The 2016 Offseason thread

[golden]

PF Christian Wood is doing good in the D-League again this year. Liked him in the draft last season, but apparently he's a bit of headcase. Seems like a Masai type of player, though. Nice wingspan, athletic, mobile, rim-protector and can shoot the 3. That's a rare combination of potential skills, although still quite raw. Swap him for Bebe, perhaps?

[c-troop]

Perhaps being a sports fan isn't for you? You've spent the last 5+ pages of this thread alone crying about how unfair it is that Durant went to the Warriors. Now you want to overreact and shred up player rights so no player ever leaves the team they were drafted for a better situation ever again. None of us know Durant. He doesn't owe us anything, yet you're acting as if he stole something from you.

Dude, KD going to GSW is like if a foster child created a tech-start-up and became a multi-millionaire only to become adopted by some rich parents.

[Sinbad]

NFL players leave their teams, it's just that it doesn't happen as easily.

I'm not saying he owes me anything. I'm saying the system is broken and could use fixing. I'm saying there is a prime example in a league far more successful than the NBA. That's a summary of the last page of posts I made and thanks for the suggestions.

Then you should be far angrier at the owners for creating a system you perceive to be broken. That you think the NFL is a prime example is laughable. Their non-guaranteed contracts, cutting players at the slightest hint of dissent or dissatisfaction, bullying them into "renegotiating" contracts at whim or taking less money through mechanisms like the Franchise Tag...all of which would drastically increase the revenue streams for the owners, but screw over the middle and lower class players in the NBA. You're not worried about the welfare of the league.

[nubreed000]

I'd rather work in a sweat shop than be a star in the NBA. That sounds SO awful. The fact he had to even breath in the same air as Westbrook and Ibaka is almost a potential job risk, and those crazy fans screaming your name at every home game might even cause some hearing damage. He should get his ring and then get out of the NBA ASAP.

OMG how did he not get cancer?!

[c-troop]

Then you should be far angrier at the owners for creating a system you perceive to be broken. That you think the NFL is a prime example is laughable. Their non-guaranteed contracts, cutting players at the slightest hint of dissent or dissatisfaction, bullying them into "renegotiating" contracts at whim or taking less money through mechanisms like the Franchise Tag...all of which would drastically increase the revenue streams for the owners, but screw over the middle and lower class players in the NBA. You're not worried about the welfare of the league.

Interested to hear your stance about why it is perfectly acceptable that the NBA allows this Sinbad.

[c-troop]

OMG how did he not get cancer?!

Cause he smokes pot.

[Fully]

I have no problem with Durant joining the Warriors from an ethical point of view. Durant completed his contract in good faith, and was free to choose where he played (and for how much) moving forward based on the rules of the CBA. Just because he makes an obscene about of money or has a really sweet job that we're all jealous of doesn't mean he shouldn't have those rights. The players are the NBA product - not the owners, and I don't have a problem with them holding power when it comes to these things.

And the Warriors didn't 'steal' Durant; They signed him. For the people inferring that the Warriors did something underhanded - What would the threshold be for how much they were allowed to try and improve their team this summer? Would we have cried if they signed another all-star player? An all-NBA third team member? That seems like a pretty tricky line for us to draw.

Now... as a basketball fan do I love that next year's regular season appears to be meaningless on July 5th? No, of course not. Do I think (and expect) the system/CBA should be reviewed when the time comes to try and level the playing field league wide and deter the 5-6 best players every year from gathering on 2 teams... Yes, I do. There's always been mechanisms put in place to try and protect small market teams and keep a healthy competitive balance. Now that those current mechanisms seem to be outdated or ineffective, I imagine that they'll be re-evaulated as soon as they have an opportunity.

In the meantime I'm not going to act like Durant or G-State did something immoral or that this is the end of professional basketball. The Heatles created a huge boost for the NBA - they became must see television night after night, sold out every arena they visited and kept the league on the tip of the media's tongue for virtually 4 straight years. I'd expect this season to be the same quite frankly. This doesn't hurt the NBA, it helps it.

[Apollo]

Then you should be far angrier at the owners for creating a system you perceive to be broken. That you think the NFL is a prime example is laughable. Their non-guaranteed contracts, cutting players at the slightest hint of dissent or dissatisfaction, bullying them into "renegotiating" contracts at whim or taking less money through mechanisms like the Franchise Tag...all of which would drastically increase the revenue streams for the owners, but screw over the middle and lower class players in the NBA. You're not worried about the welfare of the league.

Sinbad,

The game exists because we spend money on it. The NFL owners built the system and the players willingly choose to play in that system because they're incapable of creating such a thing themselves. I'm very happy with how the NFL works. I dont care the players don't have guaranteed contracts. I watch the games for me and I spend my money on it for me.

I know the players are well compensated while in the league and protected somewhat through insurance.

I admire the players for their abilities but I understand why there is a league, who makes that league a reality and how they make it a success. I am happy that the owners don't view pro sports like a lavish charity for pro athletes as some view it in here. The NFL system is better. Top dogs earn guaranteed money if they can leverage it but for the most part players need to perform to keep their jobs and earn their money, just like the real world only they have the riches, fame and lifestyle most of us can only dream of. Also most of them have free degrees.

[Sinbad]

Interested to hear your stance about why it is perfectly acceptable that the NBA allows this Sinbad.

