The other day, the Wolves traded Lazar Hayward to Oklahoma City for two 2nd round picks and the cap relief from his modest contract. A common refrain heard after this trade was, "Great! The Wolves acquired two 2nd round picks for a player who had no spot on the roster. Great value." Or, "awesome! All Dallas was able to get for Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer was a single 2nd round pick!" Now, there is nothing untrue about the previous statements by any means, but to truly look at why this trade is bad, let's take a 2008 Kevin Love-sized step back and examine the forest.

Before delving too deep into a futile issue here (a freaking Lazar Hayward trade), let's spend some time chatting about a curse bestowed upon a sub-faction of Wolves fans ever since a fateful day that coincided with a major Minneapolis bridge collapsing into the Mississippi River: The Garnett trade on August 1st, 2007. I'm not sure whether it was former Wolves mastermind Kevin McHale's mindless inability to make good use of a first round pick, but ever since this day a certain chunk of Wolves fans have become, to use Woj-like hyperbole, blindly obsessed with draft picks and potential over proven NBA talent. Every first round pick, whether the Wolves own one or four, is a 'chance to add the next star.'

It is hard to really pinpoint the reason for this obsession, but it is there. As were a group of fans who, for various reasons, defended Kahn's decision to trade Al Jefferson to the Utah Jazz for two poorly positioned first round picks, Kosta Koufos and cap relief that was eventually used on Anthony Randolph. "First round picks! Potential! Kobe and Malone were drafted in the mid-first round! Randolph was once drafted higher than Jefferson and compared to Lamar Odom on a draft website! We needed to get rid of Al Jefferson to make room for Love!" (Gee, you coulda tested the market and traded him for a solid wing instead of Kosta Koufos' nose). Never-you-mind the Wolves had a coaching staff these past two years who couldn't develop a case of syphilis at a ASU sorority house, not to mention basketball talent; but the mystique and allure that these imaginary planets would align in some form of anti-apocalyptic, one in four-hundred trillion manner was too exciting for a fan-base used to the same repeatable, predictable 5.5-month run of disappointment, shaken and stirred with sub-zero temperatures and snowdrifts the size of Oliver Miller's annual Thanksgiving feast. 

MUCH MORE Below the Jump:

If there is one guarantee you can make in terms of how the Wolves handle their often confusing annual set of roster transactions, it is that the team will often do whatever makes the least sense. Armed with the cap space equivalent of the mid-level exception, the Wolves today have signed JJ Barea, the bench sparkplug for the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, to a contract believed to be 4 years and $19 million.  

JJ Barea is a nice player, but make no mistakes, he a prototype guy who benefited from a few magical playoff games and, due to said spotlight, received a larger-than-deserved long term contract.  This happens year after year.  He is a scrappy little guard, who, while being unable to throw a rock into the ocean, is very quick on his feet and can penetrate the lane with the best of them. But the big question one should be asking is: 'why?' Surely this means the Wolves will trade Ridnour in a package deal with some of our frontcourt characters in order to align the roster? Don't count on it. As always, this is a very Kahn-like, Kahnfusing move. I can't kahnprehend how this helps the Wolves kahnpounding rotation problem. How will this help the Wolves' position in the Western Kahnference? What does Barea bring to the Kahnversation? A team desperately in need of a high quality shooting guard who can dribble, goes out and signs its 3rd point guard, which does nothing but make an already mystifying rotation even more muddled?  

Color me Kahnfused.

As a positive, Barea does have a nice skillset that IS pretty void on the team as of today: ballhandling. The problem is, where does he play? Does Adelman dare play Barea at the 2 in hopes of adding some much, much needed dribble penetration from the wings? (Don't fool yourself into thinking Wes Johnson is going to become a ballhandler any time soon). Could be. I guess we will have to see what kahnfusing move Kahn has up his sleeve as free agency continues. Just count on one thing: he will probably do whatever makes the least sense. 

