2017 NBA Summer Thread

[drummerdevil]

I don't even remember where I heard it. Sorry. I just thought I did hear that.

[CDu]

http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/20...erest-jimmy-b/

The Chicago sun times has since deleted (altered) the orginal article, but the quote remains in this one.

From what I saw it went from...
Butler wanting to go to the cavs to butler saying he doesn't want to go to the cavs to cav players telling him to stay away. All rumors. Who knows

As a general rule, if it is written by Joe Cowley, it should be ignored. He is... how do I say this... not afraid to make stuff completely up to fill a column.

[LasVegas]

As a general rule, if it is written by Joe Cowley, it should be ignored. He is... how do I say this... not afraid to make stuff completely up to fill a column.

Well, that's good to know! How does someone like that keep a job at a place like the Chicago sun times? Sad world we live in.

[CDu]

Well, that's good to know! How does someone like that keep a job at a place like the Chicago sun times? Sad world we live in.

These are dark times for the print media industry.

[JasonEvans]

you know all those sweeps in the NBA playoffs? Well, that cost the league ticket sales and TV revenue. As a result, next year's salary cap will be $2 million less than initially estimated.

The Cap is determined by total league revenues, with half going to the players and half going to the owners. So, with 30 teams that means that the lost playoff games cost the league $120 million!

Jason "Put another way, the Warrior and Cavs super teams were really, really bad for business" Evans

[drummerdevil]

you know all those sweeps in the NBA playoffs? Well, that cost the league ticket sales and TV revenue. As a result, next year's salary cap will be $2 million less than initially estimated.

The Cap is determined by total league revenues, with half going to the players and half going to the owners. So, with 30 teams that means that the lost playoff games cost the league $120 million!

Jason "Put another way, the Warrior and Cavs super teams were really, really bad for business" Evans

How much does a $2 million cap difference actually change things? It's still a ridiculous amount of money that teams can spend. I think that a $2 million cap difference would just hurt teams trying to put together enough talent to compete with the warriors, and the warriors players are willing to just take small (small being a couple million) pay cuts in order to continue to sweep the playoffs.

[CDu]

you know all those sweeps in the NBA playoffs? Well, that cost the league ticket sales and TV revenue. As a result, next year's salary cap will be $2 million less than initially estimated.

The Cap is determined by total league revenues, with half going to the players and half going to the owners. So, with 30 teams that means that the lost playoff games cost the league $120 million!

Jason "Put another way, the Warrior and Cavs super teams were really, really bad for business" Evans

To be fair, the $120 million difference isn't just a result of lost playoff revenue. It's a result of a season's worth of deviation from the expected revenue, right?

[Jeffrey]

As a general rule, if it is written by Joe Cowley, it should be ignored. He is... how do I say this... not afraid to make stuff completely up to fill a column.

Was he one of Dan Rather's apprentices?

[Indoor66]

Was he one of Dan Rather's apprentices?

No, but I did hear that he once got off a plane in Bosnia...

[pfrduke]

How much does a $2 million cap difference actually change things? It's still a ridiculous amount of money that teams can spend. I think that a $2 million cap difference would just hurt teams trying to put together enough talent to compete with the warriors, and the warriors players are willing to just take small (small being a couple million) pay cuts in order to continue to sweep the playoffs.

The bolded is the key. Teams plan with a certain cap number in mind. Whereas a team might thought it could free up max cap room by moving a particular guy who had an $8 million contract, now that won't be enough because it would take $10 million to open up that room, and the team might not have a $10 million player it can move. (This is, certainly, an oversimplification, but you get the drift).

[Troublemaker]

​

No, but I did hear that he once got off a plane in Bosnia...

But I have to tell you that I don't believe this country has ever practiced true capitalism, and even less so now that the court jester is in charge.

I don't mean to pick on you two since a lot of people break the PPB/political ban, but please stop making political references or taking little shots at political figures you don't like; in these two examples, Hillary and Trump, respectively.

The shots are never funny or insightful or anything that we haven't read thousands of times on facebook, and they're against the rules of this forum. Again, I'm really addressing everyone and only quoting you two because of recency. Thanks.

[JasonEvans]

To be fair, the $120 million difference isn't just a result of lost playoff revenue. It's a result of a season's worth of deviation from the expected revenue, right?

My understanding is that there was an estimate of the cap given out to teams in April, before the playoffs started. Now that the playoffs ended, the new estimate is $2 mil per team less. So, it is all due to lost playoff revenue. We all heard that 1 NBA finals game was worth something like $12 mil to Golden State. And I am sure the NBA's TV contract calls for some kind of adjustment based on how many games the networks actually get to broadcast. I have to think that each game late in the playoffs carries some kind of significant value to the league... at least $5 mil per game, I would think.

