Poll: The State of The League

[golden]

Jeezus. Let's stop whining about the league already. We made a deal with the devil and got our chip. Let's just be satisfied that we don't have blue balls, like a lot of other franchises that got close, but no cigar (OKC, Stockton-Malone Jazz, etc...).

In some ways, the crazy player movement is great for the league, because different franchises get their shot a glory every few years if they manage things properly. Golden State was a total fluke because Curry was injured early in his career and signed an obscenely below market contract that enabled the Warriors to sign Durant during a once-in-a-lifetime cap spike.

The main things we should be worried about are the sponsorship dollars that tilt the playing field towards big markets, and the slimy stuff going on with Klutch Sports with a growing army of players being loyal to Lebron and each other. The "team up" movement is somewhat un-controllable by the league.

That said, I'm a bit shocked that Kawhi ended up being a huge recruiter type of guy, but Lebron made it such that elite players have to compete on the court, and in the boardroom to secure their legacies. The other thing that's un-controllable is a guy like Ballmer finding other ways to pay an elite player (looking at you, Uncle Dennis). It's pretty clear that Kawhi, Uncle Dennis and the Clippers were in cahoots all year long.

[Demographic Shift]

Jeezus. Let's stop whining about the league already. We made a deal with the devil and got our chip. Let's just be satisfied that we don't have blue balls, like a lot of other franchises that got close, but no cigar (OKC, Stockton-Malone Jazz, etc...).

In some ways, the crazy player movement is great for the league, because different franchises get their shot a glory every few years if they manage things properly. Golden State was a total fluke because Curry was injured early in his career and signed an obscenely below market contract that enabled the Warriors to sign Durant during a once-in-a-lifetime cap spike.

The main things we should be worried about are the sponsorship dollars that tilt the playing field towards big markets, and the slimy stuff going on with Klutch Sports with a growing army of players being loyal to Lebron and each other. The "team up" movement is somewhat un-controllable by the league.

That said, I'm a bit shocked that Kawhi ended up being a huge recruiter type of guy, but Lebron made it such that elite players have to compete on the court, and in the boardroom to secure their legacies. The other thing that's un-controllable is a guy like Ballmer finding other ways to pay an elite player (looking at you, Uncle Dennis). It's pretty clear that Kawhi, Uncle Dennis and the Clippers were in cahoots all year long.

Good arguement....

I'd say that Leonard .. even after all the tangible things that Toronto could put on the table ....a winning situation... a fantastic medical team for oversight.... good guys as well as good players for teammates... stable franchise with money and options to stay on top.....still wasn't even close to going back to LA and home.

What is surprising.. is that the quiet guy.. the fun guy... the guy who cultivates the anti NBA persona on social media.....really is no different than Lebron or Kyrie in that he went out of his way during the gap between the parade and the FA signing period to recruit a top echelon player.. pretty much anyone would do.. Durant or Butler or George... to go "home" with...The optics sure look like it was going to LA and if someone comes with me .. its the Clips... If I can't find anyone.. I will suck it up and play with Davis and Lebron....

It was his choice to ply his talents where he wanted to.. and he wanted to ply them in SoCal...

[Scraptor]

I choose option E: I hate it.

I miss the days when guys like Jordan/Stockton/Reggie/Kobe/Dirk would just stay with one team. You make a special bond with players who are lifers. They almost become part of the fabric of the city.

I also hate the idea that players don't respect their contracts. If you sign a contract you shouldn't be able to get out of it without penalties.

[iblastoff]

thats why they have jersey insurance!

https://store.nba.com/jersey-assuran...756-2442190644

[golden]

Good arguement....

I'd say that Leonard .. even after all the tangible things that Toronto could put on the table ....a winning situation... a fantastic medical team for oversight.... good guys as well as good players for teammates... stable franchise with money and options to stay on top.....still wasn't even close to going back to LA and home.

