Dave DuFour with the Athletic: “If you’re going to have rules in place, and they can just be ignored, then why can’t the Memphis Grizzlies play with six guys on the court? Why can’t the Warriors add a four-point line? If the rules are arbitrary, then you no longer have a sport.”

33 comments

  1. memphis grizzlies can’t play with six guys on the court cause they can’t stay healthy enough to field 6 players at the same time

  2. Damn I never thought about this. If Balmer isn’t sanctioned, the game will turn into Arch Rivals out there on the court.

  4. The problem is that if the NBA decides all this so-called “circumstantial evidence” isn’t enough for punishment, they’ve basically handed Ballmer—and every other owner—a blueprint for bypassing the cap.

    As long as you don’t literally write a check that says “From Ballmer, To Kawhi, for NBA Cap Circumvention”, you can get away with it.

  6. Or….why did the Celtics have to unload players when they could have done side deals?

    Or why couldn’t the Suns do a side deal to get Beal to waive his no trade clause?

    Or why couldn’t the Lakers have done a side deal with Lebron and resign him to a team friendly deal?

    Or why couldn’t the Bucks do a side deal with Dame and renegotiate instead of buying him out and stretching and having dead cap space?

    Or why have teams and restricted free agents been staring at each other all offseason?

  8. The Warriors adding a four-point line wouldn’t even be unfair, as long as both teams got to use it. “What if basketball courts were treated more like baseball fields” is an interesting hypothetical at least

  9. I agree but the entire officiating is like this too though. why is a 5 second violation rarely called? why do players get calls differently?

  10. This is kind of a silly comparison. I think a better one is steroids. If the best players are all on steroids then everyone has to be in order to compete with them.

    There are only two results. Either there are a handful of teams that compete for titles and everyone else is just trying to sell tickets to the local show (and the teams in those two groups don’t ever change), or every team builds in some kind of under the table deal and you get something closer to college sports. You never know how much people make and 5 teams have 80% of the top 20 players.

    But it’s starting to feel like we’re already there and the superteam era needs no further explanation.

    Edit: bit of an unnecessary % there…16 of the top 20

  11. If Ballmer doesn’t get punished, I wouldn’t blame him for a second if he threw a billion dollars under-the-table at SGA, Edwards, Tatum, Wemby, and Jokić

  12. So the Knicks could have not lost Hartenstein in FA and paid him the difference from the OKC offer under the table? Because that might have been enough to help them win the chip…

  14. Why can’t ja Morant use a gun to threaten free throw shooters, why can’t Zion have a buffet on court, why can’t jokic play the entire game horseback.

    Edit: why can’t Draymond assault everyone

  15. Adam Silver is a fucking coward. He has broad powers to enforce and he does not need proof beyond a reasonable doubt. he is scared of Ballmer. Disgusting.

  16. It’s like gambling on your own team when you’re a player.

    Once a sport’s outcome seems pre-determined, that’s it. You are now watching pro wrestling.

  17. Every NFL, CFB, and MLB fan is watching this and agreeing. Too many teams have cheated to success and gotten away with it. Enforce the rules and make it hurt.

  18. Adam Silver: Huh, actually that’s not a bad idea for the Allstar Game next year. Noted.

  19. So it seems like the NBA probably knew about this and were okay with letting Balmer get some good players in a shady way so his new team could compete in a new arena

  21. I have officially lost all faith in the nba as an organization. Squeezing fans for live games with absurd pricing. Squeezing fans for viewership subscriptions when regional games are more limited and only the big market march ups are available without paying for nbaTV and now the nba’s own rules are shaping up to be suggestions. Idc what you say nba players and owners are extremely privileged people who make money off of a leisure activity. I really hope there is a massive drop in the fan base and all of these teams start losing value and money. One can hope but unless these guys feel it in their wallet nothing will change

  22. Teams are already studying this. Based on the outcome, they’re going to learn a lot about whether this type of cheating is worth it, how not to get caught next time, and how dedicated the NBA is to the integrity of the league. They’d be stupid not to and anything short of a serious punishment will encourage more shady deals/behavior.

    As fans drowning in betting commercials and other sports media options, playing with the integrity of the entire league is playing with fire. I’m interested in this shit show saga but even now, I already trust ESPN and the league significantly less than a couple weeks ago. And that’s after they “load managed” their way to me mostly ignoring the regular season.

  24. I totally agree! My Celtics just blew up a championship team due to salary cap 2nd Apron B.S! If they allow this to slide why is there a cap at all?

  25. Stephen Curry will now be a part owner of the Golden State Warriors. Therefore he has no salary towards the cap as he is an owner who happens to play.

  26. Who wins this matchup? Grizzlies with six guys on the court vs. Warriors with a four-point line

  28. I don’t think the NBA realizes how damaging this really is to their product.

    I was already fed up with the media coverage and ESPN’s game day coverage, so seeing them split the TV rights between them, Amazon, and NBC was really frustrating.

    Then these last few playoffs I just have this inkling that the refs have too much power. Coupled with the huge push in gambling and the advertisements plastered all over the courts and uniforms. Oh and the Nike Uniforms suck.

    Then this comes about and reinforces what I already felt in the back of my mind, that this league is rigged. My team shouldn’t have Luka Doncic. We don’t need this many days to come down on Steve Ballmer and Kawhi. David Stern wouldn’t let this shit fly.

    I’m officially out, canceled YouTube TV. No more League Pass (that products sucks too). Maybe I’ll catch games on Prime or Peacock, but this has really killed my interest in the NBA.

  30. It’s getting to the point where either Ballmer is gone from the league or the league no longer seems legitimate to a lot of fans.

  31. This is the point where I remind you that Adam Silver, the worst commissioner in the history of North American sports, has still done nothing. The longer this goes without a resolution, the more toxic it will get and the more damage the NBA’s brand will incur.

    People who think the draft lottery is rigged are justified: if one form of rigging (circumventing the cap) is met with silence, why should we believe that rigging isn’t rampant?

  33. Sterling was made to sell the team after saying Nono words by a deranged sugar baby.

    Ballmer circumvented the league’s salary cap. Made a shell company to pay a player under the table. Which is worse for the integrity of the game? How come clippers players aren’t wearing a fuck Ballmer shirt?

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