I know that what I'm about to say is going to be met with tons of criticism, but I applaud David Stern for blocking the Chris Paul trade to the Lakers.  I fully understand the disdain that Lakers, Hornets, and Rockets fans may be feeling, and I also understand the public outcry that is going on in the media.  The way this situation was handled reeks of underhandedness and ulterior motives. The move makes both David Stern and the NBA in general look ridiculous, especially with it coming on the heels of the NBA lockout. Some may say argue that the NBA owns the Hornets and so Stern should have the right to block any trade, just like any other owner.  However, all it takes is one quick glance at Dan Gilbert's leaked letter to realize that this trade was not blocked for the good of the New Orleans Hornets, but rather for the interest of the NBA owners, both financially and competitively. 

Truth be told, if enough dirt surfaces, this whole ordeal could become a debacle on the level of the Tim Donaghy scandal.  It will go down as a huge black mark on the legacy of David Stern, continue to taint the NBA's already shaky credibility, and drive a further chasm between the players and ownership. Yet despite all of those glaring negatives, I absolutely love this decision by Stern.

The lockout's over? No nuclear winter? ...RICKY RUBIO???

Thank you, Tebow!

Now let's talk about gambling... in a hypothetical, if-only-gambling-were-legal sort of way.

Bodog has posted its preliminary betting lines for regular season records and NBA Championship likelihoods for the 2011-12 season. As usual, there are some obvious sucker bets and some real bargains. You should check them out for yourself.

Please click "Read More" to cotinue on with my six favorite bets for the 2011-12 season...

In what seemed to an insurmountable mountain to climb, the NBA and players emerged from a silent office building at around 2:30-3:00 A.M. the morning following Black Friday and announced the best deal of the day: a new collective bargaining agreement that will save a 66-game regular season starting on Christmas day.

The agreement came just two week after the union made the rash and, at that point impulsive, decision to disclaim interest of the NBAPA This situation inspired ire from many, with rhetoric mounting by the day on the hidden agendas of the multiple parties involved. This ranged from famed lunatic Jeffrey Kessler's desire for a high-profile case, along with well-known attorney David Boies, and their mutual push for an emotionally-driven decision that would benefit their bank accounts. To Billy Hunter wanting to keep his job above all. To the Derek Fisher handshake GM-job rumors. To the agents who felt this process was about them. Oh, and the player's and owners, God forbid, had motives as well in this. Needless to say the decision drew quite a bit of scrutiny from all-over. But in the end, as we found out early this morning, the decision to disclaim was a good one. The player's offer on the system improved by a landslide.

As a buzz-kill reminder, it's important to remember that the deal has yet to be ratified. It seems difficult to see this process derailing, but those following this should recognize anything is possible with this group of clowns. There are still a number of points that have yet to be negotiated  (including the age limit, which may rise to 20 this year). Furthermore, the most difficult part of this process may be the ownership vote. While it may seem easy on paper, there is still a small part of me that worries a loudmouth idiot hardliner will screw this up. Remember these billionaires are as cold blooded as assassins. As for the players, there is absolutely zero reason to believe this won't pass at a 90% in favor, at least. 

Regardless, it is refreshing fans can now change their focus to actual basketball; and in truth it will be a little overwhelming to do so. Assuming all goes according to plan, we are just a couple of weeks away from training camp and a marathon free agency period that will be a wonderful few weeks for trade nerds. But in addition to this endless, boring display of asshattery, Minnesotans can now focus on a team that hopefully will leave its own endless, boring display of asshattery behind: The Wolves. Rubio. Love. Adelman. Derrick Williams. Beasley. Anthony Randolph. Not to mention the other lovable cast of characters such as Pekovic, Darko, and the rest of the crew. They will all be back soon. At this point, even Darko's baby hook sounds like a fantastic sight to behold. I can't wait to see it and laugh. Assuming we even bring him back. 

For a very brief rundown on some deal points, check this out. Some of these points, and other miscellaneous overarching concepts reported elsewhere, will have an impact on the Wolves over the next few years. Among the implications:

-The Wolves are no longer in danger of surrendering a top 3 pick to the Clippers if the team shows significant improvement with a revamped roster and an elite coach. Had the year been lost, early reports indicated the lottery would have been weighted based on the combined records of the three previous seasons. That would have been awful for 'Sota. Furthermore, should the age limit rise to 20, this will severely hurt the potential of the next draft class, making the loss more palatable for the pups.

