NBA 2020-2021 Season

[Szumi]

76ers trading for Harden would be the most 76ers thing to do, and also ensue that they never actually contend for a ring.

[livid]

5 hours ago, Maxx said:

Not only is James Harden not headed to Rockets training camp, he's instead out partying in Vegas without a mask.

(Though he did show up to camp today for Covid testing)

[Pooker]

I wanted to make a joke about Harden not defending on the court, so why would he defend against covid-19? But the isolation joke is so much better.

[Pooker]

Preseason basketball is back! Yay!

[livid]

Giannis is staying in Milwaukee! I can only assume that my fantasy team name convinced him. 

 

[Pooker]

Biggest deal in NBA history. 5 years, $228 million. Opt out after four years. 

[DYSI]

Pfft only 45m a year.. 

[gunnar hendershow]

I can't believe a genuine megastar actually is staying in a small market. The smallest market, even.

[Maxx]

I think the fact that he's not American and grew up poor helped.  Massive pay day like that is an easy decision, especially if you haven't been exposed to the idea that you have to go to big media markets to be successful for most of your life.

[LL!]

He'll be requesting a trade within 2 years. 

[livid]

2 minutes ago, LL. said:

He'll be requesting a trade within 2 years. 

[Chris2K]

I'm really pleased that Giannis made that decision, but it's entirely possible...

44 minutes ago, LL. said:

He'll be requesting a trade within 2 years. 

Player power is very much the big factor now, Paul George showed that last year with his trade demand, and that one move basically catapulted the Thunder in to a multi-year rebuild.

I'm all for players having more control over their careers, but I fear it's going to come at the cost of interest in the league when there's only 3-4 teams with genuine superstars and 26 teams making up the numbers. 

 

[LL!]

I really don't know if interest in the league will wain through all of this. The "player control" era of the NBA has been around for several years now and business is booming. I feel like there will always be a healthy balance of players looking for a payday and players looking for a ring that will not allow just 3-4 teams to look like mega teams.

[gunnar hendershow]

The NBA is one of two sports in the US with a national following largely because of how player-centric it is. If teams became more important than players fans in major metros would tune out when their preferred team wasn't playing.

But ideally the superstars could play in small markets and it wouldn't matter. Nobody cares that Patrick Mahomes is in Kansas City instead of New York or that Peyton Manning spent the bulk of his career in Indianapolis.

[Pooker]

I'm hoping that Giannis staying in Milwaukee will help destroy the narrative of small markets not having a chance to keep superstars. Really tired of hearing how Utah will never be able to keep superstars and Mitchell and Rudy will leave the first chance they get.

[livid]

I also think it's unfair to say it's just a market issue. Typically players aren't leaving stable situations with sustained success just for the glamor of a bigger market. There are underlying issues with roster construction, etc. that usually lead to a player deciding to leave.

[DYSI]

Harden started an eat-in protest in order to get traded from Houston. 

[gunnar hendershow]

Bigger market teams are more likely to not care about the luxury tax as well. So where a team like Cleveland or New Orleans stretched themselves thin during LeBron's first tenure and AD's time with the Pels a team like the Lakers or Warriors can still maintain some flexibility since paying the luxury tax isn't a massive burden.

[Pooker]

Rudy Gobert has turned down a max contract extension from the Jazz, wanting to get a super max extension. They have four days to agree to a deal, or Rudy will be a UFA next year.

[gunnar hendershow]

I am not sold on Gobert as a max/supermax player.