NBA Thread 2020-21 Season

[Alsacs]

 

[Horn88]

The fact that you can't connect the dots at even the level a six year old could is the problem. Not that I am surprised.

There is no drama around Kawhi. Move on, find a new slant.

 

[Alsacs]

There is no drama around Kawhi. Move on, find a new slant.

[

Yeah it should be interesting.
Now that guy is suing Jerry West for 2.5 million dollars.
NBA will sniff around.

Rut roh

 

[OrangeDW]

oh man, Philly. Don’t do it. Ben might become a better shooter. Harden is 30+, he’s not going to become a better defender. Ben is young and can guard everybody on the floor, any given night.

 

[Alsacs]

oh man, Philly. Don’t do it. Ben might become a better shooter. Harden is 30+, he’s not going to become a better defender. Ben is young and can guard everybody on the floor, any given night.

Ben Simmons would be a grand slam acquisition for Houston.

Harden isn’t going to win a title as the lead dog.
He could get a ring at the end but Philly would be stupid to do this. So I expect it.

 

[Melancer46]

Hard to imagine another team topping that. Curious to find out what other teams are involved. Woj is saying Houston and Philly are nowhere near a deal and that Houston is negotiating with several other teams, including teams not on Harden’s list.

 

[Day2]

There is no drama around Kawhi. Move on, find a new slant.

Yeah it should be interesting.
Now that guy is suing Jerry West for 2.5 million dollars.
NBA will sniff around.

Rut roh

“Wilkes says he told West and the Clippers they needed to get Paul George first and foremost to hook Kawhi.”

That’s the problem with bad liars. They include too many details. George wasn’t Leonard’s first choice.

 

[jncuse]

There is no drama around Kawhi. Move on, find a new slant.

As much as I would like to believe this story, it doesn't really pass the smell test. Kawhi was interested in the Clippers and Raptors. Masai himself stated that the Kawhi camp, via Uncle Dennis, was making some very difficult demands, some which were almost unreasonable. Meeting those demands is what was ultimately going to convince Kawhi. Not this schmuck in the lawsuit saying he could convince Kawhi.

It seems pretty clear now given all the reports that 2 of those demands made to all parties were:
1) Trade for Paul George during the FA negotiation period. (Which was a difficult decision for Ujiri because he did not like the trade and did not fully trust Uncle Dennis/Kawhi that he would sign even after a deal was done or after a short deal)
2) Excessive favours beyond just load management regarding playing time, teammates, training, travel which have all come out after this season. (Not sure if the Ujiri was all in on that demand or not.. he could have been)
Neither of these two demands are illegal. They may be worth playing chicken with Kawhi over but nothing more then that. And the Clippers did not play chicken, and it might have hurt them somewhat going forward regarding trade capital and team chemistry... of course they could have had no Kawhi either.

But it has been speculated there was other demands (let's call them demand #3). This 3rd demand made to all parties which have been leaked out but have certainly never been proven in any manner. That demand was greasing Uncle Dennis and other handlers with illegal benefits. Given that MLSE is rich and not saints I think they would have considered complying. But as the Raptors (via MLSE) are part of a high profile Canadian public company, such an illegal payment to a foreign party if discovered by an auditor would need to be disclosed to the public. It's a much easier risk for the Clippers and Ballmer via a private entity to take.

If the Clippers did anything wrong that would be severely punishable it would need to be in the 3rd demand (if it happened which IMO it likely did). But I am sure their tracks are well covered.

 

[Arangeman]

Heard an interesting bit of trivia during the Lakers/Clippers game the other night. Missed the answer though.

Who are the only 3 NBA franchises that have never made it out of the 2nd round of the playoffs?

 

[jncuse]

Heard an interesting bit of trivia during the Lakers/Clippers game the other night. Missed the answer though.

Who are the only 3 NBA franchises that have never made it out of the 2nd round of the playoffs?

If the Clippers win the 7-10 play in tournament, will they be considered to have made it into the 3rd round of the playoffs?

 

[Alsacs]

Heard an interesting bit of trivia during the Lakers/Clippers game the other night. Missed the answer though.

Who are the only 3 NBA franchises that have never made it out of the 2nd round of the playoffs?

I can think of 2 Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans.
I wonder who the 3rd is?
I really wonder.

 

[Day2]

I’ve been a fan of the Clippers for over 20 years. You guys are going to have to try a lot harder before something sticks.

 

[FloridaFan]

Thanks to Otto and Mike for their feedback:

I will be setting up a league later today, and here is what I am thinking.

- Yahoo
- Probably 8 teams, since I have not seen an abundance of interest.
- Head to Head each week. Score by Category. (10 categories?)
- Roster Size of 15, Play 10 each week, 5 on bench.
- Trades Allowed (One per Week).
- Waiver Claims Allowed (One per Week)

Any other feedback or interest let me know.

