2020-21 NBA Season Discussion

[eminence]

There's not many guys that are genuinely less likable than Kyrie despite being by most accounts a decent human being.

[limbo]

I know it's his job to act professional, but i think Kyrie just acknowledges that over 99% of the content he does with the press is pure junk media with very surface/shallow level stuff that you're expected to go about and address in a certain manner... and i think as someone who considers himself some sort of independent intellectual, or whatever, it seems like he won't allow himself to be forced into following that 'code'...

Not to mention the fact that the media WILL twist what you say 100% to fit their arbitrary narrative, and then it gets immortalized on the internet/social media... I can imagine having to deal with that can be incredibly frustrating.

We've seen different players deal with this differently... Even coaches. Pop intentionally chooses to give as little-detailed and short answers as possible. Kawhi just gives the most basic/obvious answers (though it's also not in his personality to really talk much), Shaq was insecure a lot of the times... Kobe used a lot of sarcastic answers to not get knocked of center etc.

It's a circus, and i don't really think anyone is 'weird' for not wanting to be a part of it (though there's plenty of other reasons to think Kyrie is weird, but i digress)...

That said, if it's in his contract that he must represent his organization publicly and be available to certain media events, then obviously the fine is warranted if he fails to deliver...

But i don't think speaking to a toxic media has anything to do with whether someone is a decent human being or not.

[eminence]

But i don't think speaking to a toxic media has anything to do with whether someone is a decent human being or not.

It's certainly not a terrible thing in the bigger picture, but phrasing the above sentiment as "I don't talk to pawns" is certainly an **** thing to do.

[limbo]

It's certainly not a terrible thing in the bigger picture, but phrasing the above sentiment as "I don't talk to pawns" is certainly an **** thing to do.

I have no sympathy for the media after decades of seeing how they conduct their business. They can all collectively suck a d*ck for all i care, and i wouldn't miss them if they disappeared tomorrow.

There's a reason why you're seeing more and more players migrate towards the likes of ALL THE SMOKE and JJ Redick's podcast (including some guys voluntarily going on there almost every week)... And that's because they are not expected to act a certain way, answer dumb questions and have to constantly keep their guard up so that someone doesn't misquote their statements.

I don't think Kyrie is all that different from most successful people in terms of having an elevated sense of self. You'd be surprised at how many of them see themselves as 'kings' and the rest as beneath them... Some just got more balls to say it out loud, while others choose to follow Robert Greene's 38th law of power.

[eminence]

It's certainly not a terrible thing in the bigger picture, but phrasing the above sentiment as "I don't talk to pawns" is certainly an **** thing to do.

I have no sympathy for the media after decades of seeing how they conduct their business. They can all collectively suck a d*ck for all i care, and i wouldn't miss them if they disappeared tomorrow.

There's a reason why you're seeing more and more players migrate towards the likes of ALL THE SMOKE and JJ Redick's podcast (including some guys voluntarily going on there almost every week)... And that's because they are not expected to act a certain way, answer dumb questions and have to constantly keep their guard up so that someone doesn't misquote their statements.

I don't think Kyrie is all that different from most successful people in terms of having an elevated sense of self. You'd be surprised at how many of them see themselves as 'kings' and the rest as beneath them... Some just got more balls to say it out loud, while others choose to follow Robert Greene's 38th law of power.

No, I will never be surprised at the number of them in the world.

[Doctor MJ]

There's not many guys that are genuinely less likable than Kyrie despite being by most accounts a decent human being.

Decent human being to who? I ask earnestly already having a long list of people he is actively damaging with his narcissistic behavior.

[Doctor MJ]

But i don't think speaking to a toxic media has anything to do with whether someone is a decent human being or not.

It's certainly not a terrible thing in the bigger picture, but phrasing the above sentiment as "I don't talk to pawns" is certainly an **** thing to do.

It's a huge problem that Kyrie is so condescending.

I don't know if fans get it yet, but these "pawns" have far more in common with working class fans than Kyrie does. This is Kyrie putting himself above other human beings, and even if it were earned - which it is not - it is precisely the sort of attitude we need to avoid in our society.

[Doctor MJ]

Although I don't agree with his methods, I can see why Harden is upset with the situation. Basically his team gets a new owner, in the middle of his prime, and prioritizes saving $$ over winning. Unfortunate situation for sure and I have non-issue to with him wanting off of the Titanic that is the Houston Rockets. He could go about it better though.

His owner isn't the actually reason for the issue though, and I say that as someone who thinks the owner is an idiot.

Harden ain't asking to leave because the team didn't resign Trevor Ariza a couple years ago, he's asking to leave because there is no hope left for being a serious contender in Houston, because the team gave up a ton of assets to get Westbrook in place of Paul because that's what Harden demanded, and when that inevitably proved to a low ceiling, Harden didn't want to live with the consequences.

I don't know how things will play out, it's entirely possible that Harden will get what he wants. But the next time the CBA is negotiated, owners are going to look at the Harden situation and say "Okay, time for another lock out."

