Around the NBA, Season 2017-2018

KqWIN · Post #401 » by **KqWIN** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 4:53 am

I'm more inclined to believe that it was an actual tongue twister instead of a conscious/subconscious slur, but at the same time, if you knock over someone's coffee on accident they have the right to be mad and you should apologize for it.

On a brighter note, that was a fun all star game. The best one in a long, long time.

Daddy 801 · Post #402 » by **Daddy 801** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 5:06 am

Bummed I didn’t see the game. Sounds like there was actual defense played at some point. Impressive. Went to brewvies and watched Black Panther. It’s was ok. Nothing special.

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AingesBurner · Post #403 » by **AingesBurner** » Mon Feb 19, 2018 2:30 pm

Daddy 801 wrote:Bummed I didn’t see the game. Sounds like there was actual defense played at some point. Impressive. Went to brewvies and watched Black Panther. It’s was ok. Nothing special.

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I thought it was supposed to be the greatest movie of all time! :lol:

Daddy 801 · Post #404 » by **Daddy 801** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 4:21 am

GobertReport wrote:
Daddy 801 wrote:Bummed I didn’t see the game. Sounds like there was actual defense played at some point. Impressive. Went to brewvies and watched Black Panther. It’s was ok. Nothing special.

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I thought it was supposed to be the greatest movie of all time!

It didn’t hold a candle to Batman Begins or Dr. Strange. I don’t think it was as good as Wolverine, X-Men, or the Iron Man movies either. It was better than Captain America and some of the Spider-Man movies. It wasn’t bad, it’s just wasn’t great. I think as an idea it could be really good. Maybe the next few will be better.

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Crunch 99 · Post #405 » by **Crunch 99** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 2:25 pm

In this article below, Mark Cuban publicly acknowledges that he has instructed his entire team that it would be best to keep losing. I was under the impression that management of tanking teams were supposed to pretend they were still trying to win, while using excuses such as "developing young players", "healing up (nagging) injuries" and so forth.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22511267/mark-cuban-dallas-mavericks-owner-says-best-team-keep-losing

There are six teams with 18 wins with approximately 23 games to go. I think the race to the bottom the rest of the way is going to be particularly brutal this season. Maybe all the overt tanking this season plus Cuban publicly admitting that he has instructed his team to lose will spur more aggressive changes to the lottery system that could result in more teams competing for wins down the stretch?

The Jazz had 19 wins when they started their 11 game winning streak. So we could have lost eleven games in a row instead of won 11 in a row and still only been in 7th or 8th place in the draft.

Edit: There are already some minor changes in the lottery process set to begin in summer 2019, so I suppose it will be awhile before we see additional changes.

pickIBL · Post #406 » by **pickIBL** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 2:36 pm

Crunch 99 wrote:In this article below, Mark Cuban publicly acknowledges that he has instructed his team that it would be best to keep losing. I was under the impression that management of tanking teams were supposed to pretend they were still trying to win, while perhaps using some excuses such as "developing young players", "healing up (nagging) injuries" and so forth.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22511267/mark-cuban-dallas-mavericks-owner-says-best-team-keep-losing

There are six teams with 18 wins with approximately 22 games to go. I think the race to the bottom the rest of the way is going to be particularly brutal this season. Maybe all the overt tanking this season plus Cuban publicly admitting that he has instructed his team to lose will spur some changes to the draft system that result in more teams competing for wins down the stretch?

By the way, the Jazz had 19 wins when they started their 11 game winning streak. So we could have lost eleven games in a row instead of won 11 in a row, which would have been absolutely brutal to watch, and still only been in 7th or 8th place in the draft.

A fun part of soccer is watching losing teams gearing up to avoid regulation. I don't mind a one year retooling, but teams that multi year tank or these 5 year rebuilding processes dont make sense for pro sports. It would suck to be in that market for sure as a fan. We dont need half the NBA trying to lose big.

Cappy_Smurf · Post #407 » by **Cappy_Smurf** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:51 pm

Crunch 99 wrote:In this article below, Mark Cuban publicly acknowledges that he has instructed his entire team that it would be best to keep losing.