Thanks to Cleveland and Golden State's dominance, we had a total of 14 conference finals and NBA finals games out of a possible 21 (to say nothing of sweeps in earlier rounds). Now that I have thought about it, I am not even remotely surprised that the shortened playoffs cost the league $120 million.

--Jason "as pfr points out, this is a significant difference for teams. Don't think of it as $2 mil out of a $100+ mil cap, think of it as $2 mil out of maybe $10-15 mil that most teams have available to spend on free agents" Evans

[drummerdevil]

Is anyone else hoping the big names, such as PG13 and Butler get moved tonight, just for the sake of change? I know I am. I love seeing the entire landscape of the NBA change in a night. The NCAA never changes this much this fast.

[kshepinthehouse]

As much as I don't like UNC players Danny Green is being discussed as an option for the Cavs. He would be a perfect addition for the Cavs. Knockdown shooter, good defender, winning pedigree.

[mgtr]

As much as I don't like UNC players Danny Green is being discussed as an option for the Cavs. He would be a perfect addition for the Cavs. Knockdown shooter, good defender, winning pedigree.

Not to mention his dancing ability.

[BD80]

As much as I don't like UNC players Danny Green is being discussed as an option for the Cavs. He would be a perfect addition for the Cavs. Knockdown shooter, good defender, winning pedigree.

It is spelled "whining"

[weezie]

...The NCAA never changes this much this fast.

Never changes, period. Except the mystical law of verticality. I correct myself.

[JasonEvans]

So, is our consensus that Minnesota pretty much destroyed Chicago with the Butler trade? I'm beyond stunned that Chicago did not have better offers for Butler. I can't imagine that Boston couldn't have made a better offer than that (maybe the Celtics are truly enamored of Tatum... I dunno).

Anyway, I want opinions on where Minnesota will be in the West next season. How many games will they win and what will their seed be (assuming you think they will make the playoffs)? I don't think it is at all insane to believe that Butler, Bennett, and Towns constitute a three-man core that is as good as any in the league aside from Cleveland and Golden State (they have a big four).

Minnesota has gone from 100-1 to 50-1 to win the title (according to Bovada), the biggest move of any team since odds opened in the wake of the Warriors title. Other interesting movers in the wake of the draft and other off-season news:

Boston 16-1 to 12-1
Charlotte 125-1 to 300-1 (apparently, the bettors don't like Dwight)
Indiana 100-1 to 150-1 (Paul George probably gonna leave sooner rather than later)
Lakers 100-1 to 66-1 (George may be headed here)
New Orleans 50-1 to 100-1 (apparently, Vegas hates drafting Frank)
Orlando 100-1 to 500-1 (no idea why this moved)
Philly 100-1 to 66-1 (the Fultz effect)
Golden State 1-1 to 1-1.75 (you have to bet $175 to win $100)
Cleveland 4-1 to 3.5-1

-Jason "see all the Bovada and other odds here" Evans

[CDu]

I would say that Chicago destroyed itself in that trade. Gar Forman is one of the worst - if not THE worst GMs in the league. They regularly flub trades, always getting pennies on the dollar:

- traded Korver for a trade exception that they didn't use (so literally for nothing)
- traded Deng's expuring contract (at a time when he was still decent) for Andrew Bynum's nonguaranteed contract and a heavily protected pick, which seemed okay but...
- rather than using said pick in a trade over the years, they let it materialize into a late lottery pick, which they...
- packaged with their own mid-first round pick and essentially two 2nds to move up a few spots to take McDermott
- traded Gibson's expiring contract, PLUS McDermott, PLUS a second rounder for... Cameron Payne

Basically, aside from fleecing the Knicks every once in a while, the Bulls ALWAYS blow it on trades. Which explains why they don't make many: they always lose in trades. They are one of the least staffed, least tuned in organizations in basketball. Aside from Ivica Dukan (international scout), they simply don't have a capable guy in the front office.

So, yeah, Minnesota easily won that deal. I am quite sure that a real GM could get more for one of the top ten players in the game than a 23-year-old who was literally the worst shooter in the NBA last year, a talented kid who recently tore his ACL, and the chance to move up just 9 spots in a deep draft. They should have at least gotten a top-3 pick out of it. Frankly, the #3 pick (keeping their #16 pick), Smart, and Zeller's non-guaranteed contract would have been better, and surely something Boston would have considered.

Oh well, what more can you expect from a franchise that literally sold their 2nd round pick for cash?

As for Minnesota? Well, Butler just carried an AWFUL team to a .500 record last year. I think he will be able to get Minnesota into the playoffs next year. Even in the West. Butler with Towns is a good duo. They need more shooters (Rubio and Wiggins aren't that), but the two at the top are enough.

[oakvillebluedevil]

Never changes, period. Except the mystical law of verticality. I correct myself.

Meh, even that's a bit up and down