An early summer 2024 thread

[KL2]

Bummer about no SL but at least they plan to retain him.

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[madmaxmedia]

it appears to be the FO is trying to position max flexibility for the summer of 2026. We will only have $61M committed to Kawhi and DJJ.

Potential 2026 free agents are SGA, Luka, Trea, Brunson and Embiid. you also have a 2nd tier group of Mikal Bridges, Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gobert, Irving, Ayton, Porzingis, Jaren Jackson Jr. etc....

Screw all that. Lets develop some guys. Only 2-3 of those guys are will be worth mentioning in 2026 and they'll more than likely stay where they're at.

You never know, we might end up with one big trade and one big FA signing and end up with 213 V2.0…

[esqtvd]

The second apron is making things quite interesting, and the one area that probably needs to be addressed (though maybe the owners don't want to) is the penalty for drafting too many good players. Maybe some exemption to second apron for one of your drafted stars or something.

If you draft multiple stars, the second apron means that you don't get to have them together in their prime because it will be too expensive.

No team is going to have three max guys they drafted on their third contracts (usually when players are in there prime) together because if you had them on their first max contract together you'll be well past two second apron years unless you're just signing all minimum guys.

So you will be forced to trade someone, and not simply because of having to pay luxury tax, but because of severe flexibility handicap if you draft too many future max level players in close succession.

I understand the second apron is about the less rich owners (most of the owners) giving themself protections, and it is obviously owner driven and not player driven as it doesn't benefit the players.

Very good point. Doesn't seem fair that GSW has to let homegrown Klay go in order to keep their future, homegrown Kuminga. And now Klay has to take less [a LOT less] to stay with a contender. This doesn't benefit the players.

And the tons of money paid in luxury tax [close to a billion over the last few years, mostly by Ballmer and GSW] gets distributed among the non-taxpaying teams. Now there'll be a lot less of it. That doesn't help the weak sisters either. This is NOT going to make the Hornets any better.

And the "buying a championship" thing hasn't worked anyway--for Ballmer, for the Nets, for the Suns. Even GSW aged out and got knocked off in the play-in. It looks like they solved a problem that wasn't really a problem.

[og15]

The second apron is making things quite interesting, and the one area that probably needs to be addressed (though maybe the owners don't want to) is the penalty for drafting too many good players. Maybe some exemption to second apron for one of your drafted stars or something.

If you draft multiple stars, the second apron means that you don't get to have them together in their prime because it will be too expensive.

No team is going to have three max guys they drafted on their third contracts (usually when players are in there prime) together because if you had them on their first max contract together you'll be well past two second apron years unless you're just signing all minimum guys.

So you will be forced to trade someone, and not simply because of having to pay luxury tax, but because of severe flexibility handicap if you draft too many future max level players in close succession.

I understand the second apron is about the less rich owners (most of the owners) giving themself protections, and it is obviously owner driven and not player driven as it doesn't benefit the players.

Very good point. Doesn't seem fair that GSW has to let homegrown Klay go in order to keep their future, homegrown Kuminga. And now Klay has to take less [a LOT less] to stay with a contender. This doesn't benefit the players.

And the tons of money paid in luxury tax [close to a billion over the last few years, mostly by Ballmer and GSW] gets distributed among the non-taxpaying teams. Now there'll be a lot less of it. That doesn't help the weak sisters either. This is NOT going to make the Hornets any better.

And the "buying a championship" thing hasn't worked anyway--for Ballmer, for the Nets, for the Suns. Even GSW aged out and got knocked off in the play-in. It looks like they solved a problem that wasn't really a problem.

Well...in the Warriors case, I'm not so sure they really wanted him back anymore, at least not for what he was asking from them. He's making less than they would have given him.

I'm thinking of a team like the Thunder when it comes time to have SGA, Chet and Jalen Williams all on max contracts, things are going to get quite sticky.

The new CBA makes it such that you might start getting a little concerned past two max guys, and the timing has to be right too.

Well the other owners didn't want to keep getting called cheap and all that other stuff when they didn't want to pay big luxury tax bills. Now everyone has an out for paying too much luxury tax and for any extended period of time, well, except for the owners who didn't want an out and are not particularly excited, but they got outvoted, sooo...

[esqtvd]

The second apron is making things quite interesting, and the one area that probably needs to be addressed (though maybe the owners don't want to) is the penalty for drafting too many good players. Maybe some exemption to second apron for one of your drafted stars or something.

If you draft multiple stars, the second apron means that you don't get to have them together in their prime because it will be too expensive.

