Around the NBA: 2017—2018

[Pillendreher]

Yes. I hate players who fake an injury for a whole season and try to bully their way to certain teams. I hate players who leak a trade request a couple of days before training camp and then use multiple media avenues to force their current team into doing whatever they personally want.

this is what i mean. you always make anti-player assumptions, and don't put any onus on the organizations.

See blow.

you assume that kawhi 'faked' an injury

Leonard was cleared by multiple doctors and went out of his way until he finally found somebody that would deem him injured. And then he went out of his way to stay away from his teammates. I'm not gonna condone that one bit. And I've been on the record saying the Spurs have not made the moves necessary to keep up with the rest of the league and instead held onto washed up players for way too long. But that doesn't warrant this kind of behavior; not in the slightest.

or assume that jimmy butler 'leaked' trade requests

I'm sure the Timberwolves leaked it because nobody was calling with trade offers for Butler. I might have to revise my opinion on this matter.

as events that not only occurred (even though there's no proof of them whatsoever), but that they occurred in some sort of vacuum where cause and effect do not exist.

There are several ways to go about being displeased with the franchise you're playing for. One is to work with the franchise in either fixing the issue or maybe finding a way to do a trade. The other one is using media outlets to force your way out of there.

teams use the media to get what they want all the time

Of course they do. They leak stuff all the time. Yet what they're doing (especially when it comes to trades) is part of negotiation and getting the best deal available. What Butler is doing is throwing a live grenade in the TImberwolves locker for three straight weeks.

and have way more power than the players in these relationships.

In what way? Both parties agreed to a contract and both did agree to abide by it. That's the way this works.

people like jimmy butler, kawhi leonard and kevin durant are following in the footsteps of tom heinsohn and oscar robertson who refused to participate in the all star game unless their demands were met. i bet you would have been calling oscar an entitled **** back then too.

Can you at least do me a solid and mark this kind of crap with greenfont before I waste my time reading it and then actually consider replying to it?

Kisses.

[bondom34]

Can someone please explain how it came to be that Rachel Nichols just happened to be in the area for an interview?

That was planned by ESPN with Butler the day before. Butler did this as a show most likely.

[Osirus89]

All I’m saying is arseholes get **** done. Kobe. LeBron. Michael. Steve Jobs. The list goes on.


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“One of these things is not like the other”

[bondom34]

Oh and this isn't a player power thing to me. The Wolves are inept and have one of if not the worst front offices and ownerships in the NBA. KAT and Wiggins seem to have issues with work ethic and Butler's a jerk. All 3 can be wrong.

[AirInTheLoop]

Leonard was cleared by multiple doctors and went out of his way until he finally found somebody that would deem him injured.

Which was not a random person or questionable doctor and as far i know, those results ended up being confirmed by the Spurs doctors after it had been pointed out to them.
Im not defending this guys behavior or what happened here, but i do feel that this is something worth mentioning and being honest about.

[getrichordie]

As someone who can be quite the polarizing figure in the places that I work, I can tell you that there is a clear difference between a competent organization and an incompetent organization. At some point, you just know you are better than some of the places you work at. Players don’t have a ton of control over where they play anyway so I think in some instances they have to speak out, pull strings, etc., to get what they want.

I respect that. Minnesota has been far from a competent organization as of recent years and Butler is in his prime. I don’t blame him for not wanting to put up with an organization that isn’t and hasn’t made smart decisions.

Jimmy got stuck in a weird situation in Chicago and now he’s in a worse situation in Minnesota. It’s simple and easy to say that Jimmy is the common denominator, but I just think he got dealt a bad hand. He gave Minnesota a chance and they didn’t impress. It’s okay for players to be disgruntled. It happens.


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[Pillendreher]

I respect that. Minnesota has been far from a competent organization as of recent years and Butler is in his prime. I don’t blame him for not wanting to put up with an organization that isn’t and hasn’t made smart decisions.

Jimmy got stuck in a weird situation in Chicago and now he’s in a worse situation in Minnesota. It’s simple and easy to say that Jimmy is the common denominator, but I just think he got dealt a bad hand. He gave Minnesota a chance and they didn’t impress. It’s okay for players to be disgruntled. It happens.

They were fighting us for the 3rd seed all season long with Butler healthy. The FO didn't make the smartest decisions, but he's not on the freaking Suns. Towns is a Top 3-5 young talent in this league not even close to his prime and Wiggins at least has potential, even though I'm doubting that he will ever turn that into real on court performance. And furthermore, he has one year left on his deal, playing under a coach he reportedly is very close with. Bill Simmons is right when he says that Butler is acting like he's on the Titanic.

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[slick_watts]

Oh and this isn't a player power thing to me. The Wolves are inept and have one of if not the worst front offices and ownerships in the NBA. KAT and Wiggins seem to have issues with work ethic and Butler's a jerk. All 3 can be wrong.

the point is that it's often both. taking hard-line stances on either side turning a complex and gray situation involving lots of relationships and lots of money into your personal morality sandbox. the wolves are inept. and jimmy butler is doing what he has to do to get done what he believes he needs to get done. both can be true.

just like kawhi leonard can do the wrong things for the right reasons, perhaps, in response to a situation that no spectator can fully understand.

the assumption of player guilt is a funny thing to me in all these situations.

[slick_watts]

Leonard was cleared by multiple doctors and went out of his way until he finally found somebody that would deem him injured. And then he went out of his way to stay away from his teammates. I'm not gonna condone that one bit. And I've been on the record saying the Spurs have not made the moves necessary to keep up with the rest of the league and instead held onto washed up players for way too long. But that doesn't warrant this kind of behavior; not in the slightest.

