Does anyone have a good ref for how often NBA teams make political donations? Owners do it all the time (probably including the Devos family to Desantis), but this is the first time I've noticed it coming from a team?
I don’t think he’s just a dweeb, I think he’s a very vicious schemer. I lived in Florida, Tallahassee, for a couple of years and everyone in Florida knows what’s going on down there. I worked in the legislature, protesting the so-called health clinics for poor women, which were really anti-abortion clinics funded by Catholic charities and by the state of Florida where ugly politics, blatant dishonesty, and the ignorance (ignoring) of their own constitutional laws is unbelievable. DeSantis is the tip of the iceberg.
Yeah, I was softpedalling it. The guy is very dangerous. He's the spearhead of the fundamentalist Christian attempt to make the US a Christian theocracy.
Me too, but I found his write up today very interesting. I previously thought it was only some sort of betting scheme. How they make the guys rush across the court I have no idea. I would like to slow it down, so I can see who’s actually moving where. But I’m really not gonna put a lot of energy into that. But I feel educated. Thanks Daniel!
OT: Diana Taurasi plays at home against the Atlanta Dream tonight, needing 18 points to reach 10K for her career. She already holds the record by a wide margin so it's mostly just a round number thing, but could be one of the last big moments in the career of an all-timer.
Going back to a previous discussion, as I watched the videos of TJ D playing, I kept wondering why he went at almost the end of the draft. Is it relevant that he made almost all of his free throws and did have a little hook shot? Or is it because he doesn’t have much outside shooting or a three? Although in college Looney had a good mid range shot, presumably, they don’t seem to want him to take that shot anymore. So is TJ D a risk because he does not currently have that shot?
One other note, as I understand it, his agent told teams he wanted to go to a team that would give him a guaranteed salary, and so a lot of teams passed on him. He knew (I assume, since his agent is Dunleavy's brother or something) that the Dubs were willing to sign him to a guaranteed contract. So, he would have gone a lot earlier if they were just picking based on the player and not the contract.
- He *might* be too short to guard centers and too slow to stop getting picked on by guards.
- He has no jumper
- He is 23 so he has fewer years to find hidden potential
The Warriors are one of the very few teams that values a big who can pass (especially out of the post) and is closer to ready to play, since GSW doesn’t need more raw prospects with high ceilings.
Yeah, he's kinda a similar bet to Jordan Bell to me, except looks a bit more equipped to defend the interior and a bit less equipped to defend the perimeter. Hopefully something less quantifiable like mentality can separate them as well.
Prior to the draft, Sam Vecenie predicted TJD would likely be on the fringe b/c not many players that fit his profile exist in the current NBA besides Looney (interesting listen on why he matches Looney, but not Rob Will III or Vanderbilt). After the draft, he had the same player analysis, but was excited for TJD and the Warriors since he felt they were one of the few teams that might know how to use him given Looney's success within their system.
Thnx. So it is more than his shooting. What is confusing is it when we had the voting for our favorite draft pick, each of the candidates who went much higher had major flaws of one kind or another. So I kept wondering why his were more damaging to his draft ability.
He has a kind of solemn intentionality that reminds me of Wiseman and a floor scanning presence that reminds me of Draymond.
I would argue that it’s all about his lack of shooting. If he had a deep ball, he’d have been a high lottery pick regardless of whether he can defend against big 5’s or little guys.
Somewhere I read a quote from him that Woodson did not want him to shoot outside. So do we really know whether he can shoot or not? He’s very good at the free throws.
lol if TJD turns out to be capable of making 3's from the perimeter at an ok rate when unguarded, we are gonna hear Fitz brag so much about what a steal he was...
Reminds me of a Jerry Seinfeld routine regarding team loyalty and guys getting traded and now because he's wearing a 'different shirt' we hate him now....
It is, but is that really so cynical and opportunistic and unappealing, as I am guessing you are implying?
To me, sports enthusiasm is itself a fleeting loyalty. Players come and go, they get traded. Even the franchise: why am I a Warrior fan? Why not? Could I be a fan of another team? Sure, given the right circumstances. I just don't view it as a with-me-or-against-me tribal thing. Chris Paul isn't a particularly bad human, he isn't a particularly good human. Watching him and Steph at all-star games and so on shows that sometimes this is just about having fun and showing off and so on.
It makes total sense to me to hate CP when he's the opponent and embrace him when he's on the team. That's how it works at pickup games in the park. You go hard against someone and despise their attitude, and then you get on the same team with them and love it.
