The season
Although not yet
finalized it appears the NBA will resume play July 31. At this point we are unsure of the details but
there is another issue. This re-start
will run the NBA smack into the NFL season, but I do not believe that will be
an issue, I have always maintained we have three diverse groups of fans. Those dedicated NBA fans, passionate
disciples of the NFL and the undetermined percentage who follow both sports. Will there be a dip in television viewership,
probably in the NBA as for the NFL its likely to remain at the same level.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
The head coaching
job of the Knicks is not quite Thunderdome although we certainly can draw near
identical parallels. You remember the
Mel Gipson/Tina Turner movie especially the line judgement was rendered
entering Thunderdome, “Two men enter one-man leaves.” At the rate, the Knicks turn
over coaches it has not really been two men enter but it might be somewhat
close to accurate.
The other famous
line from the movie is more than fact, “Bust the deal face the wheel” i.e. the
wrath of owner James Dolan. Despite the
apparent issues of this front office folks are still lining up for a job. The names mentioned as head coaching
candidates include Kenny Atkinson let go by the Nets and former Bulls and
Wolves Coach Tom Thibodeau. The next hire should be quite interesting considering the turnover in that department for the Knicks.
Asterisk
The debate this
morning on First Take deals with an asterisk NBA season. The 1999 strike season Spurs team was
mentioned. That is not fair in a sense,
more recently Shaquille O’Neal at that time a member of the Lakers made mention
of an asterisk. Today he claims it was
an effort on his part to irritate the Spurs and their fans. The argument of an asterisk really has no
validity for me, we could look at several championship seasons. A key injury totally upset things and the
team we figured would win lost.
Example the 2019
Raptors championship, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant are uninjured. How about the 1989 NBA Championship, the
Lakers lose their backcourt? Byron Scott
and Magic Johnson are both injured, the Pistons sweep the Lakers. There are likely other examples however the
point is clear whether you play 50 games (as in the 1999 season) or devastating
injuries occur almost any season could contain an asterisk. I know the counter argument might be injuries
are not the same thing as playing fewer games or having the season played in
two separate parts as 2019-20.
“Show me the money”
In a manner like Rod
Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) in the movie Jerry Maguire “Show me the money” might
be the topic for college basketball coaches.
Example, Eric Henderson head coach of South Dakota State is paid $495,000
in salary and bonuses annually. He is on
the low end of salaries, how about the top salary you ask? That would be John Calipari at Kentucky,
Calipari earns $8,158,000 counting salary and bonuses. Surprising to many Bill Self at Kansas is not
a Top Five earner he is in 10th place earning a cool $3,985,857 in
salary and bonuses. As for second
through fifth place are:
Coach K. Duke $7,256,924
Mick Cronin UCLA $5,500,00
Rick Barnes
Tennessee $4,700,000
Chris Beard Texas
Tech $4,443,000
The surprise based
on the pay scale a few high-profile coaches were not earning the amount we
might have believed. I am sure many reading
this account are likely upset, in several instances the coach probably earns
more in salary than the dean of the school.
The amount of tax dollars spent to educate our youth vary from state to
state and school district. Educators
especially in impoverish school districts will look at these salaries and become
intensely distressed. This article is
not intended to defend or offer critical remarks its simply meant to provide
information most of us were unaware.
USA Today May 11,
2020
