2021-22 NBA Thread: Bill Simmons furiously recording 2.5 hour long pod about how Boston is still better than Golden State (2 Viewers)

[DJackson10]

Bulls would have beaten Philly tonight if only they had shot the ball better.

Yet somehow with this amazing team the Sixers had they can't get past the 2nd round in playoff games and the refs are apparently always against them 

 

[Deamon]

Yet somehow with this amazing team the Sixers had they can't get past the 2nd round in playoff games and the refs are apparently always against them 

Chill man, no one even talked about that remotely.  You seriously can't help yourself from talking bad about them.  You disappear if they ever do anything good and pop up just to say bad things. 

 

[GordonGekko]

Well they certainly are more competitive then the soft babied players today who want to play with friends and cry whenever they are called out and throw a temper tantrum 

To be fair, there's some push/pull to all of this.

There some egregious cases of contract malfeasance. Chris Paul signing a max deal with the Rockets then complaining later he has no control over where he's going to be traded. Eddy Curry and Baron Davis dogging it and getting fat while cashing big checks. Chris Webber forcing his way out after just one year in Golden State. Zion Williamson trying to leverage a trade while still in his rookie contract.

But Kevin Durant gave up lots of money to go to the GSW. Kawhi Leonard did the Spurs dirty by trying to blame them for medical malpractice but he also walked away from a Super Max. Dirk Nowitzski gave up 9 figures over his entire career to stay in Dallas. Mike Bibby set 6 million dollars on fire to chase a ring ( the Heat lost to Dallas, too bad for him)  The league changed sign and trades and the mid level exception and shifted around some of the maxes like the Derrick Rose Rule and even with that, players still leave.

Part of the issue is LeBron James does not work for the NBA. He works for Nike and just moonlights for the Lakers. The top players make so much from endorsements that the uptick in endorsements from going to one team versus another is worth more than the lost salary as a player.

Not all NBA players have real power. Maybe 20-30 at any given point have some serious pull. Those are the ones mostly likely to have massive endorsements to make the current league salary structure not the incentive that people first thought they would be.

The best answer is not to blame the players when you can change the league structure and simply remove the current power away from the players. Take away guaranteed contracts and you would see some big changes.

 

[DJackson10]

To be fair, there's some push/pull to all of this.

There some egregious cases of contract malfeasance. Chris Paul signing a max deal with the Rockets then complaining later he has no control over where he's going to be traded. Eddy Curry and Baron Davis dogging it and getting fat while cashing big checks. Chris Webber forcing his way out after just one year in Golden State. Zion Williamson trying to leverage a trade while still in his rookie contract.

But Kevin Durant gave up lots of money to go to the GSW. Kawhi Leonard did the Spurs dirty by trying to blame them for medical malpractice but he also walked away from a Super Max. Dirk Nowitzski gave up 9 figures over his entire career to stay in Dallas. Mike Bibby set 6 million dollars on fire to chase a ring ( the Heat lost to Dallas, too bad for him)  The league changed sign and trades and the mid level exception and shifted around some of the maxes like the Derrick Rose Rule and even with that, players still leave.

Part of the issue is LeBron James does not work for the NBA. He works for Nike and just moonlights for the Lakers. The top players make so much from endorsements that the uptick in endorsements from going to one team versus another is worth more than the lost salary as a player.

Not all NBA players have real power. Maybe 20-30 at any given point have some serious pull. Those are the ones mostly likely to have massive endorsements to make the current league salary structure not the incentive that people first thought they would be.

The best answer is not to blame the players when you can change the league structure and simply remove the current power away from the players. Take away guaranteed contracts and you would see some big changes.

Thats what I'm hoping happens overall. Change it and take away guaranteed money. Lets see how some of these players react when they know they can't dog it and not have a guaranteed contract still. 

 

[GordonGekko]

Thats what I'm hoping happens overall. Change it and take away guaranteed money. Lets see how some of these players react when they know they can't dog it and not have a guaranteed contract still. 

There likely needs to be a balance. There's nothing wrong with giving player some life security, however right now almost all the risk is absorbed by the franchise. Now this is where someone will say the owners are greedy pigs and deserve to lose money for signing stupid players, however that's punishing a team's fans for what? 3 years? 5 years?

It's a bad product and it doesn't line up with meritocracy. When you play as the best, you should get paid as the best. When you don't, you shouldn't anymore.

Take Amare Stoudamire's 5 year 100 million dollar contract with the Knicks. If it was structured as a 40 million dollar signing bonus spread out over all five years, then the last three years of the contract would not be guaranteed. The penalty would be too severe to cut Stoudamire in the first two years and he'd get a large guaranteed portion for security. The cap charge if he's cut would revert to the proration of that signing bonus, i.e. 8 million a year for the last three years if he's cut after the first two years. Basically the NFL model.

This would necessitate a hard cap though, which would mean an end to the luxury tax and the repeater tax.

Teams have to own their bad choices. However a players contract shouldn't be anchor like a Gilbert Arenas, Chandler Parsons, late Luol Deng, etc, etc that punishes a franchise expecting some kind of zero margin of error decision making.

 

[GordonGekko]

There likely needs to be a balance. There's nothing wrong with giving player some life security, however right now almost all the risk is absorbed by the franchise. Now this is where someone will say the owners are greedy pigs and deserve to lose money for signing stupid players, however that's punishing a team's fans for what? 3 years? 5 years?

It's a bad product and it doesn't line up with meritocracy. When you play as the best, you should get paid as the best. When you don't, you shouldn't anymore.

The other issue that matters is a functional compensation system.

The NFL has the comp pick system that the Patriots and Ravens have turned into an art form.

The old NBA sign and trade mechanism used to work like a quasi comp system but the last time that happened, it was Toronto getting a pittance for Bosh and Cleveland getting less of a pittance for LBJ.

Tier 1 FA losses should net a comp round pick between the first and second round of the draft. Tier 2 and Tier 2 FA losses should net a comp pick after the 2nd round.

Yes, it's a flier, but maybe you hit on an Alex Caruso or a Lu Dort with one of those comp picks. Or a Rondo or a Kuzma after the first round.

The Hawks were hit pretty badly when Al Horford and Paul Millsap walked for nothing. No return at all.

The deeper question is if it should be a floating pick not associated with any team or if a team should lose their own natural picks.

If the Lakers sign LeBron James, taking this draft as a hypothetical, would it be that outrageous to lose their 22nd overall this year for it?

 

[DJackson10]

There likely needs to be a balance. There's nothing wrong with giving player some life security, however right now almost all the risk is absorbed by the franchise. Now this is where someone will say the owners are greedy pigs and deserve to lose money for signing stupid players, however that's punishing a team's fans for what? 3 years? 5 years?

It's a bad product and it doesn't line up with meritocracy. When you play as the best, you should get paid as the best. When you don't, you shouldn't anymore.

Take Amare Stoudamire's 5 year 100 million dollar contract with the Knicks. If it was structured as a 40 million dollar signing bonus spread out over all five years, then the last three years of the contract would not be guaranteed. The penalty would be too severe to cut Stoudamire in the first two years and he'd get a large guaranteed portion for security. The cap charge if he's cut would revert to the proration of that signing bonus, i.e. 8 million a year for the last three years if he's cut after the first two years. Basically the NFL model.