No team is going to have three max guys they drafted on their third contracts (usually when players are in there prime) together because if you had them on their first max contract together you'll be well past two second apron years unless you're just signing all minimum guys.

So you will be forced to trade someone, and not simply because of having to pay luxury tax, but because of severe flexibility handicap if you draft too many future max level players in close succession.

I understand the second apron is about the less rich owners (most of the owners) giving themself protections, and it is obviously owner driven and not player driven as it doesn't benefit the players.

Very good point. Doesn't seem fair that GSW has to let homegrown Klay go in order to keep their future, homegrown Kuminga. And now Klay has to take less [a LOT less] to stay with a contender. This doesn't benefit the players.

And the tons of money paid in luxury tax [close to a billion over the last few years, mostly by Ballmer and GSW] gets distributed among the non-taxpaying teams. Now there'll be a lot less of it. That doesn't help the weak sisters either. This is NOT going to make the Hornets any better.

And the "buying a championship" thing hasn't worked anyway--for Ballmer, for the Nets, for the Suns. Even GSW aged out and got knocked off in the play-in. It looks like they solved a problem that wasn't really a problem.

Well...in the Warriors case, I'm not so sure they really wanted him back, at least not for what he was asking. He's making less than they would have given him.

I'm thinking of a team like the Thunder when it comes time to have SGA, Chet and Jalen Williams all on max contracts, things are going to get quite sticky.

The new CBA makes it such that you might start getting a little concerned past two max guys, and the timing has to be right too.

Well the other owners didn't want to keep getting called cheap and all that other stuff when they didn't want to pay big luxury tax bills. Now everyone has an out for paying too much luxury tax and for any extended period of time, well, except for the owners who didn't want an out and are not particularly excited, but they got outvoted, sooo...

GSW paid $176.9M in luxury taxes last season. I don't think they lost Klay over a few bucks. It was the second apron, not the luxury tax, that made GSW give Klay the gate. Whatever $$ they had under it, they wanted to spend elsewhere.

You make it really hard to agree with you sometimes, lol.

https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2024/6/28/24187955/hard-capped-second-apron-warriors-arent-planning-for-it-to-matter

[og15]

Very good point. Doesn't seem fair that GSW has to let homegrown Klay go in order to keep their future, homegrown Kuminga. And now Klay has to take less [a LOT less] to stay with a contender. This doesn't benefit the players.

And the tons of money paid in luxury tax [close to a billion over the last few years, mostly by Ballmer and GSW] gets distributed among the non-taxpaying teams. Now there'll be a lot less of it. That doesn't help the weak sisters either. This is NOT going to make the Hornets any better.

And the "buying a championship" thing hasn't worked anyway--for Ballmer, for the Nets, for the Suns. Even GSW aged out and got knocked off in the play-in. It looks like they solved a problem that wasn't really a problem.

Well...in the Warriors case, I'm not so sure they really wanted him back, at least not for what he was asking. He's making less than they would have given him.

I'm thinking of a team like the Thunder when it comes time to have SGA, Chet and Jalen Williams all on max contracts, things are going to get quite sticky.

The new CBA makes it such that you might start getting a little concerned past two max guys, and the timing has to be right too.

Well the other owners didn't want to keep getting called cheap and all that other stuff when they didn't want to pay big luxury tax bills. Now everyone has an out for paying too much luxury tax and for any extended period of time, well, except for the owners who didn't want an out and are not particularly excited, but they got outvoted, sooo...

GSW paid $176.9M in luxury taxes last season. I don't think they lost Klay over a few bucks. It was the second apron, not the luxury tax, that made GSW give Klay the gate. Whatever $$ they had under it, they wanted to spend elsewhere.

You make it really hard to agree with you sometimes, lol.

https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2024/6/28/24187955/hard-capped-second-apron-warriors-arent-planning-for-it-to-matter

My luxury tax comment has nothing to do with the Warriors and Klay, your post had more than one point. You said "they solved a problem that wasn't really a problem". And it is true, it wasn't a true problem, but it was a "problem" (scare quotes for a reason) for the not as rich and/or not very willing to pay luxury tax owners because they are the ones who fans would always call cheap, etc whenever they made cost cutting moves. The Warriors, Clippers, etc were not those teams, they would pay if it meant winning.

The owners of those less luxury tax liking teams outvoted the owners of the teams who could easily pay luxury tax, and that's why the second apron is there. Those owners who don't want to pay so much luxury tax to keep teams together, but don't always want to be called cheap now have the second apron as protection, because it's no longer being cheap to not go so far over the cap, it is now being smart. It's a win/win/win for those owners.

