Show them the money

The NBA Players Association last week rejected the league's salary-cap "smoothing" proposal that would phase in a huge leap in revenue expected when a new $24 billion television contract arrives in 2016.

If no compromise is reached, the salary cap could jump from a projected $66 million next season to $90 million or more in summer 2016, triple the biggest one-year gain in league history. A free agent such as LeBron James' salary likely would increase from $22 million to $30 million and big-market teams that have positioned themselves for big cap space such as New York and the Los Angeles Lakers would have even more money to spend.

"All I know is players are going to get paid eventually," Wolves coach and chief basketball executive Flip Saunders said. "You'll have to be in position where you're winning or have the chance to win pretty big. We have a couple years to put ourselves in that position. It's all going to work out in the end. You have to hope you've drafted some good players and you bring those guys along. You'll have to have a pretty good base. It hurts a team that maybe hasn't established their top one or two guys."

Haters will hate …

It has been 23 years since Christian Laettner hit the most memorable shot in NCAA tournament history and the Timberwolves drafted him third overall in 1992. And after all these years, he's still hated.

At least that's the premise of ESPN Films' new 30 for 30 documentary "I Hate Christian Laettner" that looks back at the Duke star who had it all — good looks, brains, talent — and still was so disliked. Executive produced and narrated by Rob Lowe, it premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday after all of ESPN's Selection Sunday madness airs.

He said it

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich to reporters after Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving scored a career-high 57 points Thursday in the Cavs' comeback overtime victory: "I don't know how to guard that. He did a hell of a job. We all know how talented he is, but he really went to a new level tonight. That talent just got us."