Around the NBA (Part Two)

[younggunsmn]

If you’re implying the lottery was rigged to reward the Mavericks for trading Luka, that would have to involve at least 4 entities with the Mavericks, Lakers, the commissioner’s office and Ernst & Young (the auditors). And if you’re suggesting it’s happened multiple times, then you have to wonder if the entire league is in on it. Are owners OK with their teams getting screwed (not having a real chance of winning the lottery) for “the good of the league”?

Have you ever been to see a professional magician?
How are all their secrets just not public knowledge?
There are just too many people in on it to pull it off!
All that MAGIC must be REAL!

You guys act like NBA owners have any sort of hand in anything the NBA does other than approving new owners and approving competition committee changes which are largely chosen for them.
They are franchisees with about 3% ownership in the parent company.
They are nothing but shareholders that sit on a board and vote.
How many owners who have butted heads with the league have we seen basically crucified in public with manufactured PR nightmares over the years?
Complaining is a dangerous move.

They have about as much pull behind the scenes as a McDonalds franchisee has in what kind of meat they use.

The job of SIlver and his lieutenants is to grow the value of the business and make money by any means necessary.
And if you haven't noticed, they league's newest key business partner is now legalized sports gambling which is basically propping up the failing regional sports model all by itself. And the Mavs owners made all their money in Las Vegas on gambling.

Too many coincidences. Just too many.

[Worm Guts]

If you’re implying the lottery was rigged to reward the Mavericks for trading Luka, that would have to involve at least 4 entities with the Mavericks, Lakers, the commissioner’s office and Ernst & Young (the auditors). And if you’re suggesting it’s happened multiple times, then you have to wonder if the entire league is in on it. Are owners OK with their teams getting screwed (not having a real chance of winning the lottery) for “the good of the league”?

Have you ever been to see a professional magician?
How are all their secrets just not public knowledge?
There are just too many people in on it to pull it off.

You guys act like NBA owners have any sort of hand in anything the NBA does other than approving new owners and approving competition committee votes. They are franchisees.
They are nothing but shareholders that sit on a board and vote.

They have about as much pull behind the scenes as a McDonalds franchisee has in what kind of meat they use.

The job of SIlver and his lieutenants is to grow the value of the business and make money by any means necessary.
And if you haven't noticed, they league's newest key business partner is now legalized sports gambling which is basically propping up the failing regional sports model all by itself. And the Mavs owners made all their money in Las Vegas on gambling.

With a magician everyone involved is going to be invested in the mystery of the trick, that's how they all make their money. And of course pretty often people do eventually speak out and reveal the trick. They've made it into a TV series even.

Here we have billionaires in competition with each other. It would be pretty easy to see a disgruntled owner speak out or sue if they feel they had been cheated. We've had 40 years of lotteries with owners coming and going. The idea that Silver has all these rich and powerful people on a leash seems somewhat far fetched.

[KGdaBom]

If you’re implying the lottery was rigged to reward the Mavericks for trading Luka, that would have to involve at least 4 entities with the Mavericks, Lakers, the commissioner’s office and Ernst & Young (the auditors). And if you’re suggesting it’s happened multiple times, then you have to wonder if the entire league is in on it. Are owners OK with their teams getting screwed (not having a real chance of winning the lottery) for “the good of the league”?

Have you ever been to see a professional magician?
How are all their secrets just not public knowledge?
There are just too many people in on it to pull it off!
All that MAGIC must be REAL!

You guys act like NBA owners have any sort of hand in anything the NBA does other than approving new owners and approving competition committee changes which are largely chosen for them.
They are franchisees with about 3% ownership in the parent company.
They are nothing but shareholders that sit on a board and vote.
How many owners who have butted heads with the league have we seen basically crucified in public with manufactured PR nightmares over the years?
Complaining is a dangerous move.

They have about as much pull behind the scenes as a McDonalds franchisee has in what kind of meat they use.

The job of SIlver and his lieutenants is to grow the value of the business and make money by any means necessary.
And if you haven't noticed, they league's newest key business partner is now legalized sports gambling which is basically propping up the failing regional sports model all by itself. And the Mavs owners made all their money in Las Vegas on gambling.

Too many coincidences. Just too many.

No way in HELL.

[KGdaBom]

If you’re implying the lottery was rigged to reward the Mavericks for trading Luka, that would have to involve at least 4 entities with the Mavericks, Lakers, the commissioner’s office and Ernst & Young (the auditors). And if you’re suggesting it’s happened multiple times, then you have to wonder if the entire league is in on it. Are owners OK with their teams getting screwed (not having a real chance of winning the lottery) for “the good of the league”?