Can I play in this league? I have an ESPN but I’d like to play with people who take it more serious then there

 

[Horn88]

As much as I would like to believe this story, it doesn't really pass the smell test. Kawhi was interested in the Clippers and Raptors. Masai himself stated that the Kawhi camp, via Uncle Dennis, was making some very difficult demands, some which were almost unreasonable. Meeting those demands is what was ultimately going to convince Kawhi. Not this schmuck in the lawsuit saying he could convince Kawhi.

It seems pretty clear now given all the reports that 2 of those demands made to all parties were:
1) Trade for Paul George during the FA negotiation period. (Which was a difficult decision for Ujiri because he did not like the trade and did not fully trust Uncle Dennis/Kawhi that he would sign even after a deal was done or after a short deal)
2) Excessive favours beyond just load management regarding playing time, teammates, training, travel which have all come out after this season. (Not sure if the Ujiri was all in on that demand or not.. he could have been)
Neither of these two demands are illegal. They may be worth playing chicken with Kawhi over but nothing more then that. And the Clippers did not play chicken, and it might have hurt them somewhat going forward regarding trade capital and team chemistry... of course they could have had no Kawhi either.

But it has been speculated there was other demands (let's call them demand #3). This 3rd demand made to all parties which have been leaked out but have certainly never been proven in any manner. That demand was greasing Uncle Dennis and other handlers with illegal benefits. Given that MLSE is rich and not saints I think they would have considered complying. But as the Raptors (via MLSE) are part of a high profile Canadian public company, such an illegal payment to a foreign party if discovered by an auditor would need to be disclosed to the public. It's a much easier risk for the Clippers and Ballmer via a private entity to take.

If the Clippers did anything wrong that would be severely punishable it would need to be in the 3rd demand (if it happened which IMO it likely did). But I am sure their tracks are well covered.

I agree. There seems to be a lot of smoke around your third point to where I think there’s probably a good chunk of truth to it but Balmer is too smart and too rich to ever leave a trail where any punishment they’d feel could be handed down.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Can I play in this league? I have an ESPN but I’d like to play with people who take it more serious then there

Yeah buddy.

NBA Fantasy Basketball 2021 - SyracuseFan League

Started a League on Yahoo for Syracusefan members. League is called: "Mookie Don't Pass 2" League ID is 176808 Link is below: https://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/nba/176808/invitation?key=e1abcae18884c659&soc_trk=lnk&ikey=768323f510df8660 Draft is set for Sunday Night at 8:00 pm...

syracusefan.com

 

[jncuse]

I agree. There seems to be a lot of smoke around your third point to where I think there’s probably a good chunk of truth to it but Balmer is too smart and too rich to ever leave a trail where any punishment they’d feel could be handed down.

That won't happen. All we can hope for is the following scenario which is certainly plausible, but not a high %.
1) Clips don't have the guns to win in 2021 and come up well short -- Kawhi decides LA is no longer his desired fit and opts out
2) Kawhi signs elsewhere and wins his 3rd NBA title on another team.
3) Clippers with no first round picks for a while become the old time Clippers and stink for a long time.

 

[jncuse]

Can I play in this league? I have an ESPN but I’d like to play with people who take it more serious then there

Yes please do join this league. I have a thread on the main page. Otto also shared the link.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Curry's hair this season doesn't look good.

 

[OrangeDW]

Heard an interesting bit of trivia during the Lakers/Clippers game the other night. Missed the answer though.

Who are the only 3 NBA franchises that have never made it out of the 2nd round of the playoffs?

Clippers, Hornets, Grizzlies?

edit: ah, I saw N.O. above. Didn’t even think of them - technically they’ve only got like 15 years of history, so that would’ve been an obvious one.

Looked it up as I really didn’t remember Memphis making the conference finals. I guess because they got swept by a great Spurs squad, it wasn’t all that memorable.

 

[Arangeman]

Clippers, Hornets, Grizzlies?

edit: ah, I saw N.O. above. Didn’t even think of them - technically they’ve only got like 15 years of history, so that would’ve been an obvious one.

Looked it up as I really didn’t remember Memphis making the conference finals. I guess because they got swept by a great Spurs squad, it wasn’t all that memorable.

Clippers was obvious of course. I thought Hornets and Grizzlies too.

 

[kirbivore]

what is the board consensus: is dion's nba career finished, or does someone sign him up late?

I hope he didn't blow all his money on those birthday parties.

 

[FloridaFan]

I hope he didn't blow all his money on those birthday parties.

I think the reason they were so expensive was cause others were doing the blowing

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Man I’m already loving this signing ... very reasonable contract .. this dude can play and has been getting better rapidly

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Ben Simmons would be a grand slam acquisition for Houston.

Harden isn’t going to win a title as the lead dog.
He could get a ring at the end but Philly would be stupid to do this. So I expect it.

Supposedly Philly wants harden Plus ... what else would they want from Houston to make it worth Simmons ? They have nothing of value ... maybe a couple firsts they scraped back recently .. but those aren’t going to be very high

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Man I’m already loving this signing ... very reasonable contract .. this dude can play and has been getting better rapidly

Otto .. after harden is traded and with Westbrook gone .. you can’t really hate us anymore can you ?