What is surprising.. is that the quiet guy.. the fun guy... the guy who cultivates the anti NBA persona on social media.....really is no different than Lebron or Kyrie in that he went out of his way during the gap between the parade and the FA signing period to recruit a top echelon player.. pretty much anyone would do.. Durant or Butler or George... to go "home" with...The optics sure look like it was going to LA and if someone comes with me .. its the Clips... If I can't find anyone.. I will suck it up and play with Davis and Lebron....

It was his choice to ply his talents where he wanted to.. and he wanted to ply them in SoCal...

Don't kid yourself. The recruiting didn't start just after the parade - trial balloons were most likely being launched all season long. The Clippers Nike logo was a clear sign of collusion. MIxx picked up on it right away because there is no way in hell the Clippers should have known about that. That was Uncle Dennis and the Clips working together and if there was a full investigation, the NBA would have barred the Clippers from signing Kawhi due to traceable tampering. Woj is making is sound like this Kawhi recruiting was a last-minute surprise that came together in a few days, dashing the Raptors chances. Nope - that's PR spin to keep the Ballmer out of trouble. There's a reason why the Clips hired Lee Jenkins as Chief Propaganda Minister to control the press narrative all season long. But they built a great team, front office and assets to back up that bluster, so kudos to them.

Still, you have to applaud a guy like Kawhi, who sets a goal and then locks onto it with laser focus and discipline until he achieves it. He's a cold, calculating machine, for real. His goal was to play at home, with the players, coach and owner of his choice. He never chose Toronto, but he delivered the franchise's only championship, so nobody around here can say anything jack-shit negative about him. The man is doing things on his terms, his way and earning the right to use (or abuse) all the power that he's collecting at his disposal.

[SkywalkerAC]

Don't kid yourself. The recruiting didn't start just after the parade - trial balloons were most likely being launched all season long. The Clippers Nike logo was a clear sign of collusion. MIxx picked up on it right away because there is no way in hell the Clippers should have known about that. That was Uncle Dennis and the Clips working together and if there was a full investigation, the NBA would have barred the Clippers from signing Kawhi due to traceable tampering. Woj is making is sound like this Kawhi recruiting was a last-minute surprise that came together in a few days, dashing the Raptors chances. Nope - that's PR spin to keep the Ballmer out of trouble. There's a reason why the Clips hired Lee Jenkins as Chief Propaganda Minister to control the press narrative all season long. But they built a great team, front office and assets to back up that bluster, so kudos to them.

Still, you have to applaud a guy like Kawhi, who sets a goal and then locks onto it with laser focus and discipline until he achieves it. He's a cold, calculating machine, for real. His goal was to play at home, with the players, coach and owner of his choice. He never chose Toronto, but he delivered the franchise's only championship, so nobody around here can say anything jack-shit negative about him. The man is doing things on his terms, his way and earning the right to use (or abuse) all the power that he's collecting at his disposal.

I think you misread, he's talking about Kawhi's recruitment of PG, not Clippers' recruitment of Kawhi.

[SkywalkerAC]

The only think that really matters is the end result - the NBA's product on the floor - and with more parity in the league, no one having a good idea who will win, it's probably better now than it has been for a while.

[The Claw Reborn]

My two cents of all these chaos...

Maybe the league should impose a “Kawhi Rule”. As soon as free agency starts, teams should only have 24 hours to lock up max eligible salaried players. The non-max have 3 days tops. As soon as a player verbally agree to a deal, a contract have to be drafted and let that player sign on the dotted line within 24 hours. No more 6 day moratorium.

Then league has to strictly impose the anti-tampering laws during the regular season especially approaching free agency. If a team is caught, its automatic disqualification to sign free agents for a whole season.

However if players are conniving with each other prior to their free agency, then that would limit the possibility with the shortened period as I stated above.

Franchises also has to have an insurance, as soon as they sign a “max free agent”. These players cannot ask for a trade until the end of their contracts. In cases as examples like Paul George, Porzingis or Anthony Davis, teams should have legal footing to not pay these guys the remainder of their contracts as soon as they approach management asking for a trade.

