Offseason Thread

[Donoghus]

Decent chunk of change for the Portland market.

Shams Charania
@ShamsCharania
?
26s
NHL Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has agreed to buy the Portland Trail Blazers from the estate of Paul G. Allen for a valuation of over $4 billion, sources tell ESPN.

[Moranis]

Interesting the owner is based in Dallas and now has teams essentially on each coast.

[Donoghus]

Not great news if you're an "Inside the NBA" fan.

Many people?s fears about Inside the NBA?s transition from TNT to ESPN may soon be realized.

According to a report by Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, the first edition of Inside the NBA is set to air on ESPN following its first NBA doubleheader of the season on October 22. However, those accustomed to over an hour of banter from Charles Barkley, Shaquille O?Neal, and the rest of the Inside crew during a postgame show might leave disappointed.

Per Lewis, citing ESPN?s advance schedule, the debut of Inside the NBA on ESPN is set for just a 30-minute window. ?The show would run from 12:05 ? 12:35 a.m. ET, leading into a Bristol-based SportsCenter at 12:35,? Lewis reports.

It is important to note, the advance schedule is subject to change, and perhaps the 30-minute window currently given to the show is flexible. The length of Inside the NBA and the rigidity of ESPN?s programming windows have been a subject of concern for fans of the show as it prepares its transition to the new network. Just last month, Barkley echoed those concerns, jokingly saying, ?Are they gonna say we gotta go to the SportsCenter??

Also of note, SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, which typically leads out of ESPN?s most important live event programming, is not on the schedule for the network?s NBA season debut. Van Pelt is on the schedule for the second night of NBA games on October 23, with Inside seemingly getting the night off. The TNT-produced NBA Tip-Off will serve as the pregame show for both nights of NBA coverage, according to the advance schedule.

Outside of the first week of NBA games on ESPN, Inside is not scheduled to appear on ESPN airwaves again until Christmas Day.

[Celtics2021]

Decent chunk of change for the Portland market.

Shams Charania
@ShamsCharania
?
26s
NHL Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has agreed to buy the Portland Trail Blazers from the estate of Paul G. Allen for a valuation of over $4 billion, sources tell ESPN.

Curious if he will keep the team there.  He has no ties to Portland or the Pacific Northwest that I can determine.

[Donoghus]

Decent chunk of change for the Portland market.

Shams Charania
@ShamsCharania
?
26s
NHL Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has agreed to buy the Portland Trail Blazers from the estate of Paul G. Allen for a valuation of over $4 billion, sources tell ESPN.

Curious if he will keep the team there.  He has no ties to Portland or the Pacific Northwest that I can determine.

I read that he had no ties to Carolina either when he bought the Hurricanes so there was some fear there but he went ahead and got a 20 year lease in Raleigh so hopefully he'll do the same in Portland.  That's a passionate market with a long history.

[Celtics2021]

Decent chunk of change for the Portland market.

Shams Charania
@ShamsCharania
?
26s
NHL Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has agreed to buy the Portland Trail Blazers from the estate of Paul G. Allen for a valuation of over $4 billion, sources tell ESPN.

Curious if he will keep the team there.  He has no ties to Portland or the Pacific Northwest that I can determine.

I read that he had no ties to Carolina either when he bought the Hurricanes so there was some fear there but he went ahead and got a 20 year lease in Raleigh so hopefully he'll do the same in Portland.  That's a passionate market with a long history.

True, and I hope it is the case.  But the Triangle, where he already has one team, is also basketball ravenous and one of the fastest growing areas in the country, so I am still waiting to see what happens.

[Who]

Kessler Edwards and the Denver Nuggets have agreed to a contract. Edwards was a free agent after appearing in 40 games last season with the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 4.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 40.7 percent on three-pointers.

Nice pickup for Denver. Good 3rd stringer.

Nuggets Bench

G: Bruce Brown Jr
G: Tim Hardaway Jr, Jalen Pickett, Hunter Tyson
F: Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, Kessler Edwards
F: Zeke Nnaji
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Daron Holmes II

An interesting bench. No true PG. Bruce Brown Jr and Jalen Pickett will handle those duties. 6 bench wings in addition to their 2 starting wins (C Braun, Cam Johnson).

3 big combo guards in Jamal Murray, B Brown, Jalen Pickett. No small guards. No true PGs. 7 wings. 2 big forwards. 3 centers.

I am surprised they didn't go out and get an offensive PF to go alongside Zeke Nnaji. He is a strong defensive player but dodgy offensively. I guess they are going small if he ain't playing well. Harder to go small without MPJ this year. Their wings are all SF/SG. Not big wings. Cam Johnson is the biggest and he is an average sized SF.

[JBcat]

Kessler Edwards and the Denver Nuggets have agreed to a contract. Edwards was a free agent after appearing in 40 games last season with the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 4.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 40.7 percent on three-pointers.

Nice pickup for Denver. Good 3rd stringer.

Nuggets Bench

G: Bruce Brown Jr
G: Tim Hardaway Jr, Jalen Pickett, Hunter Tyson
F: Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, Kessler Edwards
F: Zeke Nnaji
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Daron Holmes II

An interesting bench. No true PG. Bruce Brown Jr and Jalen Pickett will handle those duties. 6 bench wings in addition to their 2 starting wins (C Braun, Cam Johnson).

3 big combo guards in Jamal Murray, B Brown, Jalen Pickett. No small guards. No true PGs. 7 wings. 2 big forwards. 3 centers.

I am surprised they didn't go out and get an offensive PF to go alongside Zeke Nnaji. He is a strong defensive player but dodgy offensively. I guess they are going small if he ain't playing well. Harder to go small without MPJ this year. Their wings are all SF/SG. Not big wings. Cam Johnson is the biggest and he is an average sized SF.

