General NBA thread

[mgk920]

New York does not need two teams, I'd say move the Nets to Baltimore.

The NYC metro area has 1/15 of the US population. It deserves two teams.

How many teams does the London metro area currently have in the Premiere League?  Manchester currently has two.

Mike

[JayhawkCO]

New York does not need two teams, I'd say move the Nets to Baltimore.

The NYC metro area has 1/15 of the US population. It deserves two teams.

How many teams does the London metro area currently have in the Premiere League?  Manchester currently has two.

Mike

Seven.

Arsenal
Brentford
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham

[mgk920]

New York does not need two teams, I'd say move the Nets to Baltimore.

The NYC metro area has 1/15 of the US population. It deserves two teams.

It would be very interesting, indeed, if the NCAA ultimately implodes, to see how things would go WRT North American basketball if it would be converted to a promotion and relegation federation (as was suggested a few years ago by a national radio sports talk show host after the Charlotte Hornets had their 7-whatever season).

Mike

[Scott5114]

Las Vegas billionaire Miriam Adelson said in an SEC filing that she is selling $2,000,000,000 in stock because she wants to use the money to buy control of a sports team, probably the Dallas Mavericks.

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/miriam-adelson-intends-to-buy-sports-team-after-selling-2b-in-las-vegas-sands-stock

[gonealookin]

Las Vegas billionaire Miriam Adelson said in an SEC filing that she is selling $2,000,000,000 in stock because she wants to use the money to buy control of a sports team, probably the Dallas Mavericks.

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/miriam-adelson-intends-to-buy-sports-team-after-selling-2b-in-las-vegas-sands-stock

In effect this appears to create a joint venture between Mark Cuban and the Adelson family for a big project in the Dallas area.  https://theathletic.com/5097552/2023/11/28/mavericks-sale-mark-cuban-miriam-adelson/

Adelson's skill in real estate and arena development, as well as launching casino gaming and entertainment in Dallas were appealing factors in Cuban's sale, league sources said. He told the Dallas Morning News last year that he intended to partner with Las Vegas Sands Corp. to build a casino and resort in Dallas that would also include a place [i.e. a new arena] for the Mavericks. Texas does not have legalized sports betting.

The sticking point on the casino-resort-arena development seems to be that despite some past efforts Texas law doesn't permit the gambling which is envisioned as part of this project.  The Adelson family is famously megadonors to Republicans, who dominate the Texas legislative and executive branches, and presumably that influence will get the required legislation passed.  And in addition to that direct financial influence, if that still wasn't enough to get the legislation through Cuban and Adelson would have leverage to threaten to move the team to some city that wants an NBA franchise...such as, oh, maybe Las Vegas.

[triplemultiplex]

They're just open with their corruption now I guess.
For all the reasons Texas sucks, at least they've been able to stand up to the gambling industry so far.  Don't cave, Texas!  Don't sell out your citizens for a basketball arena!  It will cost you a helluva lot more in the long run.

[JayhawkCO]

They're just open with their corruption now I guess.
For all the reasons Texas sucks, at least they've been able to stand up to the gambling industry so far.  Don't cave, Texas!  Don't sell out your citizens for a basketball arena!  It will cost you a helluva lot more in the long run.

Is there a particular reason you're anti-gambling?

[triplemultiplex]

It's blatantly predatory.  It's an industry that relies on getting people addicted.  And it exploits people who are bad at math.
The gambling companies behave like drug dealers, "Your first bet is free!"
They're trying to filter for those targets who have that gambling jonse.  Most people are 'casual' gamblers, but the core of their market is addicts.  The externalization of the cost of gambling addiction doesn't come from their profits, oh no; it lands squarely on the rest of society.

But more generally, the gambling industry ads nothing of value to society, the economy, or the individual.  It's a money pit that steals resources from worthwhile endeavors.  This is not a value-additive industry.  It simply consumes capital that could be used for useful things.  It's a collective burden on civilization that I do not abide.  A handful of people profit from turning millions of people into degenerates.

I live in a state with a lottery and indian casinos.  Both are incredibly sad and pathetic.  Right now, the lottery advertises giving people scratch-offs as stocking stuffers.  Can you even imagine being so degenerate that you'd be happy to get a scratch-off for Christmas?  That's what the lottery is counting on.  And every casino I've ever stepped in (which admittedly is very, very few) has always been the most depressing display of humans wasting their lives and money on nothing I have ever seen. 

When I was in Alaska, the only legal gambling they have is pull-tabs.  And in pretty much every bar I was in, there was always 2 or 3 people, sitting by themselves with a gigantic stack of pull-tabs.  Like, they must buy them at 100 a time.  These are the people the gambling industry is hoping to find and get their claws into.  And damn the consequences to those people and their families.
This is absolutely a net negative for our society.  I can see it with my own eyes.

[JayhawkCO]

Fair enough. Thank you for a thoughtful reply.

