13 Rules: NBA Random Thoughts - July 7, 2024

[00:00:01] Alright, it's time to talk basketball. I'm Jose Alviotti, editor at thepeachbasket.net. He's Steve Percello, a longtime high school basketball coach, educator, vice principal, and athletic director. And this is the 13 Rules Random NBA Thoughts podcast. Best 15

[00:00:17] minutes of NBA Random Thoughts online anywhere. This is your first time listening. Welcome. We're glad you found us. This podcast was born out of the content in Steve's NBA which he produces weekly. Steve and I have exactly 15 minutes to discuss what's on his mind around the NBA.

[00:00:33] Now, we know it's the off season, but there's still a lot going on around the NBA. So today we'll discuss his latest 13 Rules Random NBA Thoughts article with a focus on the 2nd April as well as a few additional random thoughts.

[00:00:49] Steve, you ready? Ready. Let's do this. I'm starting the clock now. All right, let's go with the first topic and the one that I think every NBA fan has been talking about.

[00:01:02] May not know exactly what it is they're talking about though. That is this dreaded 2nd April in the CBA. NBA fans have been hearing a lot about it. What is it in general? And why could it have

[00:01:16] a negative impact on established stars moving forward? I believe it was the stop Steve Ballmer put in the last negotiation, which was two years ago. This will be coming into the third year.

[00:01:30] What it did was not only is there a tie, but now there's a second apron where it's I don't know exactly how many million more, but if you go past that apron, it really inhibits

[00:01:44] you from doing anything. For example, there's no trade exceptions where you can make it, you know, if somebody shrines with another team, you get the exception back, you can't do that. Here's a big one every year in February, guys get bought out,

[00:01:59] they get traded, they get bought out. If you're making more than mid-level exception, which was 12 million last year and probably it's going to go up, if you make more than that,

[00:02:09] those teams that are in the second apron can't buy and get someone. So that kind of restricts them where they can't get help down the stretch. You can't buy draft picks. You can't pay cash

[00:02:20] for any trades. You can only sign the minimum salary. Once you go above it, for example, Boston this year is above it, in the corner, Tillman, the guys they did sign or re-signed, they couldn't

[00:02:35] re-sign for more, but anybody they could bring in had to only be at the minimum. So everybody else picks through the good players and you're left with the guys that really

[00:02:47] nobody wanted. So it really is so many restrictions. The other thing Till is if in three out of the five years you are in the second apron out of five years, three times, if you are your first round pick

[00:03:02] moves in seven years, your first round pick moves to the end of the first round. So think about this and we can use a bunch of teams, but if you are a team that's shooting for

[00:03:13] title now for the next three or four years and you're above it, when things fall apart in seven years or get worse, you lose that. You is lost if it's an earlier pick. It becomes the last pick in the

[00:03:29] draft first round. So there's so many restrictions on plus tax. I believe the Golden State who were in it was in. In fact this year they got out and I'll get to the point on that,

[00:03:42] but Golden State was paying like four times whatever a salary. So if they signed somebody for three million, that's a 12 million dollar and that money, that tax money goes to those teams

[00:03:55] under the under the salary count. So you can be a bad team, but you're going to make money and I'm going to use the Charlotte Hornets when Jordan was awning. Michael Jordan owned

[00:04:07] that team. He made money. He made a lot and he sold it for a lot of money, but he made a lot of money. Now here's the point I made in the article though. The worst part about this is the warriors were

[00:04:18] restricted in trying to resign Clay Thompson. He is a time Golden State warrior even if they won a title in Dallas. People remember him as a warrior. It's a shame when a guy they can't

[00:04:31] sign, die they drafted worked with got better and better as an old time star and he has to go to somebody else. Now let's project in the future. Let's just here Jason Payton might be a

[00:04:44] good example where Boston can't sign him anymore. Right. It's really like Nicole Yelkic who knows although that's another story about Denver or where they are with the cap. But but the point

[00:04:55] being these great players who they're linked up with their team. They might not be able to keep, you know, so there's so many dreaded parts of this that it's terrible. This stuff as I said,

[00:05:11] the bargaining agreement still got seven, seven more years. So they can even change or do it because it's really hurting and it also restricts teams from making deals and all the other

[00:05:21] things because of all the rules inside. So just so many negative pieces to it and you won't see a dynasty because of this like the Golden State Warriors. I don't think you had to do one line.

