2022-23 NBA Thread: “you’ll never let me down like the Heat did”, Miami fan says to giant pile of cocaine (2 Viewers)

[GordonGekko]

Per shams:

Sources: Nets have delivered Kyrie Irving six items he must complete to return to team:

- Apologize/condemn movie

So removing the potential politics out of this, and focusing on the "process" side of this, part of the problem for Adam Silver now is this "condition" will raise the threat profile for Kyrie Irving and his entire immediate family.

All "celebrities" at a high enough profile are going to get death threats. That's the nature of fame. It's unavoidable. It's also the truth that by saying certain things and taking certain actions or choosing inaction in 2021, Irving brought more death threats to himself and his family. That's something that can't be disputed. Right or wrong, fair or not, it's part of how this works for "celebrity"

A public "condemnation" will trigger death threats from BOTH ENDS of the complex conflict that Irving is talking about. Now this becomes an issue for NBA Global Security and will impact every arena, every coaching staff, every roster, every front office member, everyone working in any kind of proximity to Irving as a player. Whatever people think of Irving on a personal level here or out in the world, his kids did nothing wrong to anyone.

Irving brought a mess onto himself, I won't deny that. No one can deny that. But Joe Tsai can't show up and make things worse. That's not going to help anyone.

The other issue is the current CBA does not have a specific area for provisions regarding personal social media. While there may be something different signed by Irving with the Nets franchise, a long enough suspension has to be fully reviewed by the league HQ and Adam Silver. Tsai is opening up all owners to a potential complex lawsuit over this. The NBPA might have no choice but to enter the fray once the conflict goes into private social media accounts, in terms of what's delineated or operates in a grey area in the active CBA. Irving doesn't need to win a lawsuit to inflict massive overall PR damage to all owners and the entire league as a whole.

From a "process" standpoint, Tsai could end up triggering a stalemate issue in a coming massive labor war. The NBPA knows owners are already pushing for a hard cap, and expect a lockout over the issue at some point. The "cure" can't be worse than the original problem. The NBPA might not support Irving in private, but from said process standpoint, if the active CBA is rendered meaningless based on Irving's outcome, it means none of their negotiated protections are actually safe and should be seen as valid. An extended labor war impacts countless cities and the internal economies there. That's real jobs and real people impacted. Not millionaires and not celebrities, but working class folks who might suffer from this.

This goes beyond Irving. You just can't make up the rules as you go along.

 

[Frostillicus]

Per shams:

Sources: Nets have delivered Kyrie Irving six items he must complete to return to team:

- Apologize/condemn movie

So removing the potential politics out of this, and focusing on the "process" side of this, part of the problem for Adam Silver now is this "condition" will raise the threat profile for Kyrie Irving and his entire immediate family.

All "celebrities" at a high enough profile are going to get death threats. That's the nature of fame. It's unavoidable. It's also the truth that by saying certain things and taking certain actions or choosing inaction in 2021, Irving brought more death threats to himself and his family. That's something that can't be disputed. Right or wrong, fair or not, it's part of how this works for "celebrity"

A public "condemnation" will trigger death threats from BOTH ENDS of the complex conflict that Irving is talking about. Now this becomes an issue for NBA Global Security and will impact every arena, every coaching staff, every roster, every front office member, everyone working in any kind of proximity to Irving as a player. Whatever people think of Irving on a personal level here or out in the world, his kids did nothing wrong to anyone.

Irving brought a mess onto himself, I won't deny that. No one can deny that. But Joe Tsai can't show up and make things worse. That's not going to help anyone.

The other issue is the current CBA does not have a specific area for provisions regarding personal social media. While there may be something different signed by Irving with the Nets franchise, a long enough suspension has to be fully reviewed by the league HQ and Adam Silver. Tsai is opening up all owners to a potential complex lawsuit over this. The NBPA might have no choice but to enter the fray once the conflict goes into private social media accounts, in terms of what's delineated or operates in a grey area in the active CBA. Irving doesn't need to win a lawsuit to inflict massive overall PR damage to all owners and the entire league as a whole.

From a "process" standpoint, Tsai could end up triggering a stalemate issue in a coming massive labor war. The NBPA knows owners are already pushing for a hard cap, and expect a lockout over the issue at some point. The "cure" can't be worse than the original problem. The NBPA might not support Irving in private, but from said process standpoint, if the active CBA is rendered meaningless based on Irving's outcome, it means none of their negotiated protections are actually safe and should be seen as valid. An extended labor war impacts countless cities and the internal economies there. That's real jobs and real people impacted. Not millionaires and not celebrities, but working class folks who might suffer from this.

This goes beyond Irving. You just can't make up the rules as you go along.

Dude why is always about death threats and the extreme with you? I read a lot of your posts in the politics forum because i find you quite fascinating, and I do here as well, and it's always about death threats and hit men and assasinations. I like to read your opinions on NBA stuff and you clearly have a very good handle on the salary cap rules but your death threat obsession is really weird.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Mokeski and Sikma both rockin the classic 80s perm mullet that season

Kelly Tripucka was the king of that look: https://pistonpowered.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/911904608.jpeg

 

[SWC]

i think the only basketball card i got for about three years running was kelly tripukeah take that to the bank brohans

 

[Zow]

how are people not Lebron fans?

i may never understand passionate anti-Lebron fans of the NBA.

I will always have respect for lebron solely for being a rare star to actually live up to the hype and meet the lofty expectations we had for him.

Also, the most tone deaf and critical thing he’s ever (The Decision) netted, as I understand it, millions for charity. That’s objectively not a bad thing.

Lebron, aside from maybe some public comments people don’t like because they crossed a political line, had otherwise been a model superstar with no scandals. Pretty impressive.

 

[Zow]

Per shams:

Sources: Nets have delivered Kyrie Irving six items he must complete to return to team:

- Apologize/condemn movie
- $500K donation to anti-hate causes
- Sensitivity training
- Antisemitic training
- Meet with ADL, Jewish leaders
- Meet with Joe Tsai to demonstrate understanding

I do find the forced meetings to be a bit strange. Can’t imagine they’ll be fruitful. Best case scenario he puts up with them and ignores the guest.

You aren’t going to change kyrie’s mind. Primary goal should be to get him to stop making public comments that reflect poorly on the team.

 

[AAABatteries]

how are people not Lebron fans?

i may never understand passionate anti-Lebron fans of the NBA.

I will always have respect for lebron solely for being a rare star to actually live up to the hype and meet the lofty expectations we had for him.

Also, the most tone deaf and critical thing he’s ever (The Decision) netted, as I understand it, millions for charity. That’s objectively not a bad thing.