[Henry]

The Lakers now have a separate banner for In-Season Tournament championships. Hopefully, the other 29 NBA teams will follow suit.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Both Drayniond Green and Nikola Jokic were ejected last night.

[The Ghostbuster]

I am not surprised that Draymond Green did it again. This time he clocked center Jusuf Nurkic across the face. Suspending Green is not enough in my opinion. Eventually, he should be banned from ever playing in the NBA again. Although I didn't watch the game (it would have gone on too late for me), I knew it was only a matter of time before Green let his immaturity rear its ugly head again.

[JayhawkCO]

Both Drayniond Green and Nikola Jokic were ejected last night.

Green should be suspended for a year. The ref that ejected Joker should be suspended for a year. That was absurd. Jokic gets the worst star treatment of anyone in the NBA.

[jgb191]

If I were the NBA commissioner, I wouldn't let Draymond play again until he agrees to be drug tested weekly and make him complete an anger management class.  He had already gone way too far before this punch on Nurkic.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Pee ESPN, Draymond has been suspended indefinitely 

[Max Rockatansky]

Pee ESPN, Draymond has been suspended indefinitely

I guess he did get a little pissy in that Suns game. 

[Ted$8roadFan]

Pee ESPN, Draymond has been suspended indefinitely

I guess he did get a little pissy in that Suns game.

His track record also didn't help him.

[plain]

Time for celebrity boxing. Draymond Green vs Zach Randolph. Book it.

[Billy F 1988]

As if kicking Stephen Adams in the gunny sack while in a playoff game wasn't bad enough, the multiple ejections, and so on, along with Green's most recent raff with Nurkic, I don't know, man. I just think Adam Silver is leading too much of a leash on some of these players, Green included (and yes, even Jokic!). There's only so much BS you can take from a hot tempered jack like Green, and at some point, 'ya gotta put your foot down and lay the law down on Green.

And it's not just Jokic getting the so-called "star" treatment; many others do, too, and that irks a lot of traditional NBA fans. Me not being one among them, I'm a bit irked at this kind of treatment myself because it tells me that those in power within the NBA are too pussy to call things the way they need to be. If you call foul on one guy for bumping an elbow, but you see Jokic do the same thing but don't call it the same way, that's what I mean. This Brady-like treatment in the NBA, man. That shit needs to stop. (Which, of course, won't, because, yeah, "stars with the most g's and blings get no consequence".)

[jgb191]

I think everyone, myself included, is ticked off that many superstars abuse their superstar status just because they are superstars. 

It's all about the $$$$$!

1)  Anyone with millions of $'s can easily buy their way out of trouble.  Money = power of abuse.  The more money one gets, the more powerful and abusive (s)he potentially becomes.
2)  You cannot fire players....you can only either trade away your troubles or decide to not re-sign a troubled player to a renewed contract.  Only if a contract has been explicitly violated can a team terminate it.  Google search 'Jay Williams'
3)  Television and casinos depend on superstars to attract ticket-buyer, commercial-takers, and gamblers which generate the revenue.

I don't like it either, but that's just the unfortunate reality of the world of professional sports.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Hot take of the day. The NFL had three games yesterday vs. the NBA's five.

https://awfulannouncing.com/nba/nfl-christmas-day-games-ratings.html

[ET21]

Bulls have had a good December so far. Drummond last night was 

[bing101]

https://apnews.com/article/herb-kohl-died-f2f0a85ca0b84af794f73c22b7d8d420

Herb Kohl former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks dead at 88.

[Stephane Dumas]

The Red Wings was once known as "Dead Wings", I guess the Pistons might be now known as "Dead Pistons".
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/fans-chant-for-detroit-pistons-owner-tom-gores-to-sell-the-team-after-25th-straight-loss/ar-AA1lSuru

Detroit Pistons fans have had enough.

As the Pistons fell apart late in their 119-111 loss to the Utah Jazz on Thursday — their 25th straight after starting the season 2-1 — a relatively loud "Sell the team!" chant broke out at Little Caesars Arena.

The Pistons have struggled for years since Tom Gores bought the team in 2011 and have never won a playoff game since he's been the owner. (Though their playoff victory drought dates back to 2008.) The team has not made the playoffs since the 2018-19 season, when they were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round.

Meanwhile Mark Cuban will sold isome parts of his share of the Dallas Mavericks.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Business/wireStory/nba-approves-sale-dallas-mavericks-las-vegas-sands-105944928

[Henry]

Meanwhile Mark Cuban will sold isome parts of his share of the Dallas Mavericks.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Business/wireStory/nba-approves-sale-dallas-mavericks-las-vegas-sands-105944928

But that's not all: Ex-MLB player Alex Rodriguez (along with Marc Lore) has purchased the Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA Lynx franchises.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39198084/sources-alex-rodriguez-marc-lore-timberwolves-majority-owners