[00:05:34] And I think that's by design, right? I think that's probably a big part of why this is there. They don't want to see a dynasty. They want to see kind of some parody around the league

[00:05:43] which you can get that. There was a fear of Steve Ballmer coming in because for him it's money when he gets tacked. Yeah. So, you know, they're afraid that he would just

[00:05:54] not hear I'm going to buy the best players in the world and I'll pay taxes. But you know, it was the restriction. And from what I just I've been reading Clippers are very, very aware

[00:06:06] of that tie. And that's one of the reasons why would Paul George, they were hesitant because they didn't want to go back in. Yeah. Yeah. And staying in LA, right? LeBron just signed. He purposefully signed for 2.7 million less to keep the Lakers under that second apron. I think

[00:06:23] every team is aware of it and every NBA fan has heard of the second apron. But not very many of them know what it's about. And you know, I'm still kind of fuzzy but this was a great

[00:06:35] encapsulation and it's unfortunate that it cost, you know, play Thompson an opportunity to end his career in San Francisco. I want to make you aware of something not you but you know, people anybody listening. If you take the next situation they didn't win a title.

[00:06:50] They're paying out 45 or so to 43 whatever to add an oldie. Brunson's contract he's got two more years on. But Brunson will make 50 or 60 million. Now already with two guys, you're 100 bridges only got two more years he's gonna make more money

[00:07:10] if the next re-signing. When you begin to look at this, the cart makes 17 million. You start adding it up. They will be in that unless they get rid of some of these people, they will be in that that particular, you know, so it's a problem and especially

[00:07:31] like the next time money and organization, you didn't win a title and you've gone into that. My goodness, that looks that's a good situation. Well, this is the goodest segues I can make out of that are very interesting topic. But

[00:07:47] you talked about the next let's talk about Isaiah Hartenstein, right? He just signed with the Thunder and he has said he was a hard decision for him to leave New York. I imagine

[00:07:56] it was he seemed to be at home there had great success there but now he's with a Thunder team that man is arguably the best team in the Western Conference without him and you know,

[00:08:07] then got him. So I gotta ask you straight up, does adding Isaiah Hartenstein make the Thunder the favorite in the West? I think them in Minnesota should, in words, we'll get better. Towns is beginning to fit into his role though he's in go Barrow B, go Bar,

[00:08:22] and they also made that trade for Dillingham and Feast Decent. Conley doesn't have to play as much. So they're just they're they're going to be good. Oklahoma City though, all of a

[00:08:35] sudden, Chet Holmgren's a four. That's where he belongs. He's not the at least guy and I don't know if he can handle the banging but he's not really a bang this much. Now you've got Longstown.

[00:08:44] So all of a sudden in Oklahoma City, my goodness, with Alexander and so on, they're loaded and they're furious now the playoffs. So you can't look at into all their new team going

[00:08:57] into the playoffs. So I guess they would be a favorite, but I wouldn't throw them in the so now. You know, so so but boy, they're good. Oklahoma City just going to get better.

[00:09:09] Yeah. And let's you know for all intents and purposes just mark them the winners of the Paul George trade. I think that is this point. You know, you always say you want to you want

[00:09:18] to engage a trade a success of a trade two, three years later. Here we are. That's under one. Speaking of Paul George, he's now in the Eastern Conference, right? He is lined up with a B Maxi,

[00:09:32] a very good Sixers team does adding Paul George to that already good 76ers team make them the favorite in the East. I'll say no, with exceptions. Okay. Well, if anybody's going to

[00:09:46] be hurt, sure. All it takes is a Brunson or Pozengus or Tatum or any of these people who go down. But I still did a third best team in the division, even healthy. I think I think

[00:10:01] Boston has got too much for him. There's five deep, you know, I think Tatum and Brown are pretty good. And don't forget, I think they'll have a better record because those guys

[00:10:12] will play more games and Embiid will and George during the season. But I think the home court will be big. I think it'll be a closer series. I think the Knicks, I still kind of like the

[00:10:23] Knicks over them, but I'm not sold on that. But I think, you know, they're all in a ballpark. And I think if any of them meet each other, that home court's going to be so, you know,

[00:10:33] but I don't think they are because don't forget you have Embiid and you have George but because of that dread and salary, salary cap in the apron, you don't. They did something killed more than the other. They do have a board. So they picked up a

[00:10:50] few players, but they know it's not that deep. In fact, they just got rid of Paul Reed. So I don't know what they want to do is back up center. You know, and what Embiid's going to miss

[00:11:00] games. It's George. So, you know, all of a sudden without those two, you saw what it looked like last year with just Max, you know, with the rest of them. Yeah. The rest of this cast won't be

[00:11:13] you know, they did again, no brazen, another guy in it kept, but they lost. It was some, you know, some talent there. Wow, and what's his name? Harris. Tobias Harris. They lost him. So, you know, it's interesting, you know, George is a great player. He's 34.