This would necessitate a hard cap though, which would mean an end to the luxury tax and the repeater tax.

Teams have to own their bad choices. However a players contract shouldn't be anchor like a Gilbert Arenas, Chandler Parsons, late Luol Deng, etc, etc that punishes a franchise expecting some kind of zero margin of error decision making.

On an aside, if you don't mind some unsolicited advice. So two weeks ago, someone in this thread actually hit the report button on me. Troll me, personally attack me, try to bait me and then game the report button. They are just going to try to do the same with you. My advice is to tell the truth. Next time someone refuses to address actual NBA talk in the NBA thread and just goes to personally attack you, point out to them that behavior like that will encourage new people passing through to never purchase a FBG subscription and it will encourage existing subscribers to cancel. Because that's the truth. And when you do it, then use the "@" feature to ping every single Staff member on this site. They deserve to know who is going to facilitate one of them losing their job here because they can't stop trolling people and want to silence them.

I assure you, if you are attacked 20 times and 20 times you point out that behavior is a message to all subscribers that they are not welcome here and cannot talk about the topic that the thread is built around without being attacked, then it's a clear indicator they are also encouraging people to cancel their FBG subscriptions.

Those people who want to troll others in the thread should start to ask themselves how many times that needs to happen before something changes. If you troll people and drive away subscribers, you are now screwing with people's money. And how does that usually play out when you start screwing with other people's money.

At some point, someone might just decide to delete all the forums because it's not worth the trouble anymore. So the question for those here who want to be trolls, if you want silence, how about the entire platform? How about if no one gets to speak at all ever again.

DJackson10, if people want to make it ugly, then my unsolicited advice is to make it ugly like you were throwing a pageant for ugly. You have the right to come in here and talk basketball and the NBA as much as you want, as long as you want and in the direction you want without getting passive aggressive shots taken at you just because some people here want you to be silent.

This had to happen because a few people felt too entitled to just scroll down and read something else they would like better.

Thanks dude I appreciate it. I've had a group of people report me before because they didn't like what I posted and I've had a few people make pretty terrible accusations of my views on stuff without proper evidence. Even reporting me to the mods on it. All because they didn't like my constructive criticism. This isn't my first rodeo this has happened before on the old MLB.com Forums that finally went down because of trolling and mods not doing their job. The traffic that they had yrs ago slowly diminished and they were left with just the bullies and trolls. Just from talking to people via email and other communications why they left it was literally around the same topic. Someone trolling them or certain groups attacking them for their views. 

Honestly 76ers"fans' being upset with me is nothing new. They might be the biggest sensitive group of babies in Philly. The other day after seeing a few friends deny being Ben Simmons fans I posted the receipts from messages from Facebook, and other stuff I've had friends claim 5 yrs ago how great Ben would be plus other gaurantees how Ben and Joel would recruit guys like a Lebron or someone and tagged them all. It was my way of telling them, hey don't act like you didn't like this guy before. Own up to it and admit you were wrong. Wasn't looking for an apology for what people said to me more so trying to keep my friends honest and accountable. I understand they are embarrassed they got caught up in an organizational scam with no other plan. No reason to get mad at me for it though. And I put "fan" in quotes because it's the biggest bandwagon fanbase in the city. 

Either way one time on my old board someone went after me pretty hard. I got called a bandwagon fan and not a real fan apparently because I liked the Bulls over the 76ers, I liked Florida over a team that's like central PA in Penn State but some reason the media and Philly region consider them local team? My pop-pop went to TU I was born to not like PSU. Anyway the accusations and bullying was so bad one poster who was always good for me stood up for me and called the dude and everyone else out. He went pretty hard after them. Even accused them of just being keyboard warriors. He even told them they go after me and disagree with me all the time yet some how he's always the one the thats right on the subject and he's never thrown it back at you guys that he was. The sad part was this whole argument on my old board started because the 76ers made the Andrew Bynum trade and traded Vucevic. I said it was a bad trade for Philly getting a guy with bummed knees, trading away a future good C and AB had issues on work ethic too. I was called jealous and scared that the 76ers might be a threat to CHI. I simple said no this is the type of move a desperate team makes taking a huge chance on a guy with a ton of red flags. These sort of trades never work out. 

I agree with you on the CBA thing though. The NBA is a complete mess right now with this stuff. I said the last CBA was just a band aid on real issues in the league 

 

[DJackson10]

The other issue that matters is a functional compensation system.

The NFL has the comp pick system that the Patriots and Ravens have turned into an art form.

The old NBA sign and trade mechanism used to work like a quasi comp system but the last time that happened, it was Toronto getting a pittance for Bosh and Cleveland getting less of a pittance for LBJ.

Tier 1 FA losses should net a comp round pick between the first and second round of the draft. Tier 2 and Tier 2 FA losses should net a comp pick after the 2nd round.

Yes, it's a flier, but maybe you hit on an Alex Caruso or a Lu Dort with one of those comp picks. Or a Rondo or a Kuzma after the first round.

The Hawks were hit pretty badly when Al Horford and Paul Millsap walked for nothing. No return at all.

The deeper question is if it should be a floating pick not associated with any team or if a team should lose their own natural picks.

If the Lakers sign LeBron James, taking this draft as a hypothetical, would it be that outrageous to lose their 22nd overall this year for it?

I think if you add picks you should add more roster spaces to teams. I think having a few extra spots would help player development and health. Teams might rotate players more. 

More should be done with the G league and I think the end goal is for every team to have an affiliate by some point similar to MLB and the Minors. 

I'd also add a hard cap floor and ceiling. Make it tougher for teams to put Allstar starting 5 out. Either risk having horrible depth or star players risk taking a pay cut to get a better squad overall and play with guys they want. 

Smaller market teams are also screwed in the current system. 

I'd also get rid of pick protections too. Make it comp/performance if needed but protections only protect these teams from making a stupid move themselves. Let them make the mistake. The pick protection is doing more harm than it was made too. 

It'd also be nice to fix loopholes in tanking as well as tampering as well. 

For on court rules theres a few FIBA rules I'd love to put in the NBA to make it more interesting. 

 

[GordonGekko]

I think if you add picks you should add more roster spaces to teams. I think having a few extra spots would help player development and health. Teams might rotate players more. 

More should be done with the G league and I think the end goal is for every team to have an affiliate by some point similar to MLB and the Minors. 

I'd also add a hard cap floor and ceiling. Make it tougher for teams to put Allstar starting 5 out. Either risk having horrible depth or star players risk taking a pay cut to get a better squad overall and play with guys they want. 

Smaller market teams are also screwed in the current system. 

I'd also get rid of pick protections too. Make it comp/performance if needed but protections only protect these teams from making a stupid move themselves. Let them make the mistake. The pick protection is doing more harm than it was made too. 

It'd also be nice to fix loopholes in tanking as well as tampering as well. 

