2026 NBA Season

[LogitechMouse]

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Yes, one complain that we have against the Lakers is that they don't have a good center. AD is not a true center by definition and during his time with the Lakes he complain about it until they trade him. Now, they have Ayton now, at least they have a solid center in him and then have a back up in the young and athletic Jaxson Hayes. They also added Marcus Smart, I think his role will still be focusing on defense, as we all know that he is one great defender.

In the wings in will be Reaves and then Doncic. Rui had a good season last year, but it was enough. I think he needs to step up and really blossom into a great contributor. But other teams have also deepen their roster so next season will be very competitive in the West.

With regards to AD not being a true center, he really hated it back then, and he prefers to be a PF, but Darvin Ham back them pushed him to be a center which he tried, and he became more dominant during that time, and for me, that's also the reason why he became a better defender aside from being a good scorer and rebounder as well.

Right now, I still don't consider the Lakers' big problem as solved already despite acquiring Ayton. His history with the Blazers for me is a big thing. The only way for me to say that it's solve is when we see the Lakers with their current roster play in the regular season but for now, they're strong ON PAPER. Smart right now doesn't need to focus on the offense, and he can do where he's the best at it - defending.

Looking on their roster, they can compete against other West teams. I guess lets just see how this goes, and will they really be a better team than they was last season. There isn't that much of a change in their roster, and if I want one change, that's to trade Bronny to other team.

[Sanitough]

Michael Porter Jr gave an interview (with Stevewilldoit’s old assistant turned nelkboy) where he talked a lot about sports gambling, named a lot of names, and explained why they do it. Here’s a clip of the interview on X, or you can catch the whole thing on YouTube (one night with steiny).

https://x.com/thedunkcentral/status/1955349932597997968

This is interesting, especially for those of us who actually believe sports rigging is possible, whether it’s from the players, the refs, or even the league itself.
Stuff like this can give us an idea of what’s really happening that we don’t see in the stats. It’s something worth considering when analyzing games and placing our bets.

Thanks for sharing.

[dwyane36]

Lakers are building not a bad team at all. Marcus Smart and Ayton joined this season, they already had Lebron and Doncic. They also have not bad rotation players around them, Hayes, Reaves, Rui, these are all decent level players. I am not entirely sure how great Lebron can be this season, or how they will make it work with Doncic, but I think they have what they need from both guards and bigs now.

Marcus Smart and Reaves at guard, Hayes and Ayton at bigs, with Doncic and Lebron at wings, with Rui helping out? That feels like a team that should be able to have a good deep playoff run at least. I can't of course know what's going to happen, but it feels like that could be working out properly for them. It is not going to be like last year, they can definitely make it work better this year.

Yes, one complain that we have against the Lakers is that they don't have a good center. AD is not a true center by definition and during his time with the Lakes he complain about it until they trade him. Now, they have Ayton now, at least they have a solid center in him and then have a back up in the young and athletic Jaxson Hayes. They also added Marcus Smart, I think his role will still be focusing on defense, as we all know that he is one great defender.

In the wings in will be Reaves and then Doncic. Rui had a good season last year, but it was enough. I think he needs to step up and really blossom into a great contributor. But other teams have also deepen their roster so next season will be very competitive in the West.

As has been said many times, the current Lakers roster looks good, but only on paper. You correctly pointed out that there will be strong competition in the Western Conference, but I think that the difficulties for the Lakers may come not from other teams, but from themselves. What I mean is that with this roster, they need to try to avoid serious injuries to make it to the playoffs in a fully healthy state.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

Lakers are building not a bad team at all. Marcus Smart and Ayton joined this season, they already had Lebron and Doncic. They also have not bad rotation players around them, Hayes, Reaves, Rui, these are all decent level players. I am not entirely sure how great Lebron can be this season, or how they will make it work with Doncic, but I think they have what they need from both guards and bigs now.

Marcus Smart and Reaves at guard, Hayes and Ayton at bigs, with Doncic and Lebron at wings, with Rui helping out? That feels like a team that should be able to have a good deep playoff run at least. I can't of course know what's going to happen, but it feels like that could be working out properly for them. It is not going to be like last year, they can definitely make it work better this year.

