Around the League: Week 18 2/11-2/17

[carey]

Nationally televised games this week

Monday: Dallas @ Houston 8:00 PM EST NBATv
Tuesday: Boston @ Philadelphia 8:00 PM EST TNT, Utah @ Golden State 10:30 PM EST TNT
Wednesday: Houston @ Minnesota 8:00 PM EST ESPN, Golden State @ Portland 10:30 PM EST ESPN
Thursday: Oklahoma City @ New Orleans 8:00 PM EST TNT
Friday: All-Star Weekend - World vs. USA 9:00 PM EST TNT
Saturday: No Games.
Sunday: All-Star Weekend - Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis 8:00 PM EST TNT


NBA News

Paul Flannery's Sunday Shootaround is back! Here he discusses how LeBron knows how to play all of the NBA's games off the court - https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/2/10/ ... round-back

The NBA told the Pelicans they can't bench Anthony Davis (carey - This really, really pisses me off.) - https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/2/8/1 ... y-pelicans

This Summer should be crazy for NBA transactions - https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/2/8/1 ... urant-damn

Deadline winners & losers - https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2019/2/8/1 ... cap-rumors

Can the Sixers reach their incredible potential - http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2596 ... le-ceiling

Celtics have issues after blowing an enormous lead over the Clippers - https://www.celticsblog.com/2019/2/10/1 ... yrie-tatum

A power shift in the East? Philly, Toronto are making moves - http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2596 ... -westbrook

Lin finalizing buyout w/ Hawks to sign with Raptors - http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2597 ... gn-raptors

Nik Stauskas, traded 3 times and cut last week, signs with Cavaliers - http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2597 ... -cavaliers

[Indy]

Yeah, that is bullshit that the NBA said they have to play him. It is just risking their chances for no gain.

[Mori Chu]

This whole AD thing highlights a lot of problems in the current NBA / CBA.

- The gravitational pull of big market teams like the Lakers scooping up big free agents.

- Teams openly tampering to try to get FAs to come there, like Magic Johnson and others talking to/about AD while he's under contract with New Orleans.

- The oversized influence of mega-agents, particularly agencies like Klutch and agents like Rich Paul.

- The perverse incentives of tanking and teams actively wanting to lose vs trying to build a contender, which arguably New Orleans should do now that they know they're trading AD.

- The too-great power of players over what team they play for, which makes it so that New Orleans can't really get other teams to bid on AD because he'll just say that he won't play or re-sign there, so effectively the Lakers can bid against nobody and low-ball the Pelicans;

- The perceived need for teams to make a "super team" to compete against the likes of the current Warriors and the Lebron-era Heat, rather than building incrementally through the draft and developing a team of career players over time;

on and on. It's a big mess. I hate it when a star player who plays for a non-big-market team starts to approach free agency. It's basically a countdown to him ditching the small team to go to one of the league's prestige franchises, in almost every case (barring some notable exceptions like Paul George re-signing with OKC). I don't like that the league has become this way. I worry that Devin Booker is going to have a similar situation with Phoenix in a few years.

[ShelC]

I'm just waiting until Book puts in his trade request. It sucks to have a good player in a small market, but that owner/FO need to do everything they can to win in order to keep that player. Yea there's a chance that player may still leave, but can you fault Book at this point if we're in the same spot this time year and he asks to be dealt at the deadline?

[carey]

I'm just waiting until Book puts in his trade request. It sucks to have a good player in a small market, but that owner/FO need to do everything they can to win in order to keep that player. Yea there's a chance that player may still leave, but can you fault Book at this point if we're in the same spot this time year and he asks to be dealt at the deadline?

No, I guess not. I don't think you can force a trade during the first year of your max extension though. He's repped by Leon Rose and I'm not sure if he was Melo's agent during the whole Denver-New York thing so that's no help in trying to decipher the future.

[Split T]

I’m fine with players taking some control over their situation. I do think it’s dumb the NBA won’t let NO sit AD. But NO failed to put a contender around AD and I think it’s fine for him to look elsewhere. Surely some of that is his own fault, but I don’t like the idea of forcing players to stay in these small market teams and waste away their primes with mediocre teams.

If Booker decides he wants out because we didn’t put a food product on the court, then we should probably trade him anyways as he’s probably a big reason for that. I am a little worried about booker as I see him as a #2 guy. Problem is he’s our #1 guy and it’s hard to see him accepting a #2 role while with us. He may need a trade to realize his true role on a team.

[Flagrant Fowl]

If you haven't already, watch High Flying Bird on Netflix.

The film is somehow too on the nose while feeling like it's from the future.

