Why the NBA will **** over the Spurs for the foreseeable future

[Dejounte]

https://twitter.com/bengolliver/status/1546689789084086273

:lmao :lmao

[The Truth #6]

That's an about-face from what he said years before when he deferred to the good judgement of coaches like Pop on this issue. That's Mickey Mouse talking through him, basically. No one wants to lose money. But to me, if he's worried about players resting for no reason, he needs to address tanking. To me, that's even worse for the game.

[baseline bum]

Players sitting out a game for rest is more frustrating than players sitting out seasons to force trades?

[ragas]

Better stop that 4 games in 5 days shit. Greedy owners started all this. Haven’t thought that Silver is such an idiot.

[Ariel]

That's an about-face from what he said years before when he deferred to the good judgement of coaches like Pop on this issue. That's Mickey Mouse talking through him, basically. No one wants to lose money. But to me, if he's worried about players resting for no reason, he needs to address tanking. To me, that's even worse for the game.
I was coming here to say the same. It's incredibly hypocritical to address a valid strategy such as load management which arises from a bad schedule to begin with, and not say anything about tanking which is infinitely more pernicious and negatively affects the game in multiple ways, such as an OKC style tank. He's got some nerve calling out RC Buford and not Presti for what he does...

[Strategic]

Wouldn’t be surprised if this is the year silver tries to throw a monkey wrench in tanking before next season starts, just to screw to Spurs.

[Ignazzz]

No worries. We are tanker even with 100% roster on court.

[Dejounte]

If the Spurs have the absolute worst record next season, three teams will jump them and they will end up #4 :lmao

[Chinook]

There needs to be a balance, but it's hard to find out where that will be. Ideally, there'd be fewer games but players would play in more of them if they are physically capable. But trying to determine when a player can play is tricky. The Spurs know full well how it feels to be on a team where a player complains of an injury that the doctors don't agree on. Resting old guys so they can be effective later on just makes sense. It's good for the game to do that. Having a healthy Spurs for the playoffs was better for the league than having them play a full season.

Silver should be trying to increase the importance of the regular season in relation to the playoffs, and I think he's trying to do that. That's the point of the mid-season tournament. It's hard to come up with stakes for the tourney that actually matter to all players though. Money doesn't matter to the stars, ASB nods don't matter to the scrubs. Post-season perks wouldn't matter to the sucky teams. The only thing I can think of would be some shit where the playoff field is reduced to eight teams, with the three divisions and the winner of the each conference mid-season tournament get the spots. Fewer spots means teams can't coast, and even flatter odds means teams wouldn't have incentive to tank. It's not perfect, as teams often win their divisions by a lot, and you can easily imagine the two best teams being in one division and having one miss out. It'd also cut down around half of the post-season games by removing a whole round. But their choice to address coasting is to either become a police organization or create negative incentives against coasting as much as possible.

Maybe even dividing the season up into quarters and having a team's seeding being the average rankings of their quarters or something would be a good way to reward teams who are consistently performing at a high level. That seems really hard to pull off though.

[Mugen]

Players sitting out a game for rest is more frustrating than players sitting out seasons to force trades?

:lol tbh

[rascal]

One way to get rid of tanking is to have no built in odds for the draft picks. Any non playoff team has a shot for the number one pick.

[timtonymanu]

Yeah AIDS Silver, I’m sure that’s that problem with the league :lol

[Dverde]

Madam Silver is a terrible commissioner . Started out fine, then showed he lacks the spine to stand up to the players. Owners should fire him.

[DAF86]

One way to get rid of tanking is to have no built in odds for the draft picks. Any non playoff team has a shot for the number one pick.

That's not a bad idea actually.

[baseline bum]

That's not a bad idea actually.

Was the original system after Houston tanked back to back years to get Sampson and Olajuwon.

[BatManu20]

The walking penis that is Adam Silver back at it again. Maybe don’t schedule 4 road games in 5 days for one of the oldest rosters in the league dumbass :lol

[DAF86]

Was the original system after Houston tanked back to back years to get Sampson and Olajuwon.