Yes, one complain that we have against the Lakers is that they don't have a good center. AD is not a true center by definition and during his time with the Lakes he complain about it until they trade him. Now, they have Ayton now, at least they have a solid center in him and then have a back up in the young and athletic Jaxson Hayes. They also added Marcus Smart, I think his role will still be focusing on defense, as we all know that he is one great defender.

In the wings in will be Reaves and then Doncic. Rui had a good season last year, but it was enough. I think he needs to step up and really blossom into a great contributor. But other teams have also deepen their roster so next season will be very competitive in the West.

As has been said many times, the current Lakers roster looks good, but only on paper. You correctly pointed out that there will be strong competition in the Western Conference, but I think that the difficulties for the Lakers may come not from other teams, but from themselves. What I mean is that with this roster, they need to try to avoid serious injuries to make it to the playoffs in a fully healthy state.

Lakers line up now is pretty good and a little strong. but you know why they are not enough? you know who will guard and who to expect to take the shot and be the hero at the end.
This is the old basketball and we are not into it now. Did you see the OKC line up? even2-3 guys were off for that night someone will go up and make the game. That ius the new NBA,
Team which has a balance for the bench and supporting cast with batman and robin.

Lakers can have Batman with LUKA as LBJ step down already being the Robin, but not enough supporting cast for  the heroes to win.

[Fredomago]

Michael Porter Jr gave an interview (with Stevewilldoit’s old assistant turned nelkboy) where he talked a lot about sports gambling, named a lot of names, and explained why they do it. Here’s a clip of the interview on X, or you can catch the whole thing on YouTube (one night with steiny).

https://x.com/thedunkcentral/status/1955349932597997968

"I need 5 points from you." Damn, I didn't know they could hear those things on the sidelines. I do this, but only while watching PPV. I hope the NBA will not allow this kind of thing to happen inside the court. Keep gambling out of the game while they are playing so that it won't even urge anyone to do the same. I mean, it could minimize the number of players or their relatives betting on themselves or making their family place a bet for them.

I don't know if they are strict about the rules of no gambling even to the close relatives of the players, but I bet there are still some who are getting away with it.

NBA has strict rules towards gambling and this article has breakdown of those things https://en.as.com/nba/what-are-the-nba-rules-regarding-gambling-n/

They prohibit this and there are several players got harsh penalties for participating in this activities. What's so bad about it is even some players now the rules they still sneak and try to bet on live games and now they suffer those consequences of the bad decisions they have done.

Also there's no rules regarding on close relatives to prohibit them from betting but if there are controversy and they are known link on those situation then they are subject for further investigation.

Yeah right, even those players who are involved to this kind of gambling participation knew the possible sanctions that they may face, they still take the risk. Easy Money as it is if they can go out clean, though if getting caught it means their careers and their names are already ruined, and I see the point of further investigation even if there's no direct involvement of any players but if being proven that they've got someone to participate within their knowledge and affects their performance they should also be subject for the same sanctions.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Michael Porter Jr gave an interview (with Stevewilldoit’s old assistant turned nelkboy) where he talked a lot about sports gambling, named a lot of names, and explained why they do it. Here’s a clip of the interview on X, or you can catch the whole thing on YouTube (one night with steiny).

https://x.com/thedunkcentral/status/1955349932597997968

This is interesting, especially for those of us who actually believe sports rigging is possible, whether it’s from the players, the refs, or even the league itself.
Stuff like this can give us an idea of what’s really happening that we don’t see in the stats. It’s something worth considering when analyzing games and placing our bets.

Thanks for sharing.

What a coincidence, just watched a bit of the interview on youtube and 10 minutes later I read about it in here.  Lot of true stuff has been spoken in this one. It's not easy for a pro to stay out of this with so much influence from the outside, maybe it be family, friends or just homeboys. Everybody always wants a piece of the cake when your are collecting the bag, they don't really know or care how you feel about it, they just want to seize the opportunity to make some cash themselves. Of course it's quite selfish and greedy, but when you are coming from a life without money of course it's the way it is. People don't really talk about so in my opinion it7s nice when somebody has the courage to do it.