For on court rules theres a few FIBA rules I'd love to put in the NBA to make it more interesting. 

Let's just talk NBA full bore. As long as we do that, everything will figure itself out eventually.

The functional problem with roster expansion is more and more players getting service time. This is why the Two Way contracts were somewhat a point of contention with the owners. Also it's the reason why the Designated Veteran's Minimum Exception exists. It's said to encourage teams to sign older players and not jettison them for just young players, but look at the service time pathway.

If you sign a guy like Matt Barnes for example. He's already vested for his full NBA pension. But if you sign an UDFA like a formerly Chris Boucher or a Dorian Finney Smith, you are setting a new road for a new player to possibly qualify for an NBA pension and post career benefits.

The time when roster expansion is done without some regard to limiting the number of fringe players getting an NBA pension is when there is a threat of a new league forming. If you expand rosters by 2, then that means 60 of the next best tier of players are not available for a new league, if for example Larry Ellison wanted to start a new league.

The struggle with the G League is I question how much you can actually develop an NBA prospect. The structure of an NBA first round picks contract is designed that way for a reason ( i.e. 2 guaranteed years then 2 option years)  Jalen Smith just got his third year option declined by the Suns. That's not too common. I think that also happened to Harry Giles in Sacto. The first clue is the top G League players is often a 15th man type journeyman in the NBA. Not always but it happens too frequently.

If you want talent expansion, the rules of the game on the court need to change. Part of the appeal of the NBA is the out of this world athleticism. But once you shift the rules and logistics to open up the game to a lesser tier of talent, then you start to rob the excitement from the game.

I'm not sure there is a way to help small market teams

What are you suggestions/hypotheticals to reduce/prevent tanking?

 

[DJackson10]

Let's just talk NBA full bore. As long as we do that, everything will figure itself out eventually.

The functional problem with roster expansion is more and more players getting service time. This is why the Two Way contracts were somewhat a point of contention with the owners. Also it's the reason why the Designated Veteran's Minimum Exception exists. It's said to encourage teams to sign older players and not jettison them for just young players, but look at the service time pathway.

If you sign a guy like Matt Barnes for example. He's already vested for his full NBA pension. But if you sign an UDFA like a formerly Chris Boucher or a Dorian Finney Smith, you are setting a new road for a new player to possibly qualify for an NBA pension and post career benefits.

The time when roster expansion is done without some regard to limiting the number of fringe players getting an NBA pension is when there is a threat of a new league forming. If you expand rosters by 2, then that means 60 of the next best tier of players are not available for a new league, if for example Larry Ellison wanted to start a new league.

The struggle with the G League is I question how much you can actually develop an NBA prospect. The structure of an NBA first round picks contract is designed that way for a reason ( i.e. 2 guaranteed years then 2 option years)  Jalen Smith just got his third year option declined by the Suns. That's not too common. I think that also happened to Harry Giles in Sacto. The first clue is the top G League players is often a 15th man type journeyman in the NBA. Not always but it happens too frequently.

If you want talent expansion, the rules of the game on the court need to change. Part of the appeal of the NBA is the out of this world athleticism. But once you shift the rules and logistics to open up the game to a lesser tier of talent, then you start to rob the excitement from the game.

I'm not sure there is a way to help small market teams

What are you suggestions/hypotheticals to reduce/prevent tanking?

One thing Id do is create a hard cap floor I think thats the biggest thing to do. Living in Philly I saw the most severe tanking possible occur in the history of tanking with the 76ers. I was embarrassed for it just as a person from this city and for fans who defended it. If we had a hard cap floor the Sixers would've at least put a more competent team or had to overpay bad players they targeted to make sure they tanked hard enough. This encourages teams to think before signing players. Do I want my team to suck enough to get a higher chance of #1 pick by overpaying a terrible player to get to the cap floor or risk that and sign a better player where it's not an over pay. 

That's my biggest one. Another one is get rid of the lottery. Plan and simple. Why? I'd do what some fantasy leagues do and have a loser type playoff bracket. The NBA and players love money right? Here's a way to get more money. You take the non playoff teams and have the last 15 teams play 1 game knockout type (maybe do a round robin or something). the worst team in the loser bracket gets a bye with the uneven teams or you have 14 and 15 have a play in game. Winner of losers bracket gets the #1 pick. draft order goes by how far each team got in the bracket. 

For playoff seeding I'd screw the conferences. Best 16 get in bracket comes out 1 plays 16, 2 plays 15 etc. It'd create more interesting match ups. put numbers 1 and 2 on opposite sides of the bracket fill in the rest as you go. Now how feasible is this? I'm not sure but it's an idea people can bounce off of or change up a bit 

As for rules

12 minute qtrs and 35 sec shot clock as I feel 24 seconds doesn't enable good offensive series or set ups

No goaltending rule after ball touches rim first time anyone can take it

Jump ball go with the college possession rule 

Foul out after 5 fouls not 6

Technical foul the team is awarded 2 FTs plus possession 

Zone defense legal plus allow players to stand in restricted area for any length of time 

I'd also move the 3 point line back 

 

[Charlie Harper]

I haven't had this much fun watching the Warriors in awhile. 

I honestly never expected this level of defense, but they haven't really played the best teams. 

 

[GordonGekko]

I haven't had this much fun watching the Warriors in awhile. 

I honestly never expected this level of defense, but they haven't really played the best teams. 

The interesting part is it's unclear what Moody/Wiseman and Kuminga can bring to add to what appears to be a really solid bench. This might be the best bench they've had in years. It probably won't reach the heights of Iggy/Livingston/David West but Gary Payton II is starting to look like a massive bench spark for them. Bjelica and Porter Jr look like they will gel and Chris Chiozza is kind of a sleeper type player, he did really well in limited action with the Nets under Kenny Atkinson.

Moody is the rookie most likely to translate the fastest to a functional role. Smart switchable defender with length. If he can notch it up with Payton II and Wiggins remains solid as the primary cover man, they'll start suffocating teams.

Wiseman and Kuminga have cheat code level athleticism with that extra gear. It's just interesting to see what happens when those guys roll out in transition.

But it looks like this is coming down to Jordan Poole. His ability to create his own shot was pretty critical to the GSW chances this season. He does seem to trend towards a streaky boom/bust kind of guy though. He's playing well and if that holds, this team is a contender.

And Klay Thompson isn't even back yet. And if he can give you even 75 percent of what he was before, imagine the kind of gravity that creates.

Smart players with high situational awareness just get exponentially better near Curry and Green. This teams bench ( Porter Jr, Bjelica, Toscano Anderson, GP II ) really highlights why teams run by LeBron James keep going wrong. LBJ picks washed up former brand name vets who don't have a practical fit. The Warriors go for smart players who can fill a role and look practically like they can fit and gel into the style of ball that Kerr wants to play.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

I was just thinking about this possibility the other day:

"The Boston Celtics have engaged in conversations with the 76ers revolving around Simmons and expressed interest in the 6-foot-11 guard, sources tell The Athletic. Talks have been fluid with no traction as of yet, those sources say. Any potential Simmons deal with the Celtics would have to include All-Star forward Jaylen Brown, an ascending talent who is in the midst of another career season, averaging 25.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists."

