Besides the Lakers and the Warriors. What teams do you think this deficits the most? And what teams do you think this benefits the most.
I think the teams that can get kind of dinged by this a little bit are teams like the Celtics, the Bucks, teams that have been they've been in the tax but they're never been at the you know, the Warriors, Clippers, Lakers levels of the tax. So I think that's where seventeen point five million over the tax line, that's a lot, but it's not like crazy. Right now. I think we're
sitting with six teams above that. So we may see those teams say, all right, we gotta let probably not one of the star guys, but we got to move on from one of these kind of mid mid range salary type players just to rebalance. We have flexibility because otherwise it's we're really locked into this roster. Teams that are maybe a little older, so like Dallas is slightly older with some parts of their roster, so like they're in a tricky spot. The Buck's definitely older with parts
of their roster. They may look at it like Chris Middleton is gonna be a free agent, and they may say, hey, we resigned Chris Middleton to a four or five year max deal or anything close to that. This is it. This is our team for the next you know, several years, unless we make trades. And they may say, all right, you know he's had injury issues. Maybe they've seen something in his play where they're like where we'll be Okay, we'll go a different direction. So I think they're gonna
be different. I think the teams that benefit it's the teams that I think have pretty promising young cores and then can add to to those guys here while they're still on the lower end salary wise. So I already mentioned Oklahoma City, but our landows in that boat, Houston and Detroit. If they can flip things, well, somebody's gonna get Victor Webbin Yama. That's like already a huge you know,
add to your roster and you're gonna flip. The Spurs have generally been pretty smart in those situations, so they may be able to turn things around. So I think those teams that have pretty good young cores that you can see I can see that being a playoff core in the next couple of seasons because what they have the ability to do is go add talent to those groups before they get super expensive and fully lock into
what they have now. So I think they're the kind of teams that will benefit a little bit here.
Even if they tried to go after a big free agent and they didn't have the salaries to match.
Yeah, I think so because they think what you're gonna see in those like again, I keep using the Thunder as an example here, but it's because they think they're the best one in the league. Really good young players, pretty full roster, right. They don't have a ton of roster holes. It's not like going into this summer they have to fill ten roster spots. They really only have about two or three open roster spots. They're gonna have almost thirty million in cap space to do it with.
So I think back to remember a few years ago when Philadelphia was like, all right, it's time to start winning. They went out and they signed j Reddick to a one year, nineteen million dollar deal. There was like, what a ridiculous overpay for JJ Reddick. Well, Philly looked at it and said, look, we only need like two guys. We have all this cap space. Let's give a whole bunch of money to JJ Reddick, who proved to be a really good fit, help them get into the postseason,
and then that's how we're gonna do it. I think you're gonna see Oklahoma City say there's one guy that we really target, we think fits what we need, and they'll be able to go get that guy and they may be able to overpay him for a year or two. As long as you do it for a year or two, not the end of the world, because the NBA just moves so quickly with the way they'll turn over rosters. As long as you're not locking into a terrible deal
for four or five years, you're gonna be fine. You'll be able to move on from it and get out of it quickly enough. So I think that's what you're gonna see as teams like that do those kind of things where it's like, all right, let's let's let's kind of go here, and I think you're gonna see some free agents. They're gonna look and say, oh, that team
got one Minyalla, all right, I can be the guy. Now, me and him, we're now taking this team to the next level and to the playoffs and all that and a lot of these players they love nothing more than like, Hey, I'm the conquering hero who like you know, I wrote in here and you were awful and now we're a playoff team, you'll shower me, you know, with love, and it's yeah, you were a part of it. But there
are other reasons too. But that's something that you know, we know, free agents love, especially if the money's basically the same just about everywhere for them.
Yeah, like a veteran contract for someone who you think can be a table setter all while like what they with the thunder kind of gotten Chris Paul on a short term deal, kind of a deal. I am curious though, because this feels the most murky, and it feels the most murky in terms of conflicts of interest potentially, but also murky in terms of we don't really know now players are going to be current players are going to
be able to invest in NBA and WNBA teams. But from what I kind of can gather that this is only happening through the NBA PA selected private equity firm, Like, what are the logistics of that?