I'm all for player empowerment, but it all goes to hell when someone uses their leverage so irresponsibly.

[Doctor MJ]

Because this is the Lebron era it led to a lot of players copying him. It's like MJ inspiring shotjackers.

Except LeBron always left teams when he was not contractually obligated. What players are doing now is nothing like what LeBron did.

Players now are doing what Kyrie Irving did in off-season following 2017 where he threatened to "sit out most of the season for knee surgery".

Yup, massive difference between LeBron's behavior and Harden's, and I say this as someone who has been critical of a variety of LeBron's actions.

It makes sense to say that LeBron paved the way for Harden, but Harden's unreasonable-ness is a thing all his hown.

[Doctor MJ]

Kyrie deciding not to speak to the media in favor of cryptic Instagram posts and already stirring up a media frenzy of distraction? I fear for Nash’s future as a head coach...

I really, really wonder what Nash was thinking signing up for this. It's possible it will be enough of a success in the first season that Nash will have some coaching accomplishments under his belt, but I really don't know how you keep someone happy when their understanding of the world around the diverges as much as Kyrie does.

Kyrie's understanding of people is about as good as his understanding of physics.

[MO12msu]

There are plenty of people in the media who are just hardworking and enthusiastic about telling the rest of the world about basketball and the NBA.

There’s obviously some chumps (like in literally every profession) but to paint all of NBA media in a terrible light is kinda crap.

There are plenty of players that just give stock answers to the media and go about their day. As part of your job sometimes you’re going to have obligations that you don’t want to do.

[eminence]

There's not many guys that are genuinely less likable than Kyrie despite being by most accounts a decent human being.

Decent human being to who? I ask earnestly already having a long list of people he is actively damaging with his narcissistic behavior.

Whenever he's not doing something involved with him being a basketball player I've been fine with Kyrie, he seems to treat people fine in his personal life, he gets out and actively supports the causes he believes in, puts his money where his mouth is relative to most folks in his situation and the worst I've ever seen him do is act narcissistic/his psuedo-intellectual takes.

He is of course compared here to the pretty mediocre crowd of professional athletes.

[Jordan Syndrome]

There's not many guys that are genuinely less likable than Kyrie despite being by most accounts a decent human being.

Decent human being to who? I ask earnestly already having a long list of people he is actively damaging with his narcissistic behavior.

One of Irving’s contributions was $1.5 million to WNBA players who are sitting out this season.

Deleted Rant.

[ShotCreator]

There's not many guys that are genuinely less likable than Kyrie despite being by most accounts a decent human being.

Decent human being to who? I ask earnestly already having a long list of people he is actively damaging with his narcissistic behavior.

You sound worried Nash is gonna go out like Phil Jackson in NY or something.

Kyrie really doesn’t bother me with this petty media thing but he will probably destroy the Nets within a year or so.

Is what it is. Brooklyn should just dump him for Harden right now.

[Doctor MJ]

There's not many guys that are genuinely less likable than Kyrie despite being by most accounts a decent human being.

Decent human being to who? I ask earnestly already having a long list of people he is actively damaging with his narcissistic behavior.

Whenever he's not doing something involved with him being a basketball player I've been fine with Kyrie, he seems to treat people fine in his personal life, he gets out and actively supports the causes he believes in, puts his money where his mouth is relative to most folks in his situation and the worst I've ever seen him do is act narcissistic/his psuedo-intellectual takes.

He is of course compared here to the pretty mediocre crowd of professional athletes.

Okay but:

1. Actively making the world a worse place with his high public profile flat-earth theorization.
2. Made arguments along the lines that the NBA should not do the Bubble based on some-notion of social justice, thus not understanding where the power of his and other players' voices are coming from, thus potentially causing damage there.
3. Hard to say "He's an ass to his coworkers but he's great to the common people" when he also say "I don't talk to pawns".

I see Kyrie as someone who is actually dangerous.

[Jordan Syndrome]

Decent human being to who? I ask earnestly already having a long list of people he is actively damaging with his narcissistic behavior.

Whenever he's not doing something involved with him being a basketball player I've been fine with Kyrie, he seems to treat people fine in his personal life, he gets out and actively supports the causes he believes in, puts his money where his mouth is relative to most folks in his situation and the worst I've ever seen him do is act narcissistic/his psuedo-intellectual takes.

He is of course compared here to the pretty mediocre crowd of professional athletes.

Okay but:

1. Actively making the world a worse place with his high public profile flat-earth theorization.
2. Made arguments along the lines that the NBA should not do the Bubble based on some-notion of social justice, thus not understanding where the power of his and other players' voices are coming from, thus potentially causing damage there.
3. Hard to say "He's an ass to his coworkers but he's great to the common people" when he also say "I don't talk to pawns".

I see Kyrie as someone who is actually dangerous.

I think Kyrie has good intentions but is stupid.

[Doctor MJ]

There's not many guys that are genuinely less likable than Kyrie despite being by most accounts a decent human being.