[batang_bitcoin]

NBA has strict rules towards gambling and this article has breakdown of those things https://en.as.com/nba/what-are-the-nba-rules-regarding-gambling-n/

They prohibit this and there are several players got harsh penalties for participating in this activities. What's so bad about it is even some players now the rules they still sneak and try to bet on live games and now they suffer those consequences of the bad decisions they have done.

Also there's no rules regarding on close relatives to prohibit them from betting but if there are controversy and they are known link on those situation then they are subject for further investigation.

And they're going to sneak as long as they can because no one can monitor them while they're on the travel going before the game or even at their homes before the match even started. That's why MPJ has said that someone's homies could be reach by just giving them what to bet for and what the actual player can do. Too many things happening behind and that's why some games were questionable, not the entire game though but for some perspective and decisions during the actual games. What if the Lebron - Jr Smith last second play could be one of it? we don't know and we will never know.

[Shinpako09]

Michael Porter Jr gave an interview (with Stevewilldoit’s old assistant turned nelkboy) where he talked a lot about sports gambling, named a lot of names, and explained why they do it. Here’s a clip of the interview on X, or you can catch the whole thing on YouTube (one night with steiny).

https://x.com/thedunkcentral/status/1955349932597997968

"I need 5 points from you." Damn, I didn't know they could hear those things on the sidelines. I do this, but only while watching PPV. I hope the NBA will not allow this kind of thing to happen inside the court. Keep gambling out of the game while they are playing so that it won't even urge anyone to do the same. I mean, it could minimize the number of players or their relatives betting on themselves or making their family place a bet for them.

I don't know if they are strict about the rules of no gambling even to the close relatives of the players, but I bet there are still some who are getting away with it.

For sure there is. It's like asking if we are the only living creatures in the universe. Some do it very discreetly, if not their relatives, maybe their friends, and just get their share later on. Of course, getting their share or bet is discreet again. Actually, it's not surprising to know that some are doing this. Who doesn't want easy money, right? Even more so if it's in your hands to make it happen. Maybe they don't do it often, but for sure, there are times they do. I don't remember exactly, but there's a clip Curry was talking to another player about something related to a bet on the bench.

[passwordnow]

Another team buy out was done. The Portland Blazers was bought by Tom Dundon for around $4B!



Will there be a change on how it's managed? but it's said that the Tom's group would like to keep it there, so there were part of the talk or rumor that they want to pull out Blazers out of Portland during this deal but it didn't happen.

[tech30338]

Michael Porter Jr gave an interview (with Stevewilldoit’s old assistant turned nelkboy) where he talked a lot about sports gambling, named a lot of names, and explained why they do it. Here’s a clip of the interview on X, or you can catch the whole thing on YouTube (one night with steiny).

https://x.com/thedunkcentral/status/1955349932597997968

"I need 5 points from you." Damn, I didn't know they could hear those things on the sidelines. I do this, but only while watching PPV. I hope the NBA will not allow this kind of thing to happen inside the court. Keep gambling out of the game while they are playing so that it won't even urge anyone to do the same. I mean, it could minimize the number of players or their relatives betting on themselves or making their family place a bet for them.

I don't know if they are strict about the rules of no gambling even to the close relatives of the players, but I bet there are still some who are getting away with it.

For sure there is. It's like asking if we are the only living creatures in the universe. Some do it very discreetly, if not their relatives, maybe their friends, and just get their share later on. Of course, getting their share or bet is discreet again. Actually, it's not surprising to know that some are doing this. Who doesn't want easy money, right? Even more so if it's in your hands to make it happen. Maybe they don't do it often, but for sure, there are times they do. I don't remember exactly, but there's a clip Curry was talking to another player about something related to a bet on the bench.

That's the best way to destroy a career, imagine training all you're life and when the day come you just going to use it to gamble, having a salary a decent job , a good paying one, then gone with just a gambling habit, or conniving with other people, many people want to be in the NBA and some do this, this will also damage the league in the long run, who want's to watch a game that is rigged from the start of the gaming, intentionally missing or doing stuff that is not really part of it.

[btc_angela]

Another team buy out was done. The Portland Blazers was bought by Tom Dundon for around $4B!

Will there be a change on how it's managed? but it's said that the Tom's group would like to keep it there, so there were part of the talk or rumor that they want to pull out Blazers out of Portland during this deal but it didn't happen.

