I wish we got more updates on Oden, what is he doing right now? I really hope its not sitting around watching cartoons
God will reward you for your hard work remember? I guess by your logic God feels Greg is kicking your ass in the hard work department. Maybe you should stop bitching like a lazy ass and work harder in life.
Now that is fucked up thinking right there. There are a lot more white people with no money living off the dole.
Wow, I never understood capitalism until this very minute. Thank you so much for that explanation. I've read John Stuart Mill and Milton Friedman and even Marx, but nobody has ever explained it like you!!
No worries. You seemed to be struggling to understand how Oden derived actual value within a capitalist framework, and I'm happy to help you.
Technically, tax payers in his district are rewarding him for his mediocre work. Depends on his district, if it's a school day or not. Could be on SB. Could be a day when the school requires teachers (and other workers) to show up to work but not get paid. Could be a non student day and sug's on lunch. Maybe he had surgery and is actually off for the day. Or maybe he's doing what the rest of us are doing, and checking on here while we're at work (and therefore, we look stupid when we bring it up)? My guess is he's secretly in a bomb shelter in his back yard in Montana.
I find that choice of word generally awesome, btw, considering this thread. Of course, it could be said that the NBA doesn't have a completely a capitalistic framework, since there are mandated contracts for rookies, caps and limitations on veteran contracts, and the indentured servant-esque idea of "drafting" a player and then "owning" their rights for the first four years of their career. The counter argument would say that the NBA is the result of a capitalistic society, although the union aspects and collective bargaining allowed in this capitalistic society make it less-than capitalistic, in theory. Food for thought...
That's not true, though. Everybody who pays a state income tax is paying into and for PERS, which I think is a greater 'reward' than merely making the salary of a teacher. Also, I'm 'at work', but I'm my own boss, so I'm really only ripping off myself, if I'm ripping off anyone. As a taxpayer, I don't like the idea of my employees (PERS recipients) goofing off on the internet when they should be concentrating on their job that provides their cushy (and free!) retirement. I don't think that's too much to ask. Just as there are benefits to living and retiring off of the private sector (which I don't begrudge or want to take away), there should also be some confines, as dictated by their boss (me, in this instance).
After Oden gets his new contract, he will sue the trainer for lost wages. He'll just subtract his new contract from the second contract that Shaq and Duncan got, and proportionalize it to contracts nowadays. Shooter, can we agree that Chris Dudley should be hired to supplement Buck Williams? They could ride herd on Oden, following him around with Dudley taking pictures and notes for the lawsuit, while Williams harangues him on the basics while Oden walks from his car to his house.
I agree that both are interesting ways to look at this. I've always found a slight irony in that often people who are very pro-free market generally are also extremely in favor of league attempts to limit athletes' attempts to get a free market environment (whether it is salary caps, max contracts, slot-based salaries, etc). I think, though, that ultimately a sports league is a free market outcome, as things are collectively bargained. Or, at least, are if sports leagues don't get federally protected monopolies. I know MLB has one and the NFL has pushed for one, but I don't know if they've gotten it yet.
' This really gets me thinking. What if we re-sign Oden to a reasonable contract. What if after that he goes a decade without further injury, and is the true beast he seemed to be during his glimpses of health. We may look back on his early injuries as something of a minor blessing. Aldridge emerged into a superstar because there was the space to operate, and we got Oden at a bargain-basement price compared to the cash lavished on Durant. Yeah, those are some big "what ifs." But it does make you realize there still is some potential upside to the Oden vs Durant thing.
I'm very interested to see how this NFLPA decertification develops over the spring. In a vacuum, it makes the NFL a 32-team free-market society comprised of 32 connected, yet separate, businesses. Players under contract will still have to honor those contracts, yet free agents have no limitations placed on their movement, and there is no salary cap, since there is no CBA. A player could sue for collusion, or against the anti-trust status of the NFL, or for work compensation claims (which may be the most concerning to the owners). The NFL, on the other hand, could demand that players under contract report immediately for work tomorrow, since the CBA rights attached to the player contracts now are not in existence. Of course, the player could say that they are only paid during the season, but the owners would counter that the terms of payment are irrelevant to the time frame of the contract. Should be fascinating to watch this develop. In the end, always bet on the side with more money, so I expect the owners to generally prevail, but I'm typically 50/50 in my own beliefs toward these millionaire employee v. billionaire boss battles.
Is this a thread more about Oden's life style vs. what he is entitled to. He deserved his contract because he was the #1 pick. It still doesn't change the fact he is getting paid millions to basically rehab (I don't think he is even required to go to or watch Blazer games). I have no ill will towards Oden and his contract. I'm disappointed he doesn't feel more obligation (or hasn't shown it) to the Blazer organization. But this is a business both ways and organizations don't always show obligation to the players . . . and a side of me could see why Oden isn't adamant about staying in Ptd. (The other side says I wish you were more like Durant and expressed your fondness for your teamamtes, the organization, the community and your desire to stay and prove yourself here.) But when you are 7 feet and athletic, you don't really need to do that.
That's assuming that Greg doesn't accept the $8.2m Q.O., though. A small concern, and one I haven't seen mentioned, is that Oden accepts the Q.O. under the current CBA, there is no 2011-12 season (or it's shortened), and he becomes a free agent under the new CBA. I'm not exactly positive that is possible, though.
No, I think you were the one struggling to understand my original point--that Oden is living the life of Reilly while making a ton of money. I completely understand how such a thing can happen within a capitalist system, and I realize that the Blazers freely entered into their contract with Greg Oden. He was an investment in their future that turned out badly, but that's part of the high stakes game of NBA basketball. It's still worth pointing out that Oden has made almost no contribution to this team in the last 4 years, and may not make much of one in the next 4 years, if they sign him to another contract--and yet he is becoming a very rich young dude in the process. I happen to find that ironic, and interesting, and worth commenting on.
Gee, really?? In a country where only 12% of the population is black, it makes sense that there would be more poor whites than poor blacks.
