Some Teams are Too Broke to Scout Opponents

You gotta sacrifice some things in this economy: “You heard right: Paul Cormier, who was absurdly overqualified to begin with, was let go last week, because the Nets (and Spurs….and Wizards) are no longer going to do any advance scouting. They’ll rely on some kind of networking arrangement, with regional scouts who can punch in the play calls and sync it with video and send it along to the staff a day or two before they play Team X. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. Some people think it will save money. Others think it’s idiotic. But that’s just the start of things. Throughout the league, GMs are finding religion (you had to hear the guff Ernie Grunfeld put up with at the last Board of Governors meeting, for giving Flip Saunders 4/18M), and recognizing that their head coaches are so overpaid, there’s nothing left in the budget for a full staff.”