I say all these but yet again, nothing may result to changes if the small market teams are afraid to join forces and topple the big boys like the Los Angeles and New York Markets. Or these minions will just have to suffer the consequences of constantly rebuilding and hoping that one ping pong ball can give them a generational talent. However they would still waste their energies developing because down the road, a phone call to another could result to a messy divorce.

[golden]

I think you misread, he's talking about Kawhi's recruitment of PG, not Clippers' recruitment of Kawhi.

They are linked. I believe the Clippers and Kawhi were working together for a long time. If you listen to Bruce Arthur's report - Kawhi first tried to recruit Butler to the Clips right at the beginning of free agency, then moved on to Durant, and finally PG. All related to those guy joining him on the Clippers. Kawhi was recruiting for them and leveraging the Raptors and Lakers to get what he wanted, on his terms, from the Clippers. Arthur said that Uncle Dennis was constantly in contact with the Clippers, even during the Sixers series when he started to hang around the team more. That's tampering, fwiw. But there's no reason to believe that Uncle Dennis and the Clippers just started talking to each other during the Sixers series.

[Apollo]

Jeezus. Let's stop whining about the league already. We made a deal with the devil and got our chip. Let's just be satisfied that we don't have blue balls, like a lot of other franchises that got close, but no cigar (OKC, Stockton-Malone Jazz, etc...).

In some ways, the crazy player movement is great for the league, because different franchises get their shot a glory every few years if they manage things properly. Golden State was a total fluke because Curry was injured early in his career and signed an obscenely below market contract that enabled the Warriors to sign Durant during a once-in-a-lifetime cap spike.

The main things we should be worried about are the sponsorship dollars that tilt the playing field towards big markets, and the slimy stuff going on with Klutch Sports with a growing army of players being loyal to Lebron and each other. The "team up" movement is somewhat un-controllable by the league.

That said, I'm a bit shocked that Kawhi ended up being a huge recruiter type of guy, but Lebron made it such that elite players have to compete on the court, and in the boardroom to secure their legacies. The other thing that's un-controllable is a guy like Ballmer finding other ways to pay an elite player (looking at you, Uncle Dennis). It's pretty clear that Kawhi, Uncle Dennis and the Clippers were in cahoots all year long.

Or you could ignore stuff you don't like reading. Probably the more effective approach for your forum experience.

[G__Deane]

I choose option E: I hate it.

I miss the days when guys like Jordan/Stockton/Reggie/Kobe/Dirk would just stay with one team. You make a special bond with players who are lifers. They almost become part of the fabric of the city.

I also hate the idea that players don't respect their contracts. If you sign a contract you shouldn't be able to get out of it without penalties.

This. Exactly this.
Except remember Kobe eventually threatened to walk if they didn't bring him a better supporting cast.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/laker...223-story.html

[KHD]

the NBA is straight up trash these days. smaller markets are going to revolt soon. At least we got a hell of a year though.

[Apollo]

Kawhi took on plenty of penalties. Didn't he lose out on $30M when he was traded to Toronto and another $50M when he opted out from Toronto? That's $80M. The league needs a franchise tag. The Raptors should have been able to franchise tag him and force a trade to the Clippers or Lakers. Then Kawhi could have negotiated an extension with his new team.

[MixxAOR]

Kawhi took on plenty of penalties. Didn't he lose out on $30M when he was traded to Toronto and another $50M when he opted out from Toronto? That's $80M. The league needs a franchise tag. The Raptors should have been able to franchise tag him and force a trade to the Clippers or Lakers. Then Kawhi could have negotiated an extension with his new team.

I think he lost 90 mil actually but not sure. Dude is different

[Scraptor]

Kawhi took on plenty of penalties. Didn't he lose out on $30M when he was traded to Toronto and another $50M when he opted out from Toronto? That's $80M. The league needs a franchise tag. The Raptors should have been able to franchise tag him and force a trade to the Clippers or Lakers. Then Kawhi could have negotiated an extension with his new team.

An opportunity cost is not the same as a penalty. One is a cost that could have been, the other is a punitive deduction.

Paul George will receive absolutely no penalty for forcing his way out of Oklahoma City despite signing a contract only one year before.