REPORT: AD out indefinitely

[Broadcaster]

You’re missing the obvious. It makes money. It’s a business. It has nothing to do with the things you mention. The real truth would make it clear that they’ve probably never deserved to win as much as they have.

Yes yes, the league that just signed a $76 billion TV deal is desperately hurting for money to the point that they rigged a trade for the Lakers. You guys are so enlightened.

I remember my first NBA game in 2013—a Raptors matchup where I had the luxury of floor seats, thanks to my uncle’s work. It was an unforgettable introduction to the electrifying world of professional basketball. Seeing legends like Tim Duncan and Manu live was awe-inspiring, a genuine celebration of athletic prowess.

Yet, as I soaked in the action, a subtle disquiet began to creep in. Amid the cheers and fast breaks, I couldn’t help but notice the stark class divide. The front-row was occupied not by die-hard fans, but by well-dressed, affluent individuals in tailored suits and designer attire—regulars who exuded an air of entitlement. Their presence, so calculated and repetitive, contrasted sharply with the genuine, unbridled enthusiasm of the casual fans scattered in the upper tiers.

That’s when it hit me: money talks, and it often shouts louder than the crowd. Access to the best seats—and by extension, to the closest view of the action—is reserved for those who either can pay exorbitant prices or who wield the right connections. This isn’t just about luxury seating at a game; it’s a vivid example of classism woven into the fabric of sports entertainment.

Now, consider the ripple effect of money on a grander scale. What lengths would people go to for a million dollars? Tens of millions? A billion? And then, there’s that astronomical $76 billion TV deal backing the NBA. It makes you wonder: what concessions or maneuvers might a league be willing to make to secure such colossal revenue? Could it be that the integrity of the game is compromised when enormous sums of money are at stake?

In professional sports, the stakes extend far beyond the court. The power of money doesn’t just influence who sits closest to the action—it has the potential to shape the very nature of the game itself. Money talks, and in this arena, it speaks volumes.

Brother, you nailed it.

[Doranku]

When you have to use robot AI to fabricate a personalized story to make your point, I think you should take a step back and re-evaluate your own critical thinking abilities.

[The Laker Kid]

Nico Lodeon should stick to cartoons. Terrible management.

[Ben-N1ce]

Too early but Lakers might have won the trade.

[Broadcaster]

When you have to use robot AI to fabricate a personalized story to make your point, I think you should take a step back and re-evaluate your own critical thinking abilities.

So you’d rather ignore the truth than admit that the Lakers shouldn’t be as successful as they are? How does success even mean anything when it’s not a fair game?

[ryguy613]

When you have to use robot AI to fabricate a personalized story to make your point, I think you should take a step back and re-evaluate your own critical thinking abilities.

So you’d rather ignore the truth than admit that the Lakers shouldn’t be as successful as they are? How does success even mean anything when it’s not a fair game?

so like... are we arguing that all of the lakers titles are rigged or just some of them? how many titles am i allowed to celebrate. you tell me.

[Broadcaster]

When you have to use robot AI to fabricate a personalized story to make your point, I think you should take a step back and re-evaluate your own critical thinking abilities.

So you’d rather ignore the truth than admit that the Lakers shouldn’t be as successful as they are? How does success even mean anything when it’s not a fair game?

so like... are we arguing that all of the lakers titles are rigged or just some of them? how many titles am i allowed to celebrate. you tell me.

I’m just saying it’s clear it’s not even. This move being the most uneven one yet. At what point is it not a coincidence?

[ForeverTFC]

Are Lakers fans really arguing that their franchise has no advantages compared to the rest of the league? Even the 26 Heat fans have more self awareness...

Of course the Lakers have certain competitive advantages when it comes to acquiring talents. Huge market, Hollywood, most storied franchise in the league. What does any of that have to do with idiot clown moron Nico Harrison trading Luka for AD? Do you think he did it simply to be in the good graces of the Lakers franchise? Like, what is even the argument here?