 

[wikkidpissah]

I was just thinking about this possibility the other day:

"The Boston Celtics have engaged in conversations with the 76ers revolving around Simmons and expressed interest in the 6-foot-11 guard, sources tell The Athletic. Talks have been fluid with no traction as of yet, those sources say. Any potential Simmons deal with the Celtics would have to include All-Star forward Jaylen Brown, an ascending talent who is in the midst of another career season, averaging 25.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists."

now youre just being mean...

 

[SWC]

the bucks are not really playing that well lately lets see if they can pull it together cotton take that to the bank brohans 

 

[Charlie Harper]

The interesting part is it's unclear what Moody/Wiseman and Kuminga can bring to add to what appears to be a really solid bench. This might be the best bench they've had in years. It probably won't reach the heights of Iggy/Livingston/David West but Gary Payton II is starting to look like a massive bench spark for them. Bjelica and Porter Jr look like they will gel and Chris Chiozza is kind of a sleeper type player, he did really well in limited action with the Nets under Kenny Atkinson.

Moody is the rookie most likely to translate the fastest to a functional role. Smart switchable defender with length. If he can notch it up with Payton II and Wiggins remains solid as the primary cover man, they'll start suffocating teams.

Wiseman and Kuminga have cheat code level athleticism with that extra gear. It's just interesting to see what happens when those guys roll out in transition.

But it looks like this is coming down to Jordan Poole. His ability to create his own shot was pretty critical to the GSW chances this season. He does seem to trend towards a streaky boom/bust kind of guy though. He's playing well and if that holds, this team is a contender.

And Klay Thompson isn't even back yet. And if he can give you even 75 percent of what he was before, imagine the kind of gravity that creates.

Smart players with high situational awareness just get exponentially better near Curry and Green. This teams bench ( Porter Jr, Bjelica, Toscano Anderson, GP II ) really highlights why teams run by LeBron James keep going wrong. LBJ picks washed up former brand name vets who don't have a practical fit. The Warriors go for smart players who can fill a role and look practically like they can fit and gel into the style of ball that Kerr wants to play.

When Klay comes back the bench is essentially:

GP2 - defense, cutter 

Poole - primary playmaker

Iggy - defense, secondary ball handler

Lee - 3 point shooting

Porter - 3 and D

JTA - Bootleg Draymond

Belly - Playmaking big, 3 point shooting

Wiseman - Rollman, length

That's nuts. Everyone has a role that they can execute at an NBA level. ETA: Forgot Juan Tosacano-Anderson the first time!!! That's legit 8 NBA rotation players off the bench!!! Moody and Kuminga are just bonus. The role players are shooting lights out right now, but Curry is missing wide open shots right now so this team is looking good. November 16th versus the Nets will be the next big test for this team. 

 

[Charlie Harper]

I was just thinking about this possibility the other day:

"The Boston Celtics have engaged in conversations with the 76ers revolving around Simmons and expressed interest in the 6-foot-11 guard, sources tell The Athletic. Talks have been fluid with no traction as of yet, those sources say. Any potential Simmons deal with the Celtics would have to include All-Star forward Jaylen Brown, an ascending talent who is in the midst of another career season, averaging 25.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists."

Why would the Celtics do this? Do Brown and Tatum hate each other?

 

[Brunell4MVP]

Early call that Wizards are in Eastern Conference finals.  Go place your bets. The odds are in your favor.

Coaching is 1000% better.  Depth is enormous even with Bryant and Hachimura out.  And with Bertans out the rotations are way, way better on the D end.  He nor Rui may have a role until there are more injuries.  They have a couple of shutdown defenders in Caldwell Pope and Avdija, who has covered everyone from Tre Young to Giannis to Tatum .  For a 20 years old his D is really good.  He blocked Giannis 4 times last night, although I'm not sure 2 of those will show up in box score.  When he comes off bench, they put him on other teams best player.  Beal is even playing defense now that he has help on offense.  Kuzma and Harrell hitting the boards.  Gafford an athletic presence on D.  Neto an excellent scoring backup PG on the offensive end when Dinwiddie is off.  But the glue that put it all together is Unseld.  You can see they are doing the little things and making the effor tplays.  I believe they have already held opponents under 105 points more than they did all of last year.  Which shows how little Brooks cared about D.  And they have set plays for a number of guys not named Beal.  Still need to clean up the turnovers.  But they are a very good team.

 

[DJackson10]

Latest in the Ben Saga from WOJ

@wojespn

ESPN Sources: After initial reluctance, Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons has met with a team-recommended specialist to discuss mental health concerns. Among other issues, the organization had recently reinstituted fines for Simmons’ failure to agree to those meetings.

Simmons is planning to continue meeting with his @NBPA-provided mental health specialist and working out regularly at the team practice facility, sources tell ESPN. Simmons has yet to play for the Sixers this season and there remains no timeline on a possible debut.

 

[DJackson10]

I was just thinking about this possibility the other day:

"The Boston Celtics have engaged in conversations with the 76ers revolving around Simmons and expressed interest in the 6-foot-11 guard, sources tell The Athletic. Talks have been fluid with no traction as of yet, those sources say. Any potential Simmons deal with the Celtics would have to include All-Star forward Jaylen Brown, an ascending talent who is in the midst of another career season, averaging 25.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists."

If he thinks Philly is bad to play in Bos would be worse

I'm betting you the Sixers or Clutch are leaking info or making things up to up offers Sixers want him gone but are gonna play hardball with Clutch and not give him exactly what he wants. 

 

[SWC]

if you are a free agent is how the sixers are handling the simmons saga something that makes philly a more or less attractive destination honest question take that to the bank brohans

 

[GordonGekko]

Early call that Wizards are in Eastern Conference finals.  Go place your bets. The odds are in your favor.

Coaching is 1000% better.  Depth is enormous even with Bryant and Hachimura out. .... Avdija, who has covered everyone from Tre Young to Giannis to Tatum .  For a 20 years old his D is really good.  He blocked Giannis 4 times last night, although I'm not sure 2 of those will show up in box score.  When he comes off bench, they put him on other teams best player. ....

I see it as addition by subtraction. Getting John Wall then RWB off that roster probably lifted so much weight off that team. And with Beal, there were times he just refused to be a leader and refused to play like a leader. I'm not talking about driving counting stats but more of a general "I'm Just Going To Get Mine" mindset. I recognize this was a difficult situation for Beal, but I'm always leery of guys who roll good when things seem good and self absorb when things go bad.

What the RWB trade did was cover quantity to cover for some rough drafts. Troy Brown  Rui Hachimura and Deni Avdija.  I like DA but I was pretty sure they'd take Haliburton instead. It seemed like such a natural fit. Maybe the only saving grace is they didn't take Obi Toppin. Getting Kuzma, KCP and Harrell was a massive shot in the arm. Useful players who already know each other to replace RWB the ball stopper. But as that more of the Washington front office or more of LBJ playing LeGM and finding new ways to trash his team. You have to wonder how Rob Pelinka feels about all this. He got a ring. But every time LBJ screams at him through a phone about who to trade for and sign, you have to wonder if he realizes doing what LBJ wants will ruin a team and then you get fired, but if you actually run personnel with some kind of responsibility, LBJ's ego can't handle it and then he gets you fired. I wonder when basketball history will finally reset with time and realize what a toxic presence LBJ formed for the league for decades.

