Free Agents...I think not!!!!

July 1st, 2010 marked the beginning of Free Agency within the NBA. Some of the most sought after roundballer, King James, DWade, Bosh, JJ & Dirk, are available to the highest bidder. And trust me bids will be high especially for the services of Lebron James. You will hear stories of star treatment and crazy offers from various teams through out the league. The stars may even get involved. I keep waiting for a TV commercial to be produced begging one of these players to come to their city.

Will the presence of one of these players positively affect the economy? Will it be like when CES rolls into Vegas and pumps 100 of millions into the local economy? Will jobs be created or roads be built? What do the people of the various cities have to gain from D. Wade signing with their team? Dade County has 3 million residents give or take 100K. How many of these residents know who D. Wade is? How many are fans? I'd have to say less than 20% know or care who he is. I Know who he is and I can appreciate his talent, but he isn't doing anything but playing hoops. He may have a foundation or two but how far does that reach?

The free agents that are on the market are going to be anything but free. Combined salarys for the five before mentioned NBA Stars will fall into the $750 million range over the life of the contracts. This is the same amount of money we pumped into the US economy after the failed housing experiment. Five guys will command three quarters of a billion in Salary, WTF!

I've never been one to belly ache about another man's paycheck, but this is a little out of touch when you think about the scope of the situation. Free Agency comes around every year but this year is heavily loaded with great talent that puts butts in the seats, jerseys on the backs of coutnless fan, peanuts on the floor of local bars and 100s of millions in the fat cats that sit in the various Vegas books. Their impact does not reach as far as some would like, but they do have an impact. I think the name of this period should be changed to Mo Money, Mo Money!!!! But I guess Homie don't play that. Sit back and enjoy the countless stories over the next week and half.

Happy Fourth of July to all.


The term 'Free Agency' puzzles me.