Woj: Some Players getting cold feet about playing in Orlando

[Dominator83]

For readers of my post, please try to read the following by at least briefly suspending the "well they're millionaires, they should suck it up and do their jobs" thoughts and give it a chance.

A bunch of predominantly black men being restricted to staying in Disney World to play basketball amidst the state of the nation and the world sounds absurd. What's even more absurd is an employer restricting pay of employees if they decide to leave a confined area, or suspending them. And if you want to leave, you'll be subject to all sorts of questioning by your employer. Do employers have the right to do this, is not an illegitimate question to ask.

I know that all jobs are different, and some work agreements call for extreme conditions. But NBA players didn't sign up for this in their contracts. This is a revision that they either have to agree to or lose money, so the fact that there's significant concern here isn't surprising.

If it was up to me, I'd love basketball to be back and I'd want everyone to be safe on their own accord, not by mandate from the league, but we know that's too idealistic. There's just a lot of subtleties involved here, and more of them keep popping up the more you think about it.

In this case, yes the employer would have the right to do that, because it's a collectively bargained thing. Under normal labor laws probably not. But nothing normal and rules are being altered everywhere. Like for example, we as Americans have the right to work in and eat at a Damn restaurant if we choose to. We know the risk factor, and it should be our right to decide whether or not we want to take the chance. Just like all the protesters and rioters did when they threw social distancing and safety out the window. We have been stripped of those basic rights by our governor's.

But as for players choosing not to participate, more power to them. It should be their choice on whether or not to take that risk, and if they don't want to nobody should hold that against them (though I'm sure some will because haters gonna hate). But, they shouldn't have a Larry O'Brien trophy this year. Things are too out of whack. Just call it the Covid cup or something. This year's championship is going to have asterisks all over it

[SNPA]

Let's keep it 100. They aren't scared of COVID.

They're concerned with not being able to get pussy and weed while stuck inside Disney World for 2 months.

I bet Harden's first question was whether or not Disney World has a strip club.

.

This...

None of the players are scared of Covid, it's a nothingburger for young people who are not morbidly obese...

COVID attacks the lungs. Lungs are kinda important to an athlete’s future. COVID is also causing blood clot issues. For any athlete using his brain it’s not a nothing burger, it’s risk vs reward and there are real risks and for some not much reward.

[LAKESHOW]

Somebody needs to tell Gobert and D. Mitchel to stop actin like punks

[jason bourne]

Still more understandable than players like Lillard not suiting up because the games are "meaningless"

If they don't want to play, they don't get paid. Simple. And if they are sitting out for stupid reasons like Lillard, fine em. That or give us fans the ability to not pay either and consume NBA content for free.

I thought Lillard was smarter than this. He only talked about games as "meaningless." He didn't mention what's going on in the socio-political landscape, so I thought he meant because the Trail Blazers are out. They still have a chance, but he doesn't want to play in games even though he'll be paid. Whether it's this COVID-19 and George Floyd tragedy riddled season or not, we'll always have meaningless games. There will still be teams that are out playing, so these games aren't meaningless even if one team is tanking. If Lillard isn't going to play in the game, then he shouldn't be paid. What a big dumb a-hole.

OTOH, Curry agreed with him about meaningless games but at least he mentioned the George Floyd racist cop murder and COVID-19. Curry probably was thinking about what has happened and didn't think it through about meaningless games.

[seanbig]

At the end of the day it is what it is

The nba is entertainment so I won’t knock people being
Anxious about sent to Epcot centre aka quarantine for months

It seems like they should have just done playoffs

[Catchall]

Several of these players joined large, tightly-packed crowds to protest against police brutality just this past week. It's not clear if players are opposed to playing because they want to social distance to avoid the virus, or they're complaining because they don't want to be isolated.

[Roscoe Sheed]

Still more understandable than players like Lillard not suiting up because the games are "meaningless"

If they don't want to play, they don't get paid. Simple. And if they are sitting out for stupid reasons like Lillard, fine em. That or give us fans the ability to not pay either and consume NBA content for free.

I thought Lillard was smarter than this. He only talked about games as "meaningless." He didn't mention what's going on in the socio-political landscape, so I thought he meant because the Trail Blazers are out. They still have a chance, but he doesn't want to play in games even though he'll be paid. Whether it's this COVID-19 and George Floyd tragedy riddled season or not, we'll always have meaningless games. There will still be teams that are out playing, so these games aren't meaningless even if one team is tanking. If Lillard isn't going to play in the game, then he shouldn't be paid. What a big dumb a-hole.