[KL2]

It’s been quiet so why not post this? I’m doing so not because I saw this particular one but have seen the homepage put pics up on the roster page only to take them down again. Bamba is up right now.

If you don’t want to click on the link it says we signed Dinos Mitoglou. It was up then taken down. That’s what Lucas is replying to on the tweet after.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/LAClippers/comments/1dto8d0/the_la_clippers_announced_the_signing_of_610/?rdt=47508

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A few interesting names though I think Dozier just signed with Minnesota I think? Just saw Stanley Johnson signed overseas.

[Roscoe Sheed]

I anticipate Kawhi playing only 50 games or so next season- they will likely go back to load management and he will likely have to sit out for a 10 game stretch due to reactivating his knee issue, so I think they need to consider acquiring a player or 2 more who is capable of creating his own shot- otherwise I fear they will become too reliant on harden, Powell and possibly kpj. I would like Derozan, but I don’t know what the bulls would accept in a sign and trade

[MartinToVaught]

I'm actually fine with the second apron. Anything that increases parity, makes player development more important, forces front offices to get creative instead of just building superteams with the same recycled names, and maybe puts the spotlight back on the actual games instead of the offseason transactions is unequivocally a good thing. I do agree there should be carve-outs that reward teams for drafting well, but the core of the new system should stay the same. The only reason anyone's complaining here is because our FO sucks at almost everything they need to be good at under this CBA.

[MartinToVaught]

If you don’t want to click on the link it says we signed Dinos Mitoglou. It was up then taken down. That’s what Lucas is replying to on the tweet after.

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If we're going to make "risky" signings, I'd 1000x rather take a chance on a Euroleague veteran like Mitoglou who hasn't had an opportunity yet in the NBA and fills a position of need than someone like KPJ or Bridges who have extreme character issues and, in Bridges' case, is redundant and would deplete us of even more assets to acquire. Euroleague veterans are a market inefficiency that we should have been all over for years now with our limited assets. People will bring up Milos as a counterexample, but that was all Doc's fault for setting him up to fail in the worst possible lineups and then benching him until he gave up on the NBA.

[playaloc916]

Should we start a summer league thread ?

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Elijah Harkless

Wow, he played in the "Canadian Elite Basketball" league? I had no idea this league even existed. The CFL (Canadian Football League) is somewhat popular and has quite a few American players, but if it were me, I'd rather play basketball in Europe where the competition would be of a higher level... Saskatchewan is in the middle of Canada and probably not a very exciting place for a young guy to play/live in.

Edit: can't believe this, but XAVIER MOON was the CEBL 3X player of the year (2019 -2021)

[wco81]

Well...in the Warriors case, I'm not so sure they really wanted him back, at least not for what he was asking. He's making less than they would have given him.

I'm thinking of a team like the Thunder when it comes time to have SGA, Chet and Jalen Williams all on max contracts, things are going to get quite sticky.

The new CBA makes it such that you might start getting a little concerned past two max guys, and the timing has to be right too.

Well the other owners didn't want to keep getting called cheap and all that other stuff when they didn't want to pay big luxury tax bills. Now everyone has an out for paying too much luxury tax and for any extended period of time, well, except for the owners who didn't want an out and are not particularly excited, but they got outvoted, sooo...

GSW paid $176.9M in luxury taxes last season. I don't think they lost Klay over a few bucks. It was the second apron, not the luxury tax, that made GSW give Klay the gate. Whatever $$ they had under it, they wanted to spend elsewhere.

You make it really hard to agree with you sometimes, lol.

https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2024/6/28/24187955/hard-capped-second-apron-warriors-arent-planning-for-it-to-matter

My luxury tax comment has nothing to do with the Warriors and Klay, your post had more than one point. You said "they solved a problem that wasn't really a problem". And it is true, it wasn't a true problem, but it was a "problem" (scare quotes for a reason) for the not as rich and/or not very willing to pay luxury tax owners because they are the ones who fans would always call cheap, etc whenever they made cost cutting moves. The Warriors, Clippers, etc were not those teams, they would pay if it meant winning.

The owners of those less luxury tax liking teams outvoted the owners of the teams who could easily pay luxury tax, and that's why the second apron is there. Those owners who don't want to pay so much luxury tax to keep teams together, but don't always want to be called cheap now have the second apron as protection, because it's no longer being cheap to not go so far over the cap, it is now being smart. It's a win/win/win for those owners.