Yeah, it seems so. This is something I try not to speak too in depth about things I don't really understand. But I did a lot of asking because I was very confused on this because I was like, wait, so they're gonna because the way it initially came out was like they could get ownership stakes. And my initial question was, so if I play for the Lakers and I own three percent of the team and they trade me to the Rockets, what happens to my three percent? Like where
does that go? And then I think, through conversations through subsequent reporting, my understanding is what's going to happen is it sounds like there's going to be portions kind of carved out of different places within the league as a whole and within the individual teams inclusive of the WNBA as well, where players will be able to say, hey,
aportional what you're giving me in my next contract. It'll run through the through the NBPA, who will manage it as a collective, through whoever they choose to manage it. Probably no different than a lot of the ways are like four oh one, k's a run and those kind of things, But it'll be we've chosen them to run this, and then that's where it'll be. Hey, as long as
we all keep doing what we should do. This should be a rising tide lifts all boat situation where yeah, the teams are gonna go up in value, they're gonna be better, but my stake in this is gonna go up too, And I have more of a stake, and I feel like more of a partner with the league and with the teams as opposed to just a contract employee where I'm just you know, all right, I'm under contract and this is what it is, it's gonna be. We can really push this up from here. So I
think that's gonna be kind of how that works. I'm very curious to dive deeper into that when we get the actual CBA to understand it more fully.
I am curious too, And obviously you probably don't know, but the first thing that comes to mind, outside of just what teams are going to be in that fund, is it going to be every team? What happens when teams get sold? Do they distribute that wealth across the ownership group? But also like how that affect the WNBA. Do we see the WNBA salary cap now explode and invest in more of these young and up and coming players. Specifically, you're watching players like Angel Reese and Kaitlin Clark bring
in three and a half million viewers on TV. I guarantee you Kaitlin Clark's not gonna want to get paid Twitter and seventy thousand dollars on a super Max deal which he makes like quadruple vet in ni own money right now.
Yeah, for sure. I think what we're going to see with the WNBA, and we've we're starting to see this happen little bits, like little incremental bits, is salaries are going to start creeping out more. I think we're also going to see probably expansion of the WNBA where there's going to be new franchises because the single thing, the biggest thing I hear is there's a ton of you know, really good players out there that are buried on these
benches because there's so few WNBA teams in comparison. So what happens is I think you combine those two things. And I know one of the big that they be talking to different people within the NBA as kind of the governing body of the WNBA, if you will. One of the big things I've heard through them is we don't want WNBA players to have to go to Russia in the WNBA offseason to play. We want them to play in the WNBA, them play national team commitments just
like NBA players do, and that's it. We don't want them having to play in two professional leagues just to be able to make a living. Like that's not where they want it to be. And I think EVENTUA will get there. And I think this is part of it. We've seen countless NBA players, especially more in the recent years, come out in support of the WNBA. So I think part of it is you're going to see them. Hey, why they got roped into this is I'm not just
investing in the NBA. I'm investing in the WNBA, in the game of basketball as a whole.
Yeah, I'm curious also about the the players who are now able to sign non gambling endorsement deals with sports betting companies. Makes sense of that for me.
Yeah, this was one where I saw a lot of reaction where people were like, oh no, and it I saw a couple people tweeting like the Tony memes from Blue Chips, you know, of like you what do you mean you took money? You know, and it was you know, it was only one time coach, you know, and it's one time. And like, I think where this would be a problem is if player X you know, tweets out, hey,
bet on me to get over twenty points tonight. That's where it's like, oh, that's shaky, right, because then it's because then is it going to be you know, the gambling company says, hey, you know, we took way too many people betting you over can you score nineteen? Just to make sure we're all okay here, Like, that's where it gets real messy. I think it's probably just gonna be hey, you want to bet bet with you know, this company, and that's just going to be the ext
That's what I think it'll be. It maybe extends into you know, hey, you know I can't bet on the NBA, but I love to bet on you know, uh, the NFL or you know, well whatever it is, or you know, whatever it may be no games or whatever. Yeah, exactly.
I think we're going to see things like that where it'll be a player will be into commercials for you know, one of the big companies, But it's not going to be specific to like, hey, bet on my team to win the championship or anything like that, because I think then you run into competitive integrity issues and all sorts of stuff. Then they don't think the NBA wants to be involved in.
Yeah, I was curious about that too. Do you think there's a possibility we start seeing these quote unquote endorsements like almost like Manning cast type stuff where you've got like a Draft Kings has a Draymond Green and a Charles Barkley All Star Weekend second Screen experience, or maybe now fan duel sponsors, you know, the podcast p type of a thing. Yeah.