OTOH, Curry agreed with him about meaningless games but at least he mentioned the George Floyd racist cop murder and COVID-19. Curry probably was thinking about what has happened and didn't think it through about meaningless games.

In fairness to Lillard I think he said that before the current proposal for the 8th Vs 9th seed qualification

[Catchall]

Let's keep it 100. They aren't scared of COVID.

They're concerned with not being able to get pussy and weed while stuck inside Disney World for 2 months.

I bet Harden's first question was whether or not Disney World has a strip club.

So you're saying Disney World isn't really the happiest place on earth?

I'm shattered.

[Lalouie]

i'm guessing it's the weak minded, young players who don't give a sh** and think they're there to have a good time at disney.

i don't think lebron minds, i don't think cp3 minds, i don't think westbrook or harden minds, and i don't think giannis minds.

this is why i think the teams with the advantage are the vet teams - players who have played 10 years and have no ring. vets who want to win cuz they made their money already. who get that this is a business.

if players are crying about quarantining, limited access to everything, then they don't want to win and they'll lose, and all is as it should be. they don't belong there and never should have been.

however i think this is an overblown thing. "some players" is what,,,the 3 players woj talked to???

[SNPA]

i'm guessing it's the weak minded, young players who don't give a sh** and think they're there to have a good time at disney.

i don't think lebron minds, i don't think cp3 minds, i don't think westbrook or harden minds, and i don't think giannis minds.

this is why i think the teams with the advantage are the vet teams - players who have played 10 years and have no ring. vets who want to win cuz they made their money already. who get that this is a business.

if players are crying about quarantining, limited access to everything, then they don't want to win and they'll lose, and all is as it should be. they don't belong there and never should have been.

however i think this is an overblown thing. "some players" is what,,,the 3 players woj talked to???

Older guys going for their legacies will almost certainly be more open to it. They’ve made their money.

Younger guys thinking about their future aren’t weak minded, they are the opposite. If you, as a millionaire already, had a one tenth of one percent chance at losing tens of millions in the future to make an extra few hundreds of thousands or even a million plus now would you do it? Nah. You’d sit home on your pile of cash and wait to make 10x more piles of cash in the future. What’s the point of risking your massive future earnings? To make LeBron have a better finals record? Add no weed or women, young guys staying away makes a lot of sense. Also, who the hell wants to be stuck in Disney world for months?

[oaktownwarriors87]

Let's turn up this **** show. As a fan of a team with no skin in the game, I want to see a reality TV style train wreck. What an amazing time to tank.

[Lalouie]

i also think the media is overblowing this because they're LOVING this whole thing. we're eager for the potential of all the side stories of this thing that is becoming something of a "the story of the year". so the media is going to jump on anything that moves

[PT416]

Leak the names

This.

Time the NBA players start having some accountability

Joe Ingles openly said he would consider retiring and returning to Australia to protect his immuno-compromised family.

Now what? What sort of accountability should he be held to?

I hold him accountable for being a good all around human being and having his priorities in check.

[Norm2953]

One cannot blame some players deciding not to play, especially if they have compromised immune
systems or have other pre-existing conditions.

[rasta_marley]

Still more understandable than players like Lillard not suiting up because the games are "meaningless"

If they don't want to play, they don't get paid. Simple. And if they are sitting out for stupid reasons like Lillard, fine em. That or give us fans the ability to not pay either and consume NBA content for free.

I think what lillard means is if hes not competing for a chip them the risk to health and family isnt worth it to him. I mean fair enough.

[RiseOfTheEmpire]

For readers of my post, please try to read the following by at least briefly suspending the "well they're millionaires, they should suck it up and do their jobs" thoughts and give it a chance.

A bunch of predominantly black men being restricted to staying in Disney World to play basketball amidst the state of the nation and the world sounds absurd. What's even more absurd is an employer restricting pay of employees if they decide to leave a confined area, or suspending them. And if you want to leave, you'll be subject to all sorts of questioning by your employer. Do employers have the right to do this, is not an illegitimate question to ask.

I know that all jobs are different, and some work agreements call for extreme conditions. But NBA players didn't sign up for this in their contracts. This is a revision that they either have to agree to or lose money, so the fact that there's significant concern here isn't surprising.

If it was up to me, I'd love basketball to be back and I'd want everyone to be safe on their own accord, not by mandate from the league, but we know that's too idealistic. There's just a lot of subtleties involved here, and more of them keep popping up the more you think about it.