But why did the Players Association agree to it?

The superstars will get their max contracts as well as 8 or 9-figure endorsement deals. Then you have the rookie scale and minimum vet contracts.

There are some MLE and mid level deals but overall, it’s a huge inequality gap Between the max contract players and the rest.

This new CBA will only increase inequality.

Silver is all about parity. He actually believes if small market teams like OKC end up in the Finals it will be good for the league. Maybe feel-good but not necessarily good for ratings or finances of the league.

OTOH he negotiated the richest TV deal in the history of the league so the networks and streamers must believe in parity as well. But let’s see which teams they feature the most in their broadcasts.

[jengmann3]

It's an interesting roster. I'm not sure how it all works together but the individual pieces r cool in theory

Jharden Kawhi- be great and lead. Jh on offense and with young offensive players. Kawhi- both sides and with defenders.
Bones, KPJ, Norm - offensive sparks, plug into starting lineup and have limited drop off offensively
Batum, T-Mann, Amir Coffey - Glue guys. Do a little bit of everything. Super steady.
DJ, Kris Dunn- Defensive aces to put on the hardest assignments 1-3.
Zu - 12 and 8 big, to finish around the rim.
Mo Bamba - backup big also start a little if Zu gets hurt
KJones- unknown.

My thing is how do u mix and match. It probably doesn't make sense for Bones, KPJ, and Norm all to come off the bench. I guess u could start Norm.

[esqtvd]

GSW paid $176.9M in luxury taxes last season. I don't think they lost Klay over a few bucks. It was the second apron, not the luxury tax, that made GSW give Klay the gate. Whatever $$ they had under it, they wanted to spend elsewhere.

You make it really hard to agree with you sometimes, lol.

https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2024/6/28/24187955/hard-capped-second-apron-warriors-arent-planning-for-it-to-matter

My luxury tax comment has nothing to do with the Warriors and Klay, your post had more than one point. You said "they solved a problem that wasn't really a problem". And it is true, it wasn't a true problem, but it was a "problem" (scare quotes for a reason) for the not as rich and/or not very willing to pay luxury tax owners because they are the ones who fans would always call cheap, etc whenever they made cost cutting moves. The Warriors, Clippers, etc were not those teams, they would pay if it meant winning.

The owners of those less luxury tax liking teams outvoted the owners of the teams who could easily pay luxury tax, and that's why the second apron is there. Those owners who don't want to pay so much luxury tax to keep teams together, but don't always want to be called cheap now have the second apron as protection, because it's no longer being cheap to not go so far over the cap, it is now being smart. It's a win/win/win for those owners.

But why did the Players Association agree to it?

The superstars will get their max contracts as well as 8 or 9-figure endorsement deals. Then you have the rookie scale and minimum vet contracts.

There are some MLE and mid level deals but overall, it’s a huge inequality gap Between the max contract players and the rest.

This new CBA will only increase inequality.

Silver is all about parity. He actually believes if small market teams like OKC end up in the Finals it will be good for the league. Maybe feel-good but not necessarily good for ratings or finances of the league.

OTOH he negotiated the richest TV deal in the history of the league so the networks and streamers must believe in parity as well. But let’s see which teams they feature the most in their broadcasts.

Agree. There are max guys and $10-15M guys and then the minimum-ish guys and not much in between.

And it seems to me that the less luxury tax going out [or coming in] amounts to less money going into NBA players' pockets in the first place. Klay Thompson is a perfect example. Since Ballmer failed to buy a title [and didn't really get close], they went to a lot of trouble just to screw GSW [who lost in the play-in this year anyway].

[og15]

GSW paid $176.9M in luxury taxes last season. I don't think they lost Klay over a few bucks. It was the second apron, not the luxury tax, that made GSW give Klay the gate. Whatever $$ they had under it, they wanted to spend elsewhere.

You make it really hard to agree with you sometimes, lol.

https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/2024/6/28/24187955/hard-capped-second-apron-warriors-arent-planning-for-it-to-matter

My luxury tax comment has nothing to do with the Warriors and Klay, your post had more than one point. You said "they solved a problem that wasn't really a problem". And it is true, it wasn't a true problem, but it was a "problem" (scare quotes for a reason) for the not as rich and/or not very willing to pay luxury tax owners because they are the ones who fans would always call cheap, etc whenever they made cost cutting moves. The Warriors, Clippers, etc were not those teams, they would pay if it meant winning.