I recognize the draft is a crapshoot, but the Wizards really do need to draft better. You can't blame them for John Wall and what happened there. Every team would have taken him first overall and that big extension, there's a lot of pressure for a franchise to lock in a productive player that anchors your team and your marketing. But so many of their picks seem to ignore how much the league values lead guard types and wings. I hope Kispert works out for them, but the trend towards quasi PF types is not where the rest of the league is headed.

Part of the coaching issue is the players have to buy in and care. And players are so empowered, the coaches are often helpless. Imagine if Tim Duncan was a shot jacker and simply refused to play defense and let go of his conditioning the 2nd half of his career ( kind of like Shaq....) He could have gotten away with it. He could have been a diva and gotten Pop fired. So this narrative that Pop is this awesome tough coach who can control players is overrated in my book. He got a core of players who were team oriented guys and they made sure everyone else fell in line.

You have to draft a good player, but also have to hope if he breaks out, that he's not a worthless POS as a person. Charles Barkley said it best, at some point, they can keep firing the coaches, but at some point, the problem is the players suck or are too ego driven to realize they need to change.

Over the long haul, I just don't see it with the Wizards this year. The Rui thing is tough. At one level, you feel for the person and you understand the team is sort of caught between a rock and a hard place. On another level, you wished they drafted someone else instead.

 

[GordonGekko]

Latest in the Ben Saga from WOJ

@wojespn

ESPN Sources: After initial reluctance, Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons has met with a team-recommended specialist to discuss mental health concerns. Among other issues, the organization had recently reinstituted fines for Simmons’ failure to agree to those meetings.

Simmons is planning to continue meeting with his @NBPA-provided mental health specialist and working out regularly at the team practice facility, sources tell ESPN. Simmons has yet to play for the Sixers this season and there remains no timeline on a possible debut.

The big problem here is that Simmons came out in public and said he would never play for the Sixers again and kept pushing for a trade. Then the mental health concerns came out later after the fines started.

It could be true, that there are complicated issues with mental health that should be private.

However given Rich Paul's ugly reputation and the problem that this looks like a cooked strategy even if it's not, this only gets worse and worse. Daryl Morey won't blink. He just won't. If he'll take on the CCP by himself, then he'll take on Paul and Simmons.

The NBA really needs to revise the Chris Bosh Rule. Kawhi Leonard wanted out and smeared the entire Spurs organization saying they were intentionally irresponsible with his health. At some point the league needs to intervene and have a process in place to force players to undergo a league medical evaluation in lieu of their franchise. That's what the Chris Bosh Rule is for but it's not actually being used per it's original intent. Which is to being to arbitrate player health disputes away from the franchise itself.

Rich Paul has to ask himself if he wants to be known as the guy who used to sell jerseys out of his trunk who triggered a massive labor war where the entire salary system changes into widespread use of non guaranteed contracts. Honestly, the owners ( No, I won't say "Governors" ) are probably at the point that they'll eat a couple of seasons of losses to just starve the players out and change the salary system.

 

[Deamon]

if you are a free agent is how the sixers are handling the simmons saga something that makes philly a more or less attractive destination honest question take that to the bank brohans

Probably less.  They won't want to go to a team that plays hardball and stands up against their players.

 

[GordonGekko]

if you are a free agent is how the sixers are handling the simmons saga something that makes philly a more or less attractive destination honest question take that to the bank brohans

Players don't care

Players go for

1) Max money period

2) Best chance to go to a winning team/contender

3) Best chance to get start/headline a team

4) Best chance to stay in the league

Next year, when Kevin Knox gets cut loose and the Knicks and their fans are celebrate that his dead weight is off their roster, do you think he will just say No to a contract offer from the 76ers if they are the only team who calls?

A few players like Durant have the power to go to the Nets, get the contract he wants, get the teammates he wants, gets the head coach he wants and decides if he wants to play or practice or not. Most players aren't in that kind of power position.

Dan Gilbert and LBJ said they hated each other. Then they kissed and made up and brought a championship back home to Cleveland ( More like the league forced the refs to give them a win because Nike kept crying about how much money they've spent endorsing LBJ all these years) Kevin Love signed a big extension with the Cavs. This was back when he was actually a desired player. Do you think he does that if LBJ is not there?

Long ago the Warriors cleared out lots of cap space and searched free agency and could only get Corey Maggette. No one wanted to play for them when it was the Antwan Jamison / Jason Richardson years. Then one day they got David West for nothing because he saw an easy ring. And Durant came there to play with a real contender. Does that happen otherwise? Do you think Durant would slow down and say No over something that might happened 5 years before? 3 years before?  Even 10 years before?

No one wants to point out that a lot of the players are basically toxic unlikable spoiled crybabies. You have solid characters like Steve Nash or Tim Duncan or Steph Curry or Andre Igoudala or Grant Hill. But then you get guys like James Harden. If James Harden acted like he did but he was a trucker and not an NBA player, he would get beaten to death with a baseball bat in some parking lot in the middle of nowhere. 

If ISIS owned an NBA team and offered Marcus Bagley a max deal, do you see him saying No? If they offered Wade Baldwin a way back into the NBA, do you see him saying No?

The only guys with real power are the biggest stars, and those guys don't work for the NBA, they work for the shoe brands. If Derrick Rose stayed MVP Derrick Rose his entire career, he goes where Adidas pressures him to go.

What can the Sixers do? They gave Simmons max money and now he doesn't want to show up. Could Doc Rivers ( one of the biggest idiots in the NBA if I've ever seen one and Embiid have done a little better in some interviews right after a huge playoff loss? Sure. But that's not enough to just stop showing up. You signed a max deal. If you wanted your freedom to go play on a team of your choosing then don't sign a max deal. How hard is that? You can't get a Super Max and then be angry you don't get to choose where you get to play. Someone like Dirk Nowitzki could have gotten to choose where he wanted to play. He left huge money on the table, didn't sign long term deals at the 2nd half of his career and played in one place long enough where he could have gotten a No Trade Clause.

Security Vs Freedom

You don't get to have both. Choices don't mean all choices at once. How many times over the years in the FFA have you seen the same marriage story play out here? Guy gets married for a long time, then posts in the forum that his wife stopped working, gained lots of weight and turned everything into a dead bedroom. He's supposed to be faithful but his needs aren't getting met. If you want the choice not to be obligated to a partner, then don't get married and don't live on someone else's dime without understanding there are some tradeoffs to that security. You can have your freedom to not have to deal with a partner, but then you don't get the mortgage payer, the free mechanic, the free gardener, the free cook, the free grocery buyer, the free security guard, the free driver, the free baby sitter and on and on and on.