I find it encouraging, in fact. It underscores the common humanity rather than demonize someone for some minor flaws. CP could be nicer on the court but so could a lot of players. But now that he's on the team, I intend to enjoy him annoying other teams with a scowl or ripthrough or flop. Yay for fleeting loyalties, they have a sweetness to them, like an ex I'm still in touch with.
I wasn't implying that it's a cynical statement, and I agree. Outside of a couple players that I think would probably also be hated *in the locker room*, everyone is an 'enemy' until they're one of the good guys. I grew up on anime shows where that was basically the plot device of choice
If you think Michael Jordan was a lousy team owner, the joke may be on you. He bought for $275 million and just sold for $3 billion.
(He's keeping a minority stake and there are co-owners so it's not clear exactly how much he profited, but let's use the legal term and call it "a fuckton.")
No, Michael Jordan WAS a bad owner. I'll give you two related reasons:
1)You have to be completely bonkers to lose money on an NBA team. It would be like losing money on a casino--the only person ever to do that is your former President now triple indictee. All NBA franchise values rose over the time he had the team, so he didn't need to do anything to make out like a bandit. So, in fact, he probably left another billion or two on the table because although he had a captive fan base, he spent so little on the team they under-performed financially. So, jokes on him.
2)He didn't compensate for his over-frugality by being savvy. He didn't invest in low-cost high-impact features like scouting. He didn't smartly deal players he wasn't going to re-sign before they left for nothing. And that's just two of many signs of his being a bad owner.
Don't fall prey to the flawed idea that if you have money you must be good at what you do. Every day we are seeing proof of the fallacy of that position.
Right, one can make more or less money in buying and selling a franchise, but he made a lot of money. You're not wrong he could have done better but he made a ton. I'm not saying he's good at finance.
Mainly my point was to distinguish between the view a fan has of "how come they keep losing?" vs. the view some owners might have of "win, lose, either way I win."
> Right, one can make more or less money in buying and selling a franchise, but he made a lot of money.
I guess I am contesting the claim that he was not a lousy owner. He was. He could have made the franchise value increase more, but he didn't. He could have won more games, or retained talent, but he didn't. He made money because OTHER owners made the NBA more profitable. He was along for the ride. The NBA is so profitable that even a lousy owner will earn 10x what they put in. In fields like that, even a lousy owner will make money, especially on the sale. New would-be owners are buying "the Charlotte Hornets, an NBA franchise." MJ is benefiting from new would-be owners focusing on buying "an NBA franchise," and ignoring that its "the Charlotte Hornets." The new owners probably have a vision to remove the stink of the MJ era, just like Joe Lacob had a vision to remove the stink of the Chris Cohan era. Consequently, they will pay a bit more than the specific franchise is worth, just to hop on the NBA wealth escalator and indulge their ideas of how to build a successful enterprise. None of those dynamics change a fact as solid as any in NBA history--MJ was a lousy owner. No amount of money earned on the sale can change that fact.
Largely agree here. MJ doesn't get credit for being one of the boats that a rising tide lifted up. He's one of the worst owners in modern sports history.
A good question. One can understand his lack of experience with a GM role but it's harder to explain his complacency with being mediocre-to-bad for over a decade.
I doubt they're paying MJ more than the Hornets are worth, but yeah. It's easy as shit to make money once you have more than a certain threshold, and MJ was several orders of magnitude wealthier than that threshold.
Nice little article about Kuminga as a mentor to prospects and his views on the upcoming season and life: “This upcoming season is definitely the year” and “…there’s nothing more important than growing as a person.”
Just my assumption but it feels like he was talking about prior to the G League. Because once he got to the NBA he had the veteran experience of Moses Moody to rely on.
Thanks for posting that. Interesting that he didn't feel like he had any mentors to help him navigate going to the NBA. I'm looking forward to this coming year, the year of the lion.
It’s a strange comment coming from a young man who went to school for basketball in New Jersey, then had a year of guidance by the folks at Ignite, whose main job is to get them ready for the NBA, right. Then an agent who no doubt had a lot of help to offer JK.
You have to wonder how much the language barrier is a factor there. It may be that people were trying to help him, but if you can't understand the people around you, that would feel very isolating.
I think he was mostly hurt during his LAC stint and MIL didn't really feel the need to incorporate them fully into their team so he looked out of place
Remember when OKC wouldn't even play Al Horford and everyone thought he was "washed"? Doesn't mean it's the same situation but it's worth remembering stuff like that.
I can’t wait for the basketball movie version of “Grand Turismo” where Mike Dunleavy pulls up in front of a lady’s house, knocks on the door, pushes past her and heads down to the basement, then whisks away with her son to become the Warriors new starting center.
