Morning After Revelations

What ever happened to the days when teams said "I'll give you this guy if you give me that guy?" Obviously they have disappeared faster than a Jerome James hamburger. Now it seems that we are in a changing NBA. Although this trend began over 10 years ago, it never reared its ugly head so blatantly as it did yesterday. The trade?

The Bulls trade Kirk Hinrich and the 17th overall pick (Kevin Seraphin) to Washington for a second round pick.

Had you told Red Auerbach to trade 2 apples for 1/2 an apple, he would have scorned you endlessly. That is essentially what we are witnessing here.

A growing chasm has developed in the NBA. The contenders and the non-contenders. You're either dumping salary to rebuild or absorbing salary to field a championship team. While I understand that the Bulls wanted to clear more cap space to sign two max contract players, this is bordering on ridiculous.

In fantasy sports, commissioner or league review must approve every deal to maintain the integrity of the league. Before you say it, I realize that fantasy sports team management is very different from real life sports management. Yet I would like to see commissioner league review of every trade (beyond what it is now). League reivew is obviously unfeasible simply because of the bias that would stand in the way. No contending team would have allowe Pau Gasol to be traded to the Lakers for draft picks and a gun. But for the Hinrich trade, shouldn't the commissioner have to review the trade for more than its compliance with the salary cap? Other teams in the free agent race have found creative ways to open up cap space. The Bulls should have to as well. Obviously this is walking a very dangerous line, but a potentially necessary step if trades such as the Hinrich one continue.

One other draft thought: for anyone who may have attended live, an interesting situation arose (I was not there but someone I know who was described it to me). Before the Wizards selected John Wall first overall, media swarmed the room. Whether it was interviews, networking, or simple standing around, finding room to maneuver was, simply put, difficult. Then John Wall walked on stage, shook David Stern's hand, and the room emptied out almost immediately. This only leads me to one conclusion.

Our society is absurdly star-struck.

For quite some time, we have known that the Wizards and John Wall represented an arranged marriage. Still, hundreds of reporters could not and did not display any patience to witness the rest of, and more exciting part of the draft: the unknown. I don't have any astonishing or breakthrough proclamation about this absurdity, but it's just a little disappointing.