Dukies in the NBA 2021-22

[rtnorthrup]

It is a reasonable concern unfortunately. Humans aren’t built to be that big and still that dynamic athletically. I hope his body continues to defy physics and logic. But it does feel like his shelf life as a physical freak of nature is likely to be short.

There are questions about Zion's offseason work-out program and the role his family is playing in his professional career. He was badly out of shape when he went to summer league his rookie season and injured his knee in the first game. Reports are that he showed up to the Bubble out of shape, quickly injured himself in practice and the team lied about his injury to protect him. From the videos and pictures I saw of him at media day this season, he is badly out of shape again and carrying way too much weight. He is only 21, but if he doesnt start listening to the right people about his body, he will not reach his full potential as a pro.

[Steven43]

There are questions about Zion's offseason work-out program and the role his family is playing in his professional career. He was badly out of shape when he went to summer league his rookie season and injured his knee in the first game. Reports are that he showed up to the Bubble out of shape, quickly injured himself in practice and the team lied about his injury to protect him. From the videos and pictures I saw of him at media day this season, he is badly out of shape again and carrying way too much weight. He is only 21, but if he doesnt start listening to the right people about his body, he will not reach his full potential as a pro.

Well, that was a depressing read. 😞

[heyman25]

Matthew Hurt has a team to play for in the NBA. Tyus Jones is his teammate @ the Memphis Grizzlies.
https://hoopshype.com/team/memphis-grizzlies/

[ice-9]

While it MAY be true that Irving doesn't espouse that conspiracy theory (and the emphasis is on "MAY" - we simply don't know), it is unquestionable that Irving espouses conspiracy theories (see, Earth is flat). It is not at all unreasonable to believe that Irving's vaccine decision is based on conspiracy theory of some sort given his following of various conspiracy theorists and his proclivity for conducting his "research" on Instagram.

To be clear: I have no idea if Irving is anti-COVID vaccine because of a conspiracy theory or not. But it doesn't take a huge leap of faith to think that conspiracy theories are driving his anti-COVID vaccine status. And I wouldn't feel at all confident in the position that he is NOT believing in conspiracy theory here.

And yes, I know Irving is saying he's not anti-vax. But he is, through his actions, very specifically showing that he is at least anti-COVID vaccine.

He later clarified that he doesn't actually believe the earth is flat, and apologized for confusing kids and creating stress for teachers.

It was something he said in the past which he regretted, but it's something you seem unable to move on from.

If we're going to hold people to what they've said in the past and which they later recanted, that's like me reminding everyone how you called Kyrie a "bumslayer" who is only good against bad teams and not actually good against good teams. Of course you changed your stance later, I can't remember if it was before or after Kyrie helped the Cavs win a championship.

[CDu]

He later clarified that he doesn't actually believe the earth is flat, and apologized for confusing kids and creating stress for teachers.

It was something he said in the past which he regretted, but it's something you seem unable to move on from.

If we're going to hold people to what they've said in the past and which they later recanted, that's like me reminding everyone how you called Kyrie a "bumslayer" who is only good against bad teams and not actually good against good teams. Of course you changed your stance later, I can't remember if it was before or after Kyrie helped the Cavs win a championship.

I don’t think he clarified that he doesn’t believe the earth is flat. He just said he regrets saying it. Maybe I missed that extra detail, but I don’t think so. He certainly doubled down on Redick’s podcast.

And there is actually a big difference is when I said Irving had developed a reputation as a bumslayer, it was true at the time. Prior to James returning to Cleveland, Irving was all show against bad teams and not very good against good teams. When he started being good against good teams, it stopped being true and I stopped saying it. I stand by what I said when I said it. But he got better thereafter, and I wouldn’t say it about him as of sometime in 2015 or 2016. So that’s a pretty big difference from saying the world is flat, which we have known to be false for several centuries. So no, I don’t think that is a genuine comparison.

Either way, he has clearly expressed support for conspiracy theories, even if he came around later on flat earth. Heck, his whole point of bringing up flat earth was in a discussion of his support for conspiracy theories. And as such I certainly wouldn’t feel confident in saying his anti-COVID vax stance is NOT because of conspiracy theories.

[CDu]

I don’t think he clarified that he doesn’t believe the earth is flat. He just said he regrets saying it. Maybe I missed that extra detail, but I don’t think so. He certainly doubled down on Redick’s podcast.

And there is actually a big difference is when I said Irving had developed a reputation as a bumslayer, it was true at the time. Prior to James returning to Cleveland, Irving was all show against bad teams and not very good against good teams. When he started being good against good teams, it stopped being true and I stopped saying it. I stand by what I said when I said it. But he got better thereafter, and I wouldn’t say it about him as of sometime in 2015 or 2016. So that’s a pretty big difference from saying the world is flat, which we have known to be false for several centuries. So no, I don’t think that is a genuine comparison.

Either way, he has clearly expressed support for conspiracy theories, even if he came around later on flat earth. Heck, his whole point of bringing up flat earth was in a discussion of his support for conspiracy theories. And as such I certainly wouldn’t feel confident in saying his anti-COVID vax stance is NOT because of conspiracy theories.