I think we could see definitely things like that because I think the NBA realizes they're smart at the end of the day, and the MBPA. There's money to be made, so let's go make more of it, right, Let's go get our chunk of it. By Hey, if we can increase these things, and we can do that. I mean we're seeing in arenas all over the country, we're popping up these you know what you know we're gambling is legal sports books. It sounds like right on site where
it's like, hey, you can make your bets here. And I know in the states where it's legal, there's all sorts of stuff being pumped into you know, hey, grab your phone and you'll make it bet on the game and those kind of things. So I think we're going to see them lean into this. I don't think it's going to be you know, man, this is a proliferation
of a million guys, you know, go gamble. I think it'll be probably just a little bit of a slow burn, but eventually it's gonna get there, much like it has become over the last couple of years, where it's just becoming more and more ingrained in the everyday life of sports fans.
I forgot to ask you this to circle back really fast about the ownership element, and we'll move forward on the award stuff. But is it possible with how we're seeing the ownership stake work that a Lebron James playing in the NBA could own an expansion team or a part of an expansion team.
Yeah, it's one of those things where right now I don't think think that's something they're set up to do. So we're gonna see if that's where this goes. My guess is this whole invest in the league is a gateway to direct ownership stakes in teams, and I think that maybe where this goes going forward. I mean, I think it was I'm going way back here, and you know,
a completely different environment. But when like Magic Johnson came out of retirement, it'd give up his ownership stake in the Lakers because he was gonna play again and those kind of things. So that's where it becomes pieces of things like that where I think right now, now that's probably not They're trying to do it through this more general investment in the league as a whole. But I think this is the let's start here and then that'll
be the gateway too. Eventually, Hey, you want to own a chunk of the team you're playing for, Yeah, we can make that work, and we can figure that out. Obviously, there's gonna have to be a lot of guardrails on that because you know, if you're tradable, if you sign somewhere else, what if you do this, because they're not gonna have somebody owning you know, Hey, I own three percent of seven different teams, Like, that's not gonna happen.
But we'll see where that goes. And and I think that's a very interesting way to kind of, you know, build a different form of engagement into the franchise as a whole, because now you're again, you're you're not just an employee, You're you're you're part of it, right, You're you're part of the whole deal all the way through.
Yeah, I want to talk about this because I think it's under discussed. The players now in this new CBA have to play at least sixty five games to be eligible for any NBA as as well as all NBA. So who wanted this?
Yeah? I think this is probably one where collectively both sides, the NBA and MBPA heard the screaming about load management. And I think the biggest place that comes in is, you know, I'm based out of Orlando. It's the Orlando fan who bought tickets to see Lebron one time a year and I played last time. I'm not playing tonight. Right in Orlando, they get a lot of guys on back to backs because of Miami. They make the Miami Orlando trip and they're on one end or the other,
and that's how it goes. So I think what we see in these positions is I think a lot of these these it just gets so loud that it was probably a we got to do something. Now I can tell the NBPA they've stood up and screamed from the rooftops. It's not the players. The players do not want to say, right, if they're healthy, they generally want to play. It's the teams. And they're not saying the teams are wrong in this, but it's the teams that are mostly making these decisions.
And that's that's what I think also gets lost a little bit here is I think it's hard to right. The teams are the permanent part in your life as a fan, right, And that's a nice way of saying we root for laundry. But I think that's true to an extent of like, I'm always going to root for this team, and the players may change, so I'm not
necessarily going to attach to the player. And now I think we're seeing different forms of fandom where some are attaching to a player, and then player changes teams, they follow right along with the new team. But I think what's happened here is the overall load management blame has fallen so much on the players, and I don't think
that's necessarily there now. I think what the league's trying to do is say, hey, can we curb this because teams are now down to somewhere between twelve and sixteen back to backs per season, So sixty five games you want to see all the back to backs? One half of them, you're good, sit them out, you don't have to play, and you'll still qualify and still be eligible for postseason awards. I think it's more of and I'm very curious because all the reporting keeps coming with there's
conditions around it. But what are those conditions? Like what does that mean? Is there like, well X amount of games that the team determines the player can't play, like
those don't count. I don't know how that's gonna work, but it's one of those things I'm very curious to see, Like, you know, what happens, and we all know there's gonna be a massive uproar the first time somebody has a great season but only played sixty four games, and people are gonna absolutely lose their minds and they'll be you know, well, they were the real MVP or they were the real
first team player. So I don't know, but I think this was a first attempt at Hey, let's try to get these guys on the court more often, and then we'll see how it comes together. I kind of have my doubts that's gonna be how it plays out.
Yeah, and I saw that. I believe it was last night. Kawhi Leonard only played a half because he's playing ago, Yeah, two nights ago, because he was going to play on
a back to back, so do you. And also remember Draymond Green, he came in for one possession to be there for Clay and then that obviously changed a lot of things for sports Better took who took Draymond Green unders because they heard whispers of this is that something that you think is how teams or players are going to try to skirt the rules.