Ben Simmons got "married" to the Sixers by choice. Now he wants a dead bedroom. He wants all choices at once. And that's the franchise's fault? They did their end. They committed. ( They gave him a max)

Put out or get out.

Let's just call it straight. For all the guys who got married in here, if you knew nookie nookie was off the table four years after you issued out that ring, and that might be for life, would you still do it? Our laws even say if you don't put out, that's some type of cruelty. It's even wired deep in our legal system.

It's clear over time that many of these NBA owners, if you look deep enough, are basically worthless POS people as well. Corrupt , greedy , psychopathic, tone deaf, smug, entitled and on and on and on. And even still, I can't blame them for Ben Simmons not putting out.

 

[Frostillicus]

KAT is a ####### marshmellow. I'm out. Trade him (and hopefully Russell) and build around Edwards. 

 

[GordonGekko]

Why would the Celtics do this? Do Brown and Tatum hate each other?

Brown and Tatum both have Kobe Bryant Disease. More than willing to go 9-32 from the field and freeze everyone else out and be unapologetic shot jackers.

I recognize the draft is a crapshoot but the Celtics have drafted poorly relative to their needs. You've got to hit on the picks you do get and try to find the next Alex Caruso/Lu Dort/Jeremy Lin. The Warriors are rebounding a bit now and that Jordan Poole/Eric Paschall draft has a lot to do with it. They also mined Gary Payton II and Juan Toscano Anderson.

Ainge did well with higher draft picks but struggled with mid to lower ones. Pritchard and Time Lord look useful but there is a wide range of picks that didn't help the team.

No one wants to hear this, but I still felt moving Brown to OKC this offseason would have been the best move. The pick that turned into Giddey and Lu Dort and maybe some more picks. It's not like OKC has a shortage of future picks. I know that's not a brand name return but I question if enough teams like Jaylen Brown enough to get a brand name return. If that's not the case, then you have to do something else. If you want to dump a player, clearly Sam Presti is the one guy you always call in the NBA.

Tatum just might be a guy with only half of the "It Factor"  That's sort of tragic actually. You see flashes of a special player and then he folds mentally and sometimes tends to do something stupid in critical moments.

I think many NBA GMs aren't betting the right way. If you roll the dice with a mid to late first round pick, just grab a 3 And D wing. The league is now built on which team has the largest number of effective switchable long 3 And D wings. In that regard, I can't beat up the Celtics on the Nesmith pick too much. I wouldn't draft him there, but at least he can space the floor some. A guy like Devin Vassell isn't going to rock your world, but if you had 5 Devin Vassells on your roster?

 

[DJackson10]

if you are a free agent is how the sixers are handling the simmons saga something that makes philly a more or less attractive destination honest question take that to the bank brohans

From when Colangelo took over I heard from some that he interviewed most of USMNT basketball on the sixers. Colangelo realized he had to get a star player or someone equal to that and hope they resigned with the sixers to have a chance. Brand did that with Butler but Butler within a week of being in Philly said on JJ Reddick's podcast he wasn't staying. Some blame Brett Brown others blamed Ben Simmons. They were pretty much screwed when Butler told them thanks but no thanks. Don't think this does anything different other then show the Owners "hey we can push back on bully players and agents trying to make us do what they want." I think agencies like Clutch and others who yell threats constantly and other stuff are worried the Next CBA the owners could get more power back or learn how to handle disgruntled players without being held hostage by agents and players. 

 

[DJackson10]

The big problem here is that Simmons came out in public and said he would never play for the Sixers again and kept pushing for a trade. Then the mental health concerns came out later after the fines started.

It could be true, that there are complicated issues with mental health that should be private.

However given Rich Paul's ugly reputation and the problem that this looks like a cooked strategy even if it's not, this only gets worse and worse. Daryl Morey won't blink. He just won't. If he'll take on the CCP by himself, then he'll take on Paul and Simmons.

The NBA really needs to revise the Chris Bosh Rule. Kawhi Leonard wanted out and smeared the entire Spurs organization saying they were intentionally irresponsible with his health. At some point the league needs to intervene and have a process in place to force players to undergo a league medical evaluation in lieu of their franchise. That's what the Chris Bosh Rule is for but it's not actually being used per it's original intent. Which is to being to arbitrate player health disputes away from the franchise itself.

Rich Paul has to ask himself if he wants to be known as the guy who used to sell jerseys out of his trunk who triggered a massive labor war where the entire salary system changes into widespread use of non guaranteed contracts. Honestly, the owners ( No, I won't say "Governors" ) are probably at the point that they'll eat a couple of seasons of losses to just starve the players out and change the salary system.

This whole thing is just giving the league a black eye. Not because of how the Sixers are handling it but how a single player can have so much power these days. It may turn fans away. I can se a big work stoppage happening and I think the owners might forfeit a year just to show the players association they mean business. 

 

[GordonGekko]

If he thinks Philly is bad to play in Bos would be worse

I'm betting you the Sixers or Clutch are leaking info or making things up to up offers Sixers want him gone but are gonna play hardball with Clutch and not give him exactly what he wants. 

Part of the complication is Simmons has Rose Rule provisions from the Designated Rookie Extension. Any team that trades for him can still designate two of their own drafted players for the DRE, but that's pretty limiting because it almost certainly implies that will be a luxury tax paying team. Teams just aren't flexible absorbing contracts like this. Esp if they have to weigh out the assets they'd lose as well.

He has a 15 percent trade kicker, but that might negligible depending on what happens with the cap down the road as he can't exceed the max allowances in the CBA.

He can't defend the rim. And that's just a massive fit problem for lots of other teams. Basically he only really seamlessly operates with a player like the most ideal version of Porzingis.

Simmons believes he should go to the teams he wants or a contender but his trade offs means he's best suited to be the best player on a bad team going nowhere. He wants to be on a team with guys like Steph Curry but he's more likely to get his way being in a situation like Kemba Walker with the Hornets for all those years. He needs to be on a team where Michael Kidd Gilchrist is the next best player and a piece of roadkill like Nic Batum is chewing up the rest of the cap.

 

[DJackson10]

Players don't care

Players go for

1) Max money period

2) Best chance to go to a winning team/contender

3) Best chance to get start/headline a team

4) Best chance to stay in the league

Next year, when Kevin Knox gets cut loose and the Knicks and their fans are celebrate that his dead weight is off their roster, do you think he will just say No to a contract offer from the 76ers if they are the only team who calls?

A few players like Durant have the power to go to the Nets, get the contract he wants, get the teammates he wants, gets the head coach he wants and decides if he wants to play or practice or not. Most players aren't in that kind of power position.

Dan Gilbert and LBJ said they hated each other. Then they kissed and made up and brought a championship back home to Cleveland ( More like the league forced the refs to give them a win because Nike kept crying about how much money they've spent endorsing LBJ all these years) Kevin Love signed a big extension with the Cavs. This was back when he was actually a desired player. Do you think he does that if LBJ is not there?

Long ago the Warriors cleared out lots of cap space and searched free agency and could only get Corey Maggette. No one wanted to play for them when it was the Antwan Jamison / Jason Richardson years. Then one day they got David West for nothing because he saw an easy ring. And Durant came there to play with a real contender. Does that happen otherwise? Do you think Durant would slow down and say No over something that might happened 5 years before? 3 years before?  Even 10 years before?