Decent human being to who? I ask earnestly already having a long list of people he is actively damaging with his narcissistic behavior.

You sound worried Nash is gonna go out like Phil Jackson in NY or something.

Kyrie really doesn’t bother me with this petty media thing but he will probably destroy the Nets within a year or so.

Is what it is. Brooklyn should just dump him for Harden right now.

My statement here wasn't about Nash. I've had a very, very low opinion about Kyrie since long before Nash got nivolved.

Re: Dump him for Harden. I'll be surprised if that happens.

1. My impression is that Kyrie, Durant & Harden are all pretty much on the same page detached from reality.
2. If Durant signs off on this he's being a disloyal fan.
3. I think you'd have to be crazy to trade for Kyrie if you're not a contender. You know you can't keep him happy.

[Doctor MJ]

Whenever he's not doing something involved with him being a basketball player I've been fine with Kyrie, he seems to treat people fine in his personal life, he gets out and actively supports the causes he believes in, puts his money where his mouth is relative to most folks in his situation and the worst I've ever seen him do is act narcissistic/his psuedo-intellectual takes.

He is of course compared here to the pretty mediocre crowd of professional athletes.

Okay but:

1. Actively making the world a worse place with his high public profile flat-earth theorization.
2. Made arguments along the lines that the NBA should not do the Bubble based on some-notion of social justice, thus not understanding where the power of his and other players' voices are coming from, thus potentially causing damage there.
3. Hard to say "He's an ass to his coworkers but he's great to the common people" when he also say "I don't talk to pawns".

I see Kyrie as someone who is actually dangerous.

I think Kyrie has good intentions but is stupid.

You can't ignore his godzilla-sized ego. Everything he does is about self-aggrandization. He doesn't just give takes, whenever anyone disagrees with him, he comes back with some statement implying they just can't comprehend his galaxy brain.

Is that stupid? Sure, but there are many forms of stupid. This is the Kyrie special.

The tragedy of it all, intelligence-wise, is that I'm not convinced at all I know what his IQ is. It may be high. But he never learned the right first principles and then adopted a worldview where he thinks he knows better than other people because he's rich and famous.

[limbo]

Kyrie is a product of a failed American society from a cultural/educational standpoint, and social media's onset of decentralized information that's basically giving a megaphone to every single person, regardless of qualification or legitimacy, as they proceed to spew BS. Because as long as it's emotional drivel that can suck people in, and make them feel like their life/destiny is out of their control, as they are the victim, they're going to buy it. He's constantly uploading some **** about 'ancestors' on his social media and trying to telepathically connect with their journey on some spiritual level. Posting book quotes about 'breaking from the psychological effects of Master-Slave mentality' and how 'White liberals trick you into believing their success was earned through hard work instead of stealing America from the Native Americans and bringing Africans over to build it''

This is a dude who was a multi-millionaire celebrity at 19 years old for being good at throwing a round ball into a net... trying to identify with some form of struggle and victimhood...

And if people think this is just a unique case that pertains to one individual. That Kyrie is a special example... No. Kyrie is just in a position where he can voice this opinion and behave accordingly without having to fear for his own likelihood, as he is set for life. Also there's a magnifying glass on him because of his celebrity status. There's plenty of randoms on Twitter that spew the same stuff but nobody cares what they have to say because they have no reach.

[RCM88x]

Although I don't agree with his methods, I can see why Harden is upset with the situation. Basically his team gets a new owner, in the middle of his prime, and prioritizes saving $$ over winning. Unfortunate situation for sure and I have non-issue to with him wanting off of the Titanic that is the Houston Rockets. He could go about it better though.

His owner isn't the actually reason for the issue though, and I say that as someone who thinks the owner is an idiot.

Harden ain't asking to leave because the team didn't resign Trevor Ariza a couple years ago, he's asking to leave because there is no hope left for being a serious contender in Houston, because the team gave up a ton of assets to get Westbrook in place of Paul because that's what Harden demanded, and when that inevitably proved to a low ceiling, Harden didn't want to live with the consequences.

I don't know how things will play out, it's entirely possible that Harden will get what he wants. But the next time the CBA is negotiated, owners are going to look at the Harden situation and say "Okay, time for another lock out."

I'm all for player empowerment, but it all goes to hell when someone uses their leverage so irresponsibly.

Do we really know if Harden was so sick of CP3 that he personally approved the Westbrook trade though? I agree they probably weren't getting along at the end of 2019, but Paul wasn't good in the playoffs. I don't think losing him was a massive step back honestly.

The problem was just that the trade itself was not a good one. Westbrook had a worse contact and a worse fit.

Anyways, the Houston issue started the second the ownership changed. They've slowly been drifting this way and I think everyone of us has seen the issues growing.

Ideally what owners would get from this is "if we mishandle our rosters our superstars will ask to leave". However owners obviously don't always prioritize wins and losses above all things, naturally.

Harden is a smart guy, he knows when his team has a chance and when it doesn't, and his efforts and behavior change based on those feelings (much like LeBron at times).