The King is in LA

The Los Angeles Lakers just got their biggest free agent signing since Shaquille O'Neal. The Lakers are hoping with LeBron now being in the fold they are about to usher in a new era in Los Angeles basketball. With Shaq and Kobe the Lakers won three championships in a row from 2000-2002 and now the Lakers are hoping with their young core (if they aren't traded off) and the greatest player of this generation that maybe they can regain the glory of the purple and gold. I don't think the Lakers are done. The Lakers signed Lance Stephenson and Javale McGee to one year deals to build depth and add some veteran leadership to the roster, but there are is a need for another big fish if they intend to challenge not only the Warriors, but the Houston Rockets too. Let the Kawhi Leonard to the Lakers rumors ramp up even more. Not only has Leonard been saying that he wants out of San Antonio, but he's also that he only wants to sign an extension with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now, would a team of LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma (if he's not traded), Lonzo Ball (most likely not being traded because of his dad's mouth), and Kawhi Leonard be enough to beat the Warriors most likely not, but that team would bring back the glitz of the Lakers. Something they haven't had since Kobe's departure. The glitz of playing with LeBron has always brought other players to him and at affordable prices that always helps in a salary cap league. Having James in the fold makes the Western Conference even more daunting. Even though the Lakers aren't done building their squad they are back on the map. With a spot open for another max contract player like a Kawhi Leonard Magic Johnson has the opportunity to be an even bigger winner this off-season. The Lakers aren't done, but they're hoping to having a "not 1, not 2, not 3" type of pep rally of their own.

How Things Have Changed

Think about 15 years ago in Major League Baseball and you're about to become a free agent and you post a season in which you hit .303 with 45 home runs and 104 runs batted in. That's what free agent JD Martinez did this past season between the Detroit Tigers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. What do you think his new contract would look like? Something in the area of 7 years and 120+ million dollars and that would be cheap, be careful if the contract isn't in the 200m+ for about 8 years or so. I can at least guarantee that Martinez would be signed by now, but in 2017/18 Martinez is still on the open market still looking for a place to call home for the foreseeable future. The main rumor has Martinez playing chicken with the Boston Red Sox over a 5 year deal; who blinks first the Sox who need a slugger or Martinez who needs a job? Teams are getting smarter, teams are becoming self-aware about having a mid-30's or later playing roaming their outfield. Martinez is 30 years old right now and when he signs a deal with whatever team he ends up on the deal will at least carry through his year 35 season and that's what teams are scared of because analytically that's when players tend to fall off.

These new front offices have changed the way things go for free agents. No longer are most teams going to hand out 7/8 year deals to players who are on the wrong side of 30. "The wrong side of 30" being exactly 30. Most teams end up regretting handing out these monstrous contracts because you end up watching players like Albert Pujols, who seems to have hit the downside of his career, battle injuries and struggle to be productive. Players though are used to being compensated for what they have done while teams are trying to pay for what a player will produce and teams have gotten better at being able to figure out what that is. This is why the stove has stayed luke warm at best because while players are looking for mega contracts teams are looking for the next 26-28 year old that when that contract is over their prime is done and there's little to no productivity left. Baseball has become more of a business than it has in the past and these new front office's are definitely using numbers to make cold cut decisions.

The Coaching Carousel

The wheels have started turning in the NFL with one coach getting fired and another getting hired. Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey was fired after a sure handed defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots this past weekend after he had guided them to the playoffs after a 7 year absence. Rumor has it the Titans want to hire New England Patriots assistant coach Josh McDaniels to replace Mularkey. The assistants of New England head coach Bill Belicheck are always in high demand when the carousel gets going. New England assitant coach Matt Patricia is rumored to be in line to become the next Detroit Lions head coach when the Patriots run in these playoffs come to an end. There are at least 5 current teams in the NFL that haven't officially named a new leader for their teams and interesting names get thrown around for such positions such like Nick Saban, who is currently the head coach of the University of Alabama.

Saban's record in the professional ranks hasn't been as fruitful as it been in the college ranks where he's coming off his 6th national title and is hailed as the top coach in the college ranks and is a demi-god to the people of Alabama. The advantages that Saban carries in college in terms of reputation and stature allows Saban to acquire some of the most talented players to play for him and always helps put the University of Alabama in position to most likely be ranked among the top 3 in college football. This level of talent is not easily attainable in the NFL thanks to the salary cap, since in college players are paid in education and not in actual money like in the NFL. The pressure of making the jump to the pros without the ability to acquire the types of players he'd used to having in my opinion is not worth taking when he's so big in Alabama that they're paying the mortgage of his home there.

Ref Problems

Recently, LeBron James, James Harden, and Draymond Green have made headlines by complaining about not receiving foul calls they believe they deserved or about foul calls they received that they shouldn't have gotten. A reason for the recent inconsistencies in foul calls can stem from a number of veteran referees who have retired recently and an influx of young referees who have taken their place. While bringing youth to the referee corp has been a revelation adding such inexperience to such a more complicated game can be part of the reason why calls are being made as they are. The game of basketball has changed. It has gotten faster and more spread out with players darting for the 3 point line while the big man tries to take up space in the paint. Such spacing is very difficult even for 3 sets of eyes on the court. This is why the replay system has made it such that replay challenges are taken care of off site in Secaucus, New Jersey and not on the court.

Watching the speed that this game has evolved to has been dramatic. In 2003 the Dallas Mavericks lead all of the NBA with 96.7 plays per 100 possessions if that Mavericks team were to be around this season they would be ranked 28th. Gone are the days of super stars getting super star calls. When players with notoriety would get phantom calls and preferential treatment against players who don't necessarily have the power that either James would command. Star players will always get a call here and there, but not to the extent that they were handed out back before the veteran refs retired and the hot shot kids came to play. I'm not making excuses for refs, they should be better at their jobs, but let's not make it seem like its Joe Crawford out there running up and down the court.