Lebron, aside from maybe some public comments people don’t like because they crossed a political line, had otherwise been a model superstar with no scandals. Pretty impressive.

I think the thing that hurts LeBron with old school people is he showed up in the NBA during a time where players started moving around to different teams even more than any time in the past. There’s a perception he couldn’t get it done in Cleveland and moved to Miami to win. I have no issue with it and his legacy is cemented for me but that’s the argument. I don’t blame him, he wanted to win. But KD is facing a similar fate with how some people think about it.

If you look at the top 25 players all-time the majority played most of their career with one team and associated with that team. That’s the Cavs for LeBron but it’s a weird situation where they hated him for a while when he went to Miami.

Again, I have no issue but that’s the main argument I’ve heard people make. Now nobody would think twice about a player moving around like that.

 

[Capella]

If you look at the top 25 players all-time the majority played most of their career with one team and associated with that team. That’s the Cavs for LeBron but it’s a weird situation where they hated him for a while when he went to Miami.

I get your point but Kareem forced himself out of Milwaukee and nobody ever talks about it. There’s just too much social media and content now.

 

[AAABatteries]

If you look at the top 25 players all-time the majority played most of their career with one team and associated with that team. That’s the Cavs for LeBron but it’s a weird situation where they hated him for a while when he went to Miami.

I get your point but Kareem forced himself out of Milwaukee and nobody ever talks about it. There’s just too much social media and content now.

It’s not my argument but I get it. I think it’s a timing thing. NBA has changed. Really sports in general.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Per shams:

Sources: Nets have delivered Kyrie Irving six items he must complete to return to team:

- Apologize/condemn movie
- $500K donation to anti-hate causes
- Sensitivity training
- Antisemitic training
- Meet with ADL, Jewish leaders
- Meet with Joe Tsai to demonstrate understanding

I do find the forced meetings to be a bit strange. Can’t imagine they’ll be fruitful. Best case scenario he puts up with them and ignores the guest.

You aren’t going to change kyrie’s mind. Primary goal should be to get him to stop making public comments that reflect poorly on the team.

The whole list is really odd and pointless. “Antisemitic training” - apart from the terrible phrasing, what does that look like and where does one go to get such training? Forced to “condemn“ a movie he’s just promoted? This is nonsense.

 

[Jayrod]

If you look at the top 25 players all-time the majority played most of their career with one team and associated with that team. That’s the Cavs for LeBron but it’s a weird situation where they hated him for a while when he went to Miami.

I get your point but Kareem forced himself out of Milwaukee and nobody ever talks about it. There’s just too much social media and content now.

His reputation was tarnished over that even then. Kareem never got much public admiration, despite being the best player to ever play before MJ showed up. I always got the sense he was considered surly and a malcontent.

 

[Jayrod]

As a guy who doesn't like LeBron, I'll give my explanation.

I didn't like the way the decision was handled. I don't like his arrogance outside of basketball. He has blatantly in the wrong on a couple of things over the years. Off the top of my head:
-the "YOU'RE NEXT" tweet
-Criticizing those standing up for Taiwan and supporting China over $$.
-His criticism over the Britney Griner detention in Russia.

There are probably a few other things I can't remember.

In general, I think he is someone who is insanely good at one thing and believes that means he is good at everything. LeBron, KD and Irving all seem to think they are smarter than they are and make frequent forays into social and political issues where they are beyond their realm of understanding.

He's a great ball player. I just don't like the guy's personality and approach to things outside of the game itself.

 

[AAABatteries]

Per shams:

Sources: Nets have delivered Kyrie Irving six items he must complete to return to team:

- Apologize/condemn movie
- $500K donation to anti-hate causes
- Sensitivity training
- Antisemitic training
- Meet with ADL, Jewish leaders
- Meet with Joe Tsai to demonstrate understanding

I do find the forced meetings to be a bit strange. Can’t imagine they’ll be fruitful. Best case scenario he puts up with them and ignores the guest.

You aren’t going to change kyrie’s mind. Primary goal should be to get him to stop making public comments that reflect poorly on the team.

The whole list is really odd and pointless. “Antisemitic training” - apart from the terrible phrasing, what does that look like and where does one go to get such training? Forced to “condemn“ a movie he’s just promoted? This is nonsense.

He has to bring the Lox and Bagels to practice for a month.

 

[ghostguy123]

As a guy who doesn't like LeBron, I'll give my explanation.

I didn't like the way the decision was handled. I don't like his arrogance outside of basketball. He has blatantly in the wrong on a couple of things over the years. Off the top of my head:
-the "YOU'RE NEXT" tweet
-Criticizing those standing up for Taiwan and supporting China over $$.
-His criticism over the Britney Griner detention in Russia.

There are probably a few other things I can't remember.

In general, I think he is someone who is insanely good at one thing and believes that means he is good at everything. LeBron, KD and Irving all seem to think they are smarter than they are and make frequent forays into social and political issues where they are beyond their realm of understanding.

He's a great ball player. I just don't like the guy's personality and approach to things outside of the game itself.

In 20 years he has said a handful of things you don't like, even though he is incessantly asked questions non stop every day by anyone within 100 feet of him. Oh, and he tweeted a few things. Alrighty then.
If uninformed people weren't allowed to have an opinion, nobody would ever talk.

 

[ghostguy123]

This Kyrie thing is dumb. The NBA/Nets appear to be going way too far here. Kyrie is an idiot, but the NBA looks even dumber here. He has a list of 6 things he must do, even though everyone with three brain cells knows that doing those 6 things is completely meaningless.
Simple response is fine him or whatever and let the media and Twitter verse crush him for years to come. Nope. Gotta do the dog and pony show.

 

[NewlyRetired]

This Kyrie thing is dumb. The NBA/Nets appear to be going way too far here. Kyrie is an idiot, but the NBA looks even dumber here. He has a list of 6 things he must do, even though everyone with three brain cells knows that doing those 6 things is completely meaningless.
Simple response is fine him or whatever and let the media and Twitter verse crush him for years to come. Nope. Gotta do the dog and pony show.

My guess is that both the Nets and the league are getting sponsorship pressure.

 

[mr. furley]

If you look at the top 25 players all-time the majority played most of their career with one team and associated with that team. That’s the Cavs for LeBron but it’s a weird situation where they hated him for a while when he went to Miami.

I get your point but Kareem forced himself out of Milwaukee and nobody ever talks about it. There’s just too much social media and content now.

His reputation was tarnished over that even then. Kareem never got much public admiration, despite being the best player to ever play before MJ showed up. I always got the sense he was considered surly and a malcontent.