That's where I think the conditions may come in because the league doesn't want to turn it into a circus and a farce of like, hey, you know tonight fifteen star players checked in or started and then they all subbed out on the first whistle because it was just there. Now, like Drew Holliday did it last year. The Bucks put him in a game for I think it was like
eight seconds or whatever. He played the tip, he committed a follow and to get out of there to earn a bonus because he needed to hit the games played threshold for his bonuses. Now that's cool on the Bucks part, because all it did was cost them a couple million bucks that they wouldn't have to pay out otherwise. So geel good on the Bucks for taking care of their guy.
But I don't think the league and I don't think the Players Association either wants it to turn into a bunch of guys are on the core and then they're subbed out early. But I think what you may see is you may see, huh, why did so and so
only play fifteen minutes tonight? And that may be what we see more of is because I think if it becomes a whole thing where we want to make sure player access still eligible for is you have awards, all right, Well we can't sell them out right away because if you play under X minutes, maybe that's one of the conditions it doesn't count or something like that, and you're
just you know, subbed without an injury. We'll have to see or you know, if my worry is, if you start saying there's injury related conditions, we're gonna get back to the old days of up back spasms. They're they're
out tonight, right, and that's that's not great either. So I'm kind of withholding judgment on all this until we see what all the details are, because it just seems this one seems like a little there's just got to be other stuff going on with this, because it just seems a little too cut and dry for me to be quite that simple.
Yeah, I'm very sus on it because it does feel like there's a lot of ways to get around it. I think Joel Embiid would have not made Defensive Player of the Year twice. I think Draymond as well Steph
Curry All NBA. And do you think that this will obviously change How does this help teams in some way too, because they say to themselves, all right, well, we don't have to pay Jalen Brown super max because he's not an All NBA player, so we can resign him for X, Y and Z instead of being hamstrung to pay him forty million.
Well that's where it's kind of become a major problem, and you'll have the MVPA screaming. Is if are were in game seventy eight of the season and oh man, he's almost there, All right, let's set him out or we're just not gonna play them, and you know the team will be well, that's a coach's decision and whatever it is, and if the minute the players like, well I'm not on board with this, you did it, so
I'm not now eligible. That's part of why I have an issue with the any of the contract stuff being tied to awards, because I also don't like the fact that we're both media members. I don't like the fact that the media is the one who are determining what player contracts are like, it just feels weird to me. So I don't love that whole idea of this, And I think if you want to do that, there's ways you could do it that are slightly different, where maybe
you know, you involve more people, you know. But anytime you start involving players and coaches, then there's agendas and all the voting stuff. And I've been in locker rooms with the All Star voting for the player vote, We're two guys who don't even play in r at the end of the bench like, hey, you vote for me, I'll vote for you. And that's why the player vote has kind of turned into a joke too. So I don't necessarily have a great fix for that, but it's
just it. If we run into a games played thing where a guy gets sat to avoid hitting a threshold that would trigger a contract marker for him. That's gonna be a major issue. You're going to hear the screaming from the rooftops on that one.
Do you think there's any chance that some of this changes before it gets ratified.
I think there's a chance we could see some stuff tweaked. That's why, you know. I think their language in it was like we have a tentative agreement was very clear. I think there's a reason why, Well, if you made a tentative agreement on the wee hours of Saturday morning, like you could have presented it to the Board of Governors, presented it to the players by today. Right, we're recording this on Monday, and you could have had this whole thing buttoned up and done and you know, start printing
the copies on Tuesday, and we haven't gotten there. Because I think it's very clear to me tentative agreement means there's still some stuff we're working through. We're all the big stuff, we're there, it's now it's details. We're down to some of those things. I think some of this stuff might even been floated out there as let's see what the reaction is within the league, within the fans, within the media, Let's see what some of the stuff
out there is. And then oh, you know what that could tweak then a late version of whatever it was, and those kind of things. I just think that's, you know, being a little bit smart about how you play it. And the other thing is, I think we've all learned through the COVID years and I knew this from my prior career and doing contract negotiations, there's always a thing called the side letter, which is, hey, we all agreed
to this, it's not going the way we want. Let's do a side agreement in an amendment and adndum, whatever whatever you want to call it, where we change whatever it is and we go in the league and the players Association has gotten very good through very unfortunate circumstances over the last several years of doing that, you know, when necessary, and being able to tweak their existing agreements rather than I feel like if this was a decade ago, it would have been Nope, it is what it is
and that's it, and we're not changing it. Because they didn't have a good working relationship. That's one of the biggest things that's changed, m