2025 NBA Off Season thread

[LD84]

Sports franchises seem to be very solid investments for the super rich.

Celtics were purchased for $360 million in 2002 and are sold for $6.1 billion just 22 years later and will rise to $7.3 billion in three years.


One would be hard pressed to find an investment with a higher ROI than that.

[Amazin69]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

NHL Hurricanes owner to buy NBA Portland Trail Blazers for $4B. Don't know if I ever heard of an owner of 2 franchises on opposite ends of the coast. Interesting that Portland is not in the NHL & Raleigh isn't in the NBA. You have to wonder if that comes into play when arena leases, renovations or age comes into play.

Jack Kent Cooke, who had been a minority owner of the Washington Redskins since 1960, bought the Lakers from Bob Short in 1965, and was the founding owner of the LA Kings since 1966 (before their inaugural season in 1967-1968). Cooke bought a majority interest in the Redskins in 1974 from Edward Bennett Williams and became CEO in 1977. In 1979, Cooke completely bought out Williams, freeing up Williams's funds so that he could take the Baltimore Orioles off the hands of his friend, Jerald Hoffberger.

With full control of the Redskins, Cooke sold the Lakers, the Kings, and the Great Western Forum to Dr. Jerry Buss. So he only owned bi-coastal franchises for five years, but we'll see how long Tepper lasts, for that matter.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Jack Kent Cooke, who had been a minority owner of the Washington Redskins since 1960, bought the Lakers from Bob Short in 1965, and was the founding owner of the LA Kings since 1966 (before their inaugural season in 1967-1968). Cooke bought a majority interest in the Redskins in 1974 from Edward Bennett Williams and became CEO in 1977. In 1979, Cooke completely bought out Williams, freeing up Williams's funds so that he could take the Baltimore Orioles off the hands of his friend, Jerald Hoffberger.

With full control of the Redskins, Cooke sold the Lakers, the Kings, and the Great Western Forum to Dr. Jerry Buss. So he only owned bi-coastal franchises for five years, but we'll see how long Tepper lasts, for that matter.

Thanks 4 the history lesson. I had forgotten Cooke owned the Lakers. Didn't know the Kings as well

[LD84]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

NHL Hurricanes owner to buy NBA Portland Trail Blazers for $4B. Don't know if I ever heard of an owner of 2 franchises on opposite ends of the coast. Interesting that Portland is not in the NHL & Raleigh isn't in the NBA. You have to wonder if that comes into play when arena leases, renovations or age comes into play.

C's sale for $6B+ approved

Many European football clubs also have North American based owners now as well.

So not just different coasts, but different continents altogether.

Success so far has been...mixed

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by LD84

Many European football clubs also have North American based owners now as well.

So not just different coasts, but different continents altogether.

Success so far has been...mixed

I knew that. My thoughts were limited to the major N.Am leagues. I don't think there is a threat for Man U to be moved to Florida

[Déjà Bru]

2025-26 NBA schedule: Which teams have most nationally televised games, and some of the reasoning behind it

They range from a low of 2 games (Wizards, Jazz, Raptors, Nets, and Pelicans) to a high of 34 games (Lakers, Warriors, Thunder, Knicks(!)). I reproduce the reasoning for these teams below; follow the link for the rest.

30. Washington Wizards

Number of nationally televised games: 2

The Wizards finished with the second-worst record last season, haven't been to the playoffs since 2021, and despite several high-draft picks on their team, have yet to take forward steps in a rebuild. It's no surprise they are tied at the bottom of this list.

29. Utah Jazz

Number of nationally televised games: 2

The Jazz, like the Wizards and the other three teams with just two games on national television, are in the midst of a rebuild, and until that changes, they will continue to find themselves near the bottom of this list. Landing the No. 1 pick next summer would certainly change that.

28. Toronto Raptors

Number of nationally televised games: 2

Toronto was on the brink of making the play-in round a season ago, and added Brandon Ingram to the roster, but that didn't positively impact their standing on this list. If Ingram makes a big splash in Toronto and gels well with Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and the rest of that young core, they could find themselves higher on this list next season.

27. Brooklyn Nets

Number of nationally televised games: 2

The Nets are leaning all the way into a rebuild, so much so that they've been playing hardball with Cam Thomas on offering a contract extension. The Nets are going to be an unfinished project next season, so it'll be a while before they find their way on national television enough to count on more than one hand.

