2025-26 NBA Season Discussion

[Doctor MJ]

I'd say it's time for a new thread for the new season.

Feel free to continue conversation from the last one thought:


2024-25 NBA Season Discussion (last page currently)

[70sFan]

Am I the only one who is very surprised by the order of Ben's list so far?

[Jaivl]

Am I the only one who is very surprised by the order of Ben's list so far?

You are not, although I'm kinda glad

Spoiler:

Dirk

hasn't appeared yet.

And I'll gladly take credit for first noticing Embiid's nefarious impact on his teams' offensive rebounding, thank you.

[70sFan]

Am I the only one who is very surprised by the order of Ben's list so far?

You are not, although I'm kinda glad

Spoiler:

Dirk

hasn't appeared yet.

And I'll gladly take credit for first noticing Embiid's nefarious impact on his teams' offensive rebounding, thank you.

I am actually shocked he doesn't, it's the first guy I expected a few episodes ago.

Anyway, I think Embiid is even a little too high. Can't see him over someone as reliable as Harden for example.

[LukaTheGOAT]

I know we are doing 1-year peaks, but they are using surrounding years to maybe gain confidence in a single year. For me, it is hard to picture Embiid being healthy for a full championship run with clear MVP impact, because of history/haven't seen him go past the 2nd round.

So even though I think I can get behind Embiid>Harden at full strength, I just don't think the odds are in Embiid's favor to hold up.

This was my reasoning for having SGA>Embiid in 2024, even though I liked what I saw from Embiid more in the RS and PS. That first round Embiid was hobbling at times, which made what he did more impressive if we go by what he hypothetically could do at full health.

Durability glitchws are an intrinsic weakness to Embiid's game, not necessarily variance.

It really is unfortunate and I hope he comes back better than ever.

[eminence]

Will be interesting to see what happens with the Clippers if current reporting on under the table deals to Kawhi are true.

[Peregrine01]

Will be interesting to see what happens with the Clippers if current reporting on under the table deals to Kawhi are true.

That's pretty crazy. A huge scandal if this is true.

[70sFan]

Will be interesting to see what happens with the Clippers if current reporting on under the table deals to Kawhi are true.

That's pretty crazy. A huge scandal if this is true.

What happened?

[-Luke-]

Will be interesting to see what happens with the Clippers if current reporting on under the table deals to Kawhi are true.

That's pretty crazy. A huge scandal if this is true.

What happened?

Read on Twitter

[RCM88x]

Good thing for the clippers is the actual hard penalties for this are pretty light. A fine and loss of draft pick aren't going to cripple the franchise. If that's all they face for this then obviously its totally worth it.

[Peregrine01]

Good thing for the clippers is the actual hard penalties for this are pretty light. A fine and loss of draft pick aren't going to cripple the franchise. If that's all they face for this then obviously its totally worth it.

Pro sports is racing to the bottom of the barrel if the league lets this off lightly. The enabling of Gambling has already taken away from sport’s integrity.

[RCM88x]

Good thing for the clippers is the actual hard penalties for this are pretty light. A fine and loss of draft pick aren't going to cripple the franchise. If that's all they face for this then obviously its totally worth it.

Pro sports is racing to the bottom of the barrel if the league lets this off lightly. The enabling of Gambling has already taken away from sport’s integrity.

So they're just going to make up new penalties instead of enforcing the ones clearly outlined in the CBA?

[jalengreen]

Good thing for the clippers is the actual hard penalties for this are pretty light. A fine and loss of draft pick aren't going to cripple the franchise. If that's all they face for this then obviously its totally worth it.

Pro sports is racing to the bottom of the barrel if the league lets this off lightly. The enabling of Gambling has already taken away from sport’s integrity.

So they're just going to make up new penalties instead of enforcing the ones clearly outlined in the CBA?

Depending on the terms of the alleged arrangement, it could be a Section 2 violation "No Unauthorized Agreements" where the CBA states "direct the forfeiture of draft picks;", ie plural draft picks. This is what the Joe Smith case fell under.

