So Owen, looks like 5-6 years is your answer…

I truly don’t understand what this means…at all. First, do you really think that the goal of this season was to win 47 games (or whatever it took to guarantee a playoff appearance and be a first round underdog…in a vacuum? Of course making the playoffs was a stated goal of the governor, and that can’t be ignored. But is that an endpoint, or just a base camp on the way to an ascent to try to reach the summit?

Like, for example, how do the Knicks compare with the 7 teams with better records than them in terms of ability to improve their current roster?
As to having no draft picks this year, it only means that they now have 4 protected picks likely to convey in the next 3 years, as well as all of their own picks past 2023, and the most favorable situation to sign Josh Hart to a long-term deal.

So the question is: is the 3 months plus playoffs worth of Josh Hart and pole position in signing him to a long-term deal worth the pick we gave up for him? While I think the answer is an unqualified YES, there is certainly room for disagreement. I feel that the massive impact in the present has significant curb appeal value…and the long-term impact in both perception and a reasonable risk/reward analysis of retaining a player that is far more likely to impact winning in the next 3 years than anyone drafted at whatever spot the Knicks’ pick would be at without Hart (I would guess high teens).

So in terms of how the playoffs play out, if we lose in the first round, it just confirms what most (including Leon) think….that there is still lots of work to do, but that the FO has the means to do the work. And if they win, the only significant gain is about curb appeal, which is going to be a big deal if multiple stars ask for trades.

I’m good with that.

It’s an investigation and not yet a penalty. If Kidd hadn’t been so blatant about their intentions (his statements not the substitutions) then it might’ve blown over.

If you’re a smart gambler you’re probably happy because you took the Bulls +375 early in the day when the Mavs kept signaling they would throw the game. I need to start putting my money where my mouth is.

Just look at what Portland did, for example. They shut down their entire team a month before the season ended, blatantly tanking, yet no one really cared about it because the consensus was that they weren’t going anywhere anyway. Even the Pacers did it to a similar extent when they started falling behind in the standings. What made the Mavs case so shocking was the unique combination of a team with 2 superstars falling apart + Kidd’s insane comments + Mark Cuban being a very hateable dick.

I don’t care much about it either way because they did what they had to do under the rules. I’m much more in the camp that pick protections should be changed or the lottery needs changes again, because the league’s solution has merely shifted where tanking happens a couple of slots down the standings. I think the play in has been a successful experiment, but it hasn’t solved every issue.

thankfully, i’m just a fan – so, knicks in 6…

It would have been more honest if they had forfaited the game.

well, there it is…

I don’t know about sports betting hating tanking; it’s just another thing to bet on. If you looked at the betting lines for that day of games, they were completely out of whack with teams’ records, but they made more sense if you thought about which teams were resting who.

no doubt those folks making a living on the line know what a team, player are going to do – before they do…

I can’t find the quote now, but someone up above said something about breaking the rules. I honestly don’t know, did the Mavs actually break any written rules? Of course they broke all kinds of unwritten rules, but that’s different. Curious if anyone knows.

“A rational action doesn’t make it morally acceptable.”

Yup. But this is capitalism. It’s about winning, and it has zero to do with morality. I work in the nonprofit world, where nobody makes shit and we all pat ourselves on the back for trying to do good because we don’t make shit. It feels stupid, especially because we still all stab each other in the back, but at least we can take scant solace in the fact that we’re only slightly evil, not entirely so. Cap is a zero sum game, at least the way it’s currently played. Doesn’t make it right. Is what it is; at least until Jowles takes over.

“…than to make the playoffs with a 0% chance to win a championship.”

Again, this is not about competition. This is about capitalism. Dolan didn’t really give a fuck that the Knicks were putting out a team of billy goats for years on end given that his team kept increasing by many millions a year in worth. It’d be much more interesting to do the math over what a team makes from some number of playoff games versus the likelihood of a mid-level pick paying off, monetarily.

“If you’re actively throwing a game and trying to lose at all costs? I wouldn’t be satisfied as a fan. ”

This. Not to mention the bettor problem. Both of which are more about embarrassment and looking bad than anything. Well, the latter of which could also get your hamstrings cut. At best.

in the east, I’m gonna guess the heat and raptors make it…

out west, the lakers and pelicans…