[00:11:32] He's 34. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I think the East is tough. I think the West is tough. I, it's just a great time to be a basketball fan, man. Let's finish with this and I hate to end on

[00:11:44] a sour note, but we're going to talk now about two teams that met in the Western Conference finals in 2020. One of these two teams went on to win it all that season. The other of those

[00:11:54] two teams that we're going to talk about won it all three years later. Talking about the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets, you called them out. What is happening to these great franchises over the last couple of years? First of all, the Lakers I think

[00:12:13] we get, for me as a fan, I look at the Lakers don't have anybody outside of Austin Reeves and Davis and LeBron that nobody wants. Now, sometimes you're surprised. You see somebody get traded in, you know, like my goodness, he's not that good or

[00:12:30] whatever. But it's obvious, you know, they're offering everything they can to try to get some people and they can't get them. Right. It tells you something. Unless they want to give up Austin Reeves, I don't know exactly where they're going to go. They need more. You know, don't

[00:12:49] forget, he's great, but LeBron's 40. How much more? So, you know, just it's a problem. Really, it was a problem and you really got to be creative or be lucky that somebody wants the usual Russell or Ruey or Hatchamore or one of those people really, you know, just not

[00:13:09] that. That's for Denver. I think that's a big shame. Stan Cronkey owns the team. Last I looked, he's earned, has six. His net worth is 16.2 billion. He owns 10 other professional sporting teams, soccer and throughout the world and all. But last year, he lost Bruce

[00:13:33] Brown and Jeff Green didn't want to pay him obviously. What that did, it hurt. He doesn't want to tax. He doesn't want to go above the cap. So, and if he does, he's want to minimize

[00:13:47] his tax. Now this year, he lost Colwell Polk. Last year they tried to get by without him and you saw Denver ring that again in game seven. It wouldn't buy 20 and he lost that game because

[00:13:58] they were using guys for, they only had five really nice six guys maybe that Malone trusted. Now, there was Colwell and Colwell Polk is a good player all around. They're a good open shooter,

[00:14:14] doesn't overdo his role. He's happy in that role and he plays it as well as anybody. They lost him. I don't know how they're going to replace that if they don't want to pay. So, so Cronkey not spending money and trying to keep them where they are

[00:14:31] is going to make them lose their title, title years and for Yolkage that's a shame because he's great. And one more piece that's interesting. Jamal marries up for a new contract soon. Another year I believe they're looking 55 million. He gets Porter's contract comes up, they're not

[00:14:55] going to sign. Right. Just play the game here with the money unless something crazy happens. So, not a great situation. That's the food to say the least. Yeah. Yeah. I think what's tough is both teams are good. Obviously Denver is better,

[00:15:11] but I think the Lakers are in that in between stage. You know, I would rather obviously be a championship contender or rebuild. Right. To be in the middle, right? When you know you're not good enough to be at that high level, but you're not bad enough to get

[00:15:27] a lot of first round picks or picks. That's the worst place to be. And that's where the Lakers are. They're just mired in the middle. In sports, it's very interesting. The Lakers

[00:15:38] and I'm going to use the New York Yankees. They refuse to want to rebuild. Right. And what you get is average for the Lakers. Their hope is they can sign when they, you know, LeBron ties

[00:15:55] or whatever, they can go out and sign the best reagent. That's their hope. It's not a way, you know, you built your draft. You build through trading like Oklahoma City, like the Celtics of

[00:16:09] Spain. Right. You're just you and you watch the pieces get better and better. I think the process to watch is more fun. Yep. The results. Yep. Undeniable. Undeniable. And in LA we were kind

[00:16:24] of robbed of that process when everything was blown up. Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, I can go on and on and on and on. And you know, here in LA we say it worked. We got the championship in 2020.

[00:16:37] But you know that when you look at the totality of the last four or five years, that was an aberration. Plus didn't you win this year the tournament? No. That's right. That's right. The Lakers are the season tournament champions. Wonderful. They should.

[00:16:59] I'm going to lay an end on that note. You heard the buzzer go off. Steve's got the last word as usual. That's it. Our time is make sure to read Steve's entire article. We'll make

[00:17:09] sure to link it below. This might be our final 13 Rules, a random thoughts podcast until something happens during the off season. But we're definitely going to continue to talk basketball. We've got a continuation of the show 13 Rules overtime where we're trying to introduce you to

[00:17:27] basketball players you might have heard of, but don't know a lot about. We've talked Will Chamberlain. We talked to him. Jones. We're talking. Who are we talking next? Rick Barry. Rick Bering. I'm the one that's supposed to forget you. We're talking Rick Bering next. Make sure to

[00:17:44] add us, like, subscribe. All that stuff helps a ton and join us for 13 Rules overtime. Rick Barry. We'll be back in a little bit to report that show, but we'll be on weekly talking to

[00:17:58] new player throughout the off season. All right. That's it. Thanks for the time. Steve. Take care. Happy.