Kareem definitely had that label but it was more of a "he doesn't know his place" dog whistle.

 

[GordonGekko]

As a guy who doesn't like LeBron, I'll give my explanation.

I didn't like the way the decision was handled. I don't like his arrogance outside of basketball....

NBA agents annihilate LeBron James for 'insatiable' ego, claim he's behind Klutch Sports clients getting 'screwed'

In a new survey of NBA agents, a majority of those questioned indicated that Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is the league's best player, but also directed criticism at his personality and ethics. Ben Standig and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic wrote about the survey of 20 agents, who were...

lakersdaily.com

Ben Standig and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic wrote about the survey of 20 agents, who were asked different questions related to the NBA. In the case of James, a number of those who expressed criticism toward him also agreed that he was the top NBA player.

.... “The worst thing that LeBron is doing is forcing this power with Rich Paul ....Now I know it’s this façade that it’s Rich Paul, but it’s really LeBron who recruits for Rich Paul. So it’s almost like they’re trying to control AAU at the NBA level. This is my AAU team and they’ve carried that to the highest level. And because of his power and his prowess, people, the young players are seduced by LeBron James in the same way people were seduced by Michael Jordan with David Falk. He went from having Michael Jordan and a few other players, to getting the top players in the NBA, because of the Jordan factor.... So, the fact that LeBron recruits and has empowered Rich Paul, and I get it, on the top guys, but if someone does their research, a lot of these guys have really gotten screwed, a large number of them, by mismanagement....There’s at least five or six massive casualties. Nobody is saying anything and you can even say that the union should take some responsibility because they represent all of the players, not just LeBron James. Because this is anonymous. I hope you have the courage to put this out there, because nobody is talking about this but this is the reality, and if you ask any other agent what I just said, they would all agree.....”

Lakers Front Office Blaming LeBron & Klutch Sports for Disastrous Season

According to a recent article by Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus, the Lakers front office is pointing the finger at Klutch Sports.

www.si.com

...According to a recent article by Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus, the Lakers front office believes most of the onus for the team's poor roster falls on Klutch Sports.
... "But James certainly has a strong influence on the Lakers' decision-making. Multiple sources indicate the team's front office is internally blaming pressure from Klutch Sports Group (representing both James and Davis) for Westbrook...."

NBA Investigated LeBron James' Potential Stake in Klutch Sports Group

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James was reportedly found to have no stake in Klutch Sports Group following an investigation by the NBA ...

bleacherreport.com

Report: NCAA adopting a 'Rich Paul rule' for potential NBA draftees to maintain eligibility

A bachelor’s degree and an in-person exam at the NCAA offices are reportedly new criteria to maintain eligibility, per Jon Rothstein.

lebronwire.usatoday.com

*********

There are lots of things to criticize LBJ for, but a large share of them are political type discussions.

But what can be immediately criticized is that it's an open secret in the NBA that LBJ is the practical de facto owner of Klutch Sports. LBJ and Rich Paul don't even make any cursory attempts to hide it. Even the NBA "investigation" into the matter was a laughable farce.

Every time that LBJ makes a comment about another player on another roster, usually a Klutch client, he's tampering. It's an open violation of the CBA, that's each and every instance. No one is willing to dig into the money trail here. Even NBA Global Security is forbidden from investigating the matter beyond the surface level. Rich Paul did not have the clout and money to start and fund Klutch Sports on his own. A player controlling a large representation agency, which receives the agents commission on contracts, would trigger a labor war in any other sport.

Client poaching via tampering would get any other agent disbarred from working with NBA players. But not Rich Paul.

The other issue is LBJ, by tampering, is providing unpaid value to any current Klutch client who is a current NBA player, which is yet another violation of the CBA. And that's not just the NBA, that would be a violation in any of the major sports.

Because of this, while people can argue if the fans or other rosters or the media hates him or not, one thing is clear - Agents and front offices despise LBJ. That's not a secret either. They plain despise him. He's not just breaking the rules, he's flaunting it while spitting in their faces.

 

[mr. furley]

As a guy who doesn't like LeBron, I'll give my explanation.

I didn't like the way the decision was handled. I don't like his arrogance outside of basketball. He has blatantly in the wrong on a couple of things over the years. Off the top of my head:
-the "YOU'RE NEXT" tweet
-Criticizing those standing up for Taiwan and supporting China over $$.
-His criticism over the Britney Griner detention in Russia.

There are probably a few other things I can't remember.

In general, I think he is someone who is insanely good at one thing and believes that means he is good at everything. LeBron, KD and Irving all seem to think they are smarter than they are and make frequent forays into social and political issues where they are beyond their realm of understanding.

He's a great ball player. I just don't like the guy's personality and approach to things outside of the game itself.

In 20 years he has said a handful of things you don't like, even though he is incessantly asked questions non stop every day by anyone within 100 feet of him. Oh, and he tweeted a few things. Alrighty then.
If uninformed people weren't allowed to have an opinion, nobody would ever talk.

24/7, since HS, this guy has been under intense public scrutiny. every thing he says is quoted. every action he takes is filmed. every micro-decision is criticized.

the guy could lean 2 degrees left when sitting for an interview and someone on a national sports show will shout about how that's proof of his arrogance. it's insane.

99.99999% of us would fold under that kind of pressure in days, much less decades.


he's arguably the greatest player of all time and there are people running around nitpicking one tiny aspect of his on court game to say that he's really not even good at all, but a product of some conspiracy hype machine. totally bananas.

 

[Kev4029]

Hot take - the Wolves should shop KAT.

 

[thecatch]

As a guy who doesn't like LeBron, I'll give my explanation.

I didn't like the way the decision was handled. I don't like his arrogance outside of basketball. He has blatantly in the wrong on a couple of things over the years. Off the top of my head:
-the "YOU'RE NEXT" tweet
-Criticizing those standing up for Taiwan and supporting China over $$.
-His criticism over the Britney Griner detention in Russia.

There are probably a few other things I can't remember.

In general, I think he is someone who is insanely good at one thing and believes that means he is good at everything. LeBron, KD and Irving all seem to think they are smarter than they are and make frequent forays into social and political issues where they are beyond their realm of understanding.

He's a great ball player. I just don't like the guy's personality and approach to things outside of the game itself.

In 20 years he has said a handful of things you don't like, even though he is incessantly asked questions non stop every day by anyone within 100 feet of him. Oh, and he tweeted a few things. Alrighty then.
If uninformed people weren't allowed to have an opinion, nobody would ever talk.

