The NBA thread

[benjipwns]

Hollinger says the picks are lottery protected...that can't be true...

[TakingBackSunday]

I SO hope the Thunder still crush them in the playoffs.

[Mandark]

When I heard this at first I thought two decent prospects and three first-round picks wasn't that bad.

But if those picks are solidly protected and they took on more salary for this?  I realize with the salary floor there isn't as much value in dumping deadweight contracts, because you'll actually need them if you want to bottom out.  But still, under the cap you could take on other teams' bad contracts in exchange for draft picks and young players, like the Blazers used to.  I don't know what Houston had to offer (they don't have this years first rounder and you can't trade away picks in consecutive years, IIRC) but it should have at least been close.

[Joe Molotov]

Why did Orlando even trade Howard if they weren't gonna get shit back? They could have at least waited until February. Were they afraid the Lakers were suddenly gonna decide they didn't want him?

[Human Snorenado]

Why did Orlando even trade Howard if they weren't gonna get shit back? They could have at least waited until February. Were they afraid the Lakers were suddenly gonna decide they didn't want him?

Like the rest of the world, they were just ready for our long national Dwightmare to be over with.

[Joe Molotov]

That is a pretty good reason.

[Cormacaroni]

I like this new NBA landscape, I have to say. Superstars bunching together where they can actually contend, lots of movement, everyone always seemingly on the verge of being either an RFA or a FA....no dynasty is safe.

[etiolate]

I like this new NBA landscape, I have to say. Superstars bunching together where they can actually contend, lots of movement, everyone always seemingly on the verge of being either an RFA or a FA....no dynasty is safe.

This the entire problem with the NBA and reinforcing it is dumb as hell for the NBA.

[Mandark]

No, it's your problem with the NBA.  Which you're entitled to, but from the NBA's perspective it's not gonna hurt them.

[Phoenix Dark]

I don't see how anyone could watch this fiasco and not admit LeBron handled his situation far better/more professional than this idiot. Seriously you'd have to be dumber than Dan Gilbert to disagree

[etiolate]

No, it's your problem with the NBA.  Which you're entitled to, but from the NBA's perspective it's not gonna hurt them.

Think a little bit harder.

-The NBA can't afford to go the MLB route because the NBA is the black pro sport, not the good old boys traditionalist sport. People will stick with baseball out of tradition in spite of the pro league's issues. The NBA doesn't have that advantage.
-By focusing all your attention onto a select amount of superstars on a select amount of teams, you lessen the importance of the regular season. You can't always package the select teams for every broadcast and every regular season broadcast becomes less interesting to the viewer, for the viewer realizes the amount of meaningless teams. This makes all your ratings and cash ins more heavily favored towards the playoffs. (This effect won't happen immediately, but the general public will realize it over time.)
-Now that the playoffs are so heavily weighted, you really need to have those select teams in the conference and NBA finals. When the NBA doesn't get its prime stars in the finals, the ratings drop drastically.

Now how does the NBA increase regular season profits? How do they get the networks to buy in on regular season when the public only follows a few teams? How do they make sure the stars get into the finals so the whole thing doesn't fall on its face? How long can you damage the core fanbase by doing these things? How do you retain the casual fan?

You aren't making people fans of NBA basketball. You're making them fans of faces.

[Stoney Mason]

If you ask me whether I would like more revenue sharing and balance among teams in the NBA then I would agree. The devil is how you go about achieving such things. And the owners have shown they are not committed  whatsoever to that idea despite whatever lip service they give. I also like the idea of free agency and would never want that destroyed.

I will say that the myth of NFL popularity arising due to parity is the biggest piece of horseshit in the world. The NFL is the most popular sport, has been the most popular sport and will stay the most popular sport and almost none of it has anything to do with parity on the macro level. Not to mention the NBA's most popular periods have always generally been galvanized around a key superstar, or a rivalry between key superstars or key teams. The hierarchy of American sports has more to do with tradition and changes quite slowly.

[Phoenix Dark]

[Stoney Mason]

Spain versus USA in the gold medal game is on right now. Close game at the moment.

[Stoney Mason]

USA only up by 1 at halftime. Spain playing a very good zone defense.

Lots of ticky tack fouls being called which is slowing down the USA. Marc Gasol already had 4 fouls. 5 fouls disqualifies you for the game.

[Stoney Mason]

83-82 start of the 4th quarter. Very close game.

