I want to care about the WNBA. There is even a really great franchise locally (so much better than the Wolves it is hard to believe they are sibling franchises). And yet ... I struggle to find the interest. I don't know what they can do to become more popular, other than keep on doing what they are doing and grow organically.

I tried to get into the WNBA 4-5 years ago, when I realized I love basketball and it was sorta sexist to rule out enjoying the W without giving it a shot. And... now I love it. I have season tickets for the Sky (which, incidentally, cost about $130) and following their path to the title two years ago was one of the most fun sports experiences of my life.

The league is amateurish in some annoying ways (particularly the coverage and the refereeing) but the best players are incredibly fun to watch and the personalities are compelling. I know this is a baseball website so most here have other sports to watch in the summer, but there's a lot of value to me in being able to watch basketball year-round.

[2501] it probably doesn't help that Minnesota is a tire fire right now.

[2502] I find Ryan Ruocco and (Hall of Famer) Rebecca Lobo amazing, but that's only for a few national tv broadcasts. I've found the local Seattle coverage has been...amusingly bad.

Yeah, the coverage is not good outside of national TV. I'm watching Lynx-Sun on Amazon Prime Video right now and I don't know who these announcers are but they are making, like, a lot of factual errors even leaving aside lack of insight.

I want to care about the WNBA. There is even a really great franchise locally (so much better than the Wolves it is hard to believe they are sibling franchises). And yet ... I struggle to find the interest. I don't know what they can do to become more popular, other than keep on doing what they are doing and grow organically.

Basically where I'm at. I love the NBA and I've basically lost all interest in baseball the last few years so I wouldn't mind following a second sport/league but it seems hard to force myself into learning a new league.

it probably doesn't help that Minnesota is a tire fire right now.

Are you kidding? The Lynx is the best franchise in Minnesota. It is a bit of a down patch, but for a Wolves fan, this is ... a well-run "get bad to get good ASAP", quite unlike the typical "We are bad because we are dumb" patented Wolves move. :)

MPJ on fire early. Joker with 6 assists and zero shot attempts, and the Nugs have 27 points in ten minutes.

Nuggets running out to an early lead. We're 1/8th of a game into this best of 7, so there's plenty of time for me to look like a fool, but even though I'd peg Denver and Boston as very similarly good teams, I expect the dynamic to be pretty consistent and Denver to win in 5±1 games. Matchups matter! (When a little time has passed, you can ask me about how I think the Celtics would have matched up, but it's a bit too soon to dwell on that.)

Jokić didn't take a shot until the very end of the first quarter. Instead, he opted to get Gordon going early, and then feeding Murray. MPJ already has four defensive rebounds.

Jokic has to be about the most enjoyable superstar to play with for other good players. Maybe Steph above him but no one else active I can think of.

He took a shot 3 mins in! He got fouled and made both.

(sorry, my real pet peeve is when people say things like "21 points on 15 shots" ignoring that the player took shots that landed them at the free throw line". yeah I'm a lot of fun at parties.)

They really ought to put TS% into box scores.

Bold prediction: if the Nuggets continue to outshoot the Heat by 23%...

Bolder prediction: if the Nuggets continue to outscore the Heat by 8-9 points each quarter ...

Finally caught up on the thread and other people have indeed made my point about Denver/Heat already (notably in [2465]).

Re: Jaylen Brown, he's a hard guy to evaluate. His playmaking and turnover issues are quite real, but this latest series aside, his scoring is better than his raw efficiency would indicate because his speed, power, and outrageous body control mean he's very hard to completely shut off. That matters, especially in the playoffs (where he's historically been quite good). It's a weird example of the almost omnipresent efficiency/robustness tradeoff. In a way, the arguments about Tatum and Brown I have had with Lakers fans feel like penance for Kobe hot takes back in the day. He'll get the supermax, he won't be worth it, but it won't be a problem, let alone a crippling one.

What a remarkably unchaotic game. Sometimes the better team just... wins.