Just pushing back on the guy above who thinks the CP3 veto proves the NBA is out to get the Lakers. I doubt there is a massive conspiracy here, though I would hope Lakers fans understand why everyone is so frustrated to see an otherwise bottom 5 organization fail their way into yet another savior

[floppymoose]

I have good news Broadcaster. I have seen the future and the lakers do not win a title this year.

Also, sell your meme stocks and meme coins.

[NZB2323]

I actually will take it far less seriously going forward (I guess I never took it that seriously though). I don’t care the reasoning but you cannot act like the Lakers haven’t had more than favourable luck their entire existence. It also definitely benefits the league and this is definitely more an entertainment business than it is a sport. Call it whatever you want, and rationalize the reasoning any way you please, but there’s no denying that the Lakers are gifted so, so, so much more than any other franchise has been and it’s not because the Lakers brass is good. It’s plain to see. If you can’t see it you’ve been sitting on an uneven playing field for too long to recognize it.

It’s still a sport and there have been plenty of times the Lakers were supposed to win and they lost…1969, 2004, and 2013.

The NBA is more balanced than America’s pastime where the Yankees have been getting the best players since Babe Ruth.

I also think the Lakers should get credit for giving Kobe the max when he was past his prime and drafting Lebron’s son. Their brand is they take care of stars. We can’t say the same thing about the Mavericks(Nash, Luka), the Bulls(Jordan, Butler), the Heat(Butler), or the Celtics(Isiah Thomas).

So the defence is that the team with the second most championships lost three times and that other sports are more rigged?

Wilt wanted to play in LA, because it was socially acceptable for a black man to date white women in LA in the 60s, not because the league is rigged.

Kareem wanted to play in LA or NY where there was a larger Muslim population, not because the league is rigged.

Shaq wanted to play in LA because he wanted to do movies and rap and Magic fans said he didn’t deserve the max, not because the league is rigged.

Lebron wanted to play in LA to do Space Jam 2 and get more involved in the entertainment industry while his son went to college in California, not because the league is rigged.

The league blocked a CP3 trade to the Lakers. If the league was rigged for the Lakers they would have allowed that trade.

[Broadcaster]

I’m not trying to suggest anything crazy. I’m not saying the Lakers haven’t won legitimately before. I’m not disagreeing that people have come to the Lakers because they want to. We do live in a world where money matters most though. With this move not being a free-agency choice, and with it potentially having a large revenue benefit, it seems like a pretty nice coincidence. It also seems like an easy out that Nico or the owners are idiots just like it seemed like an easy out to only blame Donaghy.

We’re talking about billionaires managing a multi-billion dollar business. What do you think they’re going to care for? You don’t think they’ll do what’s necessary to maximize profit? What business wouldn’t? And what professional organization would ever actually hire a GM, or have an ownership group, that lacks that much awareness about the thing they’re managing? I think it’s far more likely that money, and people’s pursuit of it, has bigger influence than any of us will ever understand. I think it will definitely be a much greater priority than actually having a professional sport be fair.

[Raps in 4]

I’m not trying to suggest anything crazy. I’m not saying the Lakers haven’t won legitimately before. I’m not disagreeing that people have come to the Lakers because they want to. We do live in a world where money matters most though. With this move not being a free-agency choice, and with it potentially having a large revenue benefit, it seems like a pretty nice coincidence. It also seems like an easy out that Nico or the owners are idiots just like it seemed like an easy out to only blame Donaghy.

We’re talking about billionaires managing a multi-billion dollar business. What do you think they’re going to care for? You don’t think they’ll do what’s necessary to maximize profit? What business wouldn’t? And what professional organization would ever actually hire a GM, or have an ownership group, that lacks that much awareness about the thing they’re managing? I think it’s far more talking likely that money, and people’s pursuit of it, has bigger influence than any of us will ever understand. I think it will definitely be a much greater priority than actually having a professional sport be fair.

The league already did this once before when the Grizzlies traded Pau to the Lakers for peanuts. This time it's even more egregious though.

[Ballerhogger]

Read on Twitter

[Raps in 4]

When you have to use robot AI to fabricate a personalized story to make your point, I think you should take a step back and re-evaluate your own critical thinking abilities.

