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NBA 2022 off-season: the Durant Decision


DanteGabriel

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Those two highlighted areas are important, so important that the CBA probably needs to include some sort of infrastructure to support them.

- Draft age eligibility from 19 to 18, return of high school-to-NBA

The players' association and the league need to support this in two ways.  The first is some kind of financial / social structure for the players so that 18-year-old boys don't spend all their time and money in the ways that a typical 18-year-old-boy would usually do.  Maybe even take a page out of Sumo, which puts half the rikishis' earnings into a trust that pays out when the player retires or some such similar measure.  Let's have fewer stories about bankrupt former players aged 32, or players whose "financial advisors" took all their money.  

The second is that the league needs to officiate players coming out of high school evenly and fairly, and not penalize them with extra scrutiny.  This isn't as bad as it used to be (eg. officials actively sought to punish Darryl Dawkins for coming out of HS by calling fouls on him), but young players are not receiving the same sort of rulings on the court as veterans even so.  Or at least that is my perception when I go to games and see the officials in the flesh.


- Measure that allows players citing mental health similar to physical injury 

Again, this is progress, and it immediately makes me think of Vin Baker, who damaged himself so much with alcohol just because he wasn't able to handle losing.  We know that players are human, and the league has a metric ton of cash, so they ought to preserve and help their players mentally just as they would physically.  This ought to be a slam dunk, so to speak.

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2 hours ago, Wilbur said:

The players' association and the league need to support this in two ways.  The first is some kind of financial / social structure for the players so that 18-year-old boys don't spend all their time and money in the ways that a typical 18-year-old-boy would usually do.  Maybe even take a page out of Sumo, which puts half the rikishis' earnings into a trust that pays out when the player retires or some such similar measure.  Let's have fewer stories about bankrupt former players aged 32, or players whose "financial advisors" took all their money. 

Every player in all North American sports needs this. How are people getting 10 million a year and being bankrupt (rhetorical, they are idiots and have too many hangers on). They should get 1/3 of their salaries and everything else pays out at a later date. 

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1 hour ago, BigFatCoward said:

Every player in all North American sports needs this. How are people getting 10 million a year and being bankrupt (rhetorical, they are idiots and have too many hangers on). They should get 1/3 of their salaries and everything else pays out at a later date. 

Therein lies the problem though.  Who gets to benefit while the money sits?  Do the owners get to keep the interest earned?  If the players get to keep it... then the argument shifts to who manages those investments?  Does the player get to pick the fund manager?  If so, then we potentially run into the same problem we are already in.  If not, then that becomes rife with cronyism as a financial manager gets chosen/assigned by the league and/or team.

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12 minutes ago, Rhom said:

Therein lies the problem though.  Who gets to benefit while the money sits?  Do the owners get to keep the interest earned?  If the players get to keep it... then the argument shifts to who manages those investments?  Does the player get to pick the fund manager?  If so, then we potentially run into the same problem we are already in.  If not, then that becomes rife with cronyism as a financial manager gets chosen/assigned by the league and/or team.

It is a problem, but one that the players' union should be assigned to solve.  The union represents the players, and they ought to be responsible for the solution.

Guys like LeBron and Chris Paul are smart and have good teams around them, and others do as well - let them provide the leadership in creation of a better decision for the young guys coming into the league.  For LeBron, this ought to be especially of interest.

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Can't see behind the paywall. Does the article bring up guaranteed money? I keep hearing that the owners are extremely tired of having to pay fulltime salaries for players who sit out a ton of games while not actually injured. I assumed that was going to be the big fight during these negotiations. 

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1 minute ago, Tywin et al. said:

Can't see behind the paywall. Does the article bring up guaranteed money? I keep hearing that the owners are extremely tired of having to pay fulltime salaries for players who sit out a ton of games while not actually injured. I assumed that was going to be the big fight during these negotiations. 

I’d have to read the article a bit closer. I just hit the highlights earlier.

FWIW I only pay $1/mo for my Athletic subscription.  It’s one of the best values out there.

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12 minutes ago, Rhom said:

I’d have to read the article a bit closer. I just hit the highlights earlier.

FWIW I only pay $1/mo for my Athletic subscription.  It’s one of the best values out there.

That is good value and maybe I'll cave, but all these subscriptions add up at the end of the day and I'm sure I'm still paying for shit I barely use (looking at you, Disney+). 

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I value Spotify far above any other service I use. Next up is likely the Athletic. I cancel each year until they send me an email offering 12 bucks a year again, as Rhom has. The beat writer for the Cardinals has been terrific, the Bulls guy is solid, and their national talent is simply the best in online sports media. I never thought I'd subscribe to online text media, but they're worth it. Although I'm pretty damn annoyed that they are blatantly showing online gambling ads on what was formerly an ad-free site, again it's only a buck a month so I'll let it pass.

I've been very wrapped up in baseball the past two months, and the tepid vibe around the Bulls off-season hasn't sparked my usual rapt attention of the NBA off-season. As seems to have increasingly been the case more each year, I have no clue what's going to happen in the East. Are the Nets going to actually play together? They'd be awesome. Are the Cavs now a force? They look amazing on paper. Are my Bulls going to miss the playoffs completely? If they play like the last three months of last season, yes. Could be another wild year of off-court drama as well as some great playoff races.

 

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I'd say the Bulls are firmly in that second tier with the Nets, Heat, Cavs ( definitely a force now), Raptors, Hawks & Sixers.

Obviously depends on Ball's progress but this is potentially a very good team IMO. Thing is though, there is a lot of very good sides in the East.

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6 hours ago, Rhom said:

Bottom line scroll said Sarver is beginning process to sell Suns and Mercury.

If you want a good laugh, go back and read the two statements he made just before and after the Baxter Holmes article came out last year. He went full Ryan Braun. 

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It will be to all the fans' benefit to no longer have Sarver wandering around the arena during Suns games, glad-handing the powerful and blocking the view of the plebes and generally oblivious to the action on the court.

The guy is really insufferable when it comes to game time etiquette, beyond all the other truly evil stuff, and even if he was a saint outside of game time, he would annoy me just for his performances when I have been trying to watch a game.

And then his bankster staff and buddies also engage in a lot of behavior that I find odious, just on a social level, so having fewer opportunities to encounter that whole crew will improve everyone's live just a little bit.

But then the question is, "Will a new owner be an improvement?"  Whoever is next has to be better, right?

But next in line in the Phoenix ownership group is Najafi.  Maybe he will only be insufferable and pretentious, and he will leave out the harassment and racism.  I guess that will be better.

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1 hour ago, Wilbur said:

But next in line in the Phoenix ownership group is Najafi.  Maybe he will only be insufferable and pretentious, and he will leave out the harassment and racism.  I guess that will be better.

Last I heard he doesn't want to be in charge or have a controlling share of the franchise. And it's worth noting, back when the shit first hit the fan Jahm Najafi was one of the few top Suns figures who did not defend Sarver (so much egg on so many faces). He appears to be coming out of this looking great, and by the same reports, not a look at me Louie asshole like Sarver either. 

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5 hours ago, BigFatCoward said:

'Intimate and consensual' relationship with female member of teams staff apparently. 

I just saw that he might be out for the season… was the staff member Brad Stevens’ wife or something?!!? :blink:

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I'm glad to see others are bemused. Are the Celtics gluttons for self punishment or is this a holier than thou thing?

So apparently he was involved in a consensual relationship with a staff member. And they are talking about suspending him all year?

In other Celtics news, after Gallinari being out for the year, there is now yet another Robert Williams knee surgery expected to keep him out for the first 2 months.

 

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