I'm sure the Timberwolves leaked it because nobody was calling with trade offers for Butler. I might have to revise my opinion on this matter.

There are several ways to go about being displeased with the franchise you're playing for. One is to work with the franchise in either fixing the issue or maybe finding a way to do a trade. The other one is using media outlets to force your way out of there.

this is you just twisting stories around to suit an anti-player agenda. you even, kind of, acknowledge your ignorance re: butler but that hasn't stopped you from making conclusions and casting doubt on his character.

i also think it's comical how you have constructed a box with 'acceptable' ways for people to voice their displeasure in the workplace. spoken like someone who does not understand privilege.

Of course they do. They leak stuff all the time. Yet what they're doing (especially when it comes to trades) is part of negotiation and getting the best deal available. What Butler is doing is throwing a live grenade in the TImberwolves locker for three straight weeks.

right. it's okay for teams to do whatever they want to denigrate the character of players either publicly or privately but the players can't. the big difference here, and why the players hold less power than the teams, is that the teams can destroy the reputation of a player more or less out of public earshot while a player can't do the same without being branded a traitor by people like you.

In what way? Both parties agreed to a contract and both did agree to abide by it. That's the way this works.

signing a contract does not make you a slave, and require you to keep your thoughts to yourself. and there are mechanisms in player contracts to punish players for words or actions that harm the team or the league-- but it's funny that neither kawhi leonard nor jimmy butler have been penalized for their actions you seem to think undermine their contracts.

if a team can trade a player to another team against their will, why can't a player use their agency to achieve the same outcome so long as they are not violating terms of their contract or the cba?

it's clear you want players to be unthinking automatons. wonder why.

Can you at least do me a solid and mark this kind of crap with greenfont before I waste my time reading it and then actually consider replying to it?

except this is the most important part of my post. in 1964 the players refused to participate in the all-star game unless the owners met some of their demands. the players exercised their agency to get what they wanted. and this was demonstrably in violation of their player contracts at the time. would you have supported this action? i think we all know the answer.

[Pillendreher]

.

You make me chuckle.

[bondom34]

Oh and this isn't a player power thing to me. The Wolves are inept and have one of if not the worst front offices and ownerships in the NBA. KAT and Wiggins seem to have issues with work ethic and Butler's a jerk. All 3 can be wrong.

the point is that it's often both. taking hard-line stances on either side turning a complex and gray situation involving lots of relationships and lots of money into your personal morality sandbox. the wolves are inept. and jimmy butler is doing what he has to do to get done what he believes he needs to get done. both can be true.

just like kawhi leonard can do the wrong things for the right reasons, perhaps, in response to a situation that no spectator can fully understand.

the assumption of player guilt is a funny thing to me in all these situations.

Pretty much, it's not even technically "both". It's like 5 of them.

[slick_watts]

thoughts on melo's preseason?

65.4% TS on 15.6% usage and .630 3Pr

3Pr probably should be even higher. much different from his preseason last year for us when he was a 30+ usage black hole.

[AirInTheLoop]

the wolves are inept. and jimmy butler is doing what he has to do to get done what he believes he needs to get done. both can be true.

Whats shocking to me is how the TWolves seem to be sabotaging any potential for trade. If the proposed Miami deal was real, that's about as good as they will get for an unsigned Butler.

That said, i didnt like the idea of going after Butler simply because i felt we should give this team a chance to build chemistry, but with Robersons health being a concern now, maybe we should.

[ThunderBolt]

thoughts on melo's preseason?

65.4% TS on 15.6% usage and .630 3Pr

3Pr probably should be even higher. much different from his preseason last year for us when he was a 30+ usage black hole.

Schroder is shooting 57% from 3 in preseason folks.


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[slick_watts]

thoughts on melo's preseason?

65.4% TS on 15.6% usage and .630 3Pr

3Pr probably should be even higher. much different from his preseason last year for us when he was a 30+ usage black hole.

Schroder is shooting 57% from 3 in preseason folks.


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we can make a bet, i'll take the over on .600 3Pr and under on 20% melo usage. you can take schroder shooting 57% from three.

[CROklahoma]

thoughts on melo's preseason?

65.4% TS on 15.6% usage and .630 3Pr

3Pr probably should be even higher. much different from his preseason last year for us when he was a 30+ usage black hole.

we can make a bet, i'll take the over on .600 3Pr and under on 20% melo usage. you can take schroder shooting 57% from three.

[bondom34]

Jackson Jr. put up 18 points on him and he was a +0 in a nearly 20 point win. He's still Melo

[ThunderBolt]

thoughts on melo's preseason?

65.4% TS on 15.6% usage and .630 3Pr

3Pr probably should be even higher. much different from his preseason last year for us when he was a 30+ usage black hole.

we can make a bet, i'll take the over on .600 3Pr and under on 20% melo usage. you can take schroder shooting 57% from three.

The post was not made to affirm my belief that schroder will continue to shoot 57% from 3 point range.

[Pillendreher]

we can make a bet, i'll take the over on .600 3Pr and under on 20% melo usage. you can take schroder shooting 57% from three.

The post was not made to affirm my belief that schroder will continue to shoot 57% from 3 point range.

I would be OK with Melo being "Bum in a smaller role" Melo if Schröder shot 57 % from 3 on the season.

[slick_watts]

Jackson Jr. put up 18 points on him and he was a +0 in a nearly 20 point win. He's still Melo

i don't care about his defense or even his overall impact-- just want to keep a finger on the pulse as to whether or not melo accepts a different role in houston, a proposition that many denied could occur, and one that says a lot about the 2017-18 thunder.

during the preseason, he has taken to that role without any problems.