Wild day - for me, it started with Charles Barkley defending the Second Apron on Bill Simmons’ podcast. His hypothesis: Adam Silver cooked up the penalties because too many star players chose to team up instead of independently battling against each other. His position might be accurate, but it’s more widely accepted that the Second Apron was backlash from smaller pocketed owners against Joe Lacob (Warriors) and Steve Ballmer (Clippers). Ballmer’s entrance to the league radically titled the net worth required to compete for championships. He absolutely blitzed the luxury tax of previous CBA’s. Why? He’s worth $150b. He makes every other owner look poor.

Speaking of the Second Apron, and speaking of one Steven Ballmer, did you hear that silly little report about Kawhi Leonard, a bankrupt tree brokerage, and SKIRTING THE LUXURY TAX WITH FRAUDULENT SPONSORSHIP PAYMENTS. The Clippers have of course released a statement (two actually) professing their innocence. Here’s the issue: forgetting the implications of the report, the well sourced material from inside the company, and the background of the people involved, what exactly is anyone innocent of? The company is bankrupt. It’s founder is convicted of felony wire fraud. Guilty. Ballmer invested more than $50m of his own money into the company and then extolled the VALUES of the business after it sponsored his courtside seats. He’s guilty of lecturing us about carbon offsets and promoting a business that operated more like a Ponzi scheme than a tree farm. Kawhi is extremely guilty of chasing money he doesn’t need, rigging a contract so he does zero work, and hiding from any public scrutiny when it blows up in his face.

There’s a miniscule chance that this business arrangement was actually above board, but even in that world, there’s little innocence from any of the parties involved. There’s a massively larger chance that everything outlined in Pablo Torre’s report is accurate, incriminating (at least by the NBA), and totally depressing that people who preach such positive values about Sport, Community, and Hard Work are actually just scumbags living in a nicer houses than you and me.

This won’t be the last time we visit this story. Adam Silver has a lot of work ahead of him. For the moment, listen to the pod.

We start tonight’s session with a reading from the Blog of KMARK:

- There’s a very real chance Jerry Jones trades him. We’re talking about a stubborn, cheap, 86yr old man. No other team would have reached this far, but Jones is the sole operator in Dallas. His track record in the last decade has only gotten worse and worse. I would absolutely not be surprised if a decrepit 86yr old made a bad business decision. He already has! Otherwise, Parsons will end up getting a radical sum of money and we’ll be treated to a press conference of Jerry and Micah grinning next to each other. Parsons one way or another is going to be the league’s highest paid non-quarterback. Dallas actually has the league’s highest paid QB. Not Mahomes. Not Burrow. Not Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. It’s Dak Prescott. Why? Because he played a senior citizen like a flute and Parsons could be next. Or, you’re favorite team could nab him for picks…

- KMARK, August 2nd

It happened. And it wasn’t even for that many picks. This isn’t about me guys. Sure, your author saw this a mile away, BUT I publish so that YOU can be the Coolest Guy in the room.

A week removed from the Micah Parsons trade and there’s a faint hint of contrarianism leaking out. Perhaps Jerry got it right! Let’s obliterate that once and for all.

The prevailing theme of Jerry Got It Right is that the Cowboys were going nowhere with Micah and that trading him for picks now sets them up better for the future. That’s a version of what Jerry described himself. It’s a loose interpretation of Sunk Cost Fallacy. I’m willing to budge an inch that trading Micah might’ve been a prudent decision. What I’m not budging on: Jerry fucked this trade up in ways so unnecessary that he sent his franchise backwards five years. You don’t get bonus points for making the right choice but fumbling the execution. You get every ounce of deserved blame. Here’s where the Jerry Defense falls apart:

- The Cowboys controlled Parsons for at least this year plus two more. This was the absolute worst time to trade a player and expect an enticing return. Teams at this point have their rosters (and cap space) tied up. Jerry could’ve benched Parsons, developed a frothy market over nine weeks (or two years) and traded Parsons for twice what he received. He effectively traded Parsons three days after deciding he wanted to.

- Jerry could’ve forced Micah to play! The Cowboys have a new, solid defensive coordinator (Matt Eberflus) who could’ve gotten more from the defense and supported a decent offense. In this world, had Parsons sat out, the Cowboys would be in the same position they are now (entering the season way worse), but they’d be collecting suspension checks and developing Micah’s market.

- The Cowboys didn’t want Parsons polluting the locker room. How’s Dak feel heading into the season without the league’s best defensive player? Is the locker room excited about two first round picks? The Cowboys realistically could lose the season opener by three touchdowns. How’s the locker room going to respond to that?

There is no defense for this deal. My boy Peter Schrager tried his darndest to make this sound like a smart return. Pete, if you’re reading, no need to carry Jerry’s water no matter how many scoops he gives you all year. I like to think of the return Jerry received with an NBA or MLB lense. We watch NBA teams trade five first round picks at a time. Where was Green Bay going to stop in their offer? Ask for a 4th rounder three years from now. GB would happily include that. Ask for an additional 5th rounder. GB isn’t letting that stand in the way. Ask for a second! Ask for the backup CB. Is Green Bay walking away because they refuse to include their backup CB? No! How did this trade package end at two firsts and a defensive tackle? Trades like this are emotional. I’m getting jacked up just thinking about it. In this instance, Jerry should’ve let his emotions run even more wild than his stubbornness did. For perhaps the first time in his life, he would’ve been justified in dancing around the room, drunk on greed, calling every team for their richest package. For some reason, he cheaped out.