Badge test lol
Ooooo it looks so shiny
Owners do sketchy stuff all the time, but this feels like it’s over a line…
**
BREAKING: The NBA Players Association issued a statement objecting to the @orlandomagic’s 50K donation to Ron DeSantis’ Super PAC
https://www.threads.net/@realjuddlegum/post/CvfdvY5gubp/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
The NBAPA needs to clarify, "We're not saying we'd rather you gave it to Trump, tho."
Does anyone have a good ref for how often NBA teams make political donations? Owners do it all the time (probably including the Devos family to Desantis), but this is the first time I've noticed it coming from a team?
Hey, corporations are people too! Or so the Supreme Court told us. 🤔 🤯
And money is free speech 🤣😒
Donate to a super pac and no one would know. Could be putin? Maybe. MBS? Probably. But no one will know cause... money=protected free speech.
Haha, random rant radom rant of the day.
WAHOOOOOOOO!
Yet more proof there is very little spine in sports owners.
When Disney is showing more bravery than you are over LBGT+ rights, you're doing pretty bad.
DeSantis is such a little, repulsive dweeb.
I don’t think he’s just a dweeb, I think he’s a very vicious schemer. I lived in Florida, Tallahassee, for a couple of years and everyone in Florida knows what’s going on down there. I worked in the legislature, protesting the so-called health clinics for poor women, which were really anti-abortion clinics funded by Catholic charities and by the state of Florida where ugly politics, blatant dishonesty, and the ignorance (ignoring) of their own constitutional laws is unbelievable. DeSantis is the tip of the iceberg.
Props to you for doing that kind of work, which I am sure is unrelentingly exhausting.
Thnx
Yeah, I was softpedalling it. The guy is very dangerous. He's the spearhead of the fundamentalist Christian attempt to make the US a Christian theocracy.
Betsy Devos' brother heads the ownership group iirc. I'm precisely 0% surprised by this tbh
That jibes. Yuck.
they're playing right now, if anyone is interested
https://www.twitch.tv/nba2kleague
https://2kleague.nba.com/schedule/
Go Warriors. But no, I'm not going to watch this. I'm from a generation that doesn't really understand the whole streaming video games thing.
Me too, but I found his write up today very interesting. I previously thought it was only some sort of betting scheme. How they make the guys rush across the court I have no idea. I would like to slow it down, so I can see who’s actually moving where. But I’m really not gonna put a lot of energy into that. But I feel educated. Thanks Daniel!
can't say I've followed e-sports either, so the writeup and taking a gander was something new and interesting.
Anyway, looks like they took the first game in a best of 3 playoff round, all of which they play today.
OT: Diana Taurasi plays at home against the Atlanta Dream tonight, needing 18 points to reach 10K for her career. She already holds the record by a wide margin so it's mostly just a round number thing, but could be one of the last big moments in the career of an all-timer.
40 piece. That was dope.
Gotta root for the Dream and Bay area native (and Stanford Grad) Haley Jones.
I guess JP now hates Steph and Klay so much he's working out together with them in the offseason. Man he's pissed at how the vets treated him last year. https://twitter.com/TheWarriorsTalk/status/1686795090122231808?
JP had beef with Steph/Klay? I was under the impression it was solely with Dray?
The fan fiction got pretty out of control
So did the 50 shades junk but that didn’t stop it either 🤣
They didn’t want to publicize it much though
Seeing the photo credits made me wonder, is J-squared going to DC to continue to be JPs media guy?
Also, Klay is working out in the summer!!! WGBC!
Probably. I’ll miss him here - he took some clean action shots.
Naw man. He's the one working them! See how they like it now.
Revenge is a dish best served cold…
Just trying to show up the geezers, the impudent whelp!
Indeed, the first thing a lot of us exclaimed in the game thread when the Lakers eliminated us was, “whelp…”
All-Access | Stephen Curry the Golf Champion! | Golden State Warriors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxDEFWyYKi8
Going back to a previous discussion, as I watched the videos of TJ D playing, I kept wondering why he went at almost the end of the draft. Is it relevant that he made almost all of his free throws and did have a little hook shot? Or is it because he doesn’t have much outside shooting or a three? Although in college Looney had a good mid range shot, presumably, they don’t seem to want him to take that shot anymore. So is TJ D a risk because he does not currently have that shot?
The (admittedly naive) people want to know
One other note, as I understand it, his agent told teams he wanted to go to a team that would give him a guaranteed salary, and so a lot of teams passed on him. He knew (I assume, since his agent is Dunleavy's brother or something) that the Dubs were willing to sign him to a guaranteed contract. So, he would have gone a lot earlier if they were just picking based on the player and not the contract.