26. New Orleans Pelicans

Number of nationally televised games: 2

You would think having Zion Williamson would carry enough weight to get the Pelicans not lumped in with the bottom-of-the-barrel teams. But uncertainty around his long-term future and trading CJ McCollum clearly meant the league didn't view them as a strong enough team to put on the national stage more than once.

----------------------------------------

4. New York Knicks

Number of nationally televised games: 34

It's been a long time since the Knicks have had this much buzz around them entering a season. Even last year, not many people predicted that they'd get to the conference finals for the first time in 25 years. They enter next season with sky-high expectations and a legitimate shot at getting to the NBA Finals.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

Number of nationally televised games: 34

It's no surprise the Thunder are tied for having the most nationally televised games. These are the defending champions with the reigning MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a core of young players who are just as exciting as they are dominant to watch and play against. It's nice to see that the league gave OKC this much attention despite being a smaller market.

2. Golden State Warriors

Number of nationally televised games: 34

Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. That's why the Warriors are this high. As long as Curry is on the Warriors, they will continue to be on television more than most teams, and that's understandable. Who wouldn't want to watch the greatest shooter in NBA history 34 times on national television?

1. Los Angeles Lakers

Number of nationally televised games: 34

The Lakers are quite literally the only team immune to the "if bad, then fewer games" theory. So, of course, when they're good, they're going to have a ton of games on television. There's no stopping the Lakers brand, regardless of how good or bad they are, and with Luka Dončić now the star of the show, you can bet that they'll be tied for the most nationally televised games for many more seasons to come.

[Cobra Mgr]

Who thinks the national public wants to see the Hornets more than 3x's? I live in NC and could think of 100 more things to entertain me than a Hornets game.

[Amazin69]

Well, we don't need national TV to see the Hornets. Eric Whomever and Dell Curry are on Fox Sports South, pretty much every game. (Unless they have changed announcers, that is.)

[LD84]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

Well, we don't need national TV to see the Hornets. Eric Whomever and Dell Curry are on Fox Sports South, pretty much every game. (Unless they have changed announcers, that is.)

Eric Collins is one of the best announcers in all of sports.
He alone can make Hornets games fun to watch.

I also think the Hornets if healthy can be competent this season and maybe win 36-40 games and be in the play in mix towards the end of the season.
I think they having the makings of a possibly top 10 offense.

But their defense is going to be probably bottom 5.

[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by LD84

Eric Collins is one of the best announcers in all of sports.
He alone can make Hornets games fun to watch.

I also think the Hornets if healthy can be competent this season and maybe win 36-40 games and be in the play in mix towards the end of the season.
I think they having the makings of a possibly top 10 offense.

But their defense is going to be probably bottom 5.

I can't remember the last time the Hornets were healthy.

[Cobra Mgr]

Jaylen Brown's father arrested for attempted murder after stabbing someone over a parking dispute

Questions...........

If you are 5'9" 160lbs, why are you challenging a 7'0" 300lb man to a fight?...........If you are a 7'0" 300lb ex-professional fighter, why do you feel the need to pull a knife on someone that is 5'9" 160 lbs?..........

[Déjà Bru]

This guy will always have a place in the hearts of Knicks fans who remember "Linsanity". From The Athletic:

Jeremy Lin retires from professional basketball after 9-year NBA career

By Matt Moret



Jeremy Lin announced his retirement from professional basketball Saturday night after a nine-year NBA career that saw him briefly become the face of the New York Knicks and the namesake of a sports phenomenon.

“As athletes, we are always aware that the possibility of retirement is never far away. I’ve spent my 15-year career knowing that one day I would have to walk away, and yet actually saying goodbye to basketball today has been the hardest decision I’ve ever made,” Lin wrote in a social media post.

Lin, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, grew up in Palo Alto, Calif. Spurred by his mother, he graduated from Harvard University, which does not give out athletic scholarships.

He went unselected in the 2009 NBA Draft, then signed with his hometown Golden State Warriors, where he played for a year. Lin’s debut drew significant attention from American and Chinese media, with the fan base’s large Asian population celebrating his arrival. However, his playing time was limited as the season progressed, and he spent most of the year on the bench.

The Knicks claimed Lin off waivers in 2011 after losing starting guard Iman Shumpert to an injury. Lin initially had to compete for a backup role and knew the team was considering cutting him. New York was struggling, though, and coach Mike D’Antoni gave Lin a chance to play in February 2012 as the team’s offense stalled.

Within days, Lin skyrocketed to fame after averaging 24.6 points, 9.2 assists and 4.1 rebounds over an 11-game stretch. Fans, peers and commentators embraced the 23-year-old’s breakout, dubbing it “Linsanity.”