I personally think Nnaji is garbage and Daron Holmes is quickly going to surprise people and secure that backup PF spot while also able to play C on occasion. I believe he is going to be that offensive PF while also playing solid defense.

I also really like Watson?s defensive energy and impact but needs to hit the 3 ball better to be a more well rounded player.

[celticsclay]

Decent chunk of change for the Portland market.

Shams Charania
@ShamsCharania
?
26s
NHL Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has agreed to buy the Portland Trail Blazers from the estate of Paul G. Allen for a valuation of over $4 billion, sources tell ESPN.

Curious if he will keep the team there.  He has no ties to Portland or the Pacific Northwest that I can determine.

I read that he had no ties to Carolina either when he bought the Hurricanes so there was some fear there but he went ahead and got a 20 year lease in Raleigh so hopefully he'll do the same in Portland.  That's a passionate market with a long history.

True, and I hope it is the case.  But the Triangle, where he already has one team, is also basketball ravenous and one of the fastest growing areas in the country, so I am still waiting to see what happens.

There is already a team in North Carolina and they don't do great attendance wise (22nd last year). The league would not allow a second team to move there.

[Who]

The Los Angeles Lakers will unveil a statue of former coach Pat Riley on Feb. 22, as the Hall of Famer joins the likes of former team greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant in bronze outside their downtown arena.

The Lakers will fittingly honor Riley against the Boston Celtics, their long-time rival.

[Who]

MPJ with some more gambling quotes

"The enjoyment of the game isn't for the game anymore," Porter said on the "One Night with Steiny" podcast this week. "It's so that people can make money. In reality, way more people are losing money than making money."

This is what happens with sports gambling. The gambling becomes more important the sport. The extra adrenaline rush you get when you have a bet a game makes the game / sport more engaging.

After  a while, the sport no longer measures up without the betting. Without that extra adrenaline rush. You lose your love for the game. What you are really in love with is that adrenaline rush waiting to find out whether you have made money or lost money.

You root for the bet rather than for the team or player. So you root for the specific player to get his over/under. That is what you care about. The result / who wins or loses the game is secondary. The bet is primary.

Porter said players are in a no-win situation with bettors, because they are always "messing up" either the over or under on prop bets that have become increasingly popular as legal sports betting has spread across the nation.

"We really do get death threats," Porter said, adding that he wonders what would happen if an unhinged gambler physically attacked an athlete.

Porter said he believes sports betting should be restricted to in-person, not online, and only in Las Vegas.

"The whole sports gambling entity ... it's bad and it's only going to get worse," he said.

The amount of threats players get for betters losing money on over/unders is frightening. The amount of abuse.

[tazzmaniac]

MPJ with some more gambling quotes

"The enjoyment of the game isn't for the game anymore," Porter said on the "One Night with Steiny" podcast this week. "It's so that people can make money. In reality, way more people are losing money than making money."

This is what happens with sports gambling. The gambling becomes more important the sport. The extra adrenaline rush you get when you have a bet a game makes the game / sport more engaging.

After  a while, the sport no longer measures up without the betting. Without that extra adrenaline rush. You lose your love for the game. What you are really in love with is that adrenaline rush waiting to find out whether you have made money or lost money.

You root for the bet rather than for the team or player. So you root for the specific player to get his over/under. That is what you care about. The result / who wins or loses the game is secondary. The bet is primary.

Porter said players are in a no-win situation with bettors, because they are always "messing up" either the over or under on prop bets that have become increasingly popular as legal sports betting has spread across the nation.

"We really do get death threats," Porter said, adding that he wonders what would happen if an unhinged gambler physically attacked an athlete.

Porter said he believes sports betting should be restricted to in-person, not online, and only in Las Vegas.

"The whole sports gambling entity ... it's bad and it's only going to get worse," he said.

The amount of threats players get for betters losing money on over/unders is frightening. The amount of abuse.

Affecting women's sports too. The stalkers and sexual harassers need to up their game. 

The Women?s Tennis Association (WTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) have revealed disturbing new figures highlighting the extent of online abuse targeting professional tennis players, with angry gamblers responsible for a staggering 40% of all detected abuse.

[Goldstar88]

I?m well aware that the reason I?m still here is because Steph Curry is still here, Kerr said on a recent episode of the "Glue Guys Podcast." And I?m not being modest, I?m just telling the truth. Gregg Popovich is one of my best friends and mentors, and every time we sit down for dinner, he holds up his wine glass and he says, 'Here's to Tim Duncan.' "And everyone toasts to Tim Duncan. I love it because it's genuine and he's basically telling us the only reason I -- and we -- are all here is because the lottery fell our way, we got Tim Duncan. Other people didn't. That's how I feel about Steph."

[Neurotic Guy]

I?m well aware that the reason I?m still here is because Steph Curry is still here, Kerr said on a recent episode of the "Glue Guys Podcast." And I?m not being modest, I?m just telling the truth. Gregg Popovich is one of my best friends and mentors, and every time we sit down for dinner, he holds up his wine glass and he says, 'Here's to Tim Duncan.' "And everyone toasts to Tim Duncan. I love it because it's genuine and he's basically telling us the only reason I -- and we -- are all here is because the lottery fell our way, we got Tim Duncan. Other people didn't. That's how I feel about Steph."

I wonder if similar words of modesty ever flow from the voice of Phil Jackson.

[SparzWizard]

OKC @ Indy on 10/23, already an NBA Finals rematch for Indy's opening night.