And I just want to bold the last part, because that's the point here and I don't care much to relitigate either of the other points any further as they miss the point. I've said my piece on both topics. You can take it or leave it, I don't care at this point. The larger point I was really making is that Irving definitely has a history of being into conspiracy theories. He has specifically said so. The flat earth thing was just a data point, you can disregard it. Whether or not he truly believed the Earth was flat or not, he only brought it up in the first place in the context of saying he's into conspiracy theories. His belief or not in the shape of the Earth isn't the issue, nor is my belief that as of 2014 he was not good against good players/teams (hence the use of the term that drew your ire), but got better with age/experience and with the arrival of Love and James.

We know he's prone to conspiracy theories as he told us that (both at the time he said the earth is flat and after he apologized for saying the earth is flat). So combine that history with the vaccine hesitance (to put it as mildly as possible), it doesn't take any leap of faith to think he might be buying into conspiracy theories on this issue too. In fact, I'd consider it MORE believable than him saying the earth is flat. I mean, the mandate is new. He's had ~6 months to get vaccinated before that and chose not to do so. So his lack of vaccination definitely isn't about "being a voice for the voiceless." He may be using that argument for why he isn't getting it now, but that wasn't the reason he didn't get the vaccine over the past 6 months (including the 4-5 months or more before the mandate even existed). Something else was driving his decision to not get it any time between May and September.

So, again, disregard the "flat earth" thing. It's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, and clearly has allowed for muddying the discussion. Disregard the liking of conspiracy theorists on Twitter/Instagram for the same reason. He has specifically told us he's into conspiracy theories. The degree to which he believes one specific theory or another isn't the point. The point is he IS into them. And there have been a LOT of conspiracy theories thrown out on Twitter/Instagram about the vaccine, and some of them aren't nearly as crazy as flat Earth or plot of Satan (i.e., much easier to believe). So since we know that the guy is prone to conspiracy theories to at least some degree, and we know that there are plenty of conspiracy theories out there with varying degrees of believability, wouldn't that seem like a pretty reasonable reason for why he hasn't gotten the vaccine?

It's certainly possible that there is a non-conspiracy theory reason for his anti-COVID vaccine stance. I honestly have no idea what his reasons are. I'm definitely open to the idea that he has some other non-conspiracy reason. I certainly hope that is the case. But I think it would be silly to say with any confidence that his reason ISN'T conspiracy driven given his history, his proclivity for doing his "research" on social media, and the vast availability of anti-vax conspiracy theories on social media.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

In non-Kyrie news Wendell Carter Jr signed a 4 year $50m extension with the Magic.

[flyingdutchdevil]

In non-Kyrie news Wendell Carter Jr signed a 4 year $50m extension with the Magic.

Looks like the Magic are banking on Carter being a major part of their future.

Good for Carter. Good for the Magic. Let’s hope it works out.

[cato]

Looks like the Magic are banking on Carter being a major part of their future.

Good for Carter. Good for the Magic. Let’s hope it works out.

Co-sign. Carter was one of my favorite recent Devils. I feel like he could have filled that Brand/Boozer role on a very successful team, but then whatshisname reclassified and committed to Duke and the fit in the post was a bit odd although very effective at times.

[heyman25]

https://hoopshype.com/2021/10/15/mag...ion-extension/

Wonder if his mother is happy now? She did her share of whining about Duke Basketball.

[fraggler]

According to Hoopshype, both Cassius Stanley and Harry Giles have been waived.

[CameronBornAndBred]

According to Hoopshype, both Cassius Stanley and Harry Giles have been waived.

One and Doners now done?

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

According to Hoopshype, both Cassius Stanley and Harry Giles have been waived.

Cassius could have been a nice part of the 2021-22 team.

[JasonEvans]

I bet Harry catches on somewhere. He's shown some NBA talent over the years and someone will want him on their roster. He may play some G-League for a bit before someone brings him onto their roster (as players start to get injured).

I am much more skeptical on Cassius. Though he may play G-League, I suspect his most lucrative future is in Europe.

[Indoor66]

I bet Harry catches on somewhere. He's shown some NBA talent over the years and someone will want him on their roster. He may play some G-League for a bit before someone brings him onto their roster (as players start to get injured).

I am much more skeptical on Cassius. Though he may play G-League, I suspect his most lucrative future is in Europe.

Isn't Harry's problem staying healthy in order to play? Why take the risk? He is not superstar material.

[fraggler]

Looks like just a couple days after getting signed by the Grizzlies, Matthew Hurt was released. Can't imagine the emotional rollercoaster for him.

[SouthernDukie]

Cassius could have been a nice part of the 2021-22 team.

I still think Cassius was robbed at last year‘s All-Star game. Winning the dunk contest might’ve given him a little juice going into the season, but the judges ruined that. Now he’ll have to fight his way back, more than likely through the G League.

[Furniture]

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/10/...patterson.html

The Blazers have waived veterans Quinn Cook, Marquese Chriss and Patrick Patterson, the team announced in a press release today. All three players were signed to non-guaranteed training camp deals.

[awhom111]

Looks like just a couple days after getting signed by the Grizzlies, Matthew Hurt was released. Can't imagine the emotional rollercoaster for him.

Generally these late camp signings are done with both sides knowing that the player will be waived and then named as an affiliate player for the corresponding G League team.

Having a full G League season should benefit players getting signed in the middle of the season and younger NBA players getting more time there between NBA games as opposed to the bubble format.

[Indoor66]

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/10/...patterson.html

The Blazers have waived veterans Quinn Cook, Marquese Chriss and Patrick Patterson, the team announced in a press release today. All three players were signed to non-guaranteed training camp deals.

Has Patterson finished his announcement?