24/7, since HS, this guy has been under intense public scrutiny. every thing he says is quoted. every action he takes is filmed. every micro-decision is criticized.

the guy could lean 2 degrees left when sitting for an interview and someone on a national sports show will shout about how that's proof of his arrogance. it's insane.

99.99999% of us would fold under that kind of pressure in days, much less decades.


he's arguably the greatest player of all time and there are people running around nitpicking one tiny aspect of his on court game to say that he's really not even good at all, but a product of some conspiracy hype machine. totally bananas.

I think he’s the second best player of all time and he’s handled a life of superstardom remarkably well. I also don’t like several of the things noted above (the China thing in particular) and his total inability to take accountability for anything. Plus he’s a Laker. It’s enough to make me generally dislike him from a basketball standpoint. I apologize for being such a Neanderthal.

 

[GordonGekko]

I really like a lot of your posts on NBA when it comes to player salaries and financials but you seem to be for whatever reason here defending the leagues lack of actions. We get the reasons why they won't do what we want already.

Of the six "conditions" listed by Joe Tsai -

One of them (mandating a "donation") openly and immediately violates the CBA. Not just this current active CBA, but every previous version of the CBA that the NBA has adopted. It would be a violation of the collective bargaining in any other major sport.

Another ( condemning the film) violates Joe Tsai's legal agreement with the NBA Board Of Governors. By becoming an NBA owner, you have to sign off on agreeing to the NBA "constitution" for owners. Tsai is violating multiple clauses over attempting to trigger an increasing threat profile ( whether intentional or unintentional) that will impact every NBA arena, every roster, every front office and everyone working for the NBA itself. The BOG "constitution" was designed, in part, to create a liability shield for owners.

The NBA, it's owners, it's franchises, it's players - Everyone has rules to follow, not just Kyrie Irving. There is a "process" to formally handle conflicts. Tsai and NBA HQ cannot skip past the parts of said "process" they just don't like nor agree with, that's not how it works.

Defending the practical "process" is not immediately some kind of defense for each and every thing that Kyrie Irving has said and done in this controversy. It's mind boggling that many people here and many people in the general NBA fandom want to intentionally conflate those issues together.

If the current active CBA is shown to not apply to Irving because some elements want him punished so badly, that means NOTHING IN THE CURRENT CBA CAN BE RELIED UPON.

Do you know what else the CBA covers? Medical release settlements for players under Exhibit 10 contracts. Most guys on E10's are not guys with loads of wealth from previous NBA contracts. Many of them are fringe guys, barely scraping by, just trying to make a roster. If one of those guys gets hurt on the court, an NBA franchise can just elect not to pay for his medical care. Or any release settlement. You can say, but that's in the CBA. Sure, and why should that matter if it's shown that the owners can violate the active CBA at any time for any reason like with Irving.

That's the point. This goes beyond just Irving. The "process" is designed to protect everyone under the NBA banner. Once you compromise the process, you compromise any rules and all potential order in the entire league. You can't just make up the rules as you go along. Joe Tsai doesn't fix the stupidity created by Irving by adding his own epic level stupidity.

 

[thecatch]

This Kyrie thing is dumb. The NBA/Nets appear to be going way too far here. Kyrie is an idiot, but the NBA looks even dumber here. He has a list of 6 things he must do, even though everyone with three brain cells knows that doing those 6 things is completely meaningless.
Simple response is fine him or whatever and let the media and Twitter verse crush him for years to come. Nope. Gotta do the dog and pony show.

Once they suspended him indefinitely I think they had to give him some concrete steps to get back in, even if they are arbitrary, to protect themselves in a future contractual dispute. If they indefinitely suspended him until they subjectively felt like reinstating him, I suspect that’d be a tougher position to defend.

 

[Gr00vus]

They should make Kyrie pay a visit to Dachau and Auschwitz-Birkenau, then the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem (Yad Vashem), and then have him visit with some of the remaining Holocaust survivors and hear their true stories.

If, after that, he acknowledges his mistake, they could welcome him back. If after that, he doesn't acknowledge his mistake, they should fire him.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Per shams:

Sources: Nets have delivered Kyrie Irving six items he must complete to return to team:

- $500K donation

I'm not going to get into the political aspect of this Irving controversy.

What I will say is an NBA owner ( no, I will not say "Governor") cannot mandate a player to give money to remove a team suspension. That's a clear and open violation of the CBA. Not just this CBA, all previous versions of CBAs. And not just in the NBA, this would be illegal in any of the major sports and their CBA's as well.

Whether the NBPA fights this aspect is another matter. Whether Adam Silver intervenes here against Joe Tsai, given the implication of billions at stake with Tsai's ties to the NBA China subdivision is another matter entirely.

Even if Irving offers on his own, and Tsai merely affirms it as a requirement is a violation of the CBA.

It also violates the aspects of collective bargaining that deals with "proxy" punishments. Tsai cannot technically fine Irving in this scandal. That was the point of the five game team suspension ( As a proxy 1.25 million dollar "fine"). By mandating a "donation", it's a workaround to fining Irving even further. You can create soft cover for a team suspension, you cannot create any kind of practical cover for a mandated donation.

Here a larger complication, Irving paid a total of $16,818,030 in fines for not being "in compliance with health and safety protocols", which costed him about $380,000 per missed game for the 2021-22 season

There's a practical legal basis for Irving to actually dispute those fines from 2021-22. Whether he will or will not is another story.

No matter what people think of Irving personally, you can't just violate the active CBA to go after him. Joe Tsai is opening up a legal can of worms that Adam Silver, NBA HQ and the rest of the owners, plus the networks don't want. Irving can make this all very ugly and very public in the court of law. The major aspects of this however cannot be discussed here, since we are all now prohibited from certain topics in the FBG forums.

Kyrie already tried to donate $500K and the group rejected it.

Kyrie didn't even speak to the Nets about that donation. His mom or agent or something agreed to it. He was not returning the Nets calls/texts at that point. And they rejected it after he refused to apologize at that little press conference thing before getting suspended.

 

[SWC]

man do people have to perform mental gymnastics to dislike lebron james i mean i hate the lakers as much as the next guy but even i have to say lebron is one of the best ever and has done a great job on all fronts take that to the bank brohans

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I don’t know a lick about the NBA but I’m rooting so hard for the Sixers to win it all.

Good luck with that

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Hot take - the Wolves should shop KAT.

Would like to see a trade with Toronto maybe. He could give them a real go to offensive player and more shooting and all their long positionless defenders could make up for his shortcomings.