[eminence]

Can't say I really like the draft picks punishments. Wish it was more owner/management and player/agent focused. Really just more owner/management focused, as it is pretty harsh on the players (the seeming minimum for Kawhi is voiding his contract + at least a one year suspension).

[Peregrine01]

Can't say I really like the draft picks punishments. Wish it was more owner/management and player/agent focused. Really just more owner/management focused, as it is pretty harsh on the players (the seeming minimum for Kawhi is voiding his contract + at least a one year suspension).

I think Ballmer needs to be forced to sell the team if this is proven. The league is walking a slippery slope if they let this slide with a slap on the wrist. This is brazen corruption.

[RCM88x]

Can't say I really like the draft picks punishments. Wish it was more owner/management and player/agent focused. Really just more owner/management focused, as it is pretty harsh on the players (the seeming minimum for Kawhi is voiding his contract + at least a one year suspension).

I think Ballmer needs to be forced to sell the team if this is proven. The league is walking a slippery slope if they let this slide with a slap on the wrist. This is brazen corruption.

You have to remember the NBA is a collection of owners, which means they are 50% of the group that creates and agrees to the CBA. They're basically writing their own consequences and punishment. Obviously they're not going write in significant penalties for themselves, unless either the players push for it (and give up something in return) or there is such significant fan outcry that they feel the financial standing of the their investment is threatened.

So ultimately until their are some significant fan movements that impact the financial value of teams there is probably nothing that will really change.

[eminence]

Can't say I really like the draft picks punishments. Wish it was more owner/management and player/agent focused. Really just more owner/management focused, as it is pretty harsh on the players (the seeming minimum for Kawhi is voiding his contract + at least a one year suspension).

I think Ballmer needs to be forced to sell the team if this is proven. The league is walking a slippery slope if they let this slide with a slap on the wrist. This is brazen corruption.

So - I think that's probably the most they could do. And I'd be surprised if they go that far.

But ain't that just the sad state of the world - the worst offender gets the 'punishment' of having to return his billion dollar toy to the store. Poor Steve.

[Peregrine01]

Can't say I really like the draft picks punishments. Wish it was more owner/management and player/agent focused. Really just more owner/management focused, as it is pretty harsh on the players (the seeming minimum for Kawhi is voiding his contract + at least a one year suspension).

I think Ballmer needs to be forced to sell the team if this is proven. The league is walking a slippery slope if they let this slide with a slap on the wrist. This is brazen corruption.

You have to remember the NBA is a collection of owners, which means they are 50% of the group that creates and agrees to the CBA. They're basically writing their own consequences and punishment. Obviously they're not going write in significant penalties for themselves, unless either the players push for it (and give up something in return) or there is such significant fan outcry that they feel the financial standing of the their investment is threatened.

So ultimately until their are some significant fan movements that impact the financial value of teams there is probably nothing that will really change.

There are owners and then there's Ballmer-type owners. Ballmer gets $2 billion a year in dividends from Microsoft stock - who else can compete with that if he can hand over money under the table?

And it's not like losing a couple draft picks can even hurt him if he's allowed to do this.

[Peregrine01]

Can't say I really like the draft picks punishments. Wish it was more owner/management and player/agent focused. Really just more owner/management focused, as it is pretty harsh on the players (the seeming minimum for Kawhi is voiding his contract + at least a one year suspension).

I think Ballmer needs to be forced to sell the team if this is proven. The league is walking a slippery slope if they let this slide with a slap on the wrist. This is brazen corruption.

So - I think that's probably the most they could do. And I'd be surprised if they go that far.

But ain't that just the sad state of the world - the worst offender gets the 'punishment' of having to return his billion dollar toy to the store. Poor Steve.

It's clearly not about money with Ballmer. He's hyper competitive and is all-in with the Clippers. This franchise is pocket change for him monetarily but a much more significant for his ego.

[Peregrine01]

Kawhi should also be banned from the NBA if this is revealed to be true.