Buckets

dirk vs. KG is a classic NBA debate. KG was a complete two-way player, an all-time great defender who could quarterback a defense and whose intensity is the stuff of legends. he could genuinely guard 1-5. offensively, he was way more than just a scorer too. he was an elite midrange shooter and his teams often ran their offense through him at the elbow.

dirk was an offensive weapon, and his shooting at 7 feet completely changed what a big man could look like. then there’s 2011: one of the defining title runs of that era, culminating in taking down the heatles without another superstar next to him.

their resumes are closer than people remember too. both MVPs, champions, top 75, and first-ballot hall of famers. two completely different ways to build a franchise around a power forward.

who you picking?

do u have ball knowledge 🤔

somehow this is all basically within the same year:

-federal gambling cases involving current and former players
-a sitting head coach getting arrested
-the clippers losing five first-round picks
-steve ballmer getting suspended for a year
-three franchises changing hands, -the knicks and raptors ending their lawsuit
-lakers sold again while mark walter’s business is under federal investigation

the clippers’ pursuit of kawhi leonard has cost them TEN first-round picks (and 2 swaps)

it started in 2019, when kawhi made it clear he wanted paul george alongside him in LA. to make that happen, the clippers sent shai gilgeous-alexander, five first-round picks and two pick swaps to OKC (one of those picks was jalen williams). at the time, the clippers essentially viewed it as the price for both stars. trade for PG, and kawhi signs too

seven years later, that decision somehow got even more expensive. the NBA stripped the clippers of another five first-round picks from 2029-33 after determining the organization violated salary-cap circumvention rules

so when you add everything up, LA’s pursuit of the kawhi era has now involved:

10 first-round picks
2 pick swaps
shai gilgeous-alexander

the clippers never made the finals in kawhi’s tenure

the nba just HAMMERED the clippers after its year long investigation into the kawhi leonard salary cap circumvention scandal.

the clippers are losing FIVE first-round picks from 2029-33, while steve ballmer was hit with a $30M fine and a one-year suspension. the nba says ballmer knowingly helped kawhi obtain off-court income opportunities, including approving a business deal tied to kawhi’s endorsement agreement with aspiration.

lawrence frank has also been suspended six months without pay, while clippers business president gillian zucker got a one-year unpaid suspension for her involvement and providing false and misleading statements to investigators.

kawhi won’t be suspended and his contract remains intact, but he has to pay $700K in restitution for improper benefits provided to his uncle and former business rep dennis robertson, who has now been banned from doing business with the nba.

and the league isn’t just moving on. the clippers will be under an nba compliance and monitoring program for the next FIVE years.

this is an absolutely insane punishment 😭

ESPN’s early award predictions are in 👀

a group of NBA reporters, editors and analysts ranked their top three picks for each of the league’s major awards. first-place votes were worth five points, second-place votes were worth three and third-place votes were worth one.

victor wembanyama came out on top in both MVP and DPOY voting, while alex caruso led the sixth man race, stephon castle topped most improved player and cameron boozer was the favorite for rookie of the year.

there were some pretty interesting results throughout, including rick carlisle narrowly edging mitch johnson for coach of the year and luka doncic getting the most votes to lead the league in scoring.

obviously a lot can change before the season even starts, but this gives a pretty good look at where expectations are heading.

which prediction surprised you the most?

spencer jones is set to make $6M this season and he shared exactly how he’ll spend it.

jones estimates he’ll actually have around $3.3M to work with. he says 15-20% will go toward venture investing, partly because he wants that to become a real part of his career after basketball. his actual living expenses he says will be under $100K for the year which is quite impressive for an nba player and likely not the norm. that leaves more than $2.5M going toward index funds, savings and philanthropy.

the whole thing really comes back to a promise he made to himself when he was still on a two-way deal: if the bigger contract ever came, his lifestyle wouldn’t automatically grow with it. now it has, and instead of immediately upgrading everything around him, he’s trying to not let lifestyle creep take hold.

for a league where we usually only hear about the contract number itself, this is a pretty interesting look at what actually happens after the deal gets signed and how differently players can think about money once it finally arrives.

just days after signing with the timberwolves, kuminga posted himself in a vikings uniform on his IG story, then followed it up with a training clip of him running routes

physically, could he play in the NFL? kuminga is 6’7”, listed at 225 pounds, has a 6’11” wingspan, a 38-inch vertical and is one of the most explosive athletes in the NBA. good luck pressing that at the line 💀

jonathan kuminga left a lot of money on the table because he believed minnesota was the best basketball situation for him.

kuminga took a 2-year, $13M deal with the wolves that includes a player option over a 3-year, $36M offer from the lakers. according to his agent, the decision wasn’t really about where he could get the most shots or put up the biggest numbers. itwas about defense.

anthony edwards was heavily involved in recruiting kuminga and sold him on what the wolves could be defensively. JK’s agent even said offense was “secondary” in the decision and that kuminga wasn’t worried about stats or shot attempts. he wanted the situation he thought gave him the best chance to play winning basketball.

did he pick the right situation?

(via The Athletic)