Hawks Snag a Zag

Jeff Denberg of the AJC reports that the small Hawks backcourt got even smaller Wednesday.

With 6-foot-2 Jason Terry already a key member of the backcourt, the Hawks traded for the draft rights to 6-foot guard Dan Dickau after Sacramento took him with the 28th pick of the draft. The Hawks gave up a future first-round pick from Detroit, which could be any pick the Pistons have over the next two years.

Via

Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings

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When will NBA whistle the refs?

Yet another columnist calls for the NBA to get a grip on the officiating. Bill Livingston of the Plain Dealer writes that, “Game 6 (of the Western Conference Finals) was the worst-officiated big game I ever saw.”

Livingston continues, “I'm not a conspiracy theory guy. Conspiracy buffs are probably drawing lines from the bent envelope corner in the Patrick Ewing lottery to Michael Jordan's push-off of Byron Russell to the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the Kings-Lakers series to devil worship by Proctor and Gamble to John Nash in "A Beautiful Mind," going quietly nuts.”

In Game 6, the Lakers made 34 field goals and four 3-pointers to the Kings' 38 and eight 3s. The Lakers shot 27 free throws in the last quarter to the Kings' nine. The sixth foul on Scot Pollard and the fifth on Vlade Divac were mythical. There was no contact at all. They helped disqualify the Kings' two best low-post defenders against Shaquille O'Neal. All of this lead to the Lakers winning 106-102 and extending the series to seven games.

The NBA doesn’t allow criticism of their referees. If a coach or player questions the officiating, he is fined. The NBA is judge and jury for its own officials, and bad performances are simply covered up. I don't know how you fix it, either.

Livingston also questions the NBA’s fine and suspension of Cavaliers coach John Lucas for two games for inviting high school superstar LeBron James to a workout. This punishment seems a bit excessive when Michael Jordan, who was part owner and GM of the Wizards did the same thing last year. NBA vice president Russ Granik haughtily refused to discuss the Jordan case, increasing the perception of favoritism. In the LeBron James case, the NBA could say it was trying to discourage high school players from skipping college. It's a worthy cause.

Livingston concludes that the “3 blind mice” who officiated Game 6 should also be fined and suspended because "nothing less is at stake than public belief that the league is on the level."

Via Plain Dealer

Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers

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Taxing time for teams on the horizon

Glenn Rogers of the San Antonio Express-News speculates about the NBA’s luxury tax. While revenues are up, it doesn’t look like there will be a luxury tax this season. But, revenues will stabilize, perhaps drop some thanks to the new TV contract, and salaries will continue to grow. Thus a tax is expected next summer and that happening will affect roster decisions this summer.

The tax will charge each team one dollar for every dollar they are over the tax limit. That limit is estimated to be in the $53 million to $55 million range. The salary cap is expected to remain close to this years’ $42.5 million figure.

The salary cap is a nuisance while the luxury tax is a wall. Once you exceed the salary cap, you are more restricted in making player transactions. Once you exceed the luxury tax, you are forced to pay. That wall could force a team to decide between launching a superior team or one a notch or two lower.

Even though Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has no problem paying the luxury tax, he still thinks it is a bad idea. "It will hurt the league," he says. "Sacramento is faced with signing Mike Bibby now and the owners shouldn't be punished by getting hit with a tax if they try to keep that great team together." Cuban is in favor of a more laissez-faire attitude — if the owner is willing to shell out big bucks, let him. But don't add to the burden with a surcharge. Cuban remains in favor of a salary cap because "it sets the rules and regulations" for the playing field. And it also limits how much a player can make.

Some owners, like the Clippers' Don Sterling, don't even want to hit the cap let alone the surcharge figure. With the Clippers’ Michael Olowokandi coming to the point where he will need a new contract, it will be interesting to see how Sterling handles the situation and what this situation will mean for the rest of his young stars.

Cleveland boss Gordon Gund says he won't pay the luxury tax and he's banking that opponents won't have the money to offer maximum dough to Andre Miller, his restricted free agent this summer (RealGM note: Miller will not be a free agent until next summer).

Cleveland faces the prospect of re-signing Miller to a $100 million contract for 7-years. To avoid the tax implications of such a contract, there's talk that Cleveland will offer Miller to Chicago for this year's No. 2 pick — probably Jay Williams. If there were no luxury tax, the Cavs might be more willing to sign Miller.

Minnesota owner Glen Taylor is counting on the luxury tax to help his revenue. "Basically the money will come from the teams that are paying the high revenue for their players, and that money will go to the teams that stay under the cap," he was quoted as saying. "We are going to try to stay under the cap," he said.

With Kevin Garnett’s big salary on the books, Taylor won’t be able to sign any free agents. The Wolves' goal apparently will be to stay with the team basically as is or trade for players with like salaries.

Most agents see the all-around league crunch and figure players not considered franchise or near-franchise caliber will have to settle for the average-salary exception (about $4.5 million) or hope for a sign-and-trade deal, the route taken by Derek Anderson.

Via San Antonio Express-News

Dallas Mavericks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings

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