Second apron and building a dynasty

[AbeVigodaLive]

I missed it... but I always knew you were a big Pretty Woman fan!

[Coolbreeze44]

I missed it... but I always knew you were a big Pretty Woman fan!

I actually saw that movie in the theater when it came out. And yes, pretty women are high on my list.

[AussieWolf3]

1. Towns isn't asking for the max ($276M), so he's not necessarily going for the most he can get. Speculation is that he wants about what he's making now. ($220-$230M). Considering the Knicks are coming off a title... I can see why any player in that situation is wondering why they'd need to take a paycut ($200M offer from Dolan). It's interesting because James Dolan had a TERRIBLE reputation and he finally seemed like he was about to shake it a little bit...

2. According to the Internet, James Dolan's net worth is listed at $2B. Towns's was at $100M. Both seem low when you consider that the Knicks are worth $13B and Towns has made closer to $400M in his career if you count endorsements. But the gap between them is immense. HUGE. So I hesitate to think "well the player makes enough" but not use the same logic for a billionaire...

Know where even a bigger gap is? Between the salary of a guy like Towns and 99.999% of the people watching an NBA game. So I always get cranky when discussions center around who should take the financial hit... a player worth hundreds of millions or an owner who makes billions... all while it costs a family of 4 around $1,000 (or more) to see a game at Madison Square Garden. The median household income in NYC is $78K.

Another post that completely nails it, but from another perspective!

At the end of the day we're all getting squeezed out. The last profession sports game I was able to pay for was a preseason Vikings game for my whole family.

We could foot the bill for a cheaper game now, but the logistics are tough to sort out with 3 young kids.

[FNG]

Disappointed in how old I must be for no one to get my "Pretty Woman" reference. FNG, I thought at least you would appreciate it.

Haha, I’ve been on the road to Tucson to join my ball team for the senior men’s World Series, so just getting to this now! I like the movie, but might have missed the Gere reference.

[TAFKASP]

- To FNG's point, do we really want to go back to the days where the big-market teams owned by guys like Ballmer (9th richest man in the world) can simply blow everyone else out of the water with their spending. We have had a different team win an NBA title for 8 straight years! That makes fans of every NBA team feel like they have a shot.

This basically already exists in MLB. Takes a major miracle of drafting and development to see a small market team succeed like Milwaukee is currently. And now in short order they'll begin losing those players to the big markets.

How many times in a row have the Twins made the playoffs only to be sent home by the Yankees?

America's game is no longer all that popular in large part because of that imbalance IMO.

[Coolbreeze44]

- To FNG's point, do we really want to go back to the days where the big-market teams owned by guys like Ballmer (9th richest man in the world) can simply blow everyone else out of the water with their spending. We have had a different team win an NBA title for 8 straight years! That makes fans of every NBA team feel like they have a shot.

This basically already exists in MLB. Takes a major miracle of drafting and development to see a small market team succeed like Milwaukee is currently. And now in short order they'll begin losing those players to the big markets.

How many times in a row have the Twins made the playoffs only to be sent home by the Yankees?

America's game is no longer all that popular in large part because of that imbalance IMO.

Yessir

[Mnwild1128]

Even for Kat, 5 for 200 (40 aav) is disrespectful for Kat when OG is at about 50. The bones of KD and Kawhi are between 50-60. I think 5 for 250 is fine. It resets his salary to start in the 40's again on an extension. Plus the cap will be going up continually once it starts hitting near 60 again.

[FNG]

Lots of interesting thoughts here. None of us here can get into the heads of men in their 20s and 30s making 10's of millions of dollars every year, and likely most of us didn't grow up in situations as difficult as many NBA stars. But it's fun to conjecture what we would do if we were an NBA star negotiating a contract. I guess everyone defines success in different ways, and my definition would be different than the typical NBA star who strives to get the maximum dollars even if it handcuffed his team in terms of acquiring or keeping talent that could help them win a chip. I would say the typical NBA star defines success as 1) making as much money as he can, and 2), but less important, winning a (or another) championship. Take KAT for instance: he is eligible for and seeking an extension worth roughly $70 million, and is apparently "insulted" that the Knicks are offering only $50 million. Whether KAT makes 70 or 50 per year is meaningless in terms of impact on his life style...in either case he can buy any house, yacht, jewelry, etc. that he wants! But that extra $20 million that the Knicks might be able to use to retain all their stars or even add another key piece may be the difference in whether the Knicks win a championship or not.

There are all sorts of examples of players who took pay cuts in order to keep the band together or add a new player, and of course it doesn't always work out. Take James Harden who took a big pay cut in 2022 in hopes of the Sixers building a roster good enough to help him win his first chip...didn't work out for him, but I also don't think he will need a go fund me for Harden to cover the $14 million he gave up. But do the Heat win a championship if Wade, Bosh and James don't all agree to take massive pay cuts? Bosh earned the least of the three during his career, an estimated $239 million plus what he earned from endorsements (arguably more because he was an NBA champ). Do you think he regrets at all the $30 million he left on the table? Bosh bargained he could have it all...more money than he could ever spend plus two championships...and he was correct, while KAT appears to be choosing the money over keeping the band together. Again, I can't get into the mindset of someone with a net worth in the hundreds of millions, but I think I would choose the Bosh route.

Now as Timberwolves fans, what can we hope for? The Wolves just may have an elite young core of Ant, LaMelo, Ayo and possibly Joan and JK. All of them are likely to earn more money during their careers than any of us here can even imagine. If this roster works out as well as we think it might, wouldn't it be terrific for us long-suffering Wolves fans if they entered into an agreement that ensured they could stay Wolves for the rest of their careers, and possibly even add pieces if needed? NBA contracts have gotten so absurdly high, it's not preposterous that something like this could happen.