 

[Beef Ravioli Part 2]

man do people have to perform mental gymnastics to dislike lebron james i mean i hate the lakers as much as the next guy but even i have to say lebron is one of the best ever and has done a great job on all fronts take that to the bank brohans

I think everyone that says they don’t like LBJ has said and admits he’s the best player in the NBA at least in the last generation but do not care for all of his antics. Several gave examples. I did not as I figured it didn’t matter.

I also don’t care for Aaron Rogers but can admit he’s an all time great QB.

I only picked your post to quote because yours was one of the last posts on the matter I saw and you are my least favorite FFA poster .

To the “LBJ is the greatest and everyone must love him crowd” - Read what is written, not what you want to read.

 

[mr. furley]

the issue i have with it is we have 2 decades of evidence before us. possibly millions of instances of "good/bad" to choose from and people point to like... 3 things..... and say "i'm not saying it was bad, just that i think it wasn't great therefore i hate him".

guy goes 44 / 17 / 11 then after the game saves a family of 4 from plunging off a bridge in a burning car, and performs open heart surgery on the highway before emt's arrive but guys are like "what a tool. he should have just waited for the police. i bet he brags about this in front of a camera before the week is out. Larry Bird would have done this and we would never have known about it because he's not selfish."

 

[Beef Ravioli Part 2]

the issue i have with it is we have 2 decades of evidence before us. possibly millions of instances of "good/bad" to choose from and people point to like... 3 things..... and say "i'm not saying it was bad, just that i think it wasn't great therefore i hate him".

guy goes 44 / 17 / 11 then after the game saves a family of 4 from plunging off a bridge in a burning car, and performs open heart surgery on the highway before emt's arrive but guys are like "what a tool. he should have just waited for the police. i bet he brags about this in front of a camera before the week is out. Larry Bird would have done this and we would never have known about it because he's not selfish."

I never nor did I read anyone say hate. Just not my favorite guy. I’ll note bow out.

 

[mr. furley]

look, i get it. i work with a guy who hates Tom Brady, Lebron, Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Shohei Ohtani, etc. he doesn't "hate" them but he will undercut and downplay every single accomplishment no matter how impossible.

Mahomes could throw for 11 td's tonight and tomorrow morning he's going to point out a missed ball, or interception, or delay of game call and then complain about Mahomes's reaction to one of those plays as proof that he's not really that great and somehow he's the only one to see it.

and, of course, he hates that the camera follows players like Mahomes around because he somehow thinks the player is demanding it contractually or something.

 

[Major]

Hot take - the Wolves should shop KAT.

Sacrificing all those picks for Gobert is still puzzling. Definitely a disappointing franchise with all that talent but it just doesn't seem to mesh. If they continue at this pace, they'll eventually have to do something drastic.

 

[Major]

man do people have to perform mental gymnastics to dislike lebron james i mean i hate the lakers as much as the next guy but even i have to say lebron is one of the best ever and has done a great job on all fronts take that to the bank brohans

Cosign. While I hated him leaving CLE for Miami please don't compare him to Durant. Lebron built something. Durant just rode the coattails of an existing dynasty.

 

[DJackson10]

As a guy who doesn't like LeBron, I'll give my explanation.

I didn't like the way the decision was handled. I don't like his arrogance outside of basketball. He has blatantly in the wrong on a couple of things over the years. Off the top of my head:
-the "YOU'RE NEXT" tweet
-Criticizing those standing up for Taiwan and supporting China over $$.
-His criticism over the Britney Griner detention in Russia.

There are probably a few other things I can't remember.

In general, I think he is someone who is insanely good at one thing and believes that means he is good at everything. LeBron, KD and Irving all seem to think they are smarter than they are and make frequent forays into social and political issues where they are beyond their realm of understanding.

He's a great ball player. I just don't like the guy's personality and approach to things outside of the game itself.

Same I also can't stand his flopping every game. Dude you're stronger then almost everyone in the league zero need for you to flop and try to get calls the refs are going to call for you anyway. I think he's incredible soft and can't take criticism either and he is constantly complaining about calls even when his teams are up 25 with 3 mins to play. The skill set is there but he lacks Mamba/MJ mentality to want it. I think he handled the decision very poorly and moves since then. He needs to let the GM gm and just play ball too. The other stuff I agree with the list you posted. he makes himself look like a hypocrite a lot of times.

Also in the bubble apparently players stop listening to him during the meeting and felt like he was surprised by Paul and his teams decision not to play like he had to go through Lebron first. Apparently from reports he threw a hissy fit and it was MJ and Chris Paul who calmed both sides down and got something done. He acted like every decision goes through him for the players and only him. I believe CP3 is the players UNION rep president of active players or was during that time and it sounded Lebron was throwing a temper tantrum because his ego wasn't being stroked by many of the younger players in the room. It just bothered me a whole lot during a time like that, he would act in such away.

 

[DJackson10]

As a guy who doesn't like LeBron, I'll give my explanation.

I didn't like the way the decision was handled. I don't like his arrogance outside of basketball. He has blatantly in the wrong on a couple of things over the years. Off the top of my head:
-the "YOU'RE NEXT" tweet
-Criticizing those standing up for Taiwan and supporting China over $$.
-His criticism over the Britney Griner detention in Russia.

There are probably a few other things I can't remember.

In general, I think he is someone who is insanely good at one thing and believes that means he is good at everything. LeBron, KD and Irving all seem to think they are smarter than they are and make frequent forays into social and political issues where they are beyond their realm of understanding.

He's a great ball player. I just don't like the guy's personality and approach to things outside of the game itself.

In 20 years he has said a handful of things you don't like, even though he is incessantly asked questions non stop every day by anyone within 100 feet of him. Oh, and he tweeted a few things. Alrighty then.
If uninformed people weren't allowed to have an opinion, nobody would ever talk.

There's this thing called the media also baiting people to get a quote to write a story. Lebron could easily have just commented like no comment it's not a topic I feel comfortable discussing because I'm not educated on the topic itself enough or something like that. Instead he feeds into it. Honestly if I was a PR guy for celebs and Athletes my number 1 rules would be STFU on anything you are asked and aren't sure about because you'll create a PR nightmare for everyone we have to fix. If they insist on you answering the question excuse yourself and get out of the situation. I know its hard for a lot of these high class egos to do because a lot of them don't know **** on a topic but like hearing themselves talk.

 

[Frostillicus]

Guys. The Wolves are 5-5 and have a positive point differential. Their five losses came to teams with a combined record of 28-10. They haven't lost to a below .500 team. They're still learning how to all play together. They're 9th in defensive rating despite completely overhauling their defenseive scheme. Somehow they're 19th in offensive rating. That'll change. Both KAT and D-Lo are shooting well below their career numbers. They'll be fine.

 

[DJackson10]

As a guy who doesn't like LeBron, I'll give my explanation.

