April 5, 2015 Queens NY It’s not going to be easy, but very few things worth having come easily. The Brooklyn Nets are set to take on the 50-win Portland Trailblazers tomorrow evening (7 p.m.) at Barclays. I mentioned that Portland has 50 wins–who cares? Let’s see if you care about the 50 wins once we examine the salaries.
Jarrett Jack makes $6.3 million. He’s paid ENOUGH to win. Thaddeus Young makes $9.4 million. He’s paid ENOUGH to win. Brook Lopez makes $15.7 million. He’s paid ENOUGH to win. Deron Williams makes $19.7 million. He’s paid ENOUGH to win. Joe Johnson makes $23.1 million. He’s paid ENOUGH to win. Total salary for this year of the aforementioned–$74.5 million.
Alan Anderson makes $1.2 million and is more impactful than most of his teammates. He’s hurt. And he’s missed. What a bargain he is. Imagine what he says to himself when he gets his paystub? Is Thaddeus Young nearly 8 times more valuable than I? Is Brook Lopez 13 times more valuable than I? Is Deron Williams nearly 17 times more valuable than I? Is Joe Johnson nearly 20 times more valuable than I? The on-the-court-contribution to salary ratio is horribly skewed. Horribly.
Athletes should get as much as they can, generally speaking; however, the salaries shown warrant more than a sub-.500 winning percentage. The Nets have six games left in the regular season. Six games! Portland, Atlanta, Washington, Milwaukee, Chicago, and Orlando. The only away-game is against Milwaukee. Time to win. You’re not supposed to be a lottery team. Especially when you’re paid as if you won the lottery.