Monday Bolts – 7.18.11

Excellent stuff from Berry Tramel: “Eight percent of each NBA player’s salary is withheld each season “to ensure that the players’ share of basketball-related income doesn’t exceed the contractually agreed-upon percentage, currently 57 percent,” according to NBA.com. This season, for the first time, the players’ share did not exceed the percentage, thus the players get their money back. A minimum-wage player will get $37,888. An average-salaried player will get $456,000. A player making $16 million would get $1.28 million. So even if these guys haven’t been financially prudent, they’re about to have some change in their pocket. They don’t need Real Madrid to tide them over.”

Nick Collison’s daughter is wearing a Sonics shirt in this picture. I smell a new summer firestorm.

KD, Harden and Westbrook will join other stars to play in a Philippines exhibition.

Darnell Mayberry on Cole Aldrich: “Some viewed Mohammed’s deal as a reflection of the organization’s opinion of Aldrich. But there is no correlation between the two Mohammed is a savvy veteran who provides leadership and experience in addition to underrated offensive and defensive ability. Aldrich, on the other hand, is a still-wet-behind-the-ears big man who is expected to blossom in due time. But the plan for Aldrich hasn’t changed. Expect the rising second-year center out of Kansas to be in town for the foreseeable future.”

You will get a refund for season tickets if the games are lost: “In the unfortunate event that games are missed next season, all NBA season ticket holders have the opportunity to receive a refund of the purchase price, plus interest, for all missed games.”

Long thoughts on the value of efficiency.

Sam Amick of SI.com went to the Drew League, which featured James Harden.

What colleges have produced the most wins in the NBA?: “Traditional basketball powerhouses, Kentucky and Kansas, placed the third and fourth-highest number of players in the NBA after UCLA and UNC, but only rank 15th and 18th in wins produced (of course, if Wilt Chamberlain from Kansas could be included, Kansas might be ranked a bit higher).”

Interesting deal for the Celtics and maybe for revenue sharing: “The Celtics’ new RSN deal follows Comcast’s strategy of giving equity stakes in its RSNs to local teams. Comcast pursues this strategy as a way to stay in the profitable RSN business while keeping teams from launching their own channels. The Houston Astros and Rockets own a combined 80 percent of CSN Houston, while the San Francisco Giants hold a 30 percent stake in CSN Bay Area. In Chicago, the White Sox, Cubs, Bulls and Blackhawks hold a combined 70 percent stake of CSN Chicago.”

Jeff Green people, he’s back on Twitter.

Despite the lockout, the schedule will be released tomorrow.