Tanking just to have the same % of picking 1 as picking 14 doesn't seem like the best of ideas, tbh. If the NBA really wants to get rid of tanking, they should go back to that system.

[Seventyniner]

I really want a 1-16 playoff format with no regard for conferences.

Then let the #1 seed pick their first-round opponent, #2 picks next, etc. until #8 is stuck with whoever is left.

Maybe even repeat this for rounds 2 and 3.

That would make teams play hard all season.

[spurspl]

no 1st pick for the spurs in upcoming draft confirmed

[Mr. Body]

In the last few years a lot of teams have load managed and I recall only the Spurs getting fined... the season before last when the last half was brutal and they'd just come off covid. Other teams have flagrantly done it and walked free. The guy is a menace and has a clear double standard. He both blames the Spurs for not giving Kawhi to the Lakers and is punishing the Spurs for what the Clippers are currently doing.

[R. DeMurre]

The reactions to the load management issue is interesting, especially coming from Spurs' fans... Kawhi is disliked, so his load management program makes him a villain, but then when anyone else calls out Pop or the Spurs in general for it, they're the bad guy?

Pop's a smart but stubborn guy, and he could take the heat off himself very easily by just approaching it differently. I think a lot of the load management reaction from the general public and league in general could easily be lessened by simply rewording it to something like "Player X was experiencing some tightness in his lower back, so we've decided to sit him in this upcoming game. We'll re-evaluate in 24 hours and proceed from there."

[Mr. Body]

The reactions to the load management issue is interesting, especially coming from Spurs' fans... Kawhi is disliked, so his load management program makes him a villain, but then when anyone else calls out Pop or the Spurs in general for it, they're the bad guy?

Pop's a smart but stubborn guy, and he could take the heat off himself very easily by just approaching it differently. I think a lot of the load management reaction from the general public and league in general could easily be lessened by simply rewording it to something like "Player X was experiencing some tightness in his lower back, so we've decided to sit him in this upcoming game. We'll re-evaluate in 24 hours and proceed from there."

Bruh, Kawhi's load management isn't the reason people hate him.

[R. DeMurre]

Bruh, Kawhi's load management isn't the reason people hate him.

Not exclusively, but it played an integral part in it.

[Seventyniner]

Bruh, Kawhi's load management isn't the reason people hate him.

The problems began when he started load managing himself. Or his uncle did it for him.

[The Truth #6]

Silver specifically hates when players are held out from nationally televised games. He didn’t care when LeBron backed out from playing the spurs last season at the last second, because, you know, he was trying to save himself for the playoffs.

[baseline bum]

In the last few years a lot of teams have load managed and I recall only the Spurs getting fined... the season before last when the last half was brutal and they'd just come off covid. Other teams have flagrantly done it and walked free. The guy is a menace and has a clear double standard. He both blames the Spurs for not giving Kawhi to the Lakers and is punishing the Spurs for what the Clippers are currently doing.

Yeah no big deal when Miami load managed a game against the Spurs and got it postponed because they didn't want to play their stars in a back to back.

[John B]

One way to get rid of tanking is to have no built in odds for the draft picks. Any non playoff team has a shot for the number one pick.

Way to incorporate that in our tanking season :lol

[exstatic]

The problems began when he started load managing himself. Or his uncle did it for him.

Nope. The whole load management thing came to a head in 2013 when Pop put the big 3 + LDN on a plane home instead of playing them in a NT game against Miami.

[Seventyniner]

Nope. The whole load management thing came to a head in 2013 when Pop put the big 3 + LDN on a plane home instead of playing them in a NT game against Miami.

I think we're talking about different things. I was only talking about Number Two. I agree that the event you're talking about was the catalyst for Silver's comment.

[TheChillFactor]

One way to get rid of tanking is to have no built in odds for the draft picks. Any non playoff team has a shot for the number one pick.

This is absolutely the way to do it. The league got mad when Orlando won the lottery back to back and got Shaq and Penny, but the odds of that happening are really low.

This would eliminate the teams that strip their rosters down to nothing - like current OKC or the Process Sixers - because there's no difference between being the worst or the 14th-worst.