Have you ever been to see a professional magician?
How are all their secrets just not public knowledge?
There are just too many people in on it to pull it off.

You guys act like NBA owners have any sort of hand in anything the NBA does other than approving new owners and approving competition committee votes. They are franchisees.
They are nothing but shareholders that sit on a board and vote.

They have about as much pull behind the scenes as a McDonalds franchisee has in what kind of meat they use.

The job of SIlver and his lieutenants is to grow the value of the business and make money by any means necessary.
And if you haven't noticed, they league's newest key business partner is now legalized sports gambling which is basically propping up the failing regional sports model all by itself. And the Mavs owners made all their money in Las Vegas on gambling.

With a magician everyone involved is going to be invested in the mystery of the trick, that's how they all make their money. And of course pretty often people do eventually speak out and reveal the trick. They've made it into a TV series even.

Here we have billionaires in competition with each other. It would be pretty easy to see a disgruntled owner speak out or sue if they feel they had been cheated. We've had 40 years of lotteries with owners coming and going. The idea that Silver has all these rich and powerful people on a leash seems somewhat far fetched.

Very, very, very farfetched.

[younggunsmn]

If you’re implying the lottery was rigged to reward the Mavericks for trading Luka, that would have to involve at least 4 entities with the Mavericks, Lakers, the commissioner’s office and Ernst & Young (the auditors). And if you’re suggesting it’s happened multiple times, then you have to wonder if the entire league is in on it. Are owners OK with their teams getting screwed (not having a real chance of winning the lottery) for “the good of the league”?

Have you ever been to see a professional magician?
How are all their secrets just not public knowledge?
There are just too many people in on it to pull it off.

You guys act like NBA owners have any sort of hand in anything the NBA does other than approving new owners and approving competition committee votes. They are franchisees.
They are nothing but shareholders that sit on a board and vote.

They have about as much pull behind the scenes as a McDonalds franchisee has in what kind of meat they use.

The job of SIlver and his lieutenants is to grow the value of the business and make money by any means necessary.
And if you haven't noticed, they league's newest key business partner is now legalized sports gambling which is basically propping up the failing regional sports model all by itself. And the Mavs owners made all their money in Las Vegas on gambling.

With a magician everyone involved is going to be invested in the mystery of the trick, that's how they all make their money. And of course pretty often people do eventually speak out and reveal the trick. They've made it into a TV series even.

Here we have billionaires in competition with each other. It would be pretty easy to see a disgruntled owner speak out or sue if they feel they had been cheated. We've had 40 years of lotteries with owners coming and going. The idea that Silver has all these rich and powerful people on a leash seems somewhat far fetched.

Please tell that to Mark Cuban and Donald Sterling and Robert Sarver and all the other owners that have been pushed out either publicly or behind the scenes over the years.

Adam Silver doesn't answer to the owners. He answers to Disney and Jeff Bezos and Comcast and Nike and Adidas and a dozen other corporate interests, not a bunch of 3% shareholders who treat it as a status symbol and often don't even have majority control of that 3% share anyways.
Nico Harrison was a Nike plant.

When in the history of pro sports has a commisioner ever been thrown out by ownership?
And what are the chances of the 30 competing idiot shareholders ever agreeing on any significant changes?

[shrink]

Have you ever been to see a professional magician?
How are all their secrets just not public knowledge?
There are just too many people in on it to pull it off.

You guys act like NBA owners have any sort of hand in anything the NBA does other than approving new owners and approving competition committee votes. They are franchisees.
They are nothing but shareholders that sit on a board and vote.

They have about as much pull behind the scenes as a McDonalds franchisee has in what kind of meat they use.

The job of SIlver and his lieutenants is to grow the value of the business and make money by any means necessary.
And if you haven't noticed, they league's newest key business partner is now legalized sports gambling which is basically propping up the failing regional sports model all by itself. And the Mavs owners made all their money in Las Vegas on gambling.

With a magician everyone involved is going to be invested in the mystery of the trick, that's how they all make their money. And of course pretty often people do eventually speak out and reveal the trick. They've made it into a TV series even.

Here we have billionaires in competition with each other. It would be pretty easy to see a disgruntled owner speak out or sue if they feel they had been cheated. We've had 40 years of lotteries with owners coming and going. The idea that Silver has all these rich and powerful people on a leash seems somewhat far fetched.

Please tell that to Mark Cuban and Donald Sterling and Robert Sarver and all the other owners that have been pushed out either publicly or behind the scenes over the years.

