Jackson's only jabbering because it's the Cavs that benefited. He wouldn't give it a second thought if the Nets did the same thing.
I still don't understand how thy say they gave up nothing, that was a financial move and we've seen the value of that this year and they received potential with a younger gasol. So they received 2 solid peices(they turned the cap space into Zach Randolph) for Gasol, they got younger and they set them selves up for the future bc they weren't contending then anyways. As for this situation, the difference is the exact player the traded, they got back, so yea definitely different
having big z or not having big z doesn't really make that much of a difference, he's a shell of what he once was before his foot injury. sounds familiar?
NO. The Lakers have never traded a player, asked for that player to be released, then re-signed that player. First of all (this is completely irrelevant to the post, but just making a statement), the Lakers did not get Pau for free, they gave up Marc Gasol and future picks. (now back to my point). The Cavaliers sent Big Z and one first for Jamison and Telfair. Then Big Z got released, and agreed to return to the Cavaliers. Basically getting Jamison/Telfair without giving up anything (except a late 1st). Completely different from the Pau trade (they did not lose Marc, they only lost one pick). I think you misunderstood why Jackson is against this deal. Jackson is against the idea of trading a player, then having that player released by the other team and returning to his former team for the minimum salary. Basically losing nothing while gaining something. I personally think Jackson is 100% right to complain. This is not the first time a team has done this and is clearly a loophole in the CBA which needs to be changed. Chamillionaire, Big Z is still a good center in this league (and if you are hinting that Yao will not amount to anything after the foot injury, it is absurd as he has yet to even play a game since the surgery, and was playing very well before). Z is probably by far the best backup center in the league and has been a big part of the Cavaliers bench. Without him (as the Cavaliers are right now), their second unit lacks size, and they are not as deep as they were up front.
Ilgauskas reportedly has decided to return to Cleveland, a decision I must applaud. The Cavs were loyal to him in sickness, and he is sticking with them in health -- despite the opportunity to fill his pockets with more cash. Loyalty in sports has become the exception rather than the rule. Ilgauskas deserves praise -- not Phil Jackson's self-righteous scorn.
You could conceivably trade: Lebron + filler to Miami for Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley Lebron announces he's not resigning with Miami, gets cut Lebron rejoins Cleveland a month later...with new backcourt mate D Wade, B-Easy and Jamison on the frontcourt... Yeah there's something wrong with that rule. Can't fault Phil too much on that. Ilgauskas hasnt had a foot problem in 8 years. He's just following the career arc of a normal aging player now.
He's talking about the Cavaliers just dumping salary. That's what the Grizzlies did when they traded away Pau Gasol for seemingly nothing. If you guys remember, Pau was the cornerstone of the team. Then they trade him for Kwame Brown and Marc Gasol? It was deemed by everyone to be a salary dump. Then the Lakers win a title with Gasol! Marc was drafted #48 by the Lakers. If everyone knew that he was that good, then why would he have been picked so late? True, in hindsight it was a good move, but the 48th pick in the NBA Draft and Kwame Brown for Pau? Do you think the Lakers were even actually expecting Marc to be that good? I dont know...
No other team really cares or has said anything about, or maybe he's afraid his team is probably going to lose to them (with Ilgauskas as backup center), if they play in the Finals.
That's different from cutting someone and getting him back. Even if nobody knew Marc Gasol would be good (I think in hindsight the Lakers would have traded either Marc or Bynum for Bosh if they could do it over again), what the Lakers did was to take advantage of a cash-strapped franchise, something that's perfectly legal (albeit there were some wink-wink shenanigans that caused the trade to be lopsided in their favor). We did the same thing in trading Tmac and Landry for Kevin Martin+goodies...does that make us hypocrites as well? Although the Cavs also took advantage of the Wizards financial situation, what's different about them is that they got back the asset they gave away. Unlike the Lakers and Houston, the Cavs got Jamison for free. Teams should be protected from moves like that, they essentially just gave away a good player for nothing. That loophole should be addressed ASAP.
I really don't like Phil Jackson. But at the end of the day, we are all hypocrites. When the Lakers got Gasol for nothing, we all cried foul. Now when Morey ripped off the Knicks, we worshiped him like he is some deity.
Yeah, you retain his Bird rights, you can resign him with a sign & trade to get back more in a trade.... I'm not saying that particular scenario ever WILL EVER happen. I'm saying with how the system is set up, at its far extreme teams can load up like that. Its the definition of loophole.