"They didn't sign up for this".

You're making it sound like these "predominantly black men" are being assigned to concentration camps. They are going to be away from the wife, girlfriends and kids for a couple of months, living with lavish paychecks at Disney World and play **** basketball with their boys.

It gets clearer day by day how many dudes here just watch and gossip about, but don't really play, or LOVE playing, basketball. This is what these guys do, I would hope they would be thrilled to do it again.

Sign me up.

[NBAFan93]

Leak the names

I have to imagine there are some “big names” in the mix.....otherwise this wouldn’t be a story

Big names who have generational wealth getting a taste of the retired life...unless Silver stands firm ( he wont) it's going to be a while before we see guys excited to play basketball again. You're getting a glimpse of a league where the players have total control. Fan resentment, load management, and now a work stoppage. The NBA is a business and the most valuable leverage a player can have is choosing not to play.

There were many big big names that were part of that alliance (or whatever they called it) that was committed to resuming play. I guess you could start wondering about the players not on that list, but there aren’t a lot of them. I don’t think it’s big names, but possibly highly paid role players who don’t have much of a “legacy” at stake if the league takes a long break.

With all these huge protests. I find it puzzling guys are afraid to play cause of Covid - maybe they don’t like the idea of being locked in a bubble for 2.5 months w/ or w/o their families (that could actually go either way - like maybe they want the ability to do stuff on their own and also see them when they want - one or the other for 2.5 months might be hard).

Perhaps they’d rather just play the games in a more regular environment?

[NBAFan93]

Still more understandable than players like Lillard not suiting up because the games are "meaningless"

If they don't want to play, they don't get paid. Simple. And if they are sitting out for stupid reasons like Lillard, fine em. That or give us fans the ability to not pay either and consume NBA content for free.

I think what lillard means is if hes not competing for a chip them the risk to health and family isnt worth it to him. I mean fair enough.

Yeah right. We know he really means it’s not worth his precious diva superstar time. All this stuff w/ him not wanting to play unless he gets his way is just another example of how double standards apply to him cause he’s like-able. I can only imagine if one of the more polarizing players even hinted to this.

Like anyone would “risk their health and family” for the opportunity to get the 8 seed. Not like Portland are contenders. Most he wants to get out of any of this is to prove he can make the playoffs, but if that’s not an easy enough road for him he wants to quit.

[Lalouie]

i'm guessing it's the weak minded, young players who don't give a sh** and think they're there to have a good time at disney.

i don't think lebron minds, i don't think cp3 minds, i don't think westbrook or harden minds, and i don't think giannis minds.

this is why i think the teams with the advantage are the vet teams - players who have played 10 years and have no ring. vets who want to win cuz they made their money already. who get that this is a business.

if players are crying about quarantining, limited access to everything, then they don't want to win and they'll lose, and all is as it should be. they don't belong there and never should have been.

however i think this is an overblown thing. "some players" is what,,,the 3 players woj talked to???

Older guys going for their legacies will almost certainly be more open to it. They’ve made their money.

Younger guys thinking about their future aren’t weak minded, they are the opposite. If you, as a millionaire already, had a one tenth of one percent chance at losing tens of millions in the future to make an extra few hundreds of thousands or even a million plus now would you do it? Nah. You’d sit home on your pile of cash and wait to make 10x more piles of cash in the future. What’s the point of risking your massive future earnings? To make LeBron have a better finals record? Add no weed or women, young guys staying away makes a lot of sense. Also, who the hell wants to be stuck in Disney world for months?

there's a reason why ONLY ONE "young" team has ever won a ring - that's the walton blazers. and since that time it's been 40 YRS+....60 yrs if you want to go back to the beginning of the celts reign!!! it's because the vet winner is still in control and aren't ready to give it up and the young teams are too young to be fully formed or even ready to win a ring.

off the bat, we can eliminate denver and philly. denver because they don't have the thin air in orlando and philly has the worst away record.....and BOTH are young

[NBAFan93]

Several of these players joined large, tightly-packed crowds to protest against police brutality just this past week. It's not clear if players are opposed to playing because they want to social distance to avoid the virus, or they're complaining because they don't want to be isolated.

If they were at a protest, they clearly aren’t affraid of covid. I could definitely see it being them not liking the idea of the isolation. Right now w/ things opening up they have a lot more freedom than a month ago - being stuck in a bubble at Disney when you aren’t allowed to go anywhere but your job and your hotel sounds very restrictive.