Though the hysteria only lasted about two weeks, Lin’s aggressive style challenged racial stereotypes surrounding Asian American players. As a point guard, he’s credited with showing that Asian Americans were not passive players incapable of leading an offense. His ability to dunk showcased his athleticism and set him apart as someone able to spark a fire in teammates and fans.

Lin’s fame eclipsed most of his predecessors by a wide margin. Wat Misaka, a Japanese American who served in the United States Army during its occupation of Japan, became the first Asian American player in professional basketball in 1947. Like Lin, he played for the Knicks, who were then part of the Basketball Association of America, but Misaka’s pro career lasted just a year, during which he only played in three games.

In 1978, Raymond Townsend became the first Filipino American in the NBA, but his two-year run did not draw widespread recognition. Later came Chinese giant Yao Ming, who became a face of the league and an eight-time All-Star during his 2002-2011 career. Yao was a phenomenon in his own right. The Hall of Famer remains the biggest Asian-born star in NBA history and is a revered icon and executive in his home country.

Lin, though, was different. He was a homegrown star from Northern California who faced years of racist comments from competitors and home fans while playing at Harvard, then had to fight for a roster spot. The NBA hadn’t seen anyone like him perform at the level he did.

“It’s been the honor of a lifetime to compete against the fiercest competitors under the brightest lights and to challenge what the world thought was possible for someone who looks like me,” Lin said in his retirement post.

“Linsanity” propelled the 6-foot-3 guard to All-Star status as he led a seven-game winning streak that helped send the Knicks to the 2012 NBA playoffs.

“It’s a great story,” Kobe Bryant said in a mid-“Linsanity” interview, a day after saying he had no idea who Lin was, and on a night when Lin outscored him 38-34.

“It’s a testament to perseverance and hard work. I am sure he has put in a great deal of work to always have that belief in himself. Now he has the opportunity to show it.”

The Knicks lost in the opening round of the playoffs after running into LeBron James and the Miami Heat, who went on to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy that season, but Lin rode the wave of support into the NBA history books multiple times over.



The 89 points Lin scored in his first three starts with the Knicks were the most by a player since the 1976-77 NBA-ABA merger, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He later became the first Asian American to win an NBA championship as part of the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors.

Lin’s first and only NBA championship didn’t sit right with him, however. He publicly said he didn’t earn his ring after playing poorly during the Raptors’ playoff run. Once the season ended, he found himself without a team, going unsigned during free agency.

“I had this 12-game stretch where I didn’t play that well, and that was it,” Lin told Business Insider in 2022. “So you gotta think for me, after playing nine years in the league, I would expect like, OK, I have a reputation, people know what I can do. But I was pretty surprised at just how fast people were like, ‘OK, he’s done.’

“When I add all of that up, I would say race has a role to play in that. I just don’t know how big, but my gut is that race definitely has a role to play.”

The lack of NBA interest led Lin to the Chinese Basketball Association in 2019, where he became a star once again. Though he returned briefly to the U.S. in 2021 as part of the Warriors’ G-League team, the Santa Cruz Warriors, he spent the rest of his career playing in China and Taiwan, winning another championship and TPBL Finals MVP with the New Taipei Kings in June.

Beyond the Knicks, Raptors and Warriors, Lin also had brief stints with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks. A journeyman his entire career, he never spent more than two seasons with any team. Lin ended his NBA tenure averaging 11.6 points, 2.8 total rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.

“I’ve lived out my wildest childhood dreams to play in front of fans all around the world,” he said in his retirement announcement. “I will forever be the kid who felt fully alive every time I touched a basketball.”

It says something about how extensive the desert of Knicks basketball has been that this fellow was able to ignite the excitement and passion of their fans, even if only for a brief period of time.

[Cobra Mgr]

I got on to Jeremy before most Knick fans did. There is an annual "tournament" in Portsmouth, VA that showcases the college seniors that aren't initially invited to the NBA draft camp. I went that year & he was one of the players. Ish Smith from Wake Forest was supposed to be the top PG out there. But I left thinking clearly Lin was the better player.

[Cobra Mgr]

Kawhi Leonard was paid $28M in an endorsement deal w/a tree company run by Clips owner Steve Balmer. Potentially circumventing the salary cap.

[Amazin69]

That seems a really good way to get sanctioned or something similar. Did Steve think nobody would notice?