So you’d rather ignore the truth than admit that the Lakers shouldn’t be as successful as they are? How does success even mean anything when it’s not a fair game?

so like... are we arguing that all of the lakers titles are rigged or just some of them? how many titles am i allowed to celebrate. you tell me.

They're not all rigged, but they're certainly all bull. The Lakers never built a team the hard way.

1980s: Kareem demanded a trade from Milwaukee, joined an MVP-level player in LAL.

1990s/early 2000s: Shaq signed as a FA.

Late 2000s: Pau traded to Lakers for peanuts.

2010s: LeBron signed as a FA. AD demanded a trade to the Lakers (this was the first time the Lakers ever paid fair value for a star player in a trade).

2020s: Luka traded to LAL for peanuts.

The Lakers' entire history of success comes down to FAs signing there, players demanding trades there, and other teams inexplicably trading them star players for peanuts. The last part is the rigged part. The rest is BS from a fan of the sport perspective. The Lakers get bailed out of mediocrity/suckage every time while other teams have to toil in the draft for years/decades.

[SK21209]

So you’d rather ignore the truth than admit that the Lakers shouldn’t be as successful as they are? How does success even mean anything when it’s not a fair game?

so like... are we arguing that all of the lakers titles are rigged or just some of them? how many titles am i allowed to celebrate. you tell me.

They're not all rigged, but they're certainly all bull. The Lakers never built a team the hard way.

1980s: Kareem demanded a trade from Milwaukee, joined an MVP-level player in LAL.

1990s/early 2000s: Shaq signed as a FA.

Late 2000s: Pau traded to Lakers for peanuts.

2010s: LeBron signed as a FA. AD demanded a trade to the Lakers (this was the first time the Lakers ever paid fair value for a star player in a trade).

2020s: Luka traded to LAL for peanuts.

Funny from a fan of the Raptors, who have 1 ring because the Spurs decided they wanted DeRozan instead of picks or young players.

[Raps in 4]

so like... are we arguing that all of the lakers titles are rigged or just some of them? how many titles am i allowed to celebrate. you tell me.

They're not all rigged, but they're certainly all bull. The Lakers never built a team the hard way.

1980s: Kareem demanded a trade from Milwaukee, joined an MVP-level player in LAL.

1990s/early 2000s: Shaq signed as a FA.

Late 2000s: Pau traded to Lakers for peanuts.

2010s: LeBron signed as a FA. AD demanded a trade to the Lakers (this was the first time the Lakers ever paid fair value for a star player in a trade).

2020s: Luka traded to LAL for peanuts.

Funny from a fan of the Raptors, who have 1 ring because the Spurs decided they wanted DeRozan instead of picks or young players.

The Spurs were trading a player with one year left on his contract who publicly stated he would not re-sign with any team outside of LA. Nobody was backing up the Brink's truck to trade for him.

[ryguy613]

So you’d rather ignore the truth than admit that the Lakers shouldn’t be as successful as they are? How does success even mean anything when it’s not a fair game?

so like... are we arguing that all of the lakers titles are rigged or just some of them? how many titles am i allowed to celebrate. you tell me.

They're not all rigged, but they're certainly all bull. The Lakers never built a team the hard way.

1980s: Kareem demanded a trade from Milwaukee, joined an MVP-level player in LAL.

1990s/early 2000s: Shaq signed as a FA.

Late 2000s: Pau traded to Lakers for peanuts.

2010s: LeBron signed as a FA. AD demanded a trade to the Lakers (this was the first time the Lakers ever paid fair value for a star player in a trade).

2020s: Luka traded to LAL for peanuts.

