'25-26 NBA Thread

[WhiteTrash]

Apples to oranges.  NBA is still a star driven league.  Roster size demands a superstar and some all-star caliber players.

The NFL roster is churned over because of the way the salary cap works.  Much harder to maintain a dynasty or chance at a dynasty without a truly dynamic QB.

If the NFL had guaranteed deals and the inability to shed contracts, it would probably be different.  Teams in cap hell ride out a bad year or two and can reshape the roster quicker and easier.  The Dolphins are eating a lot of dead cap space but they'd be in worse shape had they had no choice but to keep Tua.

The NFL draft is deeper in talent as well.  You may not have HOF players in every draft but you can find plenty of players that solidify a roster and build with.

There's also a realistic path, albeit much harder in recent years, for the 4-7 seeds to win a title than in the NBA.  Being a 7-10 seed in the NBA is often no man's land.

Yes, that does make sense.

I honestly don't think there is a system to avoid tanking or teams managing their W & Ls. Teams will continue to manage the process to get the top picks. I suppose a relegation system would work, but that will never happen so not worth any discussion.

[MU82]

Because its not "bad teams losing".  Its bad teams deciding they are bad before Christmas and making a mockery of the season.  Its teams doing what the Jazz did where they would completely throw 4Qs and not even attempt to tie the game when down 3.  Its teams that could have turned it around and gotten into playoff contention deciding to shut down players or "focus on youth" aka play low level 2 way guys more than usual to drop into better lottery spots.

Part of being the commissioner of a professional league is managing the brand and the perception of your league, its product, the entertainment value of it, and its reputation.  The NBA has had a negative perception of the regular season being a joke, players not trying until the playoffs, etc... which got worse when load management started in earnest.  Tanking has obviously existed for awhile, but it was usually towards the end of the season and never this egregious.  The Nets scored unnatural carnal knowledgeing 24 points in the first half last week.  That's a complete joke and slap in the face of the spirit of the game.  When people like me, who is a huge NBA fan (big Bucks fan but almost more of an NBA fan than a Bucks fan), are disgusted by it and call out what a shame it is, then its become a problem.  I don't have a big issue with the Bucks strategy in the grand scheme of it, its pretty minor and not at all that egregious.  What teams like the Nets, Jazz, and Pacers have been doing is way worse.  Kam Jones hitting a step-back game winner was a fun story, but the Nets-Pacers game where it occurred, where they both completely turtled and stopped trying to play/win in the 4Q was one of the most embarrassing NBA products Ive seen as a neutral viewer.

Yup to all of this. And some teams have been tanking for years.

As for enacting an anti-tanking rule ...

I like including the 8 play-in teams ... but I wouldn't weight the lottery at all.

The team that lost the last play-in game has the exact same odds at the #1 pick as the worst team in the league does.

Not much incentive to finish 14-68 that way.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The Athletic highlighted an idea called the Petty Draft. At the beginning of the season, the last place team picks a team other than themselves that they think will stink in the upcoming season. Then the second worst team picks, and so on and so forth. The team you pick will determine your draft position the following year.

Its not a perfect idea and it will never happen,  but i found it creative.

[The Sultan]

I 100% understand the problem with tanking. I just have never heard or seen any solution that will honestly work. The logic that having the worst or one of the worst records will not get you the best draft pick makes sense but the fact that some teams could essentially become permanent cellar dwellers hurts the NBA in those markets.

The NFL does nothing to dissuade tanking and it has a great history of last to first turnarounds that keep all the markets engaged and interested. 

There are definitely solutions to stop tanking in the NBA, but you would need to get rid of the concept that draft position is tied to performance in the previous season. For instance, you could have a computer randomly select teams for each draft position, then reverse for the second round. You could argue how "fair" that is, but it definitely takes away incentive for tanking.

For future years you could weight the selection program so that teams who draft higher in previous years have a greater chance to draft low in future years, but again that has nothing to do with on court performance.

[MU82]

The pathetic Isiah Thomas is STILL jumping through hoops trying to minimize what Michael Jordan accomplished.

The latest is his unprovable insistence that if Kevin Durant in his prime had been on the Bulls instead of Jordan, the Bulls still would have won 6 titles.

https://x.com/RunItBackFDTV/status/2037238848275833262?

First, Durant's only 2 titles came on a team that also won 2 titles without him.

Second, Durant has been on other teams with multiple future Hall of Famers (Westbrook, Harden, Irving, Paul) that haven't won titles. Aside from one Finals visit with OKC, none even won the conference finals.

And third, if the Pistons had an in-his-prime Durant instead of Isiah, they would have won more than the 2 NBA titles they won with Thomas. And the Pistons sure as hell would have won more than 2 if they had Michael instead of Isiah.

How do I know? Because I said so.

[Uncle Rico]

The pathetic Isiah Thomas is STILL jumping through hoops trying to minimize what Michael Jordan accomplished.

The latest is his unprovable insistence that if Kevin Durant in his prime had been on the Bulls instead of Jordan, the Bulls still would have won 6 titles.

https://x.com/RunItBackFDTV/status/2037238848275833262?

First, Durant's only 2 titles came on a team that also won 2 titles without him.

Second, Durant has been on other teams with multiple future Hall of Famers (Westbrook, Harden, Irving, Paul) that haven't won titles. Aside from one Finals visit with OKC, none even won the conference finals.