Equal-weighted lottery kills tanking

[TD 21]

They already have (see the Scumbag saga and subsequent draft lottery outcomes).

Wojnarowski wrote a great article back in his days at Yahoo! when the Spurs made the '13 Finals, about how the league (Stern specifically) has long been at odds with them, from load management to being ratings killers, to their lack of marketability to casuals and refusal to play the part of "partners" like previous dynasties/superstars had.



One way to get rid of tanking is to have no built in odds for the draft picks. Any non playoff team has a shot for the number one pick.

That'd be incredibly stupid. In a league where the glamor markets already have virtually every advantage as is, you really want to tempt this shady league with their pets (Warriors, Lakers, Raptors, etc.) many of which were recently in the lottery, to magically jump into the top 4 if not win it outright?

At least right now, if the Warriors for example, are eliminated in the play-in, like in '21 and jump from 14 to top 1-4, it'd look obvious.

[rascal]

They already have (see the Scumbag saga and subsequent draft lottery outcomes).

Wojnarowski wrote a great article back in his days at Yahoo! when the Spurs made the '13 Finals, about how the league (Stern specifically) has long been at odds with them, from load management to being ratings killers, to their lack of marketability to casuals and refusal to play the part of "partners" like previous dynasties/superstars had.




That'd be incredibly stupid. In a league where the glamor markets already have virtually every advantage as is, you really want to tempt this shady league with their pets (Warriors, Lakers, Raptors, etc.) many of which were recently in the lottery, to magically jump into the top 4 if not win it outright?

At least right now, if the Warriors for example, are eliminated in the play-in, like in '21 and jump from 14 to top 1-4, it'd look obvious.

The league doesn't fix the draft.

[rascal]

You have the team representatives present so no fix of the draft is possible.

[offset formation]

Enjoy the tank gentlemen. If you aren't prepared for the process, then the process will chew you up and spit you out. We are gonna suck really badly.

But....

There will be some really cool developments, hopefully Sochan really inspires us. Maybe Branham shows out some. Maybe Barlow inspires us that we have a coordinated big that can dribble and bang a little.

Maybe Vassell and Keldon take on a role of being young vets that lead the team to hard fought losses.

Or....

Maybe we just suck. Maybe Sochan shows he wasn't worthy of the 9th pick. Primo continues to whelm. Branham looks outmanned. Wesley is nothing but a chucker.

Either way, prepare thine anuses for a pounding because we will suck ass unlike anything seen since at least 1998.

[TD 21]

The league doesn't fix the draft.


You have the team representatives present so no fix of the draft is possible.

:lmao Sure they don't/it's not.

[offset formation]

I think we're talking about different things. I was only talking about Number Two. I agree that the event you're talking about was the catalyst for Silver's comment.

We're all big boys in here. You can just say the word poop or shit instead of Number Two

[heyheymymy]

Puts that Spurs #1 pick teaser during the draft selection test run in new light if this is not a joke and the call out is part of a general longstanding beef between SA and the Association.

[longhorn]

Not exclusively, but it played an integral part in it.

I think Spurs fans more than anything see the hypocrisy in him outright refusing to play because he thought the Spurs misdiagnosed him and were forcing him to play while hurt...while the Spurs diagnosis was that he had a chronic issue that would need to be managed for the rest of his career. And by refusing to play he tanked his trade value due to all the mystery of how healthy he may or may not have been.

Then he has subsequently strongarmed both his post-SA teams into load management due to a chronic knee issue, pretty much proving the Spurs' initial diagnosis was indeed accurate, and he was just an asshole whose Uncle wanted to get him to LA by any means necessary.

I kinda can't believe we're still here in the year 2022 and some Spurs fans don't understand why Kawhi's actions pre and post-trade have him hated by Spurs fans. We couldn't give a single shit less that he does load management, it's the fact he tanked his trade value and made the Spurs out to be bad guys when they are the NBA organization that prioritizes a conservative approach to player health more than any other.