The Lakers' entire history of success comes down to FAs signing there, players demanding trades there, and other teams inexplicably trading them star players for peanuts. The last part is the rigged part. The rest is BS from a fan of the sport perspective. The Lakers get bailed out of mediocrity/suckage every time while other teams have to toil in the draft for years/decades.

dude you guys are seriously becoming unhinged. if you want to make the argument that the lakers have been bailed out of mediocrity in the post kobe era, go ahead and make yourself feel better. trying to pretend they were bailed out in the 70s through the 2000's because people wanted to play in LA is really dumb. its hilarious to me because the lakers dont even have the most titles in the sport lol. why dont any of these arguments ever apply to the celtics? I dont remember anyone calling it rigged when they got KG and Allen for "peanuts". Nor do I remember anyone complaining when they sold the corpse of Pierce and KG to an idiot owner in Brooklyn for the assets that became their title players. guess it was rigged when KD joined the Warriors? Rigged when Bron "took his talents to south beach"?

Look.... im so, so sorry that players like to play in LA. I really am. But last I checked players also like to play in other big markets too... like NY for example. Yet they havent won a title in 50 years. So youll have to excuse me if I dont dismiss their titles because good players have played there lol. sorry

[Parasite]

I wonder how much Nico was paid to do this “trade”

[nikster]

I’m not trying to suggest anything crazy. I’m not saying the Lakers haven’t won legitimately before. I’m not disagreeing that people have come to the Lakers because they want to. We do live in a world where money matters most though. With this move not being a free-agency choice, and with it potentially having a large revenue benefit, it seems like a pretty nice coincidence. It also seems like an easy out that Nico or the owners are idiots just like it seemed like an easy out to only blame Donaghy.

We’re talking about billionaires managing a multi-billion dollar business. What do you think they’re going to care for? You don’t think they’ll do what’s necessary to maximize profit? What business wouldn’t? And what professional organization would ever actually hire a GM, or have an ownership group, that lacks that much awareness about the thing they’re managing? I think it’s far more likely that money, and people’s pursuit of it, has bigger influence than any of us will ever understand. I think it will definitely be a much greater priority than actually having a professional sport be fair.

If you want to follow the money...how does this help the owner of the Mavs who just invested in their team? What about the 28 other billionare owners that would like to have a player like Luka? The league is not a single entity
I also think incompetence at high level executives/management is a lot more common than you'd think.

[Raps in 4]

so like... are we arguing that all of the lakers titles are rigged or just some of them? how many titles am i allowed to celebrate. you tell me.

They're not all rigged, but they're certainly all bull. The Lakers never built a team the hard way.

1980s: Kareem demanded a trade from Milwaukee, joined an MVP-level player in LAL.

1990s/early 2000s: Shaq signed as a FA.

Late 2000s: Pau traded to Lakers for peanuts.

2010s: LeBron signed as a FA. AD demanded a trade to the Lakers (this was the first time the Lakers ever paid fair value for a star player in a trade).

2020s: Luka traded to LAL for peanuts.

The Lakers' entire history of success comes down to FAs signing there, players demanding trades there, and other teams inexplicably trading them star players for peanuts. The last part is the rigged part. The rest is BS from a fan of the sport perspective. The Lakers get bailed out of mediocrity/suckage every time while other teams have to toil in the draft for years/decades.

dude you guys are seriously becoming unhinged. if you want to make the argument that the lakers have been bailed out of mediocrity in the post kobe era, go ahead and make yourself feel better. trying to pretend they were bailed out in the 70s through the 2000's because people wanted to play in LA is really dumb. its hilarious to me because the lakers dont even have the most titles in the sport lol. why dont any of these arguments ever apply to the celtics? I dont remember anyone calling it rigged with they got KD and Allen for "peanuts". Nor do I remember anyone complaining when they sold the corpse of Pierce and KD to an idiot owner in Brooklyn for the assets that became their title players. guess it was rigged when KD joined the Warriors? Rigged when Bron "took his talents to south beach"?

Look.... im so, so sorry that players like to play in LA. I really am. But last I checked players also like to play in other big markets too... like NY for example. Yet they havent won a title in 50 years. So youll have to excuse me if I dont dismiss their titles because good players have played there lol. sorry

The Celtics have 5 titles in the post-merger era.

The Lakers have 11.

The Celtics have been mediocre for most of the modern era.