Topic: NBA Thread: Brought To You By The Tampa Bay Raptors Of Toronto

[Soren]

Voiding contracts is insane and will probably never happen, particularly because it opens up a player to lose out on millions of dollars if his contract is voided and no team has cap space to offer him a fair market value contract.

Speaking of tampering:

NBA: Fines Milwaukee 50k for pointing out the obvious, that Giannis will get the supermax next year.

Also NBA: Literally ignoring Orlando as they circumvent the salary cap to squeeze another year of a rookie's contract. Also the agent who represents this kid in Orlando should never represent another player ever again.

[nickmitch]

Yeah, but isn't there some player responsibility for falling for the tampering?  It takes two to deal, even if under the table, so the player would then be receiving some punishment, even if temporary.  The player in question would likely have to sign a one-year deal, way under value, and then re-enter free agency.

[BeautifulShy]

Feeling excited for the season. Training Camp is underway and in one short month the NBA season starts. Don't sleep on the Lakers this year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKYrDT6pnzE

[BeautifulShy]

Looks like Paul George is going to miss some time early on in the season. Out till November.

[BlackNMild2k1]

What happened to PG?

Is there any updates on the LA Klawpers tampering story?

and where is the countdown clock!? I need my NBA fix!!!!

[BeautifulShy]

What happened to PG?

Is there any updates on the LA Klawpers tampering story?

and where is the countdown clock!? I need my NBA fix!!!!

1. He was going to miss a few weeks because he is recovering from back surgery.

2. Haven't seen anything.

3. https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/basketball?month=10&day=17&p0=75&msg=NBA+Season+Starts&font=slab&swk=1

[ejamer]

Tampering is overrated, although the way agents and players don't even pretend to care about the rules should probably be cleaned up a little bit.

Hard to believe how excited I'm getting about the start of the season, especially since there is almost no chance of my team doing as well this year as last. But discovering how many steps back the Raptors end up taking, and what they do to move forward over the next couple of years will be fun.

Who do people expect to win it all this year?  Not a bold statement, but the incredible defensive capability (if healthy) of the Clippers is enough to convince me... but health is no small matter and a lot can change over the course of the season. Lakers roster rounded out extremely well, but I'm still skeptical until seeing the pieces actually work together against elite competition. Out east it looks like Sixers or Bucks; both lost a key piece, but I really like the addition of Horford in Philly.  It'll also be interesting to see if the Nets succeed, or if Kyrie burns another team to the ground with his "leadership".

[Adrock]

Honestly, the Sixers.

However, I have a $20 bet with a friend that the Lakers specifically beat the Sixers. If either team doesn’t make the Finals, the bet is off. I’m not much of a gambler.

[BeautifulShy]

Honestly, the Sixers.

However, I have a $20 bet with a friend that the Lakers specifically beat the Sixers. If either team doesn’t make the Finals, the bet is off. I’m not much of a gambler.

Funny thing about this is pretty much all the 2K20 sims have those two teams playing each other in the Finals. 

[BeautifulShy]

As for the both conferences, I see the Bucks or the 76ers coming out of the east. As a whole I see those two teams being the most ready to compete.  Both teams have lots of chemistry already with them just needed to implement their new signings and the regular season will do that.   Out west I see a few options.  Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets and the Warriors in that order.  Lakers have two of the top 5 players in the game in LBJ and AD and the supporting cast I see lots of specialists and already from media day a few days ago everyone is already buying in and the few days of training camp they are working hard. The defense I feel is going to be surprising to folks. 

 Clippers they have most of their playoff team with Kawhi and George being implemented.  I see Kawhi being more of a plug and play type of player where he can go most anywhere and be efficient. George needs to come back from surgery and figure out that chemistry with Kawhi and then everyone else.   Nuggets I am picking to be the dark horse in the playoffs. They have that chemistry and they are younger than most teams but I feel like they can surprise folks.   The Rockets I think they are going to figure things out quicker than people are expecting since Westbrook and Harden has that history together it is just taking that history and implementing it in a new environment.   I do like the spacing Westbrook brings to everyone else.    Finally the Warriors I have the Warriors here just because they still have Curry, Klay and Dreymond.  Klay is going to be out for a good chunk of the season but that is where Dlo comes in and when Klay comes back the warriors are going to be a scary 3 headed guard monster. 

 I see that Lakers or Clippers coming out the west mostly because of the dynamics of the players involved.

[BeautifulShy]

Has anyone been keeping track on the SB 206 law in California about college athletes getting paid for their own likeness?  I am happy this has been signed and will go into law in 2023.   The way things are now students can't be paid at all in no form whatsoever.  John Oliver did a video a few years ago on how things are still. Check on YT and search John Oliver NCAA to learn more. 

With this new bill athletes would be able to make money off their own individuality.  It wouldn't have to come from the schools themselves but from sponsorships and other areas of monetary benefit.
Here is an article on the bill and why it is so important to LeBron James. https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2019/9/30/20892049/lebron-james-frank-vogel-weigh-sb-206-after-gavin-newsom-signs-law-on-hbo-shop-video-youtube

[broodwars]

Personally, I'm not a fan of NCAA athletes getting paid when they're already getting scholarships (and, thus, an education) along with the lion's share of the school's entire budget devoted to their care, money that should be going into actually educating the students or other programs such as music.

If students are going to get paid for playing sports, fine, but they should lose the scholarships and have to pay their own way with that money. Welcome to the real world you want so badly, kids.

[Adrock]

Student athletes make the schools a lot of money. I’m fine with paying them, but maybe re-allocate the athletic scholarship money to non-student athletes.