I didn't like the way the decision was handled. I don't like his arrogance outside of basketball....

NBA agents annihilate LeBron James for 'insatiable' ego, claim he's behind Klutch Sports clients getting 'screwed'

In a new survey of NBA agents, a majority of those questioned indicated that Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is the league's best player, but also directed criticism at his personality and ethics. Ben Standig and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic wrote about the survey of 20 agents, who were...

lakersdaily.com

Ben Standig and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic wrote about the survey of 20 agents, who were asked different questions related to the NBA. In the case of James, a number of those who expressed criticism toward him also agreed that he was the top NBA player.

.... “The worst thing that LeBron is doing is forcing this power with Rich Paul ....Now I know it’s this façade that it’s Rich Paul, but it’s really LeBron who recruits for Rich Paul. So it’s almost like they’re trying to control AAU at the NBA level. This is my AAU team and they’ve carried that to the highest level. And because of his power and his prowess, people, the young players are seduced by LeBron James in the same way people were seduced by Michael Jordan with David Falk. He went from having Michael Jordan and a few other players, to getting the top players in the NBA, because of the Jordan factor.... So, the fact that LeBron recruits and has empowered Rich Paul, and I get it, on the top guys, but if someone does their research, a lot of these guys have really gotten screwed, a large number of them, by mismanagement....There’s at least five or six massive casualties. Nobody is saying anything and you can even say that the union should take some responsibility because they represent all of the players, not just LeBron James. Because this is anonymous. I hope you have the courage to put this out there, because nobody is talking about this but this is the reality, and if you ask any other agent what I just said, they would all agree.....”

Lakers Front Office Blaming LeBron & Klutch Sports for Disastrous Season

According to a recent article by Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus, the Lakers front office is pointing the finger at Klutch Sports.

www.si.com

...According to a recent article by Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus, the Lakers front office believes most of the onus for the team's poor roster falls on Klutch Sports.
... "But James certainly has a strong influence on the Lakers' decision-making. Multiple sources indicate the team's front office is internally blaming pressure from Klutch Sports Group (representing both James and Davis) for Westbrook...."

NBA Investigated LeBron James' Potential Stake in Klutch Sports Group

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James was reportedly found to have no stake in Klutch Sports Group following an investigation by the NBA ...

bleacherreport.com

Report: NCAA adopting a 'Rich Paul rule' for potential NBA draftees to maintain eligibility

A bachelor’s degree and an in-person exam at the NCAA offices are reportedly new criteria to maintain eligibility, per Jon Rothstein.

lebronwire.usatoday.com

*********

There are lots of things to criticize LBJ for, but a large share of them are political type discussions.

But what can be immediately criticized is that it's an open secret in the NBA that LBJ is the practical de facto owner of Klutch Sports. LBJ and Rich Paul don't even make any cursory attempts to hide it. Even the NBA "investigation" into the matter was a laughable farce.

Every time that LBJ makes a comment about another player on another roster, usually a Klutch client, he's tampering. It's an open violation of the CBA, that's each and every instance. No one is willing to dig into the money trail here. Even NBA Global Security is forbidden from investigating the matter beyond the surface level. Rich Paul did not have the clout and money to start and fund Klutch Sports on his own. A player controlling a large representation agency, which receives the agents commission on contracts, would trigger a labor war in any other sport.

Client poaching via tampering would get any other agent disbarred from working with NBA players. But not Rich Paul.

The other issue is LBJ, by tampering, is providing unpaid value to any current Klutch client who is a current NBA player, which is yet another violation of the CBA. And that's not just the NBA, that would be a violation in any of the major sports.

Because of this, while people can argue if the fans or other rosters or the media hates him or not, one thing is clear - Agents and front offices despise LBJ. That's not a secret either. They plain despise him. He's not just breaking the rules, he's flaunting it while spitting in their faces.

And the NBA did nothing about this because they were desperate for their Next MJ when they had Kobe in front of them all those yrs to promote and shied away from. It's funny what some fans perception of Lebron is compared to those in the league. My former coworker who I was good friends with had a cousin who we hung out with who dated Jameer Nelson for awhile before breaking it off. Jameer was sill friends with us. He brought in during the summer one year a few teammates and other NBA players during a workout week. We saw them on a public court near our work of all things with the group. Talking to them and them talking about guys from Kobe to Lebron and other things, we got the sense the perception fans and some media have of Lebron was totally different from what players and NBA people thought of Lebron. Lets just say your post was similar to more on point of everyone hating him.

Even people in the college ranks do not like him for these very reasons. He's been running clutch for yrs and getting away with it. It's literal illegal tampering

 

[DJackson10]

I really like a lot of your posts on NBA when it comes to player salaries and financials but you seem to be for whatever reason here defending the leagues lack of actions. We get the reasons why they won't do what we want already.

Of the six "conditions" listed by Joe Tsai -

One of them (mandating a "donation") openly and immediately violates the CBA. Not just this current active CBA, but every previous version of the CBA that the NBA has adopted. It would be a violation of the collective bargaining in any other major sport.

Another ( condemning the film) violates Joe Tsai's legal agreement with the NBA Board Of Governors. By becoming an NBA owner, you have to sign off on agreeing to the NBA "constitution" for owners. Tsai is violating multiple clauses over attempting to trigger an increasing threat profile ( whether intentional or unintentional) that will impact every NBA arena, every roster, every front office and everyone working for the NBA itself. The BOG "constitution" was designed, in part, to create a liability shield for owners.

The NBA, it's owners, it's franchises, it's players - Everyone has rules to follow, not just Kyrie Irving. There is a "process" to formally handle conflicts. Tsai and NBA HQ cannot skip past the parts of said "process" they just don't like nor agree with, that's not how it works.

Defending the practical "process" is not immediately some kind of defense for each and every thing that Kyrie Irving has said and done in this controversy. It's mind boggling that many people here and many people in the general NBA fandom want to intentionally conflate those issues together.

If the current active CBA is shown to not apply to Irving because some elements want him punished so badly, that means NOTHING IN THE CURRENT CBA CAN BE RELIED UPON.

Do you know what else the CBA covers? Medical release settlements for players under Exhibit 10 contracts. Most guys on E10's are not guys with loads of wealth from previous NBA contracts. Many of them are fringe guys, barely scraping by, just trying to make a roster. If one of those guys gets hurt on the court, an NBA franchise can just elect not to pay for his medical care. Or any release settlement. You can say, but that's in the CBA. Sure, and why should that matter if it's shown that the owners can violate the active CBA at any time for any reason like with Irving.