[Cobra Mgr]

This could get real bad for the Clips

The last example we have of a team getting caught for overt salary cap subversion was Joe Smith with the Minnesota Timberwolves back in 1999-00. In that case he signed three veteran minimum deals for less than $3M each, with the organization paying him under the table so they would have salary cap flexibility. The NBA levied a massive punishment against the Wolves, fining them $3.5M, voiding Smith’s contract, and taking away Minnesota’s 1st round draft pick for the next five years as punishment..............That was the penalty for circumventing the cap for a player who wasn’t a star, wasn’t even a starter at the time.

[Amazin69]

What a bunch of dumb ****s:

The Clippers are about to be in very, very hot water — assuming new allegations against the organization are true. Investigative reporter Pablo Torre claims the team has been involved in a shell corporation scheme which has been paying superstar Kawhi Leonard under the table, and more importantly off of the salary cap for years.

It stems from the bankruptcy of Aspiration Partners, a technology and sustainable growth company which brokered carbon emission credits for large companies like Meta and Microsoft. In Aspiration’s bankruptcy filings they were forced to include their outstanding debt, which included a $7M payment to “KL2 Aspire LLC,” a company whose manager is listed as Kawhi Leonard, and the company name obviously refers to Leonard’s initials, and his jersey number.

Gosh, what a clever way to hide your scam! I'm only surprised they didn't register the company website as totallynotawaytofunnelmoneytokawhi.com. I mean, come on.

We’re approaching the 2022-23 season. The team has Paul George on a max contract, then a handful of solid, but unremarkable players. If Kawhi walks they’re screwed. There’s not much that’s attractive about the Clippers for a top-tier free agent to join, and the entire future of the basketball operations had been organized around Kawhi and PG13. They’re hoping to find a third superstar to get them over the top, and losing one of their big two sets them back to the start.

Then Leonard re-signs with LA on another max-level contract to keep the band together. On paper it’s only set to pay him $3M more than he was making with the team. However, if we factor in the possibility that he had a side arrangement with Aspiration Partners now he’s making a nice, round $10M more a season to stay with the Clippers. An arrangement which conveniently lasts exactly as long as the extension he signed with the Clippers.

The article then goes on to speculate about the Clips' punishment. I can think of one right off the bat…make Ballmer sell the team. If Donald Sterling gets the (deserved) boot for nothing more than being a horny racist cheapskate, then this organized chicanery shouldn't even come close to being allowable conduct.

As for Kawhi…unlike the ongoing Pete Rose issue (and similar), I have no idea where the Basketball Hall of Fame stands on bans and such. But he should face some personal punishment…he's as guilty as Ballmer (if they're guilty), after all. A year's suspension? Put pressure on companies to void his endorsements? I don't know, but Load-Management deserves a LOAD coming his way.

JMO.

[Cobra Mgr]

What gets me about the situation is that all they had to do was put up some posters w/Kawhi & that company's logo, maybe do some radio spots at the AS game and they would have been in the clear. They couldn't call it a no-show then & it would throw the hounds off the scent. It was like they were driving drunk waving their 40 out the window when they could have poured their liquor in a nondescript thermos and kept attention away from themselves.

[Cobra Mgr]

Ballmer should shut up & let his lawyers do the talking. The more $ a man makes, the greater over estimation he makes of his own abilities and intelligence.

[Déjà Bru]

When I saw this headline, I thought "What? How could Larry Bird not be in the Hall of Fame until now?!?" With a sense of embarrassment, I discovered that it was Sue Bird, not Larry.

I used to dump on Carmelo Anthony when he played for the Knicks for being a ball-hog, but now I realize that it wasn't his fault; management never acquired enough good players to complement him so naturally he had to carry the team. He had this wistful comment to make during his inauguration speech: "I never got an NBA ring ... but I know what I gave to the game." So many other players must take solace in the same manner.

As for SUE Bird (),

The enshrinements of Bird, [Maya] Moore and [Sylvia] Fowles marked the first time three WNBA players entered the Hall of Fame in the same year.

Bird said being on the stage Saturday made her appreciate her journey from Syosset, New York, predicting in her high school yearbook that she would become a professional soccer or basketball player.

"There was no logical place for a kid like me," she said.

Saturday also showcased the interconnectivity of that trio of women. Bird and Moore won two NCAA titles each at Connecticut. Fowles was also instrumental in the final two of Moore's four WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx. All three played together and won gold medals for the U.S. on the Olympic team.

I am going to honor them by reposting this in the WNBA Rising thread. Oh, and Dwight Howard was pretty good, too.