[NWR_insanolord]

Personally, I'm not a fan of NCAA athletes getting paid when they're already getting scholarships (and, thus, an education) along with the lion's share of the school's entire budget devoted to their care, money that should be going into actually educating the students or other programs such as music.

If students are going to get paid for playing sports, fine, but they should lose the scholarships and have to pay their own way with that money. Welcome to the real world you want so badly, kids.

The bill isn't about athletes being paid by the school, and it doesn't allow that. It just says they should be able to profit from their own likeness in things like selling autographs, being in commercials, and having their likeness in video games, and in all those cases the money would be coming from outside entities, not the schools.

[BeautifulShy]

Personally, I'm not a fan of NCAA athletes getting paid when they're already getting scholarships (and, thus, an education) along with the lion's share of the school's entire budget devoted to their care, money that should be going into actually educating the students or other programs such as music.

If students are going to get paid for playing sports, fine, but they should lose the scholarships and have to pay their own way with that money. Welcome to the real world you want so badly, kids.

The bill isn't about athletes being paid by the school, and it doesn't allow that. It just says they should be able to profit from their own likeness in things like selling autographs, being in commercials, and having their likeness in video games, and in all those cases the money would be coming from outside entities, not the schools.

Yeah what Insanolord says is how it would be with this new bill that's been signed.  Its basically like how the NBA is now as far as endorsements go.   

Draymond Green weighs in on the bill at the Warriors media day. It is at the 12:29 mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGniuYP4gGA

Lebron's take on the bill today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTVf5A4hhxk

[ThePerm]

The bots probably post these threads on this board because there is a n NBA thread nearby. Is there some sort of way we can make this thread more Bot-flycatchy?

Theres a megathread for baseball basketball football and soccer. A sports child board with wrestling might make this easier.

[NWR_insanolord]

There wouldn't be enough sports threads to justify that. The reason we did it with movies and TV is it allowed for individual franchises and shows to get their own topics, which would have clogged General Chat too much.

[nickmitch]

I'm generally in support of student-athletes getting paid.  They're essentially employees of the school.  The "scholarship" argument has always been weak to me since some players have two a day practices during the week and/or separate gym workouts, leaving little room for classes and studying.  To the point where most of the student-athletes don't have the capacity for a "real" major (i.e., one that would push them into a career that suits their skills).  Also, not one fan of college football even gives a **** about their education.  Not once during a press conference does anyone think "those kids should be studying".  So how are they supposed to take it seriously?  The scholarships can also be taken away for injuries, forcing the student-athletes to pay for their own medical expenses as well as their education.

But the idea that students couldn't benefit from their own likeness was always the most absurd to me.  Others are benefiting from the work of students and jerseys are even sold with their jersey numbers.  But heaven forbid anyone give the kid with a 3500 calorie /day requirement and extra sandwich because he's recognizable.

[ejamer]

There are some valid discussion points around how an "amateur athlete" should be defined, and how that relates to income for the kids... but the NCAA rules have long been absurd relics considering the amount of money generated by college sports programs.

The type of student athletes who would be able to generate profit using their likeness often seem to be treated as little more than disposable assets for the school. Arguing that a scholarship alone provides fair value (even assuming a best-case scenario where no injuries or other problems occur and the student decides to stay for the duration of the degree) doesn't seem reasonable to me, as there is extremely little focus placed on academics for these students and extremely high demands from the school/sports program they are representing.

In short: I'd be happy for the students if this ends up changing; many get paid under the table anyway, and anything that reduces the need for that type of scenario is a good change in my books.

[nickmitch]

The students who would profit the most are not even expected to be in college for the full four years, making the scholarship moot.

[BeautifulShy]

Watched some highlights of the Warriors and Lakers preseason game last night and I do like that the Lakers are big up front and I did like what I saw of the team as a whole.  AD scored 22 points and snatched up 10 rebounds in 18 minutes. LeBron got a team high 8 assists.  I do like the starting lineup of Avery Bradley, Danny Green, LeBron James, Anthony Davis and JaVale McGee.  You have defense and spacing in the backcourt and up front some playmaking, defense and lob targets.    I also have to say that I liked the bench.  Howard was solid in his time nearly getting a double double with 9 points and 9 rebounds and playing solid defense and setting screens for others. He was also more active off the ball and moving around.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Lakers looked like BEAST yesterday....
I didn't get to watch live, but caught the highlights.
The Warriors didn't start off the best, but then again, we were down both WCS and Looney, so down low was wide open with a rookie on the block.

I think Lakers are definitely handling some business this season, but don't count the Warriors out yet.
We making the payoffs too (barring injuries and Klay coming back just before All-Star Break).


Anyone care make a Pre-Season East/West Playoff Prediction? Deadline Saturday 10/12 (after final Pre-Season game is over)

[Adrock]

Anthony Davis bricked a lot of jumpers. He was so dominant with almost everything else (some missed assignments on transition defense) that it didn’t affect his game too much. He has to hit those at a better clip. If Davis can start making three pointers with more consistency, shut it down and give the man MVP.

[BeautifulShy]

Anthony Davis bricked a lot of jumpers. He was so dominant with almost everything else (some missed assignments on transition defense) that it didn’t affect his game too much. He has to hit those at a better clip. If Davis can start making three pointers with more consistency, shut it down and give the man MVP.

Those were really the only two bad things he did for the time he played so if he can tighten those things up the Lakers are going to be dangerous.

[broodwars]

So...anyone up for discussing the case of the Houston Rockets GM whose job is at risk right now because he posted a pro-Hong Kong Independence Tweet, causing outrage from China that the NBA quickly rushed to denounce? It's pretty messed-up.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/sports/basketball/nba-china-hong-kong.html