That's the point. This goes beyond just Irving. The "process" is designed to protect everyone under the NBA banner. Once you compromise the process, you compromise any rules and all potential order in the entire league. You can't just make up the rules as you go along. Joe Tsai doesn't fix the stupidity created by Irving by adding his own epic level stupidity.

Everything you said is all and good but you honestly think anyone from the players to owners really uphold this agreement? Unless someone is effecting the bottom line of it all both sides **** on these CBA's constantly behind the scenes. It's funny because the NBA is the only league I see both players and owners in the do what I say not as I do, no one bats an eye lash until the bank accounts are effected

 

[DJackson10]

man do people have to perform mental gymnastics to dislike lebron james i mean i hate the lakers as much as the next guy but even i have to say lebron is one of the best ever and has done a great job on all fronts take that to the bank brohans

I think everyone that says they don’t like LBJ has said and admits he’s the best player in the NBA at least in the last generation but do not care for all of his antics. Several gave examples. I did not as I figured it didn’t matter.

I also don’t care for Aaron Rogers but can admit he’s an all time great QB.

I only picked your post to quote because yours was one of the last posts on the matter I saw and you are my least favorite FFA poster .

To the “LBJ is the greatest and everyone must love him crowd” - Read what is written, not what you want to read.

I think he's in the top Ten I don't think he's in the top 3 maybe even 5. Wilt MJ, Kobe Russel Kareem would all be ahead of him IMHO. I might even put Magic in there ahead as well. I could Flip flop constantly on putting him ahead of Larry Bird or not either. This isn't to say he not the greatest of HIS generation but there was also a guy named Kobe playing for a few yrs before he started. I think he'd have played another 5-8 yrs without the injuries though.

I just don't like some of Lebron's opinions, how he's gone about certain off the court issues I do agree with the agent quote I think a lot of his stances are manufactured and pre determined to stroke an ego. I also didn't care for his antics in the bubble and found it ironic how Micheal Jordan a guy he was compared legacy wise for yrs was the voice of Reason while Lebron threw a temper tantrum and almost got his team not playing a game all because he couldn't get his way despite what I think the NBA and the players agreeing to was fair.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Guys. The Wolves are 5-5 and have a positive point differential. Their five losses came to teams with a combined record of 28-10. They haven't lost to a below .500 team. They're still learning how to all play together. They're 9th in defensive rating despite completely overhauling their defenseive scheme. Somehow they're 19th in offensive rating. That'll change. Both KAT and D-Lo are shooting well below their career numbers. They'll be fine.

It’s just a weird team to figure out. Tough to see how Gobert and KAT fit together. Oh, why is Ant so fat? What’s his deal?

Anyway, hoping to see the Wolves in person at least once this year, maybe even vs the Warriors the Sunday of turkey weekend.

 

[Frostillicus]

And the NBA did nothing about this because they were desperate for their Next MJ when they had Kobe in front of them all those yrs to promote and shied away from.\

You mean Kobe the rapist (possibly).

 

[GordonGekko]

Everything you said is all and good but you honestly think anyone from the players to owners really uphold this agreement? Unless someone is effecting the bottom line of it all both sides **** on these CBA's constantly behind the scenes. It's funny because the NBA is the only league I see both players and owners in the do what I say not as I do, no one bats an eye lash until the bank accounts are effected

Based on precedent ( Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Meyers Leonard ), the most the NBA or Joe Tsai can fine Kyrie Irving is $50,000 for each individual instance.

The overall precedent in the NBA's modern era has only gone above that amount when a player has lied about an off court injury that they refused to completely disclose to their franchises.

Joe Tsai demanding a 500,000 donation is a proxy punishment. It's a functional "fine" all but in name. There was an announcement, before the Net's mandates, that Tsai through the Nets would donate 500K to match Irving's 500K. Irving's 500K was turned down. Tsai's donation was not.

That's part of the conflict here. Tsai is angry he spent 500K for a problem he didn't start. ( To be fair, I can't blame him on this point) Adam Silver as Commissioner, can negotiate with Tamika Tremaglio, current ED of the NBPA, and give a larger fine based on Irving's previous fine history outside of pandemic related issues and this current controversy. But Silver won't do that because it could trigger a possible fan response from up to half the country to completely drop the NBA and all it's sponsors. We are talking up to 50 million fans lost at the drop of a dime almost instantaneously, not even accounting for lingering splash damage to practical fan engagement over time.

But Tsai also angry that the NBA cannot formally suspend Irving themselves. Irving posted a link. To a film/documentary that is publicly accessible. I'm not going to talk about what's in the documentary. While it might be controversial and angers people, it was widely and long established as publicly accessible on a major platform outside the NBA. Irving did not say the words in the documentary himself. In that regard, Irving is correct. In the cases of Durant, Edwards and Leonard, they all said things DIRECTLY themselves in the public sphere. Tamika Tremaglio can't help him either because she's completely incompetent, like Michele Roberts before her.

The other issue is Tsai has paid into the luxury tax to put together his versions of a NJ "Big Three" This year's tax bill is over 100 million dollars. Last year's tax bill was over 130 million dollars. Also part of the deal to buy the Nets was to buy the New York Liberty from James Dolan because Dolan was going to dump the team for losing money for basically 20 years straight. So that's another financial anchor around his neck. And the booby prize is 2023-24 is the season where the Nets go into the Repeater Tax.

Tsai essentially got a near 18 million dollar cash credit when Irving was fined literally non stop for not appearing in games where he couldn't because of city mandates. That means while the Net's books showed that 18 million against the soft cap that season, with the implied luxury tax penalties, the Nets recouped it in fines. Insult to injury would be Irving filing suit to get back that salary. And, not getting further into the subject as it starts to get political, he actually has a good case if he pursued it.

Tsai is pissed out of his mind because of the lack of ROI here. In the past three seasons, he's spent close to a billion dollars. For what? For non stop controversy and scandal and headache and heartache. Why this matters is Tsai's experience will scare off all future contenders to buy an NBA franchise. Recent franchise sales at a record price uplifts the projectible franchise valuation of all other 29 NBA teams when it happens. But you don't get that when bidders, and there are only a handful around the country, start dropping out.

All this will help trigger a future massive labor war.

But even with all this crap where Tsai is neck deep in it, he can't just circumvent the precedent of fines long established by the NBA. He has a right to be angry, but he doesn't have the right to make up the rules as he goes along to get his revenge. It just doesn't work that way.

 

[Frostillicus]

Guys. The Wolves are 5-5 and have a positive point differential. Their five losses came to teams with a combined record of 28-10. They haven't lost to a below .500 team. They're still learning how to all play together. They're 9th in defensive rating despite completely overhauling their defenseive scheme. Somehow they're 19th in offensive rating. That'll change. Both KAT and D-Lo are shooting well below their career numbers. They'll be fine.