Of course, if there is a chance of ownership then there will be some kind of adjustment. As the new owners will have to insert his own people into the Blazers and manage it the way he can. I remember when Balmer bought the Clippers for $2 billion back then. Then he try to overhaul the system, get the best players that he can get his hands and with his money.

So that's what I'm expecting from the Portland team in the next coming years. And obviously they will have to find a way to be competitive. Although Dame is back with them, I don't think that he is the same Lillard we all knew as he has multiple injuries and his body is tearing apart already.

[OgNasty]

Another team buy out was done. The Portland Blazers was bought by Tom Dundon for around $4B!



Will there be a change on how it's managed? but it's said that the Tom's group would like to keep it there, so there were part of the talk or rumor that they want to pull out Blazers out of Portland during this deal but it didn't happen.

It has been interesting watching all these owners have to flip their teams to wealthier people as costs become quite a heavy cross to bear. I never thought I’d see billionaires being priced out of team ownership. A sign of the times I guess. Valuable things are getting too valuable to be owned by individuals.

[ultrloa]

Another team buy out was done. The Portland Blazers was bought by Tom Dundon for around $4B!



Will there be a change on how it's managed? but it's said that the Tom's group would like to keep it there, so there were part of the talk or rumor that they want to pull out Blazers out of Portland during this deal but it didn't happen.

It has been interesting watching all these owners have to flip their teams to wealthier people as costs become quite a heavy cross to bear. I never thought I’d see billionaires being priced out of team ownership. A sign of the times I guess. Valuable things are getting too valuable to be owned by individuals.

Well that's how business flows in NBA. The future of Blazers became uncertain and it will be handled good if there's new owner would step up then this situation happen.

But hopefully with this new developments happened we could see some great changes on their team. Especially it will be good if the new owner would set a winning mentality and support well their team.

So will see what will be the new things will happen since as of this moment Portland became an exciting team to watch especially with their new players added in their team.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

Another team buy out was done. The Portland Blazers was bought by Tom Dundon for around $4B!



Will there be a change on how it's managed? but it's said that the Tom's group would like to keep it there, so there were part of the talk or rumor that they want to pull out Blazers out of Portland during this deal but it didn't happen.

It has been interesting watching all these owners have to flip their teams to wealthier people as costs become quite a heavy cross to bear. I never thought I’d see billionaires being priced out of team ownership. A sign of the times I guess. Valuable things are getting too valuable to be owned by individuals.

That's true and with that, we also have debated that B-players are getting good contracts in millions, as compare to the previous era that those kind of players didn't get that much but they will just have to take what is offered to them.

Schedule has been released already:



https://x.com/ESPNPR/status/1955235912951972180

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Another team buy out was done. The Portland Blazers was bought by Tom Dundon for around $4B!

Will there be a change on how it's managed? but it's said that the Tom's group would like to keep it there, so there were part of the talk or rumor that they want to pull out Blazers out of Portland during this deal but it didn't happen.

Crazy how even a small market team like the blazers would go for such a high price. They only thing that makes them kind of relevant is the fact that nike is also from Oregon, but that's about it. How does a value of 4 billion hold up against "only" 10 billion that were paid for the lakers some months ago. Are the Lakers actually only worth 2.5x of what the Blazers are? So strange and definitely too much in my opinion.

[dwyane36]

It has been interesting watching all these owners have to flip their teams to wealthier people as costs become quite a heavy cross to bear.

Well, that's not surprising, considering how rapidly player salaries have been rising lately. I wonder if there is any information about how much it costs on average for an NBA team owner to maintain a team and what the overall profitability of this type of business is.

[LogitechMouse]

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Of course, if there is a chance of ownership then there will be some kind of adjustment. As the new owners will have to insert his own people into the Blazers and manage it the way he can. I remember when Balmer bought the Clippers for $2 billion back then. Then he try to overhaul the system, get the best players that he can get his hands and with his money.

So that's what I'm expecting from the Portland team in the next coming years. And obviously they will have to find a way to be competitive. Although Dame is back with them, I don't think that he is the same Lillard we all knew as he has multiple injuries and his body is tearing apart already.