No one wants to point out that a lot of the players are basically toxic unlikable spoiled crybabies. You have solid characters like Steve Nash or Tim Duncan or Steph Curry or Andre Igoudala or Grant Hill. But then you get guys like James Harden. If James Harden acted like he did but he was a trucker and not an NBA player, he would get beaten to death with a baseball bat in some parking lot in the middle of nowhere. 

If ISIS owned an NBA team and offered Marcus Bagley a max deal, do you see him saying No? If they offered Wade Baldwin a way back into the NBA, do you see him saying No?

The only guys with real power are the biggest stars, and those guys don't work for the NBA, they work for the shoe brands. If Derrick Rose stayed MVP Derrick Rose his entire career, he goes where Adidas pressures him to go.

What can the Sixers do? They gave Simmons max money and now he doesn't want to show up. Could Doc Rivers ( one of the biggest idiots in the NBA if I've ever seen one and Embiid have done a little better in some interviews right after a huge playoff loss? Sure. But that's not enough to just stop showing up. You signed a max deal. If you wanted your freedom to go play on a team of your choosing then don't sign a max deal. How hard is that? You can't get a Super Max and then be angry you don't get to choose where you get to play. Someone like Dirk Nowitzki could have gotten to choose where he wanted to play. He left huge money on the table, didn't sign long term deals at the 2nd half of his career and played in one place long enough where he could have gotten a No Trade Clause.

Security Vs Freedom

You don't get to have both. Choices don't mean all choices at once. How many times over the years in the FFA have you seen the same marriage story play out here? Guy gets married for a long time, then posts in the forum that his wife stopped working, gained lots of weight and turned everything into a dead bedroom. He's supposed to be faithful but his needs aren't getting met. If you want the choice not to be obligated to a partner, then don't get married and don't live on someone else's dime without understanding there are some tradeoffs to that security. You can have your freedom to not have to deal with a partner, but then you don't get the mortgage payer, the free mechanic, the free gardener, the free cook, the free grocery buyer, the free security guard, the free driver, the free baby sitter and on and on and on.

Ben Simmons got "married" to the Sixers by choice. Now he wants a dead bedroom. He wants all choices at once. And that's the franchise's fault? They did their end. They committed. ( They gave him a max)

Put out or get out.

Let's just call it straight. For all the guys who got married in here, if you knew nookie nookie was off the table four years after you issued out that ring, and that might be for life, would you still do it? Our laws even say if you don't put out, that's some type of cruelty. It's even wired deep in our legal system.

It's clear over time that many of these NBA owners, if you look deep enough, are basically worthless POS people as well. Corrupt , greedy , psychopathic, tone deaf, smug, entitled and on and on and on. And even still, I can't blame them for Ben Simmons not putting out.

I agree on some stuff here and disagree on other stuff. 

From when Colangelo took over I heard from some that he interviewed most of USMNT basketball on the sixers. Colangelo realized he had to get a star player or someone equal to that and hope they resigned with the sixers to have a chance. Brand did that with Butler but Butler within a week of being in Philly said on JJ Reddick's podcast he wasn't staying. Some blame Brett Brown others blamed Ben Simmons. They were pretty much screwed when Butler told them thanks but no thanks. Don't think this does anything different other then show the Owners "hey we can push back on bully players and agents trying to make us do what they want." I think agencies like Clutch and others who yell threats constantly and other stuff are worried the Next CBA the owners could get more power back or learn how to handle disgruntled players without being held hostage by agents and players.  That was pretty telling what Butler did. The only players the Sixers could get are a James Harden type because Doc Rivers lets players walk all over him 

I think Doc and Joel had every right to go after Simmons. I'd be Pissed off as his teammate too. I think we need more players calling out teammates who act like crybabies, are too soft and dog it. Joel should've been out there every time he was asked his thoughts on Simmons and told the media "He quit on us and I can't play with someone like that who if they don't get their way are negatively gonna effect myself and other teammates. Theres a trust factor Ben Broke. Then you have all the times he was called out publicly by Brown. Simmons went a full month without being aggressive as a protest to Brown calling him out for not taking a jumpshot. You think MJ, Bird, Wilt etc would put up with a players crap like that? Too many guys today are afraid of making enemies and want to be friends. What happened to wanting to play head to head and proving you're the best? 

I think the Sixers will get players but they aren't going to get any all stars top tier guys at all unless whole sale changes are made in the org. However if players see Philly as a sinking ship they won't bother coming to Philly. 

At the same time the KD's and Curry's and Lebrons have power and I agree with everything on LeBron. Remember when the league said they were gonna cut down on flopping and realized Lebron was their biggest offender? That rule stopped fast probably because of the advertisers and all getting in Sterns ear who years before swept the NBA Gambling under the rug by referees and rehired his boy Joey Crawford who should've been banned from the league. 

Either way some teams might be forced to overpay to get a guy where some won't. Philly overpaid Tobias Harris because it'd look really bad optics and publicity wise to lose both Butler and Harris. They overpaid a solid Role player to a max deal and I think that contract will comeback and bite them. They are incredible lucky with Embiid getting more mature because the team treated Joel the same as Ben early on. I think Butler had a positive Effect on Joel because after JB was here you Saw Embiid less worried about social media likes and following and acting a lot more professional. Apparently Ben didn't take to that kindly. That just tells me Ben is very entitled and will never change. 

 

[DJackson10]

Part of the complication is Simmons has Rose Rule provisions from the Designated Rookie Extension. Any team that trades for him can still designate two of their own drafted players for the DRE, but that's pretty limiting because it almost certainly implies that will be a luxury tax paying team. Teams just aren't flexible absorbing contracts like this. Esp if they have to weigh out the assets they'd lose as well.

He has a 15 percent trade kicker, but that might negligible depending on what happens with the cap down the road as he can't exceed the max allowances in the CBA.

He can't defend the rim. And that's just a massive fit problem for lots of other teams. Basically he only really seamlessly operates with a player like the most ideal version of Porzingis.

Simmons believes he should go to the teams he wants or a contender but his trade offs means he's best suited to be the best player on a bad team going nowhere. He wants to be on a team with guys like Steph Curry but he's more likely to get his way being in a situation like Kemba Walker with the Hornets for all those years. He needs to be on a team where Michael Kidd Gilchrist is the next best player and a piece of roadkill like Nic Batum is chewing up the rest of the cap.

Honestly that will just show more of his weaknesses. Id love to see it because I want to see if my big theory works. 

Here it is: Simmons was never great defensively in college. From Jonathan Giovani's scouting report Ben's gaudy blocks and Steals numbers were more accredited to higher chances then anyone else as teams just weren't afraid to go after him defensively. Has he improved in the NBA? 

