Knowing that this blog is where people come to for their up to date information on collective bargaining and the National Basketball Association and, specifically, the Raptors...
Of the facts reported on the new CBA, it appears to be great news for the Raptors:
1) The best players, worth the Maximum contracts allowed, get a small pay bump from 30% to 35% of the team's salary cap.
This will really only impact Kyle Lowry, as he's likely to get the max or just under at some point in the Winter or summer. I can't imagine him leaving the Raptors, his family is reported to be really well settled, he loves his teammates, and he's not likely to join the Cavs, Warriors, Clippers or Spurs...so...so far so good. DeRozan and Lowry are the only two max level players the Raptors are likely to have for the next three seasons.
1b) It became a more difficult choice for players like Durant to leave their original team and join a super team. This makes the formation of another Eastern Conference super team unlikely (sorry Boston).
Their original team, assuming the player is an actual star, can re-sign the player for more money and more years earlier in the contract.
2) The minimum contracts for rookie players are going up. As is the minimum contract for veterans. This is going to make it difficult for teams trying to catch the Raptors to get better.
This is great news in the sense that the Raptors contract situation is more or less set for the next two or three seasons. Teams who are looking to acquire players are going to be really squeezed out by the new CBA: Their first year players are going to be eating up a higher percentage of the salary cap, as will their star player(s) leaving less middle ground for veteran acquisitions. Free agent signing are going to become even more rare. Once again: it's kind of addition by subtraction for the Raptors: They don't have any glaring needs or big acquisitions to make. Teams looking to catch them do, and it just got harder to do that.
2b) One consequence of this will be any player signed between summer 2014 and summer 2016 is likely to have a very valuable contract. Players like Ross, Patterson, Valunciunas, Carroll, and Joseph are going to be incredibly valuable to the Raptors as they'll be getting paid way under market value. This also makes a combination of them plus draft picks a really attractive package for a team who may be looking to trade a star player. Personally: I hope the Raptors don't make a super aggressive move, not much point in getting a Cousins/George or even Milsap if they're going to leave within a year of trading for them and the Raps give up incredible value.
3) The Raptors have drafted really well recently:
Poetl, Nogeura, Powell, Siakam and Delon Wright all look to have NBA player potential, none look to be busts. They're going to get more playing time, more money, and complement the star players well.
The new CBA increases the maximum roster size by two slots, and creates two-way contracts with minor league teams for two players on each roster. All the signs from the Raptors 905 (the minor league team), are that they're incredibly well coached and a great incubator of talent.
4) So, if you believe that the Raptors team is good enough that they're one Cavalier injury away from winning the Eastern Conference playoffs...then it looks like they're going to be in this position for a few years.
So, three more years or so of: Lowry/Joseph/Wright, DeRozan/Ross, Carrol/Powell, Patteron/Sullinger/Siakam, Valuncianas/Bebe/Poetl? While other teams will have a hard time improving quickly? Yes please.
We're Doomed: Everybody count to 3
Here's a story that isn't getting much attention (I think):
In 2011, the Republicans held a primary election to select their opponent to run against Barack Obama. There were 14 candidates, this is the story of one of the losing candidates.
Rick Perry became the Governor of Texas in 2000, following the election of George W. Bush to the Presidency. He left a complex legacy: taking credit for economic growth that exactly mirrored the boom and bust of oil prices, becoming a/the US leader in wind energy, guiding the state to have the highest percentage of uninsured citizens (meaning many people who couldn't afford health care), supporting the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolution, making abortions more difficult to access, against gay marriage and generally homophobic, killed 278 people via execution...
And so, based on this record, he decided he was the man to unseat Barack Hussein Obama at the end of his first term of President. He was initially viewed to be a friend of the tea party, charismatic, had the support of the George W. Bush political leadership team, and for the very briefest of moments: Rick Perry was the front runner and likely Republican nominee for President. Sadly (for him), he flat lined to last place and dropped out almost overnight, with Mitt Romney going on to win the nomination.
How did it happen so fast? This debate on the night of November 9th, 2011. He attempts to name three agencies he would eliminate in the government during a live debate. This was part of his "stump" speech: the speech that a candidate gives at every event, only adding in a paragraph or two to personalize for each event. He had listed the three agencies dozens, if not hundreds, of time. It is difficult to overstate the impact cutting the three agencies would have. Let alone the thousands of people who were regularly being told they would lose their jobs.