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

Lakerstan sucking off the reigning commish per par


Nothing to see here folks, move along

[R. DeMurre]

I think Spurs fans more than anything see the hypocrisy in him outright refusing to play because he thought the Spurs misdiagnosed him and were forcing him to play while hurt...while the Spurs diagnosis was that he had a chronic issue that would need to be managed for the rest of his career. And by refusing to play he tanked his trade value due to all the mystery of how healthy he may or may not have been.

Then he has subsequently strongarmed both his post-SA teams into load management due to a chronic knee issue, pretty much proving the Spurs' initial diagnosis was indeed accurate, and he was just an asshole whose Uncle wanted to get him to LA by any means necessary.

I kinda can't believe we're still here in the year 2022 and some Spurs fans don't understand why Kawhi's actions pre and post-trade have him hated by Spurs fans. We couldn't give a single shit less that he does load management, it's the fact he tanked his trade value and made the Spurs out to be bad guys when they are the NBA organization that prioritizes a conservative approach to player health more than any other.


You're kind of contradicting yourself here. If the Spurs were correct about it being a chronic issue that would need constant attention and future management, why would you say he was "strong-arming' his post -SA teams? Wouldn't future load management be the reasonable plan for a guy with a chronic issue?

[Dancelot]

Well, we had to make up some excuse for Kawhi’s phantom injuries ever season, gotta call it something right?

[longhorn]

You're kind of contradicting yourself here. If the Spurs were correct about it being a chronic issue that would need constant attention and future management, why would you say he was "strong-arming' his post -SA teams? Wouldn't future load management be the reasonable plan for a guy with a chronic issue?

Strong-arming is maybe not the proper term--I mainly meant that it's clear that his camp has dictated that he needs load management to his subsequent teams, not the other way around--but the rest of my point doesn't hinge on that verbiage.

His side claimed SA mismanaged/misdiagnosed his chronic knee issue, then has subsequently done nothing to suggest that that is the case. That hypocrisy and his behavior pre-trade, not the fact he's load managed, is why Spurs fans hate Kawhi.

[R. DeMurre]

Strong-arming is maybe not the proper term--I mainly meant that it's clear that his camp has dictated that he needs load management to his subsequent teams, not the other way around--but the rest of my point doesn't hinge on that verbiage.

His side claimed SA mismanaged/misdiagnosed his chronic knee issue, then has subsequently done nothing to suggest that that is the case. That hypocrisy and his behavior pre-trade, not the fact he's load managed, is why Spurs fans hate Kawhi.


Meh, I think Spurs' fans naturally make too much of it because they didn't get to keep their superstar. It's understandable that they feel this way, but in the end I was never overly surprised that a shy and socially awkward black guy born & raised in Compton who probably has Asperger Syndrome wanted to return to the familiarity of his hometown and maybe didn't enjoy being coached by a short-tempered white ex-military guy with a temperament like Pop.

[DAF86]

:lmao Sure they don't/it's not.

Didn't the Knicks get incredible unlucky with recent lottery odds? If the draft was fixed, one would believe they would fix it so that one of the top 2 markets doesn't get royally fucked.

[R. DeMurre]

Didn't the Knicks get incredible unlucky with recent lottery odds? If the draft was fixed, one would believe they would fix it so that one of the top 2 markets doesn't get royally fucked.


The great thing about the "NBA is fixed" conspiracy theory is that every online chat site has tons of fans that agree with it, but each collection of theorists are certain that it's their team that is being screwed. No one in L.A., N.Y., or Miami is saying "whoa, it's cool that Adam Silver cheats in our favor, that's so cool!"

[heyheymymy]

I agree longhorn, been major vindication for SA to see Kawhi is clearly dealing with what Spurs medical apparently correctly diagnosed all along.

Meanwhile it's lose-lose for the Spurs:

Silver says SA is too load management while nephew is saying SA forced him to play hurt. Wtf. Is SA conservative or not?

[TD 21]

Meh, I think Spurs' fans naturally make too much of it because they didn't get to keep their superstar. It's understandable that they feel this way, but in the end I was never overly surprised that a shy and socially awkward black guy born & raised in Compton who probably has Asperger Syndrome wanted to return to the familiarity of his hometown and maybe didn't enjoy being coached by a short-tempered white ex-military guy with a temperament like Pop.

