Thinking back to the abortion that was the lock out and how much everyone was frustrated by the train-wreck of a CBA that it resulted in, I think as a rule most folks were not impressed. The overwhelming feeling seemed to be what, this is it? It seemed that nothing had been accomplished by the posturing and BS on both sides and all it did was deprive us of a good size hunk of a season.

Fast forward to today, with the trade deadline looming on the horizon and very little noise getting made about who might actually make a trade and something becomes strangely clear. The Luxury Tax thingy might actually be working! In it's simplest form it can be explained by a quote from one of my favorite movies, Spaceballs. " We're not just doing it for money...We're doing it for a shitload of money!" Who knew if you put enough digits to the right of a dollar sign you could get complete idiots to finally pay attention.

The prospect of having to write some really huge checks that have very little ROI prospects does not seem to sit well with owners in general. Even those with deep pockets are using caution here to fore unknown to this sport. Never one to get too optimistic, I will reserve judgement on the effect of this long term, but at least the prospect of some balance and restraint is refreshing. And that is where the good guys come in!

If you could script it, it would be hard to imagine better timing for the moves DM has made this year. Hole at center, solved. Foundation played, yep that too. Add to that a guy with solid skill at the point who also happens to be a hell of a marketing draw, (making it easier to spend some extra cash if need be), and what's not to like.

With a solid group of player and cap space to burn, even if this deadline is quiet by comparison to past ones, it looks like the next few months should be good for the good guys. Funny thing is, that might not be as much fun to watch as how bad it could be for the other folks that did not get the whole Luxury Tax thingy memo.