[T-Short]

Rudy Fernandez the least sympathetic player of this tournament by a landslide

[Stoney Mason]

Rudy Fernandez the least sympathetic player of this tournament by a landslide

Carmelo isn't far behind to be honest.

[Stoney Mason]

Lebron with the dagger 3.

[Huff]

well this is over although it looked close for a while there

[Stoney Mason]

Yep. US got this on lockdown now but it was closer in the gold medal game than most people expected. The Gasol brothers played really well.

It was fun watching these olympics games. And I have to give some props to the women's team. I watched a few of their games and it was very entertaining stuff. Especially the australia game. Nothing bothers me more than lunkhead sexist pigs like Jim Rome who encourage that negative depiction of the women's game.

[Phoenix Dark]

I find it annoying that people argue this team is worse than the original Dream Team because of close games like this. This team is playing against superior competition in every way; Spain has multiple good NBA players for instance. I'm not saying the Dream Team would lose games against the 2012 competition, but they'd certainly have to work to beat Spain and Argentina

[etiolate]

Spain with Rubio would have given the US an even better game.

I am curious to see if any of the other countries start to go big up front in the future  to try to counter the USA team's current strategy.

[Stoney Mason]

I find it annoying that people argue this team is worse than the original Dream Team because of close games like this. This team is playing against superior competition in every way; Spain has multiple good NBA players for instance. I'm not saying the Dream Team would lose games against the 2012 competition, but they'd certainly have to work to beat Spain and Argentina

I had this debate with my brother and the argument always seems to rest on odd premises. First off being there is nothing wrong with any team not being the greatest team of all time. The 2012 edition of the team can be considered a great team without necessarily being better than the original dream team. Especially since a few players were hurt like Dwight Howard which would have made this team even better.

Then the absolutely undeniable truth that the world is indeed a lot better at basketball than they were in 1992.

This whole which is better debate that only got really inflamed once Jordan and Barkely got all offended and huffy is dumb. And I say that from the side that believes the original dream team was a better squad mainly just because they were a bit more balanced of a team. They had more traditional bigs and some better post players.

[pilonv1]

I find it annoying that people argue this team is worse than the original Dream Team because of close games like this. This team is playing against superior competition in every way; Spain has multiple good NBA players for instance. I'm not saying the Dream Team would lose games against the 2012 competition, but they'd certainly have to work to beat Spain and Argentina

It's not the closeness of the scores, it's the stretches of offense with no movement, horrible shot selection lazy passing and terrible transition defense that show they're worse.

They'd still destroy every other USA team since 92. But it's a stupid arguement, like who is a better player.

LOL @ people complaining about Rudy on a team with Durant, LeBron, Carmello and the ring leader Harden.

[Phoenix Dark]

career salaries (all time)

1. Kevin Garnett $328,562,398
2. Shaquille O’Neal $292, 198, 327
3. Kobe Bryant $279,738,062
4. Tim Duncan $224,709,155
5. Dirk Nowitzki $204,063,985
6. Joe Johnson $198,647,490
7. Jason Kidd $193,855,468
8. Ray Allen $181,127,360
9. Chris Webber $178,230,218
10. Paul Pierce $169,486,218

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/27/kevin-garnett-has-made-more-in-nba-salary-than-anyone-ever/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

How the fuck is AI broke, smh

[etiolate]

All of those guys are champions or championship contenders at one time except Joe Johnson.

[benjipwns]

@AschNBA: Had an NBA head coach today who refused to believe me at first when I told him about Darko/Celtics.

How the fuck is AI broke, smh

There's a reason he got banned from every Detroit casino in the six months or whatever he was here. He has a number of lifetime bans from Atlantic City ones too.

[pilonv1]

Uneducated athletes with lots of money are prime picking for investment scams and buying stupid things for their family/entourage. I'm not honestly surprised anymore.

[Eric P]

still laughing

[Stoney Mason]

Meant to post this a few weeks ago but forgot to. Good listen as its rare to hear mostly honest talk from people even if you are mixed on the van gundy's like I am.

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/36622/grantland-network-podcast-dan-lebatard-with-stan-and-jeff-van-gundy

[Cormacaroni]

awesome. Starting to get a little bit hyped for next season. Got the Season Pass already (15% discount this time)

[Eric P]

As i have no hockey this year i too have picked up an nba league pass and will be watching this "basketball" i keep hearing about

[pilonv1]

awesome. Starting to get a little bit hyped for next season. Got the Season Pass already (15% discount this time)

Thanks for reminding me, I nearly forgot!

