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| 2013 free agents DWIGHT HOWARD and CHRIS PAUL. Source: nba.si.com |
According
to the Dallas Morning News, the freebie could be worth as much as $192,628,
assuming Howard, who grabs rebounds with the same passion as he devours chicken
fingers, will eat the $10.80 six-finger Caniac combo every day until he is 76,
the average age expectancy of males here in the United States
While
$192,628 sure is a lot of money to regular Joes like you and me, it's loose
change to Howard, who made roughly $238,248 a game for 82 games last season
while pretending to be the Lakers' next dominant big man.
Obviously,
Howard's next landing won't hinge on a heap of crunchy, golden brown chicken
fingers. But Raising Cane's offer only demonstrates the unique, sometimes
bizarre, lengths that teams and cities go through to recruit the NBA's prized
free agents. And it's all good fodder for fans and even better copy for us in
the media.
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| DWIGHT HOWARD. Source: solecollector.com |
But the Los
Angeles Clippers didn't need any gimmick to keep their best player in the
roster. They simply offered him a five-year deal worth $107.3 million, or $27.6
million more than any other team can offer the free agent point guard.
"All-in,"
tweeted Chris Paul, who will sign his freshly minted contract on July 10, when
the NBA lifts the moratorium on free agent signings, reports the Los Angeles
Times.
The hiring
of Doc Rivers as the new head coach apparently helped sway CP3 into staying in L.A.
At the end
of the day, though, money was still the greatest equalizer. Although Paul
pondered on becoming a Hawk in Atlanta and
possibly hooking up with Howard there, the 28-year-old playmaker quickly
realized that the financial grass was greener in Los Angeles
Once
maligned for his unwillingness to pay for elite talent, Clippers owner and real
estate mogul Donald Sterling deserves a ton of credit for his newfound
generosity. By giving Paul the max deal, paying Griffin
$95 million last year, and recently chewing coach Rivers' three-year $21
million contract, Sterling has made the other L.A.
There is
little debate that Paul deserves this boatload of cash. The 6-foot, 175-pound Wake Forest
A leader of
men, celebrated for his unselfishness and revered for his toughness under
pressure, Paul has turned a prosaic franchise into a glamorously entertaining
entity that is clearly no longer the armpit of the NBA.
With Paul
at point, the Clippers will likely win 56 regular season games again, just like
they did last season when they lorded over the Pacific Division, capturing it
for the first time in franchise history. And as the sun sets on Kobe Bryant's
spectacular career, Los Angeles
The debate,
however, lies on whether Paul can shepherd the Clippers to the Promised Land.
I don't
think so. Not yet, anyway.
Unless the
Clippers add more length and heft on their frontline, they will struggle to win
the Western Conference, where the maturing Oklahoma City
The
Clippers' glaring lack of size was exposed in their six-game, first-round
playoffs exit last April. Against Memphis
Unless they
add muscle down low, the Clippers will remain a high-octane, fast-flying
offensive team that is best-suited for the regular season, but ill-fated for
the plodding, physical nature of the playoffs.
But hey, at
least, these Clippers will win a bunch of games, hug ESPN's SportsCenter highlights,
and maybe even flirt with a second-round appearance. Feats that can't be said
of the Lakers, who are likely to lose Howard, and perhaps, the Kobe Bryant of
old.
Source: ph.nba.com
by Homer Sayson
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