I think you're twisting his words. The way you've worded it, makes it sound like he told them to lose games on purpose. To me, it was more of an explanation as to why they aren't trying harder to win. In other words, players get frustrated with management at times, such as why they haven't tried harder to fill a certain hole in the roster, etc. This just sounds to me like Cuban is trying to explain that even though they are better off losing right now, it's not going to be a long term plan.

"I'm probably not supposed to say this, but, like, I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night, and here we are, you know, we weren't competing for the playoffs. I was like, 'Look, losing is our best option,'" Cuban said on the podcast. "Adam [Silver] would hate hearing that, but I at least sat down and I explained it to them. And I explained what our plans were going to be this summer, that we're not going to tank again. This was, like, a year-and-a-half tanking, and that was too brutal for me. But being transparent, I think that's the key to being kind of a players owner and having stability."

I don't know how you get "instructed his entire team" from sitting down with a bunch of guys to explain the direction of the team.

zero24gravity · Post #408 » by **zero24gravity** » Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:28 pm

That was the most watchable NBA All Star game I can remember in a very long time. Thanks to the players who decided that looking like a joke isn't fitting of being an All Star. It's still a flawed system for rewarding the best players as "All Stars" for a season, but if the games in the future are played in the same style as this one, it'll be a big improvement.

KqWIN · Post #409 » by **KqWIN** » Wed Feb 21, 2018 12:35 am

I'm just glad we're starting to move away from tradition. There's a lot of things the league can improve on, but don't get changed because of tradition.

Crunch 99 · Post #410 » by **Crunch 99** » Wed Feb 21, 2018 10:57 pm

Cappy_Smurf wrote:
Crunch 99 wrote:In this article below, Mark Cuban publicly acknowledges that he has instructed his entire team that it would be best to keep losing.

I think you're twisting his words. The way you've worded it, makes it sound like he told them to lose games on purpose. To me, it was more of an explanation as to why they aren't trying harder to win. In other words, players get frustrated with management at times, such as why they haven't tried harder to fill a certain hole in the roster, etc. This just sounds to me like Cuban is trying to explain that even though they are better off losing right now, it's not going to be a long term plan.

"I'm probably not supposed to say this, but, like, I just had dinner with a bunch of our guys the other night, and here we are, you know, we weren't competing for the playoffs. I was like, 'Look, losing is our best option,'" Cuban said on the podcast. "Adam [Silver] would hate hearing that, but I at least sat down and I explained it to them. And I explained what our plans were going to be this summer, that we're not going to tank again. This was, like, a year-and-a-half tanking, and that was too brutal for me. But being transparent, I think that's the key to being kind of a players owner and having stability."

I don't know how you get "instructed his entire team" from sitting down with a bunch of guys to explain the direction of the team.

Update: The league fined Cuban $600,000 today for his tanking talk. ESPN reported on the fine saying "Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $600,000 by the NBA for saying his team should tank this season."

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22532215/mark-cuban-dallas-mavericks-owner-fined-600000-tanking-comments

Cuban is having a bad day. Besides the big fine, he is still dealing with considerable negative fallout from the new Sports Illustrated story that claims there was a culture of misogyny and predatory sexual behavior within the Mavericks' organization. The SI story is not claiming that Cuban was personally involved, but as the owner, he is taking some heat. There was another follow up story in the Washington Post this morning.

Exclusive: Inside the Corrosive Workplace Culture of the Dallas Mavericks
https://www.si.com/nba/2018/02/20/dallas-mavericks-sexual-misconduct-investigation-mark-cuban-response

Mark Cuban ’embarrassed’ by allegations of ‘corrosive’ Mavericks workplace culture
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2018/02/21/mark-cuban-embarrassed-by-allegations-of-corrosive-mavericks-workplace-culture/?utm_term=.dd471cb998b0

Crunch 99 · Post #411 » by **Crunch 99** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 12:23 am

In other tank news, the Bulls are going to bench starters Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday the rest of the way and start Cristiano Felicio at Center and David Nwaba at guard.