He was not a high draft pick because
- He *might* be too short to guard centers and too slow to stop getting picked on by guards.
- He has no jumper
- He is 23 so he has fewer years to find hidden potential
The Warriors are one of the very few teams that values a big who can pass (especially out of the post) and is closer to ready to play, since GSW doesn’t need more raw prospects with high ceilings.
Yeah, he's kinda a similar bet to Jordan Bell to me, except looks a bit more equipped to defend the interior and a bit less equipped to defend the perimeter. Hopefully something less quantifiable like mentality can separate them as well.
Prior to the draft, Sam Vecenie predicted TJD would likely be on the fringe b/c not many players that fit his profile exist in the current NBA besides Looney (interesting listen on why he matches Looney, but not Rob Will III or Vanderbilt). After the draft, he had the same player analysis, but was excited for TJD and the Warriors since he felt they were one of the few teams that might know how to use him given Looney's success within their system.
Vecenie's analysis in March: https://www.youtube.com/live/GM5OCWVCQ-4?feature=share&t=979
Vecenie and Spinella's analysis post-draft: https://www.youtube.com/live/6kRRQFdzTkQ?feature=share&t=1764
Thnx. So it is more than his shooting. What is confusing is it when we had the voting for our favorite draft pick, each of the candidates who went much higher had major flaws of one kind or another. So I kept wondering why his were more damaging to his draft ability.
He has a kind of solemn intentionality that reminds me of Wiseman and a floor scanning presence that reminds me of Draymond.
I would argue that it’s all about his lack of shooting. If he had a deep ball, he’d have been a high lottery pick regardless of whether he can defend against big 5’s or little guys.
They are typically younger so are projected to have more time to fix those flaws.
Don't sleep on Obi Toppin now that he's been freed from the shackles of Thibs.
Somewhere I read a quote from him that Woodson did not want him to shoot outside. So do we really know whether he can shoot or not? He’s very good at the free throws.
lol if TJD turns out to be capable of making 3's from the perimeter at an ok rate when unguarded, we are gonna hear Fitz brag so much about what a steal he was...
"We've all hated him because we were competing against him and he was so good; but now that's our guy and we love him." -- Steve Kerr on Chris Paul.
steve kerr could be an ambassador if he wanted to. almost always knows what to say and says it tactfully.
If that's not the most pro sports response...
Reminds me of a Jerry Seinfeld routine regarding team loyalty and guys getting traded and now because he's wearing a 'different shirt' we hate him now....
'we're rooting for laundry'
It is, but is that really so cynical and opportunistic and unappealing, as I am guessing you are implying?
To me, sports enthusiasm is itself a fleeting loyalty. Players come and go, they get traded. Even the franchise: why am I a Warrior fan? Why not? Could I be a fan of another team? Sure, given the right circumstances. I just don't view it as a with-me-or-against-me tribal thing. Chris Paul isn't a particularly bad human, he isn't a particularly good human. Watching him and Steph at all-star games and so on shows that sometimes this is just about having fun and showing off and so on.
It makes total sense to me to hate CP when he's the opponent and embrace him when he's on the team. That's how it works at pickup games in the park. You go hard against someone and despise their attitude, and then you get on the same team with them and love it.
I find it encouraging, in fact. It underscores the common humanity rather than demonize someone for some minor flaws. CP could be nicer on the court but so could a lot of players. But now that he's on the team, I intend to enjoy him annoying other teams with a scowl or ripthrough or flop. Yay for fleeting loyalties, they have a sweetness to them, like an ex I'm still in touch with.
There are people I played pickup against that I still hated when they were on my team. Just saying.
I wasn't implying that it's a cynical statement, and I agree. Outside of a couple players that I think would probably also be hated *in the locker room*, everyone is an 'enemy' until they're one of the good guys. I grew up on anime shows where that was basically the plot device of choice
If you think Michael Jordan was a lousy team owner, the joke may be on you. He bought for $275 million and just sold for $3 billion.
(He's keeping a minority stake and there are co-owners so it's not clear exactly how much he profited, but let's use the legal term and call it "a fuckton.")
No, Michael Jordan WAS a bad owner. I'll give you two related reasons:
1)You have to be completely bonkers to lose money on an NBA team. It would be like losing money on a casino--the only person ever to do that is your former President now triple indictee. All NBA franchise values rose over the time he had the team, so he didn't need to do anything to make out like a bandit. So, in fact, he probably left another billion or two on the table because although he had a captive fan base, he spent so little on the team they under-performed financially. So, jokes on him.