It’s just a weird team to figure out. Tough to see how Gobert and KAT fit together. Oh, why is Ant so fat? What’s his deal?

Anyway, hoping to see the Wolves in person at least once this year, maybe even vs the Warriors the Sunday of turkey weekend.

Ant definitely had a Luka type offseason.

So far the three of them (and Russell to a lesser extent) are like 3 puzzle pieces that aren't fitting together. If they can make it all work it's going to be glorious. But, like, it has to work. I remain optimistic.

 

[Kev4029]

Guys. The Wolves are 5-5 and have a positive point differential. Their five losses came to teams with a combined record of 28-10. They haven't lost to a below .500 team. They're still learning how to all play together. They're 9th in defensive rating despite completely overhauling their defenseive scheme. Somehow they're 19th in offensive rating. That'll change. Both KAT and D-Lo are shooting well below their career numbers. They'll be fine.

Alternatively, you could say that they've only beat especially bad teams. Their five wins come against OKC (twice), Spurs, Lakers, and Rockets. Those teams have the 18th, 28th, 26th, and 29th best net ratings, respectively. Also, to say they haven't lost to a team below .500 is a bit misleading, if technically correct. They lost to the Spurs twice - the Spurs are an objectively terrible team that will certainly end up toward the end of the west standings.

 

[Frostillicus]

Guys. The Wolves are 5-5 and have a positive point differential. Their five losses came to teams with a combined record of 28-10. They haven't lost to a below .500 team. They're still learning how to all play together. They're 9th in defensive rating despite completely overhauling their defenseive scheme. Somehow they're 19th in offensive rating. That'll change. Both KAT and D-Lo are shooting well below their career numbers. They'll be fine.

Alternatively, you could say that they've only beat especially bad teams. Their five wins come against OKC (twice), Spurs, Lakers, and Rockets. Those teams have the 18th, 28th, 26th, and 29th best net ratings, respectively. Also, to say they haven't lost to a team below .500 is a bit misleading, if technically correct. They lost to the Spurs twice - the Spurs are an objectively terrible team that will certainly end up toward the end of the west standings.

You could say that.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Guys. The Wolves are 5-5 and have a positive point differential. Their five losses came to teams with a combined record of 28-10. They haven't lost to a below .500 team. They're still learning how to all play together. They're 9th in defensive rating despite completely overhauling their defenseive scheme. Somehow they're 19th in offensive rating. That'll change. Both KAT and D-Lo are shooting well below their career numbers. They'll be fine.

It’s just a weird team to figure out. Tough to see how Gobert and KAT fit together. Oh, why is Ant so fat? What’s his deal?

Anyway, hoping to see the Wolves in person at least once this year, maybe even vs the Warriors the Sunday of turkey weekend.

Ant definitely had a Luka type offseason.

So far the three of them (and Russell to a lesser extent) are like 3 puzzle pieces that aren't fitting together. If they can make it all work it's going to be glorious. But, like, it has to work. I remain optimistic.

Yeah, the challenge for them is that pretty much most basketball people thought this was exactly how it would go. So hard to see how these guys could fit together…..

 

[Frostillicus]

Guys. The Wolves are 5-5 and have a positive point differential. Their five losses came to teams with a combined record of 28-10. They haven't lost to a below .500 team. They're still learning how to all play together. They're 9th in defensive rating despite completely overhauling their defenseive scheme. Somehow they're 19th in offensive rating. That'll change. Both KAT and D-Lo are shooting well below their career numbers. They'll be fine.

It’s just a weird team to figure out. Tough to see how Gobert and KAT fit together. Oh, why is Ant so fat? What’s his deal?

Anyway, hoping to see the Wolves in person at least once this year, maybe even vs the Warriors the Sunday of turkey weekend.

Ant definitely had a Luka type offseason.

So far the three of them (and Russell to a lesser extent) are like 3 puzzle pieces that aren't fitting together. If they can make it all work it's going to be glorious. But, like, it has to work. I remain optimistic.

Yeah, the challenge for them is that pretty much most basketball people thought this was exactly how it would go. So hard to see how these guys could fit together…..

Maybe I'm a dum dum but I loved the trade and am still completely on board.

 

[Yo Mama]

Guys. The Wolves are 5-5 and have a positive point differential. Their five losses came to teams with a combined record of 28-10. They haven't lost to a below .500 team. They're still learning how to all play together. They're 9th in defensive rating despite completely overhauling their defenseive scheme. Somehow they're 19th in offensive rating. That'll change. Both KAT and D-Lo are shooting well below their career numbers. They'll be fine.

It’s just a weird team to figure out. Tough to see how Gobert and KAT fit together. Oh, why is Ant so fat? What’s his deal?

Anyway, hoping to see the Wolves in person at least once this year, maybe even vs the Warriors the Sunday of turkey weekend.

Ant definitely had a Luka type offseason.

So far the three of them (and Russell to a lesser extent) are like 3 puzzle pieces that aren't fitting together. If they can make it all work it's going to be glorious. But, like, it has to work. I remain optimistic.

Yeah, the challenge for them is that pretty much most basketball people thought this was exactly how it would go. So hard to see how these guys could fit together…..

Maybe I'm a dum dum but I loved the trade and am still completely on board.

Edwards isn’t completely on board with this play.

 

[Frostillicus]

Guys. The Wolves are 5-5 and have a positive point differential. Their five losses came to teams with a combined record of 28-10. They haven't lost to a below .500 team. They're still learning how to all play together. They're 9th in defensive rating despite completely overhauling their defenseive scheme. Somehow they're 19th in offensive rating. That'll change. Both KAT and D-Lo are shooting well below their career numbers. They'll be fine.

It’s just a weird team to figure out. Tough to see how Gobert and KAT fit together. Oh, why is Ant so fat? What’s his deal?

Anyway, hoping to see the Wolves in person at least once this year, maybe even vs the Warriors the Sunday of turkey weekend.

Ant definitely had a Luka type offseason.

So far the three of them (and Russell to a lesser extent) are like 3 puzzle pieces that aren't fitting together. If they can make it all work it's going to be glorious. But, like, it has to work. I remain optimistic.

Yeah, the challenge for them is that pretty much most basketball people thought this was exactly how it would go. So hard to see how these guys could fit together…..

Maybe I'm a dum dum but I loved the trade and am still completely on board.

Edwards isn’t completely on board with this play.

Hadn't seen that before. That's pretty disappointing.