That I'm not sure. Brett Brown's teams were always really good defensively when they got better record wise. They had really good team defense with guys who I think hid Simmons faults. However in the ATL Series Trae Young a guy he would have issues with in college greatly exposed him in the open court. A lot of people say Ben has Elite defense I just question that. So I'd like to see him on one of these scrub teams so we can see how he really is. I think the one good think Rivers did with the Sixers is he really didn't change the defensive scheme. Like when Kerr got to GS he didn't change what Marc Jackson had done defensively and kept it. 

Ben reminds me of a former Milan Player in soccer. Dude thought he was a lot better then he was then ended up signing on a free this offseason with our inner city rivals. Ben thinks he's much better then he really is and should be playing with the likes of Curry, a KD, Lebron, etc. On what planet has he deserved that or his skillset works with them? I think someone should test ben for drugs because he's taking some pretty good ones if he thinks those the teams he can play with 

 

[DJackson10]

Bulls run away from the Nets tonight yet somehow we can't beat underman 76ers 

 

[GordonGekko]

That's nuts. Everyone has a role that they can execute at an NBA level. Moody and Kuminga are just bonus. The role players are shooting lights out right now, but Curry is missing wide open shots right now so this team is looking good. November 16th versus the Nets will be the next big test for this team. 

The biggest thing I consistently see with the Warriors is that Steph Curry is relentless moving off the ball. Even though he's a superstar and a franchise player and a future HOFer, he's working tirelessly like a guy trying to get that last 15 roster spot.

You see the effect on Wiggins. Who, to be honest, was always just a lazy player before. No killer instinct. But you see the effect of being near Curry and Green. Now Wiggins covers the opponents best offensive threat every night and he clearly just goes at people now.

Look at Julius Randle. He saw his career spiraling down the drain, and in his 2nd season with the Knicks, has one of the most improbable comeback years in all of NBA history. Now look at him this year after getting paid with a big contract. Just being lazy again and refusing to move off the ball. If he can't be ball dominant, he starts to sulk again.

You can see why Oubre didn't fit. Oubre has 50 times the talent of Gary Payton II, but GP2 just wants it more. I really like what Luke Garza of the Pistons said. He said every other NBA player could beat him in a sprint, but none of them will sprint all game long, and he will. And he does.

You can see why James Harden is a great individual player but in a team concept he plays like a loser. Lazy, selfish, self absorbed, not willing to do the unpleasant grind and minutiae of the job. Curry is a great individual player but in the team concept, he's a pure winner. He scores 40 or he scores 10, he doesn't care, if you lose the game, it doesn't matter what you score.

I think the biggest lesson of this Warriors team is you can't teach passion. You can't teach someone to keep getting punched in the face, fall to the ground and keep getting back up and swinging anyway. LeBron James didn't want the Lakers to pay Alex Caruso. Because he's an idiot. But look at how much that team looks and feels different without a guy willing to give up everything to win.

In one way, what the Warriors are doing is kind of tragic for the NBA. The Warriors are going to be lauded as special because they are playing the game the right way. But honestly, that shouldn't be applauded, every team in the NBA should have players willing to play the game the right way.

It really comes down to Curry and Green just setting that right example. That's how you really lead. Winners always set the right example because it's about personal integrity and not ego.

 

[DJackson10]

I think the biggest lesson of this Warriors team is you can't teach passion. You can't teach someone to keep getting punched in the face, fall to the ground and keep getting back up and swinging anyway. LeBron James didn't want the Lakers to pay Alex Caruso. Because he's an idiot. But look at how much that team looks and feels different without a guy willing to give up everything to win.

Just want to thank LeFlop being an idiot for getting AC to CHICAGO. If we win a title with this guy remind me to send LeFlop a nice basket with a DVD of his biggest flops in his career as a thank you. AC has become an instant fan favorite. This guy acts like he battles for the last roster spot nightly with hustle plays and passion. Dude knows his role, always trying to fire up the crowd, encourage a teammate or go after them for a poor play. Give me an Alex Caruso over my team or Luke Garza over a James Harden any day. 

 

[[icon]]

Just got home from Grizzlies / TWolves. Buddy has 2 season tix 6 Rows off the court. Have been invited to every game this year so far  

Recollection hazy but I think Grizz were down by 14 with ~5min remaining. Ja morant came in, scored 12 points with a blocked shot and 3 assists to seemingly lock up the game. Crowd chanting MVP. 

Then Towns takes an inbound pass with 1 second left to make a freak fading 3 from damn near half court to send it to overtime. 

Fantastic game. Morant is so fun to watch. 

 

[The General]

The Joker apparently hits harder than Ronnie Lott

 

[wikkidpissah]

*scroll hand cramp*

 

[ShamrockPride]

Morris wanted to #### around and found out.

 

[SoBeDad]

The Joker apparently hits harder than Ronnie Lott

Suspension coming for Jokic cheap shot in the back. 1, 5 or 10?

 

[The General]

Suspension coming for Jokic cheap shot in the back. 1, 5 or 10?

Definitely getting something, not sure how the NBA did these in the past. Morris might get an Oscar for that dive though

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Morris wanted to #### around and found out.

Love Jokic retaliating there. Morris up to his typical BS. 

 

[Harry Frogfish]

Suspension coming for Jokic cheap shot in the back. 1, 5 or 10?

Suspension for who. Morris?  For flopping and milking it for 5 minutes (best was the both hands clinging to his head).  Or Morris for instigating the murderous shove.

Wasn't even good acting.

If any suspension should occur, it's for those unis.

 

[Jayrod]

The Joker apparently hits harder than Ronnie Lott

Jokic will be suspended for 1-2 games.  He threw a shoulder into a guy's back.

I've seen worse hits on screens/rebounds on a nightly basis, but Morris appeared to be near death.  I hope they were able to resuscitate him.

 

[Jayrod]

Morris wanted to #### around and found out.

Jokic is a cold ### honky.

 

[SoBeDad]

Jokic will be suspended for 1-2 games.  He threw a shoulder into a guy's back.

I've seen worse hits on screens/rebounds on a nightly basis, but Morris appeared to be near death.  I hope they were able to resuscitate him.

Not sure how much acting was going on but it looked like a classic case of whiplash. It could've led to a serious injury, probably didn't, we should find out more today. 

 

[Jayrod]

Not sure how much acting was going on but it looked like a classic case of whiplash. It could've led to a serious injury, probably didn't, we should find out more today. 

I officiate college football.  I've watched QB's get hit from behind while not looking with 3x's as much force and 9 times out of 10 they hop up immediately and run the next play.

Morris embellished that a GREAT deal.

ETA:  Video of Morris on the floor.

 

[Jayrod]

I officiate college football.  I've watched QB's get hit from behind while not looking with 3x's as much force and 9 times out of 10 they hop up immediately and run the next play.

Morris embellished that a GREAT deal.

ETA:  Video of Morris on the floor.

And in sad news, the actor that played that part in Friday died at 55 yrs old in September.

 

[modogg]

Definitely getting something, not sure how the NBA did these in the past. Morris might get an Oscar for that dive though

i thought he got shot from someone in the stands the way his whole body crumbled and collapsed

 

[Instinctive]

God the Morris brothers suck. I think the only NBA players less likeable are Ben Simmons and....nah that's probably it.