-Without a lost season, the Wolves are not in immediate danger of losing Kevin Love to another team via free agency, and can instead negotiate an extension with him immediately. 

-The Wolves can offer Kevin Love (if he is not signed to an extension), Michael Beasley and Anthony Randolph a higher qualifying offer after the season. Yup.

-The Wolves, being slightly under the cap to start the year, will be one of the teams that can use the $2.5 million 'room' exception if they ultimately exceed the cap.

-Ricky Rubio will no longer be the only rookie in NBA 2k11, making the game now playable.

-The Wolves did not gain significant leverage in the trade market by having cap space and the ability to 'prey on teams under new CBA conditions,' as Kahn babbled about time and time again late last winter. The landscape is highly similar to last season for the first two years of the CBA, and were it not, provisions were added to limit advantages of teams having cap space in winning such trades (amnesty/stretch provision). Instead of gifting the farm to get rid of bad deals, teams can now outright waive players to open up cap space at the snap of a finger. This in and of itself makes the Wolves cap space-related inactivity a little more difficult to swallow in hindsight.

-The Wolves are a limited beneficiary of the stretch and amnesty provisions, having really only a single bad deal on the roster: Darko, and it is hardly terrible at only two years remaining and a 3rd option year. Brad Miller is another candidate if the Wolves seek to open immediate cap space. Otherwise, it seems reasonable to assume the Wolves will not use either exception. By the way, how awesome would it be if teams could trade an amnesty or stretch exception? Why not?

-With free agency and training camp allegedly opening on the same day, the Wolves will have an advantage in building team cohesiveness with a nearly full roster from day one. This will be very important with a brand new coaching staff coming aboard. However, one could argue playing for Adelman after two years of Rambis will be like taking pre-algebra after two years of advanced calculus. The players will likely be thrilled to be playing in a normal system.

Surely when details of the new CBA are released, more Wolves-related tidbits will surface. And with news of ratification days away, the fans can now shift focus back to basketball in a fruitful manner. As winter creeps closer in Minneapolis, it could not have come at a better time.

As most of you probably saw, it had been rumored a few days ago that K-Love could soon be playing in the Turkish Basketball League on a team with Luol Deng and Deron Williams, during this never-ending and absurd NBA lockout.  It was definitely a legit rumor from Adrian Woj of Yahoo Sports, but it turns out that it just wasn't going to end up happening.  Apparently Love didn't feel great about that opportunity, but he didn't rule out playing elsewhere during the lockout:

Think Mr. Love would want to come play at one of our houses on an adjustable basketball goal?  Maybe put that baby down to 9 feet so that he'd really be able to show off his hops?  Someone Tweet him up.

Also in Ricky Rubio T-Wolves news...

There have been two superb pieces about Ricky Rubio in the past two days.  Definitely make sure to check them out if you are wondering what he's been up to lately.

- Again from Adrian Woj at Yahoo Sports: Free at last, "Ricky Rubio ready to start NBA career."

- And from the solid Sam Amick at CNNSI.com: "With little fanfare, Rubio takes 'little step' on road to the NBA."

- Saving the best for last, We've got Rubio highlights from Drew Gooden's charity game.  Here are the top ten plays below.  Rubio makes it twice, and also has the #1 overall play of pure, studly awesomeness:

Brief one on some thoughts as to whether the players should decertify or take the deal. Sorry this sort of got up late!

Pants: The players gave every inch they should have given, 82 games was there for the owners to take 2 weeks ago. Decertify and make the owners live through taking the red pill. These aren't the owners that created the league who are causing trouble. They are johnny come late-lies who think cutting a $500M check entitles them to massive profits.

When you pay a premium for any business you have to do something new or innovative to make money because the previous gains are built in to the purchase price. How about instead of burning the relationship with the players and fans they make that same money by instituting the playoff for the 8th playoff seeds or something else that generates more money that goes to each team.

Mike: The players should make one, last-ditch attempt to get a Wednesday meeting to negotiate back a few system issues, and then accept the deal regardless. And with that said, it is very upsetting Fisher and Union Lunatic Jeffrey Kessler spoke so ill of the deal and took a constructive discussion out of the picture the other night.