Re: Jaylen Brown, he's a hard guy to evaluate. His playmaking and turnover issues are quite real, but this latest series aside, his scoring is better than his raw efficiency would indicate because his speed, power, and outrageous body control mean he's very hard to completely shut off. That matters, especially in the playoffs (where he's historically been quite good). It's a weird example of the almost omnipresent efficiency/robustness tradeoff. In a way, the arguments about Tatum and Brown I have had with Lakers fans feel like penance for Kobe hot takes back in the day. He'll get the supermax, he won't be worth it, but it won't be a problem, let alone a crippling one.

That's a great point. Jaylen Brown is a lot like Kobe except that Kobe was better in every way and Jaylen Brown's team is better when he's not on the court.

(sorry, my real pet peeve is when people say things like "21 points on 15 shots" ignoring that the player took shots that landed them at the free throw line". yeah I'm a lot of fun at parties.)

Yeah, this also is annoying for me.

I'm watching Lynx-Sun

Lynx-Sun sounds like a men's deodorant to me...
(Lynx is the brand name for Axe in the UK)

The final numbers got weird because Denver went 0/8 in the 4th and Miami 6/12, but Miami was 7/27 (4/17 in the first half!) from three through three quarters. If they're not shooting well from three they're going to have trouble even breaking 90. A casual fan just tuning in for the playoffs might be surprised to learn their offense is quite bad!

Help request!

Looking at the transactions log on bbref. For example, the Dejounte Murray trade for draft picks:

June 30, 2022: Traded by the San Antonio Spurs with Jock Landale to the Atlanta Hawks for Danilo Gallinari, a 2023 1st round draft pick ( was later selected), a 2025 1st round draft pick ( was later selected), a 2026 1st round draft pick ( was later selected) and a 2027 1st round draft pick ( was later selected). Conditional 2023 1st-rd pick is CHO own 2025 1st-rd pick is ATL own 2026 1st-rd pick is a right to swap 2027 1st-rd pick is ATL own

What does “was later selected” mean?

What does “was later selected” mean?

Pretty sure the space before "( was later selected)" is a placeholder to fill in the player selected with the future pick.

Checking Kevin Garnett's transactions and...yep:

July 31, 2007: Traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Boston Celtics for Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, a 2009 1st round draft pick (Wayne Ellington was later selected) and a 2009 1st round draft pick (Jonny Flynn was later selected).

"Jonny Flynn was later selected" is one of the saddest sentences in the English language.

"Jonny Flynn was later selected" is one of the saddest sentences in the English language.

for sale:
air flynn's
never worn

Vogel is apparently the guy in Phoenix.

EDIT: For 6ish million per year, making that Monty Williams contract look even weirder.

Wasn't Williams going to be paid 7 million just to stay home? That's why they had to overpay him, no pressure or even reason to accept the next job unless you make it worth his while.

#2520 - Thanks. Seems almost obvious now, but earlier today it threw me.

So how does that work with coaches? Williams gets paid 7 million by Phoenix and Detroit pays him the balance, or 5 million?

Phoenix owes nothing since he took another deal?

Williams collects both and makes 19 million next year?

I sort of know how it works for players, at least baseball. But no clue on coaches.

McMahon covered this on the Lowe Post (Steve Jones btw, is an all time great LP guest).

There's an offset on coaching contracts. So Williams getting hired means that Phoenix doesn't have to pay him anything. If Detroit had paid him 5, then Phoenix would be on the hook for 2.

Edit: you typically get around this by signing a consultant contract, which is not offset. So if you're Bud, for instance, you might sign a consulting deal for 500k, and you pocket all that money plus the remainder of your deal. You also have no offset for media work.

Steve Jones btw, is an all time great LP guest

He's a great twitter follow, too, lots of video breakdowns.

Ah, that makes sense in terms of Monty's incentives. Still questionable from Detroit, though as someone pointed out it's not cap money so whatever.

The incentive for the Suns to have someone hire Monty would seem to ensure they won't back him on the way out, which is a good thing.

I, for one, am excited to see a *black* retread head coach get overpaid. Progress!

It's up to Miami to make Denver uncomfortable, but it hardly happened at all in Game 1. It felt like the Nuggets never had to turn on the "max effort" switch.

EDIT: And double posted.