[Flagrant Fowl]

The NBA in 2019.

[Mori Chu]

^ Subtle.

[Split T]

Paul George with a 47/12/10 tonight. 15/26 from the field, 8/13 from 3. Legit mvp candidate this year.

[TOO]

Paul George with a 47/12/10 tonight. 15/26 from the field, 8/13 from 3. Legit mvp candidate this year.

He's been incredible this year, never been a fan, but he's been a monster.

[Split T]

He’s made a big leap...he’s not too far off from Durant offensively. They’re essentially the same with Durant being the better 2 point shooter. George has got the edge defensively.

[specialsauce]

I'm just waiting until Book puts in his trade request. It sucks to have a good player in a small market, but that owner/FO need to do everything they can to win in order to keep that player. Yea there's a chance that player may still leave, but can you fault Book at this point if we're in the same spot this time year and he asks to be dealt at the deadline?

Honestly if we’re again in the same spot next year I wouldn’t mind trading Booker whether he wants out or not.

[Indy]

I’m fine with players taking some control over their situation. I do think it’s dumb the NBA won’t let NO sit AD. But NO failed to put a contender around AD and I think it’s fine for him to look elsewhere. Surely some of that is his own fault, but I don’t like the idea of forcing players to stay in these small market teams and waste away their primes with mediocre teams.

This is where I fall, too. I am not a fan of giving billionaire owners more control over their workforce. The owner foots the bill, so they clearly need toh have some leverage, but the league has already been granted legal monopoly status and gets to avoid so many labor laws as a result. The players should have as much leverage as they can command, and if you are a top 10 player in the world, you should have more sway than an owner. People are not paying to see Bobby wave a foam finger or do a chicken dance.

I know it is difficult to see it that way when some of these workers are paid tens of millions of dollars, though.

[The Bobster]

My feeling is once you sign a contract, you live up to it. Davis was happy to take a max extension from New Orleans, and if he had had second thoughts he should have signed his qualifying offer and gotten out then.

But I'm not for sitting healthy players - fans spend a lot of money to watch the games and they deserve your best players out there every night.

[Superbone]

Man, just noticed that the Knicks have a 17 game losing streak. Who will win first?

[Indy]

My feeling is once you sign a contract, you live up to it. Davis was happy to take a max extension from New Orleans, and if he had had second thoughts he should have signed his qualifying offer and gotten out then.

But I'm not for sitting healthy players - fans spend a lot of money to watch the games and they deserve your best players out there every night.

I thought he said that he will not plan on signing an extension and he will opt out after next year. Did he ever say he wasn't going to play for them?

[Shabazz]

Man, just noticed that the Knicks have a 17 game losing streak. Who will win first?

Very easily stopped force vs. quite simple to move object.

[The Bobster]

My feeling is once you sign a contract, you live up to it. Davis was happy to take a max extension from New Orleans, and if he had had second thoughts he should have signed his qualifying offer and gotten out then.

But I'm not for sitting healthy players - fans spend a lot of money to watch the games and they deserve your best players out there every night.

I thought he said that he will not plan on signing an extension and he will opt out after next year. Did he ever say he wasn't going to play for them?

No, but he did come out publicly (through his agent) and ask for a trade. If you're willing to take that contract, don't come out publicly and try to force your way to a contender.

As for not playing, that's all on New Orleans. I can understand not playing him for a couple of games prior to the trade deadline in case there was a deal, but once the deadline passes, you need to move on. It's as bad as the Suns shutting down Bledsoe a couple seasons ago.

[Indy]

My feeling is once you sign a contract, you live up to it. Davis was happy to take a max extension from New Orleans, and if he had had second thoughts he should have signed his qualifying offer and gotten out then.

But I'm not for sitting healthy players - fans spend a lot of money to watch the games and they deserve your best players out there every night.

I thought he said that he will not plan on signing an extension and he will opt out after next year. Did he ever say he wasn't going to play for them?

No, but he did come out publicly (through his agent) and ask for a trade. If you're willing to take that contract, don't come out publicly and try to force your way to a contender.

As for not playing, that's all on New Orleans. I can understand not playing him for a couple of games prior to the trade deadline in case there was a deal, but once the deadline passes, you need to move on. It's as bad as the Suns shutting down Bledsoe a couple seasons ago.

I guess it depends on what they discussed. I am sure they promised to bring him the teammates to make them a contender. They obviously didn't write it into his contract, but can you imagine if players started to put incentives on the FO like the FO puts on the players? Didn't a player just miss out on a million dollars in his contract because he wasn't voted onto the all-star team?