2)He didn't compensate for his over-frugality by being savvy. He didn't invest in low-cost high-impact features like scouting. He didn't smartly deal players he wasn't going to re-sign before they left for nothing. And that's just two of many signs of his being a bad owner.
Don't fall prey to the flawed idea that if you have money you must be good at what you do. Every day we are seeing proof of the fallacy of that position.
Right, one can make more or less money in buying and selling a franchise, but he made a lot of money. You're not wrong he could have done better but he made a ton. I'm not saying he's good at finance.
Mainly my point was to distinguish between the view a fan has of "how come they keep losing?" vs. the view some owners might have of "win, lose, either way I win."
> Right, one can make more or less money in buying and selling a franchise, but he made a lot of money.
I guess I am contesting the claim that he was not a lousy owner. He was. He could have made the franchise value increase more, but he didn't. He could have won more games, or retained talent, but he didn't. He made money because OTHER owners made the NBA more profitable. He was along for the ride. The NBA is so profitable that even a lousy owner will earn 10x what they put in. In fields like that, even a lousy owner will make money, especially on the sale. New would-be owners are buying "the Charlotte Hornets, an NBA franchise." MJ is benefiting from new would-be owners focusing on buying "an NBA franchise," and ignoring that its "the Charlotte Hornets." The new owners probably have a vision to remove the stink of the MJ era, just like Joe Lacob had a vision to remove the stink of the Chris Cohan era. Consequently, they will pay a bit more than the specific franchise is worth, just to hop on the NBA wealth escalator and indulge their ideas of how to build a successful enterprise. None of those dynamics change a fact as solid as any in NBA history--MJ was a lousy owner. No amount of money earned on the sale can change that fact.
Largely agree here. MJ doesn't get credit for being one of the boats that a rising tide lifted up. He's one of the worst owners in modern sports history.
A good question. One can understand his lack of experience with a GM role but it's harder to explain his complacency with being mediocre-to-bad for over a decade.
I doubt they're paying MJ more than the Hornets are worth, but yeah. It's easy as shit to make money once you have more than a certain threshold, and MJ was several orders of magnitude wealthier than that threshold.
Nice little article about Kuminga as a mentor to prospects and his views on the upcoming season and life: “This upcoming season is definitely the year” and “…there’s nothing more important than growing as a person.”
https://africa.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/38125690/this-year-golden-state-warriors-jonathan-kuminga-ready-true-breakout-nba-season
Well, that's sad if he was implying that he didn't get the support he needed or wanted from the Warriors staff.
Just my assumption but it feels like he was talking about prior to the G League. Because once he got to the NBA he had the veteran experience of Moses Moody to rely on.
Thanks for posting that. Interesting that he didn't feel like he had any mentors to help him navigate going to the NBA. I'm looking forward to this coming year, the year of the lion.
“hoped to be the mentor he once needed”
It’s a strange comment coming from a young man who went to school for basketball in New Jersey, then had a year of guidance by the folks at Ignite, whose main job is to get them ready for the NBA, right. Then an agent who no doubt had a lot of help to offer JK.
Clearly he felt alone.
You have to wonder how much the language barrier is a factor there. It may be that people were trying to help him, but if you can't understand the people around you, that would feel very isolating.
Maybe it’s his ‘deep story’ and maybe it has little to do with basketball.
How so?
Pretty mature outlook for a 20 year old. I don't think I could have articulated any real goals at age 20.
I could have articulated a goal but it wouldn't have been printable in a family web site.
🙈
To quote Full Metal Jacket: “if I’m gonna die for a word, my word is ‘p***t***’”
No idea about full metal jacket, so what is the word?
“PorkTuna”?
"PishTosh!"
If I could like this a 100 times, I would. You are the only other person I've seen use 'pish tosh' ... well ever.
"punsters"?
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1687101229854531586
Serge Ibaka anybody?
Does he have anything left? I thought he was washed a while back.
I think he was mostly hurt during his LAC stint and MIL didn't really feel the need to incorporate them fully into their team so he looked out of place
Remember when OKC wouldn't even play Al Horford and everyone thought he was "washed"? Doesn't mean it's the same situation but it's worth remembering stuff like that.
Serge Ibaka is probably the most exciting possible prospect —-
Me, 2012
Still only 33. Thought he was 36 or something by now.
Last I heard he got waived by IND
I can’t wait for the basketball movie version of “Grand Turismo” where Mike Dunleavy pulls up in front of a lady’s house, knocks on the door, pushes past her and heads down to the basement, then whisks away with her son to become the Warriors new starting center.
Lmao!
What????