Do people still really think Windhorst is just LeBron’s water carrier in the media? He put out some pretty unflattering things about how James handled David Blatt (as well as some pretty unflattering things about Blatt), for one.

WGN’s parent company is in the process of being acquired by another corporation and over the past year they’ve canceled all their scripted programming; they appear to be abandoning that business model (which they only started pursuing a few years ago) entirely.

I think the starting point is: What do you think happened last year?

It would be understandable for Bosh to do a lot of research, try different things, seek other opinions. But I really hope someone tells him that Reggie Lewis went shopping for a doctor until they finally found one who said he could keep playing, and guess what.

Early Kidd is like Rondo or Rubio (except, you know, dramatically fucking better) ... late in his career he learned to shoot, finally. I think if Kidd was coming into the league today with his 1994 skillset, he’d be struggling (and have to learn to shoot much faster).

Agreed.

Well, for one thing some guys have a nostalgic/athletic affection for the pass-first point - I was joking, but also kind of sad, about calling Rondo and Rubio too pure for the modern game.

“pure point guard” is a phrase that can be as expansive or restrictive as the context requires! We need to start by disassociating “point guard” and “the 1".

NBA Sabonis was a (fat) shadow of what he was as a young man in international play; it’s the pre-NBA guy that I’m talking about.

(1) I’m a Celtics fan, so I’m biased.

As I just said to somebody else, the more I think about it the 70s weren’t just the darkest time for the NBA, they were the worst time to be a transcendent player if you want to be remembered as such. Dilution due to the ABA, a much higher level of parity than was experienced before or since, the simple fact that it…

Ironically given some other conversations I was involved in here yesterday, Kareem probably suffers because his best years were played during the NBA’s era of greatest parity, when 8 different teams won the title in a 10 year span. It’s funny how the more we turn it over, “his peak was in the 70s” keeps coming up with…

I see what you’re saying, but the NCAA rarely puts it that way. My basic point is: they’re filthy liars, so when they explain why XYZ we probably shouldn’t believe them, because we know they’re filthy liars, and what’s their filthy lying explanation for THIS, then?

I think Jordan eclipsed him generationally, basically, and more people were literally able to see his 80s work than his 70s work. I would guess most people with a sense of the game’s history would have him in the top 5 at least. I put KAJ, Russell, Jordan, and LBJ in the very top tier by themselves. (Not entertaining…

Well, yes, but that’s not an answer to my question. Why is it in Joe Ballgame’s best interests as a student to not transfer from Alabama to North Carolina (or vice versa) if that’s what he thinks is best for him?

So what is the argument from the NCAA’s perspective about why these kinds of restrictions are good for the well-being of the all-important student-athletes?

I wonder if part of the internet’s Durant hate, when the internet hates Durant - which, as Burneko writes, we’re supposed to be smarter than - has something to do with Westbrook’s status as the Basketball Internet’s hero. I’ve always thought one of the simplest explanations for Durant leaving OKC was: “fuck, I’m tired…

Works better for NBA players, though, since they’re the ones producing the valuable product, and CEOs aren’t.

A certain level of parity is inherently good for the overall level of competition/entertainment in the league, and since it’s an entertainment-driven business it makes sense for them to maximize interest. I don’t get why this is a hard point for a lot of people to understand.

How much revenue do they generate?