EDIT: Already posted, sorry

Dunker Spot is so good. They’re a bit giggly but they analyze the game and give reasons for #### way better than other pods, imo. Keeps you up on the W too if you like it but can’t find time to watch many games. Thinking Basketball would be better with a better cohost. I like Cody well enough but I think he’s stretched in this role especially when compared to like Steve Jones and Hollinger.

Williams: I don't see it as a bad hire. The elimination game flameouts made it right for Phoenix to get rid of him, but he might work out well on a team that is at the bottom and trying to build something. Detroit is a long way from worrying about elimination games. The money is as people said irrelevant other than to Williams himself and to other coaches negotiating contracts, and I think even guys with resumes like Nurse and Vogel will coach for 5-8M if that is what is on the table.
Miami: During the Bubble Finals, I said that Miami could beat the Lakers when Butler played like Michael Jordan, and he did, twice. As noted, now it seems that they need to shoot 45-50% from 3.
Denver: the people who said they were the favorites were right.

He took a shot 3 mins in! He got fouled and made both.

(sorry, my real pet peeve is when people say things like "21 points on 15 shots" ignoring that the player took shots that landed them at the free throw line". yeah I'm a lot of fun at parties.)

I believe assists should be awarded when a pass leads to a shooting foul (presuming at least 1 FT is made)

Imagine a player gets fouled on what would be the 10th assist for a triple double, and bricks the free throws. High comedy.

I believe assists should be awarded when a pass leads to a shooting foul (presuming at least 1 FT is made)

Seth Partnow has a concept of "potential assists" where you track missed shots and shots that lead to FTs.

Re: Finals: I actually will be a bit contrarian and say that I think there are some good signs for Miami in the game 1 loss.

1. Strus and Robinson combined to be 1/14 from 3. If they were 5/14 instead, Miami probably wins.
2. Miami shot 2 free throws all game. I know Denver is a low fouling team, but they're not that low. Probably Denver got a few more calls than they normally would. Nothing seemed egregious to me at the time, but having only 8 fouls called against you is not normal. This was the fewest fouls called against the Nuggets all season.
3. Miami won the glass. They kept Jokic off the offensive boards completely

1. Murray and Porter were a combined 4/18 from 3. I don't really see any reason to expect Miami's shooting to improve more than Denver's.

Some sick shotmaking going on in Mercury-Sparks, now in OT. I'm telling you guys, there is something here.

I agree with 2538, but Denver left some points on the court with their poor jump shooting as well. I think Miami is probably the same position as vs. Milwaukee/Boston, where they need to shoot incredibly well or have Jimmy Butler play like a top 5 guy, and probably both in a couple games, to win the series. Denver's offense is less likely to get stuck in the mud vs. the Eastern Conference teams, so it's going to be hard for them to win games where their offense isn't clicking.

I think on top of all the things in 2538, Denver had the big rest advantage so it was going to be a tough game from that perspective as well.

It seems very difficult to tell from the box score what combo of regression to the mean and sustainable advantage any particular variable is going to have going forward (if anyone knows of any research here I'd be curious to read it). Like the oreb thing, is that because Miami did something special to keep Jokic off the glass or is that just that the ball didn't happen to bounce to him? (Frustratingly, I was staying in a hotel where the internet / tv was broken at the time of the game, so I didn't see it.)

Like, if you watched the game, you might have some insight but I think it is hard to tell that anything in the boxscore is actually sustainable (not just 3p shooting, although obviously that one has a big impact on the score). And this is before you even get to coaches counterscheming (hey, remember all those "Rui-on-Jokic" articles a couple weeks back?).

Overall, game 1 fit my priors (and the Vegas line) quite well and I would anticipate a similar margin in game 2 (maybe a line of Denver -8 instead of -9 due to the Heat adjusting to altitude + having less of a rest disadvantage?).

Denver had the big rest advantage

This huge for Denver specifically, since their rotation only goes 6 deep. If they can squeeze another 2 minutes out of their starting lineup that could easily be the difference between a close win and close loss, or put a winnable game out of reach.

Denver's lack of depth is overstated. Bruce Brown (IMO as good as Marcus Smart) and Jeff Green (effective as a small-ball center during Jokic's rest minutes in Game 1) can shape-shift to match whatever Miami throws at them. Christian Braun is strictly "break glass in case of foul trouble".