[Human Snorenado]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/nba-reportedly-start-fining-players-flopping-013603249--nba.html

When reached for comment, Manu Ginobli reportedly flopped.

[Stoney Mason]

Veteran forward Rasheed Wallace has informed the New York Knicks that he will come out of retirement to play for the team this season, according to a league source.

 

[Stoney Mason]

Hell has frozen over. I agree with skip.

The NBA officially adopted an anti-flopping policy Wednesday, announcing a new rule that will fine repeat offenders this season.

Any player who flops during a regular-season game will be subject to a series of penalties, beginning with a warning for first-time violators. After the warning, players will be fined in increments of $5,000 for each additional flop over the course of the season. The fines increase to $30,000 for a fifth offense.

The NBA stated it would consider suspending any player who violates the anti-flopping rule more than five times in the regular season. The league said it will announce at a later date a separate set of penalties for flopping during the postseason.

"Flops have no place in our game," Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations, said in a written statement. "They either fool referees into calling undeserved fouls or fool fans into thinking the referees missed a foul call.

"Accordingly, both the Board of Governors and the Competition Committee felt strongly that any player who the league determines, following video review, to have committed a flop should -- after a warning -- be given an automatic penalty."

The league defined flopping as "any physical act that appears to have been intended to cause the referees to call a foul on another player" in an official release.

Commissioner David Stern has long sought to end flopping, believing it tricks the referees. But the league determined it would be too difficult for refs to make the call on the floor, preferring instead to leave it to league office reviews. Jackson's department already reviews flagrant foul penalties to determine if they should be upgraded or downgraded.

"I'm all on board for it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think it needs to be addressed. I think the steps they're taking right now, I think will benefit the game. I do. It remains to be seen if it truly has an impact. But I think it's a step in the right direction.

"It's not good for the game; nobody likes the flop. A majority of coaches don't like the flop, particularly if you're trying to build a solid defense."

[Cormacaroni]

oh god, Lakers look ILL with Dwight, Pau, MWP, Kobe and Nash out there. Unfair.

[pilonv1]

League Pass quality is fucking terrible for pre-season, archived games are all 1600

[Cormacaroni]

yeah, that sucks...i hope the reg. season isn't going to be ghetto like that. I'm having much better luck with the iPad app so far. The prob with that is that the archived games don't go up for ages.

[Eric P]

do you get pre-season games w/ the international league pass or something?

[Cormacaroni]

yes, though i haven't bothered watching most of 'em.

Kobe-Dwight hookup is somethin' fierce already

[pilonv1]

Yeah it's been nice, finally saw a Warriors game on the weekend.

Saw a post on a local forum from someone who emailed them and they said they would be 3000kpbs for 48hrs after for the regular season. So hopefully it will be better, the Warriors/Blazers game reset on me 3 times trying to skip ahead.

[etiolate]

[Stoney Mason]

The NBA's general managers have picked the Miami Heat to repeat as champions and LeBron James to win his fourth Most Valuable Player Award, according to NBA.com's annual survey of the league's front offices that was released Monday.

Seventy percent of the GMs picked the Heat to go back-to-back, the second consecutive year league executives have made them the heavy favorite.

The Los Angeles Lakers received the second-most votes at 23 percent, and just 7 percent picked the Oklahoma City Thunder to win after their loss to the Heat in last year's Finals.


The Heat were virtually the unanimous pick to win the Eastern Conference, getting 29 of the 30 possible votes. Because teams cannot vote for themselves in any category, the Heat apparently gave their vote to the Boston Celtics as the pick in the East. The Lakers got 60 percent of the vote to be the favorites to meet the Heat in the 2013 Finals.

James got 67 percent of the votes for MVP. The Thunder's Kevin Durant was picked as second-most likely with 30 percent.

Perhaps the most interesting item revealed in the results was the impression James left by playing power forward during the Heat's run to the title last year.

James was voted as the league's best small forward for the seventh consecutive year but also was voted by the GMs as the third-best power forward behind the Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love and the Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki. James likely will play the most minutes of his career at the power forward position this season.

Top overall draft pick Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Hornets got nearly 77 percent of the GMs' vote as the favorite to win rookie of the year. Damian Lillard, the Portland Trail Blazers' top pick who has been the most impressive rookie in the preseason, was second with 20 percent.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, the 2011-12 coach of the year, clearly has the esteem of the entire league. Popovich was selected as the best coach, the best motivator and the coach who makes the best in-game adjustments.