:lmao You can't be serious? It has little (nothing in my case) to do with Scumbag wanting out for whatever reason(s) and everything to do with how he went about it (and the league allowing him to do so) and how his actions decimated this franchise to the point that the effects are still being felt today with no end in sight, as well as how the agenda driven national media has portrayed the two sides since.



Didn't the Knicks get incredible unlucky with recent lottery odds? If the draft was fixed, one would believe they would fix it so that one of the top 2 markets doesn't get royally fucked.

The Knicks have long thought to have benefitted from the first lottery being rigged so naturally the league has steered clear of them since.

Almost without fail, when a team needs a new arena, lottery luck.

When a superstar leaves a non glamor and/or small market high and dry, lottery luck (with one glaring example).

When it's a glamor market you know the league cares deeply about who needs fortune to regain footing (like the Lakers magically jumping to top 4 in '19, which clinched the Davis trade or the Warriors conveniently retaining the pick that otherwise would have conveyed to the Timberwolves in '20, or the Craptors jumping into the top 4 in '20), lottery luck.

Before you reply with "what about Robinson/Duncan", they predated the league's hatred of this franchise.

[R. DeMurre]

The Knicks have long thought to have benefitted from the first lottery being rigged so naturally the league has steered clear of them since.

Almost without fail, when a team needs a new arena, lottery luck.

When a superstar leaves a non glamor and/or small market high and dry, lottery luck (with one glaring example).

When it's a glamor market you know the league cares deeply about who needs fortune to regain footing (like the Lakers magically jumping to top 4 in '19, which clinched the Davis trade or the Warriors conveniently retaining the pick that otherwise would have conveyed to the Timberwolves in '20, or the Craptors jumping into the top 4 in '20), lottery luck.

Before you reply with "what about Robinson/Duncan", they predated the league's hatred of this franchise.

The last three winners of the #1 pick have been Orlando, Detroit, and Minnesota... all non-glamor teams. Why did the fix not take effect in those scenarios? Why would the fix be to give the Lakers the #4 pick in 2019, and not the #1? Wouldn't that have paired the biggest star of the draft with the biggest star in the league? :lolAgain, every NBA site I look at it filled with guys who say the league is fixed, but on every site the vast majority of them agree that it's fixed against their team, just as you think it is against the Spurs. The Knicks are an enormous market and have stunk forever... no fix there, for some reason. You believe the Ewing Draft conspiracy from 35 years ago, but what has happened since then? has the pro NY conspiracy gone dormant in order to hide it more effectively? It makes no sense.

[TD 21]

The last three winners of the #1 pick have been Orlando, Detroit, and Minnesota... all non-glamor teams. Why did the fix not take effect in those scenarios? Why would the fix be to give the Lakers the #4 pick in 2019, and not the #1? Wouldn't that have paired the biggest star of the draft with the biggest star in the league? :lolAgain, every NBA site I look at it filled with guys who say the league is fixed, but on every site the vast majority of them agree that it's fixed against their team, just as you think it is against the Spurs. The Knicks are an enormous market and have stunk forever... no fix there, for some reason. You believe the Ewing Draft conspiracy from 35 years ago, but what has happened since then? has the pro NY conspiracy gone dormant in order to hide it more effectively? It makes no sense.

I detailed specific scenarios where they help certain teams (from '14-'19, when the Lakers were repeatedly projected to pick near the top, I believe they never slipped a spot conveniently). They've obviously got to pick their spots and attempt to be as subtle as possible about it.

Again, the Ewing conspiracy has hurt the Knicks.

[R. DeMurre]

I detailed specific scenarios where they help certain teams (from '14-'19, when the Lakers were repeatedly projected to pick near the top, I believe they never slipped a spot conveniently). They've obviously got to pick their spots and attempt to be as subtle as possible about it.



Odd that the league vetoed the trade of Chris Paul to L.A. in 2011.

