2026 NBA Season

[LGD2Business]

The NBA has fined the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers. They were fined for intentionally not playing their star players and tanking. I'm not sure if this is the right approach. The funny part is that Utah beat Miami even though Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. didn't play in the final quarter. Yet they still got fined. Maybe the NBA management could resolve this by changing the draft procedures, but it's very clear that this is a problem. If teams are being penalized for not playing certain players, that's interfering with the team's internal affairs. And fining them even though they won is utter nonsense.

[xzone]

The NBA has fined the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers. They were fined for intentionally not playing their star players and tanking. I'm not sure if this is the right approach. The funny part is that Utah beat Miami even though Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. didn't play in the final quarter. Yet they still got fined. Maybe the NBA management could resolve this by changing the draft procedures, but it's very clear that this is a problem. If teams are being penalized for not playing certain players, that's interfering with the team's internal affairs. And fining them even though they won is utter nonsense.

If you have star players and you're not playing them to earn a draft pick, then yes, you might be somewhat justified in penalizing them. However, I don't think the decision here was correct. If they won the game, they must have played well enough; they might not have wanted to tire out their good players. Besides, if a team is playing poorly specifically to earn a draft pick, they'll already be penalized for finishing last at the end of the season, so giving them another penalty isn't right. The rules are clear; every team should be able to do whatever they want to get a draft pick, or the rules need to be changed

[OgNasty]

The NBA has fined the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers. They were fined for intentionally not playing their star players and tanking. I'm not sure if this is the right approach. The funny part is that Utah beat Miami even though Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. didn't play in the final quarter. Yet they still got fined. Maybe the NBA management could resolve this by changing the draft procedures, but it's very clear that this is a problem. If teams are being penalized for not playing certain players, that's interfering with the team's internal affairs. And fining them even though they won is utter nonsense.

If you have star players and you're not playing them to earn a draft pick, then yes, you might be somewhat justified in penalizing them. However, I don't think the decision here was correct. If they won the game, they must have played well enough; they might not have wanted to tire out their good players. Besides, if a team is playing poorly specifically to earn a draft pick, they'll already be penalized for finishing last at the end of the season, so giving them another penalty isn't right. The rules are clear; every team should be able to do whatever they want to get a draft pick, or the rules need to be changed

I’m glad that the NBA is looking into this problem and beginning to propose solutions. For example, they said they are now considering a playoff for teams that don’t make the playoffs to determine their draft order. That way tanking won’t help your draft prospects. Not sure how this would work, but it is an idea being floated around.

Chris Paul has retired from the NBA!

[EFS]

While the Bucks beat the Thunder, Ousmane Dieng played one of the best games of his career. He played with great revenge motivation against his former team. He got a career high 11 rebounds and made his first double-double. The Bucks controlled the game from start to finish and gave the Thunder without SGA and Hartenstein no chance.

If LeBron keeps playing like this, he'll break all the records that have "oldest" in them. He put in another fantastic performance. I only watched the first half, but what I saw was enough.

Chris Paul announces NBA retirement after 21 seasons. It was an amazing career, he'll be in HoF for sure. Another player from our generation has retired.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

A great night for LeBron. He got a triple double and is now the oldest player in NBA history to have done so. It looked like he was going for 60 after the first quarter but he slowed down quite a bit. Still it was enough for them to get the win without Luka.

Dallas losing streak still continues. And honestly, it feels like the Lakers don’t even need Ayton anymore, especially with how inconsistent he’s been.

Ayton is soft, he tends to slow down his momentum and bring the ball down when he gets quick passes from LeBron or Luka, in the paint. The only good thing about him than Hayes is his mid range shooting.
If Hayes have that kind of ability, he'd be a perfect center for the Lakers.
Ayton can be a good piece to start, since Hayes easily picks up some fouls, but JJ should seriously consider to let Hayes or Kleber play more minutes in the 4th quarter.

True, and when he grabs the rebound, he also bring the ball down that's why many guards can easily steal the ball from him and after that, he will just nonchalant run down to supposedly play defense.

Imagine if Hayes has that ability to dribble and pivot and make that mid range. He is young and athletic and that can really help the Lakers down the line. If I'm the Lakers management, I might throw and develop him in the next 2 years to turn him into a great center for them.