Token Pressure: the NBA vs. Spencer Dinwiddie

ecuhus1981 · Post #1 » by **ecuhus1981** » Wed Nov 20, 2019 1:05 pm

Brooklyn went from largely drama-free last season, to quite possibly the most drama-filled team in the league this year.

We have a ton of small topics circling the periphery of this team, from KD's comeback to Rodi's case, the Boston media who haven't moved on from the ex that dumped them (Kyrie) to Chandler's PED sting. I don't mean to cast off-court issues as a scapegoat, but obviously players and coaches are still people, and at times the noise can distract us all form the task at hand.

In the eye of the current hurricane stands Spencer Dinwiddie, our (pro tempore) starting and star PG. I stand by his ingenuity with cryptocurrency, and in leveraging his contract for potentially greater gains. I do not think that the NBA would win by merit in a legal suit should they pursue it, but certainly they have the litigation muscle to throw at the case, and could make Spencer's personal life a walking nightmare. They are even threatening suspension and voiding his contract, something that a court could reverse, but that could take months if not years. In the meanwhile, he wouldn't be able to play without an injunction. In short, from my outsider's perspective, it could get messy.

So, what are your thoughts as a Nets fan? Do you like Dinwiddie's plan? Do you agree with him moving ahead to sell his contract after meetings with the NBA? Do you think that the league has the right to bar him from this activity, and the right to punish him for disobeying? What if in the worst case scenario SD doesn't get to play for 2 years??? Would you feel ripped off by the NBA, or by the player?

jbeachboy · Post #2 » by **jbeachboy** » Wed Nov 20, 2019 3:32 pm

what exactly is he doing with his contract? i havent been following this case.

ecuhus1981 · Post #3 » by **ecuhus1981** » Wed Nov 20, 2019 5:09 pm

jbeachboy wrote:what exactly is he doing with his contract? i havent been following this case.

This is a quality overview, you can Google for more in-depth info:

https://www.netsdaily.com/2019/10/14/20913455/spencer-dinwiddie-and-nba-appear-headed-for-clash-over-digital-investment-plan

MrDollarBills · Post #4 » by **MrDollarBills** » Wed Nov 20, 2019 5:22 pm

I don't think that the NBA has a right to tell him what he can do with his guaranteed money.

I'm not sure how the payout works for his investors, but I don't think, based on what I have read, the NBA can dictate what he can do with his money. once he signed that contract, the money is guaranteed to him so if he wants to use his 3rd year earnings to pay out investors that's his right.

gigantes · Post #5 » by **gigantes** » Thu Nov 21, 2019 2:00 am

ecuhus1981 wrote:So, what are your thoughts as a Nets fan? Do you like Dinwiddie's plan? Do you agree with him moving ahead to sell his contract after meetings with the NBA? Do you think that the league has the right to bar him from this activity, and the right to punish him for disobeying? What if in the worst case scenario SD doesn't get to play for 2 years??? Would you feel ripped off by the NBA, or by the player?

My thought is that this is a really interesting (and borderline disturbing) situation that I bet most of us here don't have the right mix of experience to comment on insightfully.

But evidently it comes down to what's written in his & in standard NBA contracts, and it looks like Spencer might be willing to try to fight for a new precedent, both legally and in common practice with the NBA. Gotta take my hat off to him on this stuff for his creativity & principles, for sure.

One thing I would think he has going for him is that it's in the NBA's own interests to try to work this out benignly. Annulling his contract and penalising him a significant period of time comes off like corporate bullying to both the fans and the players, I would think. The NBA already isn't looking great recently, due to everyone being so publicly reminded how much they're in bed with the CCP. I doubt that would matter a bit to a body like the NFL, but Stern went in a different direction with the NBA a long time ago, and Silver seems to be fully running with that.

EDIT: In the past, I've seen some pretty interesting comments on this situation from bit-currency guys and legal guys / contract guys over on r/NBA. First time this topic was posted here, I recall sharing some of that analysis, although I'm not sure where that thread is now.

Lamak · Post #6 » by **Lamak** » Sun Dec 8, 2019 10:47 pm

Not sure if this issue got resolved but we do have a lot more off the court story lines that follow the team this year

ecuhus1981 · Post #7 » by **ecuhus1981** » Mon Dec 9, 2019 1:09 am

^
I don't think it's resolved. The NBA seems determined to resist Spencer's business venture, if for no other reason than the fact that they aren't in on the action. I think they also have a legitimate concern, that not every player and contract will be the best stock for this type of sale. Of course, they have no legal recourse to back up this concern, but it's an understandable concern.

They're going to attempt to wear down Dinwiddie's legal team, and perhaps suspend him to drive a wedge within the team. It could get ugly. As a person, I support SD. As a Nets fan, I hope that Silver waits until Kyrie and Caris are healthy, before taking off the gloves.