He only remembered the first two. It didn't go well. The agency he forgot (since it isn't actually mentioned in the video?): Energy.
In 2011, the Republicans held a primary election to select their opponent to run against Barack Obama. There were 14 candidates, this is the story of one of the losing candidates.
Rick Perry became the Governor of Texas in 2000, following the election of George W. Bush to the Presidency. He left a complex legacy: taking credit for economic growth that exactly mirrored the boom and bust of oil prices, becoming a/the US leader in wind energy, guiding the state to have the highest percentage of uninsured citizens (meaning many people who couldn't afford health care), supporting the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolution, making abortions more difficult to access, against gay marriage and generally homophobic, killed 278 people via execution...
And so, based on this record, he decided he was the man to unseat Barack Hussein Obama at the end of his first term of President. He was initially viewed to be a friend of the tea party, charismatic, had the support of the George W. Bush political leadership team, and for the very briefest of moments: Rick Perry was the front runner and likely Republican nominee for President. Sadly (for him), he flat lined to last place and dropped out almost overnight, with Mitt Romney going on to win the nomination.
How did it happen so fast? This debate on the night of November 9th, 2011. He attempts to name three agencies he would eliminate in the government during a live debate. This was part of his "stump" speech: the speech that a candidate gives at every event, only adding in a paragraph or two to personalize for each event. He had listed the three agencies dozens, if not hundreds, of time. It is difficult to overstate the impact cutting the three agencies would have. Let alone the thousands of people who were regularly being told they would lose their jobs.
He only remembered the first two. It didn't go well. The agency he forgot (since it isn't actually mentioned in the video?): Energy.
Last week Rick Perry was selected by President Elect Trump to be the head of the Energy Agency (the Energy Secretary).
We're Doomed: Starting at the beginning.
I'm going to pivot some of my writing to the fun small stories that I think aren't getting much attention that are...intriguing. Or terrifying.
But to start, here's the context that I'm writing from. I think it's important to be transparent with my beliefs, as I'm sure there are people from across the political spectrum who could read this:
But to start, here's the context that I'm writing from. I think it's important to be transparent with my beliefs, as I'm sure there are people from across the political spectrum who could read this:
- Trump was accused of sexually assaulting women during a Presidential election and won. It look improbable to impossible that the 12 women who accused him collaborated in any way. These accusations appear to have died out. It's hard to imagine that anything else in this story matters, yet: here we are.
- Trump is racist. Too many credible, proven examples are readibly available for me to prove any. If you disagree with this, probably stop reading. If you agree with this, and would point out that he won anyway: yup.
- The question about if Trump voters are racist and mysognistic is complex. I'm confident that many of them aren't knowingly. Similarly confident that their motivations for voting the way they did had nothing to do with offend (see: Trump's campaign manager telling us that Trump's voters knew the difference between what affected them and what offended them). But: If you voted for a racist, mysognistic, alleged sexual assaulter: I don't know how to defend the argument that you have to carry the implications that you're ok with those actions.
So, with those being the (likely) most important things I think about Trump, here are some secondary, yet incredibly powerful things:
- He's likely to be President. I'm not reading much about a growing community of Republican electors defecting (they need 37, they have 8). The smartest people I know in the Democratic party are spending their time getting ready to win elections at every level in 2018 and 2020.
- Trump's Presidency puts everything on the table. He risks economic collapse, nuclear war, rise of white supremacy, calamitous climate change, rise of Russian/Iranian/Chinese superpowers, complete rescattering of the current world order.
BUT - If I learned anything this election, it's that I don't know much. Collectively, we might not know much. What if Trump's actions improve inner cities? What if the likelihood of world peace is increased? If we don't know what Trump is going to do, if Trump doesn't know what Trump is going to do, then how do Terrorists plan to attack? How do the leaders of oppressive regimes prepare to negotiate?
The sheer scope of the things he puts on the table are overwhelming, and I find impossible to parse. Literally life on Earth as we know it. But...I actually can't say that means it's a worse case scenario in each and every area. We'll find out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)