And third, if the Pistons had an in-his-prime Durant instead of Isiah, they would have won more than the 2 NBA titles they won with Thomas. And the Pistons sure as hell would have won more than 2 if they had Michael instead of Isiah.

How do I know? Because I said so.

He might have won 8, actually.  He probably wouldn't have been suspended for gambling after getting his dad killed over his debts.

[MU82]

He might have won 8, actually.  He probably wouldn't have been suspended for gambling after getting his dad killed over his debts.

Ouch.

[Jockey]

The pathetic Isiah Thomas is STILL jumping through hoops trying to minimize what Michael Jordan accomplished.

The latest is his unprovable insistence that if Kevin Durant in his prime had been on the Bulls instead of Jordan, the Bulls still would have won 6 titles.

https://x.com/RunItBackFDTV/status/2037238848275833262?

First, Durant's only 2 titles came on a team that also won 2 titles without him.

Second, Durant has been on other teams with multiple future Hall of Famers (Westbrook, Harden, Irving, Paul) that haven't won titles. Aside from one Finals visit with OKC, none even won the conference finals.

And third, if the Pistons had an in-his-prime Durant instead of Isiah, they would have won more than the 2 NBA titles they won with Thomas. And the Pistons sure as hell would have won more than 2 if they had Michael instead of Isiah.

How do I know? Because I said so.

First off, you sound like me when talking about Durant's accomplishments. Top 20 all-time player, but he was no MJ or Steph or Kobe or even Isaiah when it came to leading a team.

I hated putting Isaiah in that group cuz he was such a diva jerk, but he was a great basketball player.

[WhiteTrash]

He might have won 8, actually.  He probably wouldn't have been suspended for gambling after getting his dad killed over his debts.

Eveyone knows his dad wasn't killed due debts; his dad shot JFK and was going to do a tell all. Are there really people out there that don't know that?

[WhiteTrash]

I think the Bulls cutting Jayden Ivey is a blow to their championship chances this year. 

[MU82]

I think the Bulls cutting Jayden Ivey is a blow to their championship chances this year. 

Great ... now he's gonna launch a long tirade against you for linking him to the word "blow."

[WhiteTrash]

Great ... now he's gonna launch a long tirade against you for linking him to the word "blow."

 

[Shaka Shart]

The Bulls have gone woke

[Shaka Shart]

Great ... now he's gonna launch a long tirade against you for linking him to the word "blow."

He plays pickleball?

[WhiteTrash]

The Bulls have gone woke

That's encouraging, as every knows they have been asleep at the wheel of the franchise for years.

[WhiteTrash]

The Bulls gave up 83 points in the first half at home to the 17 win Pacers. I think they finally learned to tank.

[cheebs09]

Man, Giannis is taking a blow torch to bridges on his way out. I'm getting worried a draft pick is going to be taken from the Bucks based on this investigation.

[WhiteTrash]

Glimmer of hope for Bulls fans today. 

Ak was bad at his job. I kind of doubt the Bulls can do worse than AK, but who knows. Just nice to see that ownership recognized how bad he was and are not completely unplugged from their franchise.

[MU82]

Steph Curry was spectacular in his return last night. He's still so fun to watch.

[WhiteTrash]

Glimmer of hope for Bulls fans today. 

Ak was bad at his job. I kind of doubt the Bulls can do worse than AK, but who knows. Just nice to see that ownership recognized how bad he was and are not completely unplugged from their franchise.

Well that hope lasted about 24 hours. Fun while it lasted. Back to the same old $h!t show.

[MuggsyB]

Steph Curry was spectacular in his return last night. He's still so fun to watch.

1 of 1.

[WhiteTrash]

Can anyone do the impossible and explain why Michael Reinsdorf would set himself and Billy Donovan to look even worse than they do now?

If the Bull's owners love Billy as much as they profess, why set him up to be the bad guy if the Bulls don't start winning? The new GM/VP has his hands cuffed to Billy, so if they don't turn it around (probable outcome), Chicago fans will blame Billy since he has a proven track record of losing.

Also, if the likely outcome of not wining happens, Chicago fans will destroy MR for limiting his GM/VP pool by not allowing that person to pick the coach.

Wouldn't the prudent thing to do, for yourself and your beloved coach, is to keep quiet about your "strong preference" to retain Donovan.

[Hards Alumni]

Could be worse.  Could be the Bucks doing their best to try to become the Bulls.

[WhiteTrash]

Could be worse.  Could be the Bucks doing their best to try to become the Bulls.

That does appear to be true.

Maybe the Bucks are playing 4D chess, and are purposefully cratering the team as fast and as far as possible to do a earnest rebuild? 

[Hards Alumni]

That does appear to be true.

Maybe the Bucks are playing 4D chess, and are purposefully cratering the team as fast and as far as possible to do a earnest rebuild? 

Nah, they're working with a guy who wants to win in Milwaukee.  That is no longer possible since they sold the future to win now and haven't.  So GA has to be traded.  The question is do they trade him somewhere he can compete for a title and get a terrible return or do they ship him to Sacramento and get the best value.  If you get the best value, and send him to Sacramento you (clearly) will piss him off and make Milwaukee more radioactive than it already is to Free Agents.  If you accept 80 cents on the dollar, you field a team that won't be competitive for half a decade.  This is as bad of a front office fumble as we've seen in Wisconsin since... Aaron Rodgers!

Right now everyone hates each other, and it is becoming another situation where Wisconsinites get to see another messy divorce in front of their eyes.