Yes, we've gotten to this point. It's time to start criticizing NBA players for the way they run their charitable organizations. That is not a joke.

The Salt Lake Tribune released a report on Sunday that details just how much most NBA players are giving when they put together their various charity drives and fundraisers. About 51 percent of every dollar raised by player-driven NBA charities actually reaches some form of recipient, well below the minimum of 65 percent of every dollar (that'd be, uh, 65 cents) the Tribune quotes as "most philanthropic watchdog groups view as acceptable."

And the reasons behind this are what you'd expect. When it comes to raising money for the less fortunate, NBA players just have a hard time trimming the fat off the bottom line. Poor planning, needless expenses, and overall waste contributes to a bottom line that is far below what is expected.

And while we can't stand the idea of lumping each charitable NBA player (like Dikembe Mutombo, above) in with those who let things get out of hand, the bottom line still speaks for itself.

That said, perspective is needed. The average NBA player -- including lower rung-to-middle class rotation guys who don't have the necessary funds to start up a charitable organization of their own -- still spend more time performing NBA-mandated charitable tasks in a season than most of us will perform in a year. In ten years. Combined.

Nearly one-quarter of all NBA players have their own charity organization on top of the time the NBA Cares program demands they spend working on charitable acts, a number that cannot be touched by the NFL or MLB, to say nothing of the general public above a certain income bracket.

And topping it all off is the fact that these players are not businessmen, they're NBA players; and in spite of the stated fact that we continually hear from them about this being a business, this isn't the same as some corporate type passing the responsibility of a charitable drive to some paid lackey within his own business operation. This is an NBA player taking on a role that he is usually unqualified for, out of the goodness of his own heart.

But that isn't to say that NBA players, by and large, can't get their act together and get this stuff right. It starts with these very public drives, charity events with paid entertainers and all sorts of goodies that help to draw other entertainers and NBA players to devote their time to the event during their summer vacations.

Now, most of the gifts that dot these gift baskets are donated, given away for tax breaks, but the entertainment doesn't come for free. And often these comedians and/or musicians who grace some ignored stage within these events are making bank while taking advantage of promoters and charity types that aren't used to dealing with these sorts of acts. So because these acts don't have to deal with a Clear Channel promoter who knows what the going rate is, they take a significant chunk of that budget.

And a huge chunk of blame has to go to the players. You can't blame them too much, but they often hire friends and/or family members who are unqualified (which is, technically, illegal), while turning these charity events into a party. It's what they're used to. Drinks they don't have to pay for. Gifts that just appear out of the blue, for free. Adulation for "doing the right thing." Attention.

This isn't all, or even a majority of the NBA players who work this way. But it's enough to render the bottom line as well below standard, and a lot of these charity events as an even night out when all the perks are accounted for. Some, including Robert Horry and Chris Webber's, come at a loss.

A lot of these guys don't know any better. They didn't know how to run things, they didn't know what they were getting into, and they let another chance at another lame party get in the way of actually making a difference.

The problem with that, starting today, is that they do know better. There are no more excuses. Thanks for what you've done, fellas, now get it right.