Nike Jordan
Supporter
- Jun 27, 2002
- 37,999
- 93,351
How dumb was Joe Smith to turn down $85 million?
Newspaper from the '99 lockout that i saved, let's take a look back at some of the headlines
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by pr0phecy718,
- Start date
- Jul 29, 2001
- 25,177
- 16,464
That lockout destroyed Kemp. Even the season before was putting up his regular numbers and was an All-Star. But in the end, we can still blame Jim McIlvaine for everything: bloated contracts (almost $35 million for a guy whose career averages were 2.7ppg & 3.1rpg), Shawn Kemp becoming a malcontent (who could blame him), Sonics leaving town (his signing set the ball in motion).
D
Deleted member 38182
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Dang for real?? 10 years prior to them actually moving??
- Feb 23, 2006
- 13,245
- 7,528
-nice thread
looking thru this it is funny to see how young some of these players use to look (yes I know this is from 1999). I am really dreading a lockout because on X-Mas day there will be NOTHING to watch. Back in 1999, when it was a lockout, I watched the Planet of the Apes marathon that played ALL DAY on tbs. I wonder if Joe Smith had not turned down that 85 million would he still be in the league today, and how often does he kick himself that he did not take the money?
- But the end of the 1998 season was the last of a good era for basketball for my age group. I can vividly remember being in the gym playing basketball while the knicks - spurs series was going on. Specifically after game two of that series someone said if the Bulls were together and in the finals, would we still be playing basketball this late into the evening?? We all responded with a resounding NO. I mean most people on here can remember where they were during a Chicago Bulls finals... Finally it would have been nice to see Kobe at this stage of his career play in that era before the 1999 lockout. Okay sorry to get off track but I am done. Just upset about losing NBA games....
looking thru this it is funny to see how young some of these players use to look (yes I know this is from 1999). I am really dreading a lockout because on X-Mas day there will be NOTHING to watch. Back in 1999, when it was a lockout, I watched the Planet of the Apes marathon that played ALL DAY on tbs. I wonder if Joe Smith had not turned down that 85 million would he still be in the league today, and how often does he kick himself that he did not take the money?
- But the end of the 1998 season was the last of a good era for basketball for my age group. I can vividly remember being in the gym playing basketball while the knicks - spurs series was going on. Specifically after game two of that series someone said if the Bulls were together and in the finals, would we still be playing basketball this late into the evening?? We all responded with a resounding NO. I mean most people on here can remember where they were during a Chicago Bulls finals... Finally it would have been nice to see Kobe at this stage of his career play in that era before the 1999 lockout. Okay sorry to get off track but I am done. Just upset about losing NBA games....
- Jul 29, 2001
- 25,177
- 16,464
It's a theory I had even before the Sonicsgate documentary (which confirms it's a thought shared by many). Shawn Kemp was so upset after that Jimmy Mac contract that it's a miracle he even lasted another season with the Sonics. Vin Baker came in and Gary Payton had to take over more of the offense, plus those two never meshed. Payton turned into a ballhog who had to score a lot more, and the exciting, fast-paced, scrambling, defensive-oriented team under George Karl became a stagnant, slow-it-down team coached by Paul Westphal. They'd completely lost their identity. They made the playoffs once, as a 7-seed, under Westphal. Baker had turned into an overweight bum, and Barry Ackerly sold the team to Howard Schultz in 2001 because he was just getting too old. Schultz never even gave Payton a chance, so he got traded for Ray Allen. They had one good season in 2005 (with 8 guys in contract years), the team immediately tanked in '06, and Schultz didn't want to run it anymore, so he chose the ownership group that overpaid by the most.
You can point to other blunders, such as drafting three bum centers in a row from '03-'05, horrible coaching hires (along with McMillan bolting for rival Portland), bad drafts (seriously, look at their draft history after GP in 1990)....but none of this ever becomes a reality without one giant garbage contract and an upset Kemp after 1996. Yes, Ackerly may have still sold the team, but everything was set in motion the day the Sonics gave Jimmy $35 million.
- Apr 30, 2005
- 9,892
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Attaq wrote:
Damn, even the lockout headlines looked cooler in the 90's!!
Attaq
Whoa there's a name I haven't seen in years.
I remember I would always look at your avy in anger...until this year that is.
- Aug 6, 2007
- 298
- 12
The 1999-2000 Portland side (the season before Kemp arrived) were stacked. Whenever I see Game 7 of the 2000 WCF's, I still can't believe they lost that game.
- Nov 1, 2005
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