantageous (though still difficult), to try and void his contract after the legal battle is over. For one thing, he's suspended without pay. Another, he'll most likely be suspended until the investigation is over. So, without having to pay Gilbert, why not wait till the legal stuff is over and done with in order to try and void his contract?

Err I never said that, I was specifically referring to Arenas' situation. Othewise, I would've said you can't do that to any player. I'm well aware of various clauses in a player's contract that can result in termination and null salary. And I know everything about the Monta Ellis situation from before, thanks.

Misdemeanors never result in voided contracts, at least so far. And yes, if Arenas files a grievance, it would be even more difficult for the Wizards to void his contract no matter how serious the investigation results turn out.

It`s similar to the 1997 incident when Latrell Sprewell choked coach P. J. Carlesimo during practice, threatened to kill him and dragged him on the ground. Warriors tried to void his contract, but arbitration said otherwise.

I don't think Arenas' actions are anywhere as bad as Sprewell's to warrant a contract voiding. He's just being childish and if he actually conducts himself in a mature, apologetic manner like Antawn Jamison's pre-game announcement today, the team will probably keep him for trading purposes.

Not to mention, the Wizards are still looking to trade ANYONE on their roster so keeping Arenas around with his contract might entice another franchise to take him. T-Mac in Washington, anyone? o.O

[OMGHIyori2U]

I don't think any team's going to want an injury prone Arenas, his fat contract, and his baggage full of guns.