The owners of those less luxury tax liking teams outvoted the owners of the teams who could easily pay luxury tax, and that's why the second apron is there. Those owners who don't want to pay so much luxury tax to keep teams together, but don't always want to be called cheap now have the second apron as protection, because it's no longer being cheap to not go so far over the cap, it is now being smart. It's a win/win/win for those owners.

But why did the Players Association agree to it?

The superstars will get their max contracts as well as 8 or 9-figure endorsement deals. Then you have the rookie scale and minimum vet contracts.

There are some MLE and mid level deals but overall, it’s a huge inequality gap Between the max contract players and the rest.

This new CBA will only increase inequality.

Silver is all about parity. He actually believes if small market teams like OKC end up in the Finals it will be good for the league. Maybe feel-good but not necessarily good for ratings or finances of the league.

OTOH he negotiated the richest TV deal in the history of the league so the networks and streamers must believe in parity as well. But let’s see which teams they feature the most in their broadcasts.

You have to give up something. Second apron is better than a hard cap. Of course there are always unintended consequences that you might not see initially.

Regardless of how much teams spend, players are still guaranteed a certain percentage of BRI.

Part of the hopeful aim the NBA had with the second apron rules is that every close to All-Star player is not just given a max, and instead teams start to give in between contracts. We will see.

Guy's like Quickley and Anunoby still got quite lucrative contracts (20-25% of cap) despite the second apron now being active.

[og15]

It's an interesting roster. I'm not sure how it all works together but the individual pieces r cool in theory

Jharden Kawhi- be great and lead. Jh on offense and with young offensive players. Kawhi- both sides and with defenders.
Bones, KPJ, Norm - offensive sparks, plug into starting lineup and have limited drop off offensively
Batum, T-Mann, Amir Coffey - Glue guys. Do a little bit of everything. Super steady.
DJ, Kris Dunn- Defensive aces to put on the hardest assignments 1-3.
Zu - 12 and 8 big, to finish around the rim.
Mo Bamba - backup big also start a little if Zu gets hurt
KJones- unknown.

My thing is how do u mix and match. It probably doesn't make sense for Bones, KPJ, and Norm all to come off the bench. I guess u could start Norm.

With Harden as the other guard, you ideally want to start someone who is a good POA defender next to him. Powell is at his best an okay defender, he tries, but he's not a good guy to start next to Harden for balance.

Of course the coaching staff has a lot of time and training camp to figure it out and can always adjust. I'd say one of the more defensive guys starts next to him. Find some balanced lineups for sure with the bench.

[esqtvd]

It's an interesting roster. I'm not sure how it all works together but the individual pieces r cool in theory

Jharden Kawhi- be great and lead. Jh on offense and with young offensive players. Kawhi- both sides and with defenders.
Bones, KPJ, Norm - offensive sparks, plug into starting lineup and have limited drop off offensively
Batum, T-Mann, Amir Coffey - Glue guys. Do a little bit of everything. Super steady.
DJ, Kris Dunn- Defensive aces to put on the hardest assignments 1-3.
Zu - 12 and 8 big, to finish around the rim.
Mo Bamba - backup big also start a little if Zu gets hurt
KJones- unknown.

My thing is how do u mix and match. It probably doesn't make sense for Bones, KPJ, and Norm all to come off the bench. I guess u could start Norm.

Powell and Harden were a plus+9.1 per 100 possessions, one of the Clippers' best 2-man combinations, so it's not as preposterous as it seems. On paper, better than Harden-Mann [plus+4.5].

https://www.nba.com/stats/lineups/traditional?GroupQuantity=2&PerMode=Per100Possessions&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612746&dir=D&slug=traditional&sort=PLUS_MINUS

[og15]

[quote="esqtvd"]
Agree. There are max guys and $10-15M guys and then the minimum-ish guys and not much in between.

And it seems to me that the less luxury tax going out [or coming in] amounts to less money going into NBA players' pockets in the first place. Klay Thompson is a perfect example. Since Ballmer failed to buy a title [and didn't really get close], they went to a lot of trouble just to screw GSW [who lost in the play-in this year anyway]. [/quote]

Denver has also gotten "screwed" so far, or the NBA would say that the second apron is working to spread out the talent.

They signed their players like Porter Jr and Nnaji's contract before the second apron stuff was in, and they had to let go of a very important two time champion role player in KCP because of the apron as well as use multiple 2nd round picks to trade Reggie to stay under. This is after already letting Bruce Brown go after their championship season.