[LittleCriminal]

If you dont play, you dont get paid. If you are sick/injured, have the other teams doctors evaluate the symptoms..

[offset formation]

Odd that the league vetoed the trade of Chris Paul to L.A. in 2011.

Dude the NBA literally temporarily owned that team. Trading the league's best young point guard to the team's marquee team would have been a horrible look and I recall multiple teams including the Spurs letting Stern know that in no uncertain terms

[offset formation]

Also, recall what the Logo did in briefly becoming Memphis' GM and trading Pau Gasol to them for fucking peanuts. That one still sticks in my craw because it kept the Spurs from probably 2 more rings.

The commissioner most definitely wants talent in LA and Boston, and New York. But they can't be too obvious about it after that nonsense.

[KobesAchilles]

Great thing about NY is that Dolan is the shittiest owner in the NBA so no matter what the Knicks do, they will always suck. I low key suspect that Silver is mad bc he was hoping that NYC would watch the Nets this year. He wants that NYC viewership. And if both NY teams suck then he loses that chance. He didn’t say shit about Paul George wanting out of OKC after signing his extension.

Stern literally came out and said that he hoped for a Lakers vs Lakers finals. So people questioning if the league has interest in other teams or favors other teams is pretty dumb. Even Larry Bird made mention of this way back in the 80s when Stern came out and said he hoped the series went 7 and low and behold the refs screwed over Boston and it went 7. If Tim Donagy (whatever his last name was) was caught cheating, I would t be surprised at all if the league as a whole looks away when certain things happen.

Silver is the boss who lets the employees do whatever they want at work. Then he wonders how to fix company problems that arise due to poor leadership. We’ve all had that boss and we have all taken advantage of them one way or another. It’s too late for him to do anything now. The players don’t respect or fear him at all.

[R. DeMurre]

Dude the NBA literally temporarily owned that team. Trading the league's best young point guard to the team's marquee team would have been a horrible look and I recall multiple teams including the Spurs letting Stern know that in no uncertain terms


The Hornets were pretty sure CP3 was leaving in free agency. That's why they wanted to trade him. Compare what they were getting from the Lakers with what they got from the Clippers:

Los Angeles Lakers: PG Chris Paul (from NO Hornets)
New Orleans Hornets: F Lamar Odom (from LA Lakers), SG Kevin Martin (from HOU Rockets), PF Luis Scola (from HOU Rockets), PG Goran Dragic (from HOU Rockets), future FRP, future SRP
Houston Rockets: PF Pau Gasol (from LA Lakers)

*. *. *. *
Clippers: Chris Paul and two future second-round picks
Hornets: Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, and the Minnesota Timberwolves' 2012 first-round pick

Was the Clipper deal really better than the Laker deal?

[R. DeMurre]

. I low key suspect that Silver is mad bc he was hoping that NYC would watch the Nets this year. He wants that NYC viewership. And if both NY teams suck then he loses that chance. He didn’t say shit about Paul George wanting out of OKC after signing his extension.


He did say something about it at the time, and it was pretty much the same thing he said about Durant's recent request:

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2019/07/10/nba-commissioner-adam-silver-calls-trade-demands-disheartening/60446511007/

[KobesAchilles]

He did say something about it at the time, and it was pretty much the same thing he said about Durant's recent request:

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2019/07/10/nba-commissioner-adam-silver-calls-trade-demands-disheartening/60446511007/
nevermind then. The dude is just a talking head then. He literally said the same shit and said he was going to do something about it and then never did :lol

[tim_duncan_fan]

I'm not some billionaire-loving lameass but players trying to jump ship any year they don't win a championship is annoying and unsustainable and I hope there are changes.

[R. DeMurre]

:lol

[TD 21]

Odd that the league vetoed the trade of Chris Paul to L.A. in 2011.

Again, optics. The league just had a lockout that was in part about haves and have nots and five seconds later the ultimate have was getting a top 3-5 player for pennies on the dollar from a have not.

The league also "owned" the Pelicans at the time.

[KingKev]

PATFO has been oretty good at fking themselves lately just sayin’