To pay or not to pay.....

  Paul George and Demarcus Cousin, both players just received extensions on their rookie contracts.  Paul George signed a 5 year 90 million dollar contract.  Demarcus Cousins signed a 4 year 62 million contract.  Wow!  That's a lot of money for a media hyped average player and a complete knucklehead.  Do we really consider Paul George an NBA superstar?  He is a good defender and an average offensive player.  If you look at his numbers they do not justify this contract.  http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/georgpa01.html#per_minute::none, http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/georgpa01.html#advanced::none.  Don't get me wrong Paul George is a nice player but he is not a guy you build your franchise around and is going to LEAD you deep into the playoffs.

  Cousins, he is a whole different story.  A bad teammate, a shot chucker, terrible defender and a cancer in the locker room.  Does the guy have skills, definitely.  But again, do you want your team built around a guy that statistically makes you worse?  Per www.82games.com

Stat	ON Court	OFF Court	Net
Minutes	2289	1676	57%
Offense: Pts per 100 Poss.	106.3	108.0	-1.7
Defense: Pts per 100 Poss.	113.3	111.4	+2.0
Net Points per 100 Possessions	-7.1	-3.4	-3.6
Points Scored	4726	3493	+1233
Points Allowed	5031	3588	+1443
Net Points	-305	-95	-210
Effective FG%	49.2%	49.0%	+0.2%
Effective FG% Allowed	52.6%	50.5%	+2.1%
Assisted Field Goals	56%	54%	+2%
Assisted FG% Allowed	63%	64%	-1%
Own Shots Blocked	8%	6%	+2%
Shots Blocked	4%	5%	-1%
Rebounding
Offensive Rebounding	29.2%	30.0%	-0.8%
Defensive Rebounding	69.5%	67.8%	+1.7%
Total Rebounding	49.4%	48.9%	+0.5%
Stats
Free Throws Made	17	17	+0
Free Throws Attempted	23	21	+2
Free Throws Made by Opp.	18	18	+0
Free Throws Attempted by Opp.	23	24	+1
Turnovers, on Offense	15	13	-2
Turnovers, on Defense	14	14	+0
Net Turnovers	-1	1	+2
Fouls Committed	20	20	+0
Fouls, Drawn	20	19	+1
Net Fouls	0	-1	-1

  For fans of the NBA and especially Jazz fans this is BAD!  If these two players just received these types of contracts and you are an average or small market team and have the hope of holding on to your young stars, you better hope your teams front office is ready to pony up the dough.  This new CBA was supposed to help level the playing field some.  To help smaller markets keep their players.  Well Sacramento and their new ownership, and Larry Bird and the Pacers just blew up those thoughts.  I hope the rest of the league will be somewhat reasonable when it comes to signing players and stay with in the market value of such players.  Paul George will be making more that James Harden....Cousins will be making more that Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Kevin Love, all All-stars.  For the Utah Jazz's sake I hope Gordon and Derrick both understand how valuable they are to the franchise, but also realize that building a championship is not just about them and the money.  

Call it my "homer wish" maybe they can give us a "home town discount"!