I'm pretty sure in hindsight they would have fought to give Porter less, traded him or something else, and they definitely wouldn't give Nnaji that seemingly small contract that becomes a much bigger deal when you don't want to be aproned, but they are where they are now and have to figure it out.

[wco81]

Agree. There are max guys and $10-15M guys and then the minimum-ish guys and not much in between.

And it seems to me that the less luxury tax going out [or coming in] amounts to less money going into NBA players' pockets in the first place. Klay Thompson is a perfect example. Since Ballmer failed to buy a title [and didn't really get close], they went to a lot of trouble just to screw GSW [who lost in the play-in this year anyway].

Denver has also gotten "screwed" so far, or the NBA would say that the second apron is working to spread out the talent.

They signed their players like Porter Jr and Nnaji's contract before the second apron stuff was in, and they had to let go of a very important two time champion role player in KCP because of the apron as well as use multiple 2nd round picks to trade Reggie to stay under. This is after already letting Bruce Brown go after their championship season.

I'm pretty sure in hindsight they would have fought to give Porter less, traded him or something else, and they definitely wouldn't give Nnaji that seemingly small contract that becomes a much bigger deal when you don't want to be aproned, but they are where they are now and have to figure it out.

Yeah the situation in Denver is ridiculous. They have one of the wealthiest owners in the league but they're going to use the second apron as an alibi to keep payroll down except for 2 or 3 players.

Jokic, Murray and MPJ were all drafted by the Nuggets. Jokic vastly outperformed his draft slot and now will be up for his third contract soon, 35% of the cap I believe.

But they have to let their other starters walk like KCP is they don't want to pay big taxes. So Joker is only 29 and Murray is younger but they may be falling out of the title contention window already, even though Jokic has put up some GOAT seasons in the last 3-4 years.

Boston may also have to move some contracts back after 2024-25. Even though the big TV contract is going to kick in starting with 2025-26 and they're about to get some deep-pockets owner.

So Brown is about to turn 28 and Tatum just 27 but they may also have their window cut short if they lose a couple of starters or rotation players. They may have 4 or 5 guys making over $30 million a year.

You get penalized for drafting players who turn into all-NBA players. Even if a team wasn't spending a lot in free agency, driving salaries up, teams which drafted the right players don't get to keep all of them after 9 years.

OKC is going to be a more severe example, a small market team which is going to have 3 max players in a couple of years, all around 25. They hae maybe 3-4 seasons to win before the core is broken up. That may be why Presti is clinging to those draft picks, may have to reset before the end of the decade.

Orlando is also looking at a similar situation though they spent generously this offseason to keep some role players around.

[esqtvd]

Silver is all about parity. He actually believes if small market teams like OKC end up in the Finals it will be good for the league. Maybe feel-good but not necessarily good for ratings or finances of the league.

OTOH he negotiated the richest TV deal in the history of the league so the networks and streamers must believe in parity as well. But let’s see which teams they feature the most in their broadcasts.

Dynasties are good for a league. People don't tune in to see the pissants. They tune in to see the great teams, to cheer for or against. Now there will be more roster variability/instability than ever before. I didn't watch but a few minutes.

Game 1, which saw the Celtics blow out the Mavericks 107-89, brought in the lowest ratings for a Finals opener in three seasons, averaging 11.04 million viewers across ABC and ESPN Desportes.

However, Game 2, where the Celtics claimed a seven-point win, averaged 12.31 million viewers, the most-watched Game 2 of an NBA Finals since 2019.

For reference, the most-watched NBA Finals game came in 1998, when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls knocked off the Utah Jazz in Game 6 to clinch the series. That game attracted 35.89 million viewers.

This is why the NBA is going global. The NBA seems to have peaked in the USA.

Good points about the Nuggets, Celts and even the Magic. The Nugs started breaking it up after one year. The Celts took ELEVEN YEARS of drafting and shuffling to rebuild after fleecing the Nets in the Garnett-Pierce trade. And now the Magic, who have done nothing, are still staring at the abyss.

As previously noted, the problem is that with the exception of the generational talents in the top 5 picks or so, even future stars like Jalen Brunson take 2-4 years to get their feet under them and then they have to get PAID. That's what OKC is staring at--just as it all comes together they'll have to break it up. There is no free lunch in the NBA. Now the new CBA seems to reward astute drafting and developing even less than before.

There have been 6 different champions in the last six years. And Ballmer didn't succeed in buying a title. GSW aged out of top contention naturally. They fixed a problem that wasn't there.