Adam Silver doesn't answer to the owners. He answers to Disney and Jeff Bezos and Comcast and Nike and Adidas and a dozen other corporate interests, not a bunch of 3% shareholders who treat it as a status symbol and often don't even have majority control of that 3% share anyways.
Nico Harrison was a Nike plant.

When in the history of pro sports has a commisioner ever been thrown out by ownership?
And what are the chances of the 30 competing idiot shareholders ever agreeing on any significant changes?

Lots of interesting dynamics for a commissioner.

Many tend to think of the Commissioner’s main job is to represent the owners vs the players in negotiating a Collective Bargaining Agreement. That shouldn’t be dismissed, finding a deal that makes the players, small market owners, and large market owners all happy.

But youngguns is right, that there is an equally important job negotiating the tv rights, the advertising rights, marketing, merchandising, branding, etc that makes the NBA profitable as a whole.

And then, the owners are a mixed bag. They all want the NBA as a whole to be profitable - it helps their earnings and protects the values of their franchises. But at the same time, these are rich, usually egotistical men, that are usually not overly concerned that their basketball revenues protect their total net incomes.

Do I believe that you could get 30 owners to knowingly agree to give DAL the #1 pick, even if it arguably the most profitable place for the NBA to send him? No. But I certainly believe the system could be gamed, to trick them into believing the draft is not fixed.

[Worm Guts]

With a magician everyone involved is going to be invested in the mystery of the trick, that's how they all make their money. And of course pretty often people do eventually speak out and reveal the trick. They've made it into a TV series even.

Here we have billionaires in competition with each other. It would be pretty easy to see a disgruntled owner speak out or sue if they feel they had been cheated. We've had 40 years of lotteries with owners coming and going. The idea that Silver has all these rich and powerful people on a leash seems somewhat far fetched.

Please tell that to Mark Cuban and Donald Sterling and Robert Sarver and all the other owners that have been pushed out either publicly or behind the scenes over the years.

Adam Silver doesn't answer to the owners. He answers to Disney and Jeff Bezos and Comcast and Nike and Adidas and a dozen other corporate interests, not a bunch of 3% shareholders who treat it as a status symbol and often don't even have majority control of that 3% share anyways.
Nico Harrison was a Nike plant.

When in the history of pro sports has a commisioner ever been thrown out by ownership?
And what are the chances of the 30 competing idiot shareholders ever agreeing on any significant changes?

Lots of interesting dynamics for a commissioner.

Many tend to think of the Commissioner’s main job is to represent the owners vs the players in negotiating a Collective Bargaining Agreement. That shouldn’t be dismissed, finding a deal that makes the players, small market owners, and large market owners all happy.

But youngguns is right, that there is an equally important job negotiating the tv rights, the advertising rights, marketing, merchandising, branding, etc that makes the NBA profitable as a whole.

And then, the owners are a mixed bag. They all want the NBA as a whole to be profitable - it helps their earnings and protects the values of their franchises. But at the same time, these are rich, usually egotistical men, that are usually not overly concerned that their basketball revenues protect their total net incomes.

Do I believe that you could get 30 owners to knowingly agree to give DAL the #1 pick, even if it arguably the most profitable place for the NBA to send him? No. But I certainly believe the system could be gamed, to trick them into believing the draft is not fixed.

If the commissioner or commissioner's office were to independently rig the lottery, it would be easier to pull off, although riskier for commissioner (potentially taking all the blame and/or drawing the ire of all the owners in the case it is discovered). Once you start implying that the rigged the lottery pick can be included in trades, I think you're also implying all the owners are also in on it. In that case the big risk is a malcontent owner.

[Guest84]

Halliburton has hit some big time shots this post season

[TimberKat]

Conference final Towns is better than conference final Randle but the real KAT is Indiana Pacers. Those guys has 18 lives. Unbelievable how they tie the game. Haliburton use the same shot to beat Cleveland. Nesmith and Hali put Reggie's 8 points in 9 Sec to shame.

[Guest84]

Indiana is starting to seem like a team of destiny. Things just continue to fall in their favor. We’ll see if they can close the deal.

[KGdaBom]

Indiana is starting to seem like a team of destiny. Things just continue to fall in their favor. We’ll see if they can close the deal.

Teams leading by at least 14 points in the final 2:45 of the fourth quarter had been 994-0 since detailed play-by-play began being kept in 1997-98.

In the last 27 years of NBA play no team had ever blown a 14 point or more lead in the final 2:45. Prior to that I guess we don't know. 30 teams 27 years never happened nearly 1000 chances.

