Ring-Brat Brotherhood = Mercenary Basketball Association Era = Race to the Bottom?

[sturt]

Could it be that we actually lucked out, and have a year's head start on most of the 28 other franchises who won't win the 2019 MBA Finals?

I think it could.

Whole lotta deals that might've gotten made seemingly now will not... because losing is the new winning.

I despise this era of the NBA. I know they set some TV records this season. But for my part, I've never watched less NBA games than this past season, at least since I first became a fan in 1970. This isn't interesting to me. To the contrary, it pretty reprehensible. And now that they're going to start the whole gambling thing? *sigh*

[Sothron]

28 minutes ago, sturt said:

Could it be that we actually lucked out, and have a year's head start on most of the 28 other franchises who won't win the 2019 MBA Finals?

I think it could.

Whole lotta deals that might've gotten made seemingly now will not... because losing is the new winning.

I despise this era of the NBA. I know they set some TV records this season. But for my part, I've never watched less NBA games than this past season, at least since I first became a fan in 1970. This isn't interesting to me. To the contrary, it pretty reprehensible. And now that they're going to start the whole gambling thing? *sigh*

The regular season of watching fun teams like Minnesota and Denver are worth watching. The playoffs are don't see tv. I've watched sports for forty plus years and I've never seen one sport with all of its top talent in just one conference like the NBA has been the last several years. 16 of the last 20 NBA champions are from the West. 3 of the 4 East titles came from Lebron. It is pretty disgusting.

[DrReality]

1 hour ago, Sothron said:

The regular season of watching fun teams like Minnesota and Denver are worth watching. The playoffs are don't see tv. I've watched sports for forty plus years and I've never seen one sport with all of its top talent in just one conference like the NBA has been the last several years. 16 of the last 20 NBA champions are from the West. 3 of the 4 East titles came from Lebron. It is pretty disgusting.

Agree and when it impacts the bottom line the owners will be motivated to do something..........but what can they do? 

[DrReality]

Real life has become a video game!

[Spud2nique]

I said it during the draft...what is this wwf? It’s the stupidest era since I started watching in 81. I mean in the 80’s you had like a superstar in every city and they all stayed with their teams and nobody wanted to join anybody for help. I’m sorry but it’s not even a basketball issue, it’s like a generational wussy issue here. It’s all about tv ratings and teaming up to break title records. Magic, Bird, Nique, Isiah, Jordan, Ewing and Olajuwon are rolling over in their graves watching this. What’s worse is that the NBA extended Adam Silver who is obviously directly getting paid under the table by Lacob and the other rat ?. I refused to watch the finals this past year and will continue unless it’s different teams..even then it’s just dumb now, it got really screwed up somewhere along the way. I’m speaking for 29/30 teams. 

 

If there are NBA gods, and I don’t believe there are anymore, they will make the scrubs pay a horrible price this upcoming year. 

[AHF]

This is not a Silver / League conspiracy issue.  This is a generation of front runners who want to hit the easy button on rings.  LeBron and Durant as the best players of this generation have led the way.  It is pretty sickening for the state of the game and if this is going to be the mindset of the players then the next CBA needs to include some major limitations on FA because this is toxic to the long-term health of the league, IMO.  It is about the mindset of many (but not all) of the players more than anything else.

[JayBirdHawk]

31 minutes ago, AHF said:

This is not a Silver / League conspiracy issue.  This is a generation of front runners who want to hit the easy button on rings.  LeBron and Durant as the best players of this generation have led the way.  It is pretty sickening for the state of the game and if this is going to be the mindset of the players then the next CBA needs to include some major limitations on FA because this is toxic to the long-term health of the league, IMO.  It is about the mindset of many (but not all) of the players more than anything else.

They are more worried about their 'brand'  and they don't want to be the Karl Malone and Charles Barkley's of their generations - great players that never won a ring.   I hate that mind set and the games are diluted now.

[Spud2nique]

1 hour ago, AHF said:

This is not a Silver / League conspiracy issue.  This is a generation of front runners who want to hit the easy button on rings.  LeBron and Durant as the best players of this generation have led the way.  It is pretty sickening for the state of the game and if this is going to be the mindset of the players then the next CBA needs to include some major limitations on FA because this is toxic to the long-term health of the league, IMO.  It is about the mindset of many (but not all) of the players more than anything else.

Basically what I’m saying. Durant is a wuss. Good we are on the same page. You can’t have a top 2 player in the league be a Robert Horry ring chaser.

[AHF]

2 hours ago, AHF said:

This is not a Silver / League conspiracy issue.  This is a generation of front runners who want to hit the easy button on rings.  LeBron and Durant as the best players of this generation have led the way.  It is pretty sickening for the state of the game and if this is going to be the mindset of the players then the next CBA needs to include some major limitations on FA because this is toxic to the long-term health of the league, IMO.  It is about the mindset of many (but not all) of the players more than anything else.

Actually, this doesn't require this big of a change.  Eliminate maximum salaries is step 1.  The Union won't fight this and it will be hugely helpful. 

Step 2 is put in a hard cap or a harder cap than what we see today.  That will be a tougher fight but is one worth having.

[Royjr9]

2 hours ago, Spud2nique said:

Basically what I’m saying. Durant is a wuss. Good we are on the same page. You can’t have a top 2 player in the league be a Robert Horry ring chaser.