Bruce Brown is good. That gives the Nuggets six guys, which is 1-2 more than they've had in recent years.

Jeff Green is not good. He's the #7 guy, and it gets worse from there.

There's an offset on coaching contracts.

yep, almost always.

a few minutes before Calipari took the Nets gig in the mid-1990s for 5 years, $15M (it looked crazy even beforehand, as one of the richest contracts in the league for a guy with zero NBA experience, but Nets were desperate), from backstage Calipari told management "no offset, or I walk away."

meaning, if he got fired, Nets still owe the entire $15M and he can make even more while the contract is in effect.

did I mention the Nets were desperate? he also was given the title of VP of Basketball Operations.

Cal got his demand, then walked on stage talking about "changing the culture."

after going 26-56 - but then 43-39 and giving the Bulls a tough couple of playoff games in Chicago - Cal went 3-17 in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season before he was "put down," as they say on the farm. so roughly halfway thru the deal.

Calipari then took an assistant coaching job for the 76ers for his bro Larry Brown, who graciously got himself ejected at a game at the Meadowlands so Calipari could strut those sidelines as "boss" one more time.

he then was hired by Memphis in 2000.

leverage - or "hand," as George Costanza calls it - is quite the thing.

i don't know if anyone saw it, but dave silver and the NBPA have agreed to a "punishment" for ja morant, but they won't announce it officially until after the finals.

if you need me, i'll be busy in the garage, sucking a tailpipe.

Austin Krell @NBAKrell
Taking notes on Nick Nurse's defensive schemes and who remembers this gem?
pic.twitter.com/OIH6JJBOVj

Ho hum.

Despite that dreadful first quarter the Nuggets are pulling away and they are doing it with Jokic on the bench. Not looking good for Miami

Despite that dreadful first quarter the Nuggets are pulling away and they are doing it with Jokic on the bench. Not looking good for Miami

needs more haslem...i mean cowbell.

Denver is so tough to come back on because they get buckets at the rim.

Clearly Duncan Robinson is a 16 game player and not an 82 game player.

I've seen some takes that Miami despite being a very poor shooting team this season, was #1 last year with mostly the same roster so we should expect them to be a great shooting team. But they also had a fairly similar roster the same roster the year before that, and were 19th in 3pt%. I'm ok saying they're better than one of the worst shooting teams in the league especially when Duncan Robinson is playing big minutes, but I think last year was a pretty big outlier.

Clearly Duncan Robinson is a 16 game player and not an 82 game player.

Do you mean Gabe Vincent? The star leading his team to victory on the road in a Finals game? Obviously not the same guy waived by the Kings who had to sign a two-way.

Well, would you look at that.

Hell of a game, damn, Miami has no quit in them.

This Heat run is making me question the laws of reality.

Basketball is a simple game. Just shoot 50% on high volume from 3.

This Heat run is making me question the laws of reality.

jimmy butler is a man. he's 40.

Denver's other main guys were just guys in this game; I sort of thought they would have more games like this going into postseason, and Denver is just OK on defense, but I underrated them some. Denver's three bench guys played well. But yeah: either Butler plays like Michael Jordan, or Miami hits 45-50% on 3s, or they lose. Doesn't seem that they could do it three more times against a very good team led by a great player, but at this point, who knows. Either of these teams winning the title is a pretty good story.

Porter and Murray combined for only 23 points, MPJ definitely runs hot and cold, but even so that's on the low, low end of what you can expect from those two.

I've done GSW the last 3 years, but if sardonic wants them back I'd be happy to take Spurs or any other team really.

Would love to take a crack at it this year, really appreciate it DCA! Hopefully I'll have a new job soon and we can go back to regularly scheduled programming for at least a few more years.

My new theory about the Heat is witchcraft.

My new theory about the Heat is witchcraft.

Bill Simmons was talking about how this must just be what god wants to happen on his podcast and I found myself agreeing with him.

Basketball is a simple game. Just shoot 50% on high volume from 3.

And have the referees give you every single call. The real witchcraft is getting people to talk about heat culture and effort instead of all the fouls that aren't called on them on defense (and goaltending, and out of bounds plays, and loose ball fouls, and ...)

