NBA Trade Deadline: Why Pitying Stars Because They Might Be Traded Is Ridiculous

The NBA trade deadline is only a week away now, and star players could be dealt away to new teams.  They will have to uproot, find new apartments and play in different cities, so should fans feel bad for them?  No. Pitying NBA stars like Joakim Noah because they could be traded is just ridiculous.

Haven’t you heard?  Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah would be the centerpiece of any trade for Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard.  If he is traded, his whole life will change. 

Except, of course, the $10,000,000 (yes, you read those zeros correctly) he will make this season.  Don’t worry—that won’t change.

Look, I love Noah.  He’s a great teammate and a relentless competitor who is one of the Bulls’ best players.  But pitying him or any other NBA star because he could be moving is just ridiculous.

The trading season is just one of the few minor prices NBA players have to pay in exchange for extraordinary salaries, private jets, five-star hotels and every other perk that star basketball players get.

After all, there is one other thing I can guarantee: I won’t make $10 million in my whole lifetime.  And forget trading—my boss can fire me at any time.

But for some reason, sportswriters and pundits always seem to try and stoke fan pity for these players during trade deadline season.  For example, a recent Sports Illustrated piece by Sam Amick discussed Chris Kaman, the New Orleans Hornets center, and his potential to be traded:

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"What do I have, eight days until the trade deadline?" Hornets center Chris Kaman said Wednesday...For me, I can't control it so I don't care."

Don't believe that last part, though.

No one seeks stability more than Kaman, the nine-year veteran who was traded from the Clippers as part of the Chris Paul deal on Dec. 14. The open arms that welcomed him in New Orleans only lasted until Jan. 27, when Kaman—who is making $14 million in the final year of his contract—was asked to leave the team while the NBA-owned Hornets tried to trade him.

The deactivated and despondent Kaman was left to go it alone, working out in the Hornets' facility only when his teammates weren't around and staying home with his wife when the team was on road trips.

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Seriously.  I like Kaman as a player but the guy is making $14 million this season.  So in his month while deactivated, he made almost $2 million to not play and stay at home with his wife.

At my current rate, it will take me between 15 and 20 years to make $2 million.  That’s if I don’t get fired from either of my jobs.  And if you just did the math, that puts me in the upper-middle class of America.  The average U.S. citizen makes $50,000 per year, so it will take him 40 years to make that same $2 million.

If you want to make it biblical, you could cross the desert with Moses in that same amount of time.  An NBA star would barely have time for a long vacation.

So, should I feel bad for these guys?  Sure, there is a little insecurity for a few weeks, but if I made a few hundred thousand dollars in that time I would hardly lose any sleep at night.

Be honest, would you?