I hate to say this, but they need to change their head coach. Chauncey Billups has been their coach for multiple seasons already, but haven't seen anything significant happened with the team. I hope that this change of ownership will be the way for the Blazers to change their head coach because... it really is needed if they want to compete.

The Blazers as a roster isn't a playoff-contender team for sure, but changing their coach will be their first step if they want to. Nowadays, tanking isn't guaranteed for a better player anymore. Just look at the Jazz just last season, and the Pistons a few years ago. As for Lillard, he's not the same anymore, and especially with that age, there's a chance that he might not even play 65 games for a whole regular season because of injuries. Sad to see him like that, but that's what happen when you're injury-prone player.

[Shinpako09]

Another team buy out was done. The Portland Blazers was bought by Tom Dundon for around $4B!

Will there be a change on how it's managed? but it's said that the Tom's group would like to keep it there, so there were part of the talk or rumor that they want to pull out Blazers out of Portland during this deal but it didn't happen.

Crazy how even a small market team like the blazers would go for such a high price. They only thing that makes them kind of relevant is the fact that nike is also from Oregon, but that's about it. How does a value of 4 billion hold up against "only" 10 billion that were paid for the lakers some months ago. Are the Lakers actually only worth 2.5x of what the Blazers are? So strange and definitely too much in my opinion.

Yeah, if we are going to compare that to the Lakers, I think that's a bit high. Here I am thinking the Lakers were sold high, but I think the Blazers were paid higher. Yep, in numbers the Lakers are higher, but compared to the Blazers, I think they valued the Blazers too high for a team like that. Well, it's their money after all, they wouldn’t be where they are if they were running a losing business. Now, with the sale of the Blazers, I won’t be surprised if other teams get valued higher as well.

[passwordnow]

It has been interesting watching all these owners have to flip their teams to wealthier people as costs become quite a heavy cross to bear. I never thought I’d see billionaires being priced out of team ownership. A sign of the times I guess. Valuable things are getting too valuable to be owned by individuals.

Very timely that many acquisitions and sell offs are happening on this era. While these wealthy people don't have anything to do with their money, the sellers are certainly doing it perfectly.

Of course, if there is a chance of ownership then there will be some kind of adjustment. As the new owners will have to insert his own people into the Blazers and manage it the way he can. I remember when Balmer bought the Clippers for $2 billion back then. Then he try to overhaul the system, get the best players that he can get his hands and with his money.

So that's what I'm expecting from the Portland team in the next coming years. And obviously they will have to find a way to be competitive. Although Dame is back with them, I don't think that he is the same Lillard we all knew as he has multiple injuries and his body is tearing apart already.

They have a different Dame now but they can still build the team around him but, with this new management, we don't know what they're planning.

Crazy how even a small market team like the blazers would go for such a high price. They only thing that makes them kind of relevant is the fact that nike is also from Oregon, but that's about it. How does a value of 4 billion hold up against "only" 10 billion that were paid for the lakers some months ago. Are the Lakers actually only worth 2.5x of what the Blazers are? So strange and definitely too much in my opinion.

I think that you're right and it makes sense that a team like Blazer would have been a quarter of Lakers value and I also think that they weren't that much. But this is all about business and the seller have won this sale.

[danherbias07]

Any team that needs a backup guard will have to sign this dude.

https://www.si.com/nba/grizzlies/news/ex-warriors-grizzlies-guard-still-an-nba-free-agent-01k2n5gjn4h0
Ex-Warriors, Grizzlies Guard Still an NBA Free Agent

While Melton still has not found a new team this offseason, him going unsigned in free agency likely will not last long. The 27-year-old guard is expected to ultimately return to the Warriors once the franchise figures out its Kuminga dilemma.

"Kuminga dilemma."

I just wish he wouldn't end up like the "Schroder phenomenon". Kuminga was already offered an extension by the Warriors, but didn't accept it. It is said that he is ready to accept other offers and join another team.
According to other news reports, he says he is a big Laker fan, so that may be a hint for the Lakers management to take him. But that will contradict himself. He doesn't like to work with superstars anymore, but he knows there are a lot of stars there, and he might not get the minutes that he wants if he accepts a Laker offer. (if ever it happens)