Is scoring overvalued in other leagues besides the NBA? Kevin Pelton, one of my competitors in the True Hoop Stat Geek Smackdown, points out an interesting example from the WNBA (which he covers in addition to the NBA) that indicates a strong relationship between scoring and accolades in that league as well. WNBA.com publishes Rookie […]
The Utah Jazz in 2005 had the third choice in the NBA draft. Needing a point guard, they had a choice between Deron Williams and Chris Paul. The college numbers of the two players clearly indicated that the best choice was Paul. Table One: Williams and Paul in College The data reported in Table One […]
William Rhoden penned a column last Friday in The New York Times entitled “Poor Decisions? Knicks Deserve a Mulligan.” Rhoden argues in this column that the Knicks penchant for making bad decisions have left the team with a roster in salary cap hell. Too many bad contracts have resulted in a team unable to make […]
Last month was the anniversary of The Wages of Wins Journal. This month we mark another anniversary, the anniversary of our first book being published. I thought I would note this occasion by reviewing the story behind both the book and the title. The Wages of Wins Story Three years ago Marty, Stacey, and I […]
Yesterday Darren Rovell – of CNBC — offered some analysis of the economic value of Portland winning the NBA’s Draft Lottery. Stephen Dubner – of Freakonomics – looked at Rovell’s analysis and stated: ‘I don’t know what the Wages of Wins boys would make of Rovell’s analysis, but it’s well worth a look.” Given this […]
Darren Rovell has asked the question “Is the First Pick a Money Maker?” In commenting on Rovell’s analysis at the Freakonomics blog, Stephen Dubner stated: “I don’t know what the Wages of Wins boys would make of Rovell’s analysis, but it’s well worth a look.” So Dubner has given us (which I think will be […]
It’s amazing how often bad ideas become fads in American business. Luckily, in capitalism there’s a Darwinian process at work. Adopters of truly stupid ideas tend to go bankrupt—or at least wake up, smell the red ink, and get better advice. Eventually. Which brings us to Your Los Angeles Dodgers. No, I’m not going to […]
Last night was the NBA’s annual celebration of the league’s biggest losers – the Draft Lottery. Given that this draft offers two major talents — Greg Oden and Kevin Durant — the “winners” last night were Henry Abbott’s Portland Trail Blazers (one definitely should read Abbott’s discussion of last night) and the Seattle Super Sonics. […]
This column is over 2,000 words. So let me apologize up front for wasting your time today with way too many words. If you do manage to get to the end of this post, you will see the following: – a list of the NBA’s Best Teams in 2006-07 – a discussion of my efforts […]
Frank Sinatra demonstrated in the early 1970s that retirement was not among his many, many talents. After emphatically announcing his retirement in 1971, he released “Ol’ Blue Eyes is Back” (one of my favorite albums) in 1973. The next year came “Some Nice Things I’ve Missed” (another one of my favorite albums – okay, I […]
Wages of Wins Journal 
May 31, 2007 by dberri
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