Decertification sounds sexy and cool ("I thought 'treble damages' meant something musical, but it means I can get triple my money back!?"), but given it is this late in the game, the opportunity costs of a lost season with the uncertainty is too great of a risk. It is naive to think the owner's have not prepared for this situation, but to do it in November? No. My guess is a petition will be filed if it comes to that, but just like in 1995, the decertification vote would not pass once players are able to become anonymous in a voting situation. As a reminder: in 1995, over 200 players signed the petition, but only 134 ultimately voted for a decertification and the deal was ratified. Furthermore, the NFL's attempt at this flopped. There are no guarantees. And even if it is an attempt at short term leverage, I don't think it is reasonable to kill another month of the year just so tax paying teams can have a full mid level exception or complete a sign and trade, especially at the risk of the offer dropping to 47% and a hard cap (what I believe to be the owner's true goal, hence why they are offering something that is just good enough to reject).

It also makes little sense  to risk more games if there is truth to the idea that players would put the deal to a vote with some system kickbacks from the owners. They are arguing over peanuts at this point, which include system concessions for tax payers, of which there were only four teams this last season. 

Lastly, one can shove the Sherman Act and legal jargon down my throat until I pass out, but I still don't see how the offer gets any better from here, decertificiation or not. Take the deal and play ball. Too bad union lunatic Jeffrey Kessler is in the room.....

College Wolf:  The Players have made more than enough concessions.  The Hard-line Owners are mostly responsible for the mess that everyone is currently in now, and are making unreasonable demands on top of everything they have already received from the Players.  If the Players don't stand for something at some point, then where will it stop?  And if they get pushed over like this now, how will the next CBA negotiations fare?

I think they should at least begin the process of decertification. Hopefully it gives them some leverage here, and forces the Owners to come to a realization about what they are doing before it's too late.  At this point, I wouldn't feel bad about Owners losing tens of millions of dollars on debt, interest payments, and not receiving the revenue they otherwise would during a season.  They forced the Players to this ledge, so now they can live with the fallout if the Players don't acquiesce and take their crappy deal.  Yes, the Players have expenses too, and a lost season would obviously be bad (and for the fans of course!)  However, there are other ways for Players to make money, and hopefully most of them have money saved like they have said they did during the past two years.  What are the Owners going to do with their "teams" during a cancelled season? They won't have any other avenues to make their share of $4 billion dollars worth of revenue.  Serves them right for creating this mess.

Tim F- While I do not know the details of the deal, I think they players should absolutely take the deal. At this point, any other option will result them in losing massive amounts of money; moreso than if they simply took the deal. David Stern seems to be at a point where he plans to get what he wants, and he won't settle for anything less. When I hear reports that say that he is willing to dip below 50% for the players, I completely believe that he will follow through on that and get what he wants. This is likely the best the players will get. 

Also, perhaps it is just me as a fan keeping myself optimistic, but I would like to think that the players, people who play a sport for a living, are missing the game itself. I truly hope that before everything else, they are able to look past the dollar signs (not to mention the fact that they'll be filthy rich regardless) and get back to playing basketball.

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Unfortunately for anyone that still cares about the NBA, it doesn't look like the Lockout will be ending anytime soon.  In fact, it's quite possible that we'll miss the entire season.  Things have deteriorated so badly that it's looking more and more likely that the collective idiocy of the Owners and Players will squander the season, billions of dollars, and the sky-high interest, goodwill, and momentum of the NBA as we've recently known it.

And it's really quite unfortunate.

If you've got anything to add, or just want to vent about things as they currently stand, let it all go in the Livefyre Comments in this thread.  Let's hear what's on your mind!  There's no reason to hold anything back, as we won't exactly have much of anything else actually basketball related to discuss in the near future.

Via: Designed by USDirect.com

(This graphic was NOT a creation of TWB, see above link)

Those interested parties can take a quick trip through the path that has been this lockout, which since this image was last updated, has continued to spiral out of control. 