He’s a wuss because he decided that he didn’t see the light at the end of whatever okc was shooting for when they let harden go. The guy has taken less to actually stay on top or to help him win. If I’m not mistaken his first free agency he didn’t take the most then either. People have a problem because he choose the warriors if he had left okc and went to any other team it wouldnt be much of an issue but he choose the warriors.  It’s like everyday life we choose the best opportunity for ourselves to make us comfortable. Also Malone while loyal to Utah choose the same avenue choose to head to the Lakers but it imploded.  Garnett said it best if I knew what I knew when I was younger things would have been different. The cousins fiasco is on the other 29 teams  cousins says he called the warriors himself after not receiving interest that was to his liking. 

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2018/07/more-on-demarcus-cousins-deal-with-warriors.html

 

[AHF]

1 hour ago, Royjr9 said:

He’s a wuss because he decided that he didn’t see the light at the end of whatever okc was shooting for when they let harden go. The guy has taken less to actually stay on top or to help him win. If I’m not mistaken his first free agency he didn’t take the most then either. People have a problem because he choose the warriors if he had left okc and went to any other team it wouldnt be much of an issue but he choose the warriors.  It’s like everyday life we choose the best opportunity for ourselves to make us comfortable. Also Malone while loyal to Utah choose the same avenue choose to head to the Lakers but it imploded.  Garnett said it best if I knew what I knew when I was younger things would have been different. The cousins fiasco is on the other 29 teams  cousins says he called the warriors himself after not receiving interest that was to his liking. 

https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2018/07/more-on-demarcus-cousins-deal-with-warriors.html

 

He was a wuss.  They had already made the NBA finals and had a 3-2 lead over GS and he shat the bed.  Then he ran to join GS because that would be easier -- even after bagging on LeBron for wanting a superteam.  

[marco102]

14 minutes ago, AHF said:

He was a wuss.  They had already made the NBA finals and had a 3-2 lead over GS and he shat the bed.  Then he ran to join GS because that would be easier -- even after bagging on LeBron for wanting a superteam.  

I don't get this. Why is everyone acting like KD started this LBJ started this when he Wade and Bosh teamed up to create their little super tream. 

No one seems to blame the best player in the league for starting this crap, but he did.

[AHF]

1 minute ago, marco102 said:

I don't get this. Why is everyone acting like KD started this LBJ started this when he Wade and Bosh teamed up to create their little super tream. 

No one seems to blame the best player in the league for starting this crap, but he did.

You must not have read my posts on this topic in the past.  I totally blame LeBron for his choices but KD owns his own decisions and also ends up in the same category of players who don't believe they can do it and want an "easy button" of stocked teammates.

What LeBron has going for him in narrative that KD doesn't is that LeBron joined teams that weren't very good in the seasons leading into him joining them, took on the mantle of leaderhip and then he was by far the best player leading them to numerous finals appearances and championships.  KD joined a team that was already an NBA champion roster and deferred to the existing players to fill the role of the team leader.

[Thomas]

All just makes you remember cats spending their whole careers with one team doing whatever it took with whoever was on their roster to win it all. In particular and not going so very far back would be Magic, Bird, IT and the non management/owner MJ. Great examples of loyal champions. Now take a peek at our future HOFs that are on the floor now.  Yeah....just pounding that poor dead horse some more. 

[marco102]

1 minute ago, AHF said:

You must not have read my posts on this topic in the past.  I totally blame LeBron for his choices but KD owns his own decisions and also ends up in the same category of players who don't believe they can do it and want an "easy button" of stocked teammates.

What LeBron has going for him in narrative that KD doesn't is that LeBron joined teams that weren't very good in the seasons leading into him joining them, took on the mantle of leaderhip and then he was by far the best player leading them to numerous finals appearances and championships.  KD joined a team that was already an NBA champion roster and deferred to the existing players to fill the role of the team leader.

Saliant point!  

I just feel like LBJ doesn't get enough blame for this situation.

 

[Thomas]

On 7/3/2018 at 4:03 PM, marco102 said:

Saliant point!  

I just feel like LBJ doesn't get enough blame for this situation.

 

Just happy he is in a different conference now though of course we aren't ready for it. Just the same let the West beat the hell out of each other with LeBron in it, don't really see where he would like that action so much. See where we are at this time next year and draft away.  

[AHF]

21 minutes ago, marco102 said:

Saliant point!  

I just feel like LBJ doesn't get enough blame for this situation.

 

LBJ gets slack because he has been the best player in the NBA most seasons in his career.  He absolutely deserves blame for doing things the easy way, though.

[sturt]

I don't see it as a comparison thing because LBJ and KD both are manipulators...

Teams suffer severe punishments for collusion because of what it can mean to the game's integrity as well as the legality of it...

But players? Sure, it's all legal.

However, it is no less repugnant in how it soils the game's integrity.

For the sake of argument, though, let's compare. Yes, @AHF has a salient point... one I hadn't thought about... good stuff.

On the other hand, KD walked through territory that LBJ, Wade and Bosh pioneered. They were the first, and arguably, made player collusion "acceptable."

I lump them all as one. They are all ring-brats.

[sillent]

LeBron, Wade and Bosh knew they weren't going to beat the Celtics (Garnett, Pierce, Allen/Rondo) being the lone star's on their teams. So they joined forces. Ultimately you can say Danny Ainge started this new era when he forced Lebron and company to take it into their own hands.

[sturt]

@sillent, It's not at all the same thing, though. Ainge did what GMs are supposed to do. He didn't actually do anything novel.

Players had never colluded before. You're right... LBJ began to be tormented by the notion that he might never see an NBA championship in CLE, so he invented an alternative route... a shortcut... and it will always be his legacy with some of us that he gave in and traded his integrity for a ring... thus, a ring-brat.

Boobie... yes, I spelled that right... welcome to the Ring-Brat Brotherhood, man.

Can't say I'm surprised, knowing what was already thought about you.