Take one for the tank? Chicago Bulls ask Holiday, Lopez to sit
http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20180220/take-one-for-the-tank-chicago-bulls-ask-holiday-lopez-to-sit

If the lottery were held today, the Bulls would start in the number eight position. They might overtake Brooklyn at number seven, who doesn't have any incentive to tank, but I will be surprised if the Bulls are able tank their way in to the top six.

KqWIN · Post #412 » by **KqWIN** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 1:59 am

Kawhi is holding himself out of the games...This is so weird.

Read on Twitter

AingesBurner · Post #413 » by **AingesBurner** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:15 am

KqWIN wrote:Kawhi is holding himself out of the games...This is so weird.

Read on Twitter

I’d be willing to bet Kawhi demanded to be traded at the deadline or he would sit the season out and they thought he was bluffing.

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Daddy 801 · Post #414 » by **Daddy 801** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:53 am

It would take a package we aren’t willing to give up to get Kawhi. But man....if he came back to form we would have the greatest defensive team of all time.

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AingesBurner · Post #415 » by **AingesBurner** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 2:24 pm

Daddy 801 wrote:It would take a package we aren’t willing to give up to get Kawhi. But man....if he came back to form we would have the greatest defensive team of all time.

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Unless he demanded a trade to Utah...

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Daddy 801 · Post #416 » by **Daddy 801** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:35 pm

GobertReport wrote:
Daddy 801 wrote:It would take a package we aren’t willing to give up to get Kawhi. But man....if he came back to form we would have the greatest defensive team of all time.

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Unless he demanded a trade to Utah...

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And the probability of that is? And the probability the Spurs give into his demands?

AingesBurner · Post #417 » by **AingesBurner** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:44 pm

Daddy 801 wrote:
GobertReport wrote:
Daddy 801 wrote:It would take a package we aren’t willing to give up to get Kawhi. But man....if he came back to form we would have the greatest defensive team of all time.

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Unless he demanded a trade to Utah...

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And the probability of that is? And the probability the Spurs give into his demands?

Because Utah becomes an instant contender with historic defense and he's already sitting because they didn't.

SoCalJazzFan · Post #418 » by **SoCalJazzFan** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:19 pm

Speculation starting to run rampant that a divorce between Kawhi and Spurs is imminent. He would be an expiring next year as he likely wouldn't opt in his final year. He should still get a good return, but the potential 1 year rental would diminish those returns. Probably another high level free agent target in 2019.

Could the Jazz create a package to do the rental and hope he stays (he seems like the type that would if he liked it here)? Do the Jazz continue to keep their cap space open and hope to land a nice free agent, such as Kawhi, in 2019 to add to Gobert/Mitchell (and possibly Exum with a nice supporting cast)? I like the possibilities.

zero24gravity · Post #419 » by **zero24gravity** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:22 pm

Why?

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/249052/Play-In-Tournament-For-Final-Playoff-Seeds-Gaining-Support-Within-NBA

I only see this as useful if they "play-in" teams from both conferences, so say, 9 teams from the West could get in the playoffs and only 7 from the Least. Otherwise I don't see the usefulness of allowing a team who finished 10th (and likely a losing record) to "play-in" by winning a game or 2 at the end of the season, after having a crap season for the 82 games before that.

For example ... the 24-33 Hornets could be a playoff team by winning games vs Pistons (28-29) and 76ers (30-25) at the end of the season, while the West would still have 2 teams with winning records unable to make the playoffs, since they have 10 teams above .500. Makes no sense.

SoCalJazzFan · Post #420 » by **SoCalJazzFan** » Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:43 pm

zero24gravity wrote:Why?

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/249052/Play-In-Tournament-For-Final-Playoff-Seeds-Gaining-Support-Within-NBA

I only see this as useful if they "play-in" teams from both conferences, so say, 9 teams from the West could get in the playoffs and only 7 from the Least. Otherwise I don't see the usefulness of allowing a team who finished 10th (and likely a losing record) to "play-in" by winning a game or 2 at the end of the season, after having a crap season for the 82 games before that.

For example ... the 24-33 Hornets could be a playoff team by winning games vs Pistons (28-29) and 76ers (30-25) at the end of the season, while the West would still have 2 teams with winning records unable to make the playoffs, since they have 10 teams above .500. Makes no sense.

$$$