Overall, it is difficult to assess or form a basis of 'blame' here. No doubt the owners caused this and are irresponsible in their own right for presenting an unrealistic offer to their players and not bargaining in good faith. Furthermore, it is irresponsible of the players union representatives to not recognize the obvious reality of the situation: the offer will not improve and will never get to 52.5% of BRI. Their last chance to make a deal that nets them at a break even point for holding out on an extra 2.5 pts of BRI (that the union will not get) is sometime between now and next Friday, or the deadline for cancellations through mid-December.

If a deal is not agreed to at 50/50 next week, the players are making a grave mistake. But, no doubt the union will come out of their strategy meeting today ready to #StandUnited. Now, don't get me wrong here. The players have every right to want that, or to feel that way. But it will do them zero good through next week. I actually think holding out until then isn't the dumbest thing in the world, but beyond then? Moronic. (However, I will be surprised if the 50 50 offer is still on the table for the next meeting but that is neither here nor there). But, consider what the owner's BRI offer will be in early January when the players have absolutely zero choice other than to slam their tails in between their legs? 45%, 46%? If there is a lost season!? Low 40's? Inexplicable. Look, I don't care who you are, losing a year's pay will make anyone desperate, and that will be the only choice. And with reports surfacing every few days of players having a miserable time in Europe, the NBA is the only real option. Europe was always short term. If the players do not cave now, they aren't just shooting themselves in the foot, they are blowing off both of their legs and perhaps even an arm. This is a prime example of stubbornness leading to poor decision making. And I think Derek Fisher knows it. Alas.

What is more silly is Charlie Villanueva tweeting this yesterday:

"Saw a article on ESPN, the owners r asking for 50/50 spilt, sounds good, but in reality its a 46 or 47/50+ split, hell no, TOGETHER WE STAND"

2 things stand out here. 1. "50/50 spilt, sounds good." A deal at 50 50 would get ratified immediately, but we all know that. 2. Does this guy not realize that the players do not split total revenues (his inference that owners take credits off of the top)? It is called basketball. related. income. There is little to complain about here. In the NFL the players receive a sub-50 cut of total revenues as well. This is a perfect display of ignorance on the player's front. When fans understand more about this labor situation than the players you know the union is in trouble. Again, alas.

Here's hoping this thing ends rationally the way it should. Unlike what happened in the NHL. TWB favorite Alan Hahn of NY-based Newsday re-upped his comparative NHL timeline of events yesterday. It's a few months old but I recommend reading it closely to understand just how silly it is to believe in fairy tales of offer improvement. And it only contains one use of the word 'rhetoric' to boot. To summarize, the NHL players held strong on a no hard cap system, missed a season of play and pay and, shockingly, ended up with a 24% paycut and a hard cap. He posted an update to it yesterday (seemingly influenced by Twitter conversation with TWB).

This is not rocket science. The ultimate implications are obvious to millions of people worldwide. The players have the best offer they will get between now and next Friday and it isn't even a question. These small market owners are out for blood, and blood they will get. If they miss a season, compromise will not be a word used at the bargaining table. The owners probably realize their offer is just on the threshold of agreement. When the players reject it again next week and elect to miss more games, the owners will move one step closer to getting the players right where they wanted them all along: at a mid-40's% cut of BRI and a hard cap. Square one. This is why agreeing now is absolutely imperative. It is sickening how obvious this is. 

The NHL player's advice? Make a deal.  Per this nice write-up (which recieved national attention) from Jerry Zgoda, the players implore as much. The only hint of rationalization was the NHL used its time off to make rule changes, which may have made the game more exciting but was not even a remotely appropriate justification to cancel a season. "It's not worth it," said Bill Guerin (former VP of the NHL players association), who was perhaps the biggest crusader for the players' cause back then. "Get a deal done. I learned a big lesson: It's not a partnership, it's their league, and you are going to play when they want. It's not worth it to any of them to burn games or to burn an entire year. Burning a year was ridiculous."

As sickening as that may sound for fans constantly (and sometimes to a fault) behind the empty, player-driven rally cry, that is just the way it is. Don't hold out for nothing. Take the high road, get back on the court and everyone wins... even the players.

#StandUnitedforMillionsInLostWagesAndAnImmenselyWorseCBA. Good message, Sir Hunter.

UPDATE: Per the Boston Herald labor talks will resume Saturday