I have a problem when people try to hold NBA players to higher moral standards than billionaire NBA owners that pull the strings of the entire system behind the scenes. This faux outrage about competitive balance rears up once in a while, and it's always directed at the players. Why always them? Why not point the finger at the owners and their lawyers who wrote the CBA that enabled what you perceive to be wrong? Because its the easy way out to vilify Durant instead of taking a hard look at why he would want to leave OKC and their cheap owner, Clay Bennett.

I don't like KD going to Golden State, but he's well within his rights as a free agent to do so. The owners only have themselves to blame. This is the system that they fought for in the last CBA. They wanted more powers to restrict player movement. They increased restrictions on sign-and-trades. And that's before we even get to their most foolish gambit of all: artificially limiting the amount players can earn through max salaries.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimpagel.../#63cbd8f07f0e

Under the current collective bargaining agreement, NBA stars are capped at making 25-35 percent of the salary cap* (depending on years in the league), when they are really worth well more than twice that amount. This individual cap has many effects, with the primary one being that just about every team can afford to sign the Durants and Steph Currys of the league, and stars have little incentive to not simply join up with other max salary-depressed stars and form super teams.

Small market teams can only compete on price, and when the CBA bars them from doing so, they have no means to land stars other than through the draft.

The NBA max not only limits stars’ salaries, but in turn inflates those of average players. In lieu of competing for superstars on salary, teams have to spend their surplus somewhere.

This is the system that the owners wanted. A lot had to go "just right" for the Warriors to even be in position to add a max salary player this off-season, notably Curry's wonky ankles earlier in his career forcing him to accept a contract that's far below his market value now. If you want to be pissed at Durant, go on ahead. But he was looking out for himself-- just like the owners were looking out for themselves when they wrote the CBA. They tied their own hand behind their backs.

[Kuh]

You can support someone's right to speech, movement, religion, etc. and still disagree with how they choose to exercise them. I support the commies and Nazis rights to gather and protest all they want but I'm also cheering for a meteor strike wherever they congregate...

I support free agency for players but the NBA has created an artificially distorted marketplace and has built in certain inequities that by fiat prevent teams from competing for free agents, while other teams are reaping the rewards of the same loopholes. Given that the market isn't free and by rule isn't fair, I don't think it's unreasonable to then try and legislate away certain inequities that the current system has created. Every market participant is restricted by his means and some teams will always have advantages because of that, you can never make it a level playing field, but you also shouldn't be, by rule, creating a distorted playing field.

The real problem is max contracts. If max contracts were bumped up to 35% - 40% - 45% of the cap respectively (up 10% from today), then Golden State would have needed to find another $10M to pay Durant the same as the Thunder could, and even in this exceptional year they wouldn't have been able to find it.

[lewro]

PF Christian Wood is doing good in the D-League again this year. Liked him in the draft last season, but apparently he's a bit of headcase. Seems like a Masai type of player, though. Nice wingspan, athletic, mobile, rim-protector and can shoot the 3. That's a rare combination of potential skills, although still quite raw. Swap him for Bebe, perhaps?

He's doing well in summer league too. His body was weak and fat in the draft so he fell out but maybe he took it the right way?

[rocwell]

Kevin Durant leaving hit him hard. (@LostNUnbound/ YT, full video on his YouTube page, h/t houseofhighlights/IG)https://t.co/N1wugng8gK

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 5, 2016

[SkywalkerAC]

I'm with Sinbad on this one.

[Sinbad]

Sinbad,

The game exists because we spend money on it. The NFL owners built the system and the players willingly choose to play in that system because they're incapable of creating such a thing themselves. I'm very happy with how the NFL works. I dont care the players don't have guaranteed contracts. I watch the games for me and I spend my money on it for me.

I know the players are well compensated while in the league and protected somewhat through insurance.

I admire the players for their abilities but I understand why there is a league, who makes that league a reality and how they make it a success. I am happy that the owners don't view pro sports like a lavish charity for pro athletes as some view it in here. The NFL system is better. Top dogs earn guaranteed money if they can leverage it but for the most part players need to perform to keep their jobs and earn their money, just like the real world only they have the riches, fame and lifestyle most of us can only dream of. Also most of them have free degrees.

A lot of elitist and classist undertones here. The game exists because people play and enjoy it, not because people like you spend money on it. There are over 450 million basketball players worldwide, and dozens of leagues that exist as platforms to showcase the best players. The NBA is the biggest stage, with the largest potential salaries. If people want to pay to watch them, that's their decision. But don't delude yourself into thinking that the league or players owe you anything simply because you spend money on a ticket or buy someone's jersey. Neither owe you anything. Let go of that crutch.

And what does someone's degree have to do with this? Does it make you feel better to criticize them for parlaying their athletic prowess into educational opportunities? You're not even subtle about your ignorance. This isn't about sports anymore. You've criticized them for allegedly not working hard earlier in the thread, and now you're criticizing them because they've got greater earning potential than many of us will ever have.

As an administrator, you should be above this petty crap. Apparently, you're not.

[lewro]

I just won't accept kd's legacy to win in gsw as I would if he did it I'm OKC. They were so close. I'd rather come back and beat them. I'm used to the Jordan era where he had to lose to Isiah and then beat him next yr.
It's loosely why I don't accept Barry bonds as the home run king. Super teams are a bit like steroids.