The shooting gets the headlines, but that game got completely out of hand in the second half. The Heat turned the game into a wrestling match and the referees let them. That they also missed that goaltending call, and that every borderline call went the way of the Heat, and that was one of the worst games of the playoffs for me and I'm not even a Denver fan. Well I wasn't, I am cheering hard for them now because justice.

This is a real tweet from the real Shams:

Shams Charania @ShamsCharania
Sources: Kyrie Irving has reached out to Lakers star LeBron James in attempts to see if James would come to Dallas. Irving is a free agent this offseason.

The shooting gets the headlines, but that game got completely out of hand in the second half. The Heat turned the game into a wrestling match and the referees let them. That they also missed that goaltending call, and that every borderline call went the way of the Heat, and that was one of the worst games of the playoffs for me and I'm not even a Denver fan. Well I wasn't, I am cheering hard for them now because justice.

The Nuggets shot two more FTs than the Heat in game 1, and have shot 20 more FT overall in the series. This isn't 2006 Heat/Mavericks here.

The goaltend call--people talk about it like it was obvious, but that was really close to the apex.

Sources: Kyrie Irving has reached out to Lakers star LeBron James in attempts to see if James would come to Dallas. Irving is a free agent this offseason.

I think LeBron is actually pretty close to the worst possible All-NBA player to play with Luka.

I don't know the origins of it but I found the term "slop" for NBA rumor-mill content on Twitter from some Sixers fan/fantasy basketball account (@trillbrodude, ha I feel very old typing this) and I just love that term, slop.

How do folks feel about Denver not calling a timeout before their last look? I thought they played it right, got off an okay shot, and just missed it. If they had called a timeout, they were inviting Miami to foul to stop a 3-pointer.

I think LeBron is actually pretty close to the worst possible All-NBA player to play with Luka.

Three ball-dominant guys who can't/won't play defense? What could go wrong!

My new theory about the Heat is witchcraft.

I am now rooting for the Heat. Not even witchcraft can help Miami win now.

Players can make terrible GMs.

The Nuggets shot two more FTs than the Heat in game 1, and have shot 20 more FT overall in the series. This isn't 2006 Heat/Mavericks here.

I was only half-watching, so I can't speak to how bad the refs were, but trying to judge the refs based on the FT balance misses the whole story. Especially when replying to a comment about how the Heat were being too physical on defense.

There needs to be a manual-human component measuring refs to go with the stats. Something that can cut out the chaff of the 75% of easy calls. I want to just look at the 50/50 calls, the amount of time star players are in (or out ) of foul trouble, the no calls on heavy contact and the "that was a bad call in real time" calls like the goal tend.

Why the #### would anyone think that LeBron would go to Dallas?

Oh wait, it's Kyrie Irving. Carry on.

Kyrie recruiting Lebron is like the minnow trying to eat the whale.

I don't know if anyone else is watching it, but Adult Swim is currently airing some weird anime thing called Hero Ball, which is an elaborate NBA parody with a bunch of in-jokes that only basketball degenerates would understand.

2561: Murray's regular season averages were 7/16 from the floor, 3/7 on 3s (rounding up from 2.6/6.6) and 20 ppg. Last night, he was 7/15, 3/8, and scored 18. He averaged 6 AST--had 10 last night. Porter obviously had a bad game, averaged 17, scored 5. Jokic, doing what MVPs do, scored 41, after averaging 25 during the season, but Denver lost anyway, because of the 3s.

Denver is now 0-3 in the postseason when Jokic scores more than 40, 4-4 when he scores more than 30, and 9-0 when he scores less than 30. Spoelstra got very testy with a reporter who asked him if Miami had turned "Jokic into a scorer instead of a passer."

Seems bad:
(tying three tweets together)

Eric Pincus @EricPincus
Testing, testing. Getting ready for hard cap season:

Teams are hard-capped when they use their NTMLE, BAE or acquire a player via sign-and-trade

There's a new hard-cap trigger. If a team executes a trade with > 110% trade matching (specifically through 2023-24), they are hard capped

That's on the first apron. And we have some future changes after the last day of the 2023-24 regular season, but dont' want to muddy the waters at this time

Why the #### would anyone think that LeBron would go to Dallas?