The Lakers were picked as the team that had the best offseason, and the top two offseason moves that were voted to have the most impact were the Lakers' signing of Steve Nash and trade for Dwight Howard.

With 62 percent, the Brooklyn Nets were selected as the most improved team. The Nets traded for Joe Johnson and re-signed Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace over the summer.

http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/8538799/miami-heat-chosen-repeat-lebron-james-win-mvp-nba-general-managers-survey

[TakingBackSunday]

Sixers gonna be the East second seed!  Remember that guys!

[Cormacaroni]

Iggy traded, Bynum out for months with more knee issues....yeah.

[TakingBackSunday]

let me stick to my guns dammit!

[Cormacaroni]

well, it's good that you are saving me the trouble of looking up your old posts but i think your chances are actually headed downhill rather than up...I mean, on top of the above, it is clear that Evan Turner just sucks, no matter what role they put him in

[TakingBackSunday]

as an OSU fan, I agree

[Cormacaroni]

Mandark on the other hand is awesome

[Mandark]

 

[naff]

League Pass quality is fucking terrible for pre-season, archived games are all 1600

Yah, sometimes I can't even switch quarters (the second Lakers-Jazz game, just wanted to watch the 3rd quarter). If they keep archived games streaming at 1600Kbps in reg I'ma be pissed.

[Cormacaroni]

seems to be basically the same app as last year but why the fuck do they have to rebrand it EVERY year

[pilonv1]

At least it's the same price as last year.

[Stoney Mason]

“Life is a journey and it’s been a spectacular journey. And each step along the way there are things that you have to do, things you wish you hadn’t done, but I don’t keep that list. I’m totally pleased.”

Stern said he plans to stay on, basically as a consultant, to work on special projects. That likely will involve working to grow the game overseas, a passion of his.

Last year at the NBA finals David Stern said he only was going to be on the job for a couple more years. He wasn’t kidding.

David Stern, 70, is stepping down as commissioner of the NBA on Feb. 1, 2014, Timberwolves owner and Chairman of Board of Governors Glen Taylor confirmed on Wednesday.

That will be 30 years to the day of David Stern having led the NBA, and taking a sport that not long before he took over had its finals games shown on tape delay after midnight to dizzying new heights of popularity both nationally and internationally (and steering it to two lockouts on along the way). Stern was not perfect, but he knew how to market a sport as well or better than any pro sports commissioner in history.

“I thought one year for each of the 30 teams in the NBA was about all I could say…” Stern joked about why retiring now. “Things are in great shape, and there’s an orgainization in place, that will ultimately be led by Adam (Silver) that is totally prepared to take it to the next level. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving prior to (negotiating the new) Collective Bargaining Agreement… and this seemed to be a great time….

“Life is a journey and it’s been a spectacular journey. And each step along the way there are things that you have to do, things you wish you hadn’t done, but I don’t keep that list. I’m totally pleased.”

Stern said he plans to stay on, basically as a consultant, to work on special projects. That likely will involve working to grow the game overseas, a passion of his.

Current deputy Commissioner Adam Silver, the NBA’s lead negotiator during the lockout, was unanimously selected by the owners to take his place and negotiations will take place with him Taylor confirmed (the formal approval will come in April). Silver has worked in the league offices for 20 years.

“I told the owners yesterday in executive session, I told them that it’s been a great run, it will continue for another 15 months, that the league is in,” I think, terrific condition…” Stern said. “I like to think I did an adequate job but one of the things I did best was to provide a successor that would be able to take the kind of things we now look at as huge growth opportunities — international, digital, television rights — and have somebody place.”

Stern promised a “smooth transition.” Sterm will stay on past his retirement date as a consultant to work with teams and on international projects.

“Adam’s title will be ‘commissioner elect’ but for the next 15 months they are still going to have me to kick around, working with Adam to assure that the transition, the passing of the baton so to speak, on Feb. 1, 2014 is complete,” Stern said.

[Phoenix Dark]

good riddance

[TakingBackSunday]

Any word on what people think of his replacement?

[ToxicAdam]

NBA needs a black comissioner.

Any word on what people think of his replacement?

Typing 'Adam Silver Jewish' into Google certainly will give you some interesting results.

[etiolate]

Any word on what people think of his replacement?

They love him at the draft.


I think Silver will be much like Stern in that the league won't change much from Stern's previous direction. Whether or not he will be as cold blooded as Stern, I don't know. I just doubt he pushes for the changes that the league needs to happen because those changes are a different direction from the league Stern created.