[KGdaBom]

IMO after watching the Halliburton regulation game tying shot at the buzzer and the choke sign after that has no place in the game and he should get the maximum fine possible for that. I'm sure some think I'm being soft, but that was over the top. Players should not be able to behave like that with impunity. Just my opinion.
A ref would have been totally within his rights to call a tech on that. Imagine that? Would the tech FT have been added to the end of regulation or the start of OT.

[Note30]

IMO after watching the Halliburton regulation game tying shot at the buzzer and the choke sign after that has no place in the game and he should get the maximum fine possible for that. I'm sure some think I'm being soft, but that was over the top. Players should not be able to behave like that with impunity. Just my opinion.
A ref would have been totally within his rights to call a tech on that. Imagine that? Would the tech FT have been added to the end of regulation or the start of OT.

It's been a while since I've agreed with you.

Guarantee if we had the old hand checking rules and enforcers in the league he wouldn't have done that.

[frankenwolf]

IMO after watching the Halliburton regulation game tying shot at the buzzer and the choke sign after that has no place in the game and he should get the maximum fine possible for that. I'm sure some think I'm being soft, but that was over the top. Players should not be able to behave like that with impunity. Just my opinion.
A ref would have been totally within his rights to call a tech on that. Imagine that? Would the tech FT have been added to the end of regulation or the start of OT.

Since it happened after the clock had gone off, I would say there is nothing the refs can do in game. However, the league should impose a sizable fine (suspension?) for that.

I'm just imagining him doing that and the next drive down the lane McHale clotheslines him.

[Calinks]

Indiana is starting to seem like a team of destiny. Things just continue to fall in their favor. We’ll see if they can close the deal.

I think their offense is just really exceptional. I am starting to think they are the only team that has a chance to beat OKC. Not because they are a great all around team but because their offense can flow so well they just might be able to beat that OKC defense.

I think we are seeing that playmaking is paramount. All the teams left outside of our have very effective PG's. Haliburton is a real general and he does so much for his teams offense, its crazy. Playmkaing can get you through some tough defenses and situations and Indiana might just have enough to pull it off.

I think they will beat the Knicks.

[Calinks]

Indiana is starting to seem like a team of destiny. Things just continue to fall in their favor. We’ll see if they can close the deal.

I think their offense is just really exceptional. I am starting to think they are the only team that has a chance to beat OKC. Not because they are a great all around team but because their offense can flow so well they just might be able to beat that OKC defense.

I think we are seeing that playmaking is paramount. All the teams left outside of our have very effective PG's. Haliburton is a real general and he does so much for his teams offense, its crazy. Playmkaing can get you through some tough defenses and situations and Indiana might just have enough to pull it off.

I think they will beat the Knicks.

[cmoss84]

Last post about this-don't want to beat a dead horse. This is more therapy for myself than anything.
Is NY a superior team to Detroit? Probably, but don't forget about the blatantly "missed" 3 point foul call to end regulation that completely shifted momentum in the series. Is OKC a superior team to us? Probably, but game one changed everything in the series. It wasn't just THAT game.
In baseball, if an umpire seems to give an edge to one team, does the other team have to change strategies? If they do, it might hurt their overall performance. In football, if one team is allowed to be more "handsy" on defense than the other, will it affect the game overall?
I would be more than happy to lose to OKC...the right way. They are a great team. Obviously, it is impossible to get all calls correct. But there is no excuse for the blatant bad calls. They have no place for any sport-playoffs or not.
Ok I am done ranting and rambling! Have a great weekend everyone!

[KGdaBom]

IMO after watching the Halliburton regulation game tying shot at the buzzer and the choke sign after that has no place in the game and he should get the maximum fine possible for that. I'm sure some think I'm being soft, but that was over the top. Players should not be able to behave like that with impunity. Just my opinion.
A ref would have been totally within his rights to call a tech on that. Imagine that? Would the tech FT have been added to the end of regulation or the start of OT.

Since it happened after the clock had gone off, I would say there is nothing the refs can do in game. However, the league should impose a sizable fine (suspension?) for that.

I'm just imagining him doing that and the next drive down the lane McHale clotheslines him.

No the game was going to overtime. So they could have called a tech. I don't know if the tech would be considered a continuation of the play so the FT would have been regulation or overtime.

[Neeva]

The two stubborn mule head coaches that refuses to change things up or play more than 8 players are getting their asses beat in the conference finals . Wolves and knicks can still win their series but it will be inspite of their idiot head coaches!

[Guest84]

The two stubborn mule head coaches that refuses to change things up or play more than 8 players are getting their asses beat in the conference finals . Wolves and knicks can still win their series but it will be inspite of their idiot head coaches!

Two sweeps maybe? Hope not but it’s looking like it