Oh wait, it's Kyrie Irving. Carry on.

If LeBron wanted to do that, Lakers should help make it happen. LeBron for Doncic would be a start. Might need to balance out the contracts and send a 10-12 million dollar guy to LA. Throw in the #10 upcoming draft pick, and I think we can accomodate.

If we are doing a mock draft this year, I tried to comb the thread and add anyone who had expressed interest in a team. Mouse and MHS had asked for any team, so I assigned them 2 (one each does not have a first round pick). We still have lots of spots to fill:


1. San Antonio
2. Charlotte
3. Portland – MHS:
4. Houston
5. Detroit
6. Orlando – Athletic Supporter:
7. Indiana - Votto:
8. Washington
9. Utah – Tom Cervo:
10. Dallas
11. Orlando (from Chicago) – Athletic Supporter:
12. Oklahoma City – Mellow Mouse:
13. Toronto
14. New Orleans

15. Atlanta
16. Utah (from Minnesota) – Tom Cervo:
17. Los Angeles Lakers
18. Miami
19. Golden State – DCA :
20. Houston (from LA Clippers)
21. Brooklyn (from Phoenix) – JJ1986:
22. Brooklyn – JJ1986:
23. Portland (from New York) – MHS:
24. Sacramento – asinwreck:
25. Memphis
26. Indiana (from Cleveland) - Votto:
27. Charlotte (from Denver via New York and Oklahoma City)
28. Utah (from Philadelphia via Brooklyn) – Tom Cervo:
29. Indiana (from Boston)
30. LA Clippers (from Milwaukee via Houston)

Second Round: Picks 31-58

31. Detroit
32. Indiana (from Houston)
33. San Antonio
34. Charlotte (from Charlotte via Philadelphia and Atlanta)
35. Boston (from Portland via Atlanta, LA Clippers, Detroit, and Cleveland) – MHS:
36. Orlando – Athletic Supporter:
37. Oklahoma City (from Washington via New Orleans) – Mellow Mouse:
38. Sacramento (from Indiana) – asinwreck:
39. Charlotte (from Utah via New York)
40. Denver (from Dallas via Oklahoma City)
41. Charlotte (from Oklahoma City via New York and Boston)
42. Washington (from Chicago via Los Angeles Lakers and Washington)
43. Portland (from Atlanta) – MHS:
44. San Antonio (from Toronto)
45. Memphis (from Minnesota)
46. Atlanta (from New Orleans)
47. Los Angeles Lakers
48. LA Clippers
49. Cleveland (from Golden State via Utah and New Orleans)
50. Oklahoma City (from Miami via Boston, Memphis, and Dallas) – Mellow Mouse:
51. Brooklyn – JJ1986:
52. Phoenix
53. Minnesota (from New York via Charlotte) – Mellow Mouse:
54. Sacramento – asinwreck:
55. Indiana (from Cleveland via Milwaukee and Detroit)
56. Memphis
— Chicago (from Denver via Cleveland; forfeited by Chicago)
— Philadelphia (forfeited)
57. Washington (from Boston via Charlotte)
58. Milwaukee

I don't know if anyone else is watching it, but Adult Swim is currently airing some weird anime thing called Hero Ball, which is an elaborate NBA parody with a bunch of in-jokes that only basketball degenerates would understand.

Up the R's!

2580 -

sardonic will be taking GSW this year. I'd like SAS but can take any other team if someone else really wants the Spurs.

I can take:

Dallas--which I will try to trade
Washington--which I will endeavor to pick the worst plausible draft pick
New Orleans--which I will trade for the second or third time for Myles Turner
Memphis--which I will see if I can brandish a draft pick
Miami--which I will use to further Heat Culture

Miami--which I will use to further Heat Culture

Heat don’t need no steenkin draft picks to do that

Kyrie recruiting Lebron is like the minnow trying to eat the whale.

He did get Durant to join the Nets. But LeBron is not Durant. And this Kyrie is not that Kyrie.

