the hard truth

Ever heard of the saying "the rich keeps getting richer, the poor keeps getting poorer?"

That seems to be the storyline of the current free agent race, as the contenders continue to stockpile on talent while the rest of the league are left with breadcrumbs.

Cleveland got Shaq and his 1.9 million Twitter followers. Orlando had Vinsanity delivered to them from Jersey-land. San Antonio bolstered its line-up with Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess. Detroit inked Ben Gordon and Charlie V for 90 MIL. Boston caught a specie named Sheed. And then, as if they needed help, LAL signed Ron Artest and rights to 42% of his antics.

But who are the teams at the bottom end of the standings getting? Jake Voskuhl? Kevin Ollie? Lorenzen Wright?

These days, it's doubly hard for squads like Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Memphis, to get out of the rut because stars who have already made their dollars are only joining the top teams in an attempt to earn a run at the title.

And you can't blame them for that. You never can blame someone for choosing a winning environment over some additional cash and a 20-62 record.

Strange as it may sound, this appears to be a classic chicken-and-egg scenario. Are these teams losing because they can't get any talent, or are they not getting any talent because they're losing?

The fact remains though that it's a vicious cycle, regardless of how you look at it.

Unfortunately for them, they really have no choice but to start from scratch--live with their draft picks and then build as they go along.

Fortunately for them, the recipe does work from time to time.

And you don't need to look further than the 2009 Playoffs. Portland, and to a certain extent, Atlanta and Orlando, are three prime examples of squads who were able to get out of their losing ways with the development of young talents and some timely pick-ups (the first one does not include you, Greg Oden).

But for now, these teams all have to buy some time. And buying some time may really mean signing Voskuhl, Ollie, and Wright to whatever they're worth.