Heat don’t need no steenkin draft picks to do that

Not committing everything to Heat Culture would be contrary to Heat Culture, so axiomatically, you do need to use the draft picks to further Heat Culture.

I've got an email in with the league office to clarify whether Udonis Haslem becomes draft eligible once he retires. Will update when I hear back.

I usually take Memphis and will again, unless someone else wants them and then I will take another team.

The first rule of Heat Culture is that you do not talk about Heat Culture.

Ja Morant, in a totally believable story, is claiming that it wasn't a real gun, just a toy!

Ja Morant, in a totally believable story, is claiming that it wasn't a real gun, just a toy!

This fool did it all for the street cred, and then just gives it all away?

Ja Morant, in a totally believable story, is claiming that it wasn't a real gun, just a toy!

honestly...that's the kind of defense i'd expect from someone who's about to get suspended for a full season.

honestly...that's the kind of defense i'd expect from someone who's about to get suspended for a full season.

This is going to be a very unfun period of discourse coming up, isn't it?

This is going to be a very unfun period of discourse coming up, isn't it?

Do you think so? I think Silver has approached this so intelligently by working with the PA from the beginning and waiting until after the Finals.

People will pay much less attention, and there will be less to argue with. Silver is pretty impressive in how he approaches issues like this to be honest.

I meant like mass culture. Hope I'm wrong but I feel like there's going to be an insane bad faith round of conservative media nonsense about the woke NBA coming for your guns!

I'd expect an insane bad faith round of complete silence about taking guns away from young black men....

I'd expect an insane bad faith round of complete silence about taking guns away from young black men....

Ahhh true, fair point.

30 years ago today, The Mozart of Basketball - Drazen Petrovic - died in a car crash in Germany, a passenger who passed away in his sleep.

The Athletic remembered, at least.

(Deep sigh) Alright. Y'all got Stephen A. Smith here, ready to talk about something that has just been gnawing at me. This notion, this... utterly ludicrous notion, that Drazen Petrovic — yes, the late, great basketball player — is somehow on par with Mozart. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, composer to have ever lived. It's preposterous, it's farcical, it's laughable, and it's comical.

Now listen, nobody respects Drazen more than I do. We're talking about a legendary ball player, a pioneer for international players in the NBA, who changed the game in a way few people have. He brought a level of shooting, skill and heart that is rarely seen. Had tragedy not struck, there's no telling where he could have ended up. But let's be clear: comparing him to Mozart is like comparing a pickup game at the Y to the NBA Finals.

You see, there's levels to this, ladies and gentlemen. There's levels. And when you're talking about Mozart, you're not just talking about some run-of-the-mill musician, okay? You're not talking about Billy Joel. You're not dis-cuss-ing Toni Braxton, although Toni is a dear, dear friend of mine. You're talking about an artist who single-handedly revolutionized the world of classical music. A prodigy, who was composing symphonies while most kids were still learning their ABCs. Mozart is synonymous with the very concept of musical genius.

This ain't no knock on Drazen, but he ain't no Mozart. Mozart composed more than 800 works in his short life. He created music that has withstood the test of centuries. We're talking about symphonies, concertos, operas, chamber music that are studied, revered, and performed to this day, globally.

You want to talk about influence? You want to talk about legacy? Mozart's influence reverberates through the ages, his music echoing through the centuries. He inspired Beethoven, for crying out loud. Beethoven! You telling me that Drazen had that kind of impact? He was a phenomenal player, sure, but did he change the very fabric of the game? Did he redefine what basketball meant for generations to come?

Don't get me wrong, Drazen Petrovic is a legend in his own right, but he is not, and never will be, the Mozart of basketball. That's no slight against Drazen. That's respect for Mozart. Because when you're talking about Mozart, you're talking about a man who is, quite frankly, in a league of his own. There's basketball greats, and then there's musical geniuses. There's extraordinary, and then there's Mozart.

This isn't about belittling Drazen's legacy, but rather about understanding the magnitude of Mozart's genius. The man's been dead for over 230 years and we're still trying to wrap our heads around the sheer depth of his talent.

So let's put this to bed. Let's stop these wild comparisons. Because the only thing Mozart and Drazen have in common is that they both left us way too soon.

I’ll take Dallas