Betrayer

I'd definitely be concerned with injury risk, but the Pistons won't be in the mix for a top three pick unless they get very lucky with lottery odds. I expect they'll wind up in the 7th-10th pick range this season.

Getting crazier as more information comes to light. Now I'm hearing that the phrase "consensual relationship" that kept getting used over and over was put forward by Udoka's camp and maybe things weren't so "consensual" as originally reported.

Nothing wrong with him having a relationship with a Celtics staff member if he works for the Pistons, right? Let's make it a do-over on that Casey vs Udoka hiring. Casey can move into the front office in a player development role.

The interesting thing about this move is that Bojan has been a 30 mpg starter for the past 5 seasons. Let the questions begin as to what this does to Casey's lineup, but he does love having a vet in there with the starters and the floor spacing will be a godsend to Cade and Ivey, especially if Stew can also shoot it a bit this season. Much better than the Bagley + Stew combo most people were thinking would happen.

There's the trade most people were expecting that helps this roster make a little more sense. We had too many Centers and not enough Forwards. Moving Kelly for a vet shooter who plays Forward on an expiring deal is a solid move. And you had to dump Saben anyway to get to 15 players.

I guess I just don't see the importance of the topics they're addressing. I feel like there are more important issues, like stars actually playing games. The money for all of this comes from fans and tv deals because we want to see the stars play. Tie it to their wallet and they'll play. Maybe something like making all max contracts 80% guaranteed with the other 20% directly tied to actual games played. So, if you make 30M per year, then your contract is actually 24M per year guaranteed and the other 6M is incentive pay for playing the games - roughly 73K per game. People are too quick to bring up the idea of reducing the schedule, but it won't solve it. They're trying to get a rest advantage over their competition. If the season is 56 games, they'll still rest because it's not about the number "82", it's about playing less games than your opponent. Find a way to tie it to their wallet and you'll fix the issue. There should also be escalating player salary reduction penalties and some cap relief for players that sit out due to trade demands. The power has swung too far and it's time to rebalance. Not saying players shouldn't have some power, but with 100% guaranteed contracts, the teams (and therefore the fans) are at the complete mercy of the player to honor the contract they signed or not.

Kind of ironic that the Bates stuff happens as we're talking about lowering the draft age.

OK, well, I just learned that apparently online betting isn't allowed where I now live (North Carolina)...so maybe this thread will help out others, but it looks like I'm out of luck.

I've seen some good reviews about betMGM, so hearing you say that as well definitely keeps them high on my list of options.

Just wondering if anyone can recommend a site/app for NBA betting. I'm not a big gambler by any stretch, so this is just to waste a little money and make individual games more exciting and maybe get me to watch a few more games from other teams on my League Pass. I've heard of BetMGM, Caesers, BetOnline, Fanduel, DraftKings, but there are too many to list. Mostly what I'm looking for is: 1. Tons of options for prop bets and in-game bets - This is primarily what I'll be doing. I want to sit down to watch a game, toss a couple of fun prop bets out there, and see what happens. I find that more fun than the long term bets for who wins the championship or whatever. 2. A good app - I just want to sit on my couch and manage this from my phone. 3. Maybe a fantasy option - Not sure if this is a thing, but an option where you can pick your fantasy team for the night or something along those lines might be fun. I don't play fantasy sports anymore and I miss some of that lineup creation.

I did this as well. I think they send out the codes on Sept 27th...but league pass renews on the 29th. I'm guessing if you're not quick about putting the code in then your league pass will renew and charge you before you get the chance. Not exactly sure, but something to watch out for.

So much better than the gray ones. Kinda have a Clippers or maybe a Euroleague vibe, but I don't mind them. Maybe my expectations are low after seeing the teal come back - anything is better than that garbage. Give me more of the red. Loved last year's reds and would love to see the 04' reds come back as well.

They'll be a fun team to watch that gets a lot of wins in the regular season, but once the playoffs come around their weaknesses will be attacked and exploited. Bigs like Allen get played off the court by 5-out offenses in the playoffs these days and then what happens? The answer: A Layup line. Those two little guards are going to have to score non-stop on high efficiency (not what they're known for) to win playoffs games or be lucky enough to go up against teams that don't have the personnel to drag Allen out of the paint and make them bench him or pay for leaving him on the court.

Reminds me of the Sonics home jerseys. I don't love it, but I'd wear that over the teal any day.

Knicks roster is a lesson in how to pay a lot of money and not build a contender. Randle, Brunson, Barrett, Fournier, and Robinson account for nearly their entire cap (roughly 115M). That core is reminiscent of the Dre Pistons - bunch of guys that'll maybe get you to an 8th seed without much ceiling left for growth of that core. At least Fournier is a team option the following year, but the rest are there for a while.

Not sure needed any more reasons to root against LA, but OK. Can't wait to see the locker room brawl that breaks out between Russ and Bev.

Love finally seeing a team that puts in work again.

No thanks. I have serious doubts about his value outside of the Warriors system and those shooters. And if you're talking about signing him away from the Warriors because they can't afford him, then you're talking about a contract that's far bigger than I want to pay for a old version of a player with questionable value in the first place. That's even before we get into the fact that I enjoy rooting for the players on this roster, which is a nice feeling after the Drummond era that had very few players I actually liked. Let's not mess that up by bringing in a guy like Green. I think there are only a few players I dislike more, but there's little chance KD, Harden, or Patrick Beverly wind up here.

You only need one of McGruder or CoJo, not both. I'm fine with having some vets, - it's definitely important - but this roster construction is a bit odd right now. I assumed Troy was hanging on to that cap space in order to make a move (maybe trading Olynyk or something) before the season in order to have it make more sense. There are simply too many guys who will be expecting playing time at the Center and Guard spots. Guards: Cade, Ivey, Killian, Hami, Burks, CoJo, McGruder, Lee Forwards: Saddiq, Livers, Knox Centers: Stew, Bagley, Olynyk, Noel, Duren All those guys in red either need minutes because they're getting developed, or need minutes because their careers are still alive and they aren't ready to sit on the end of the bench. And I've been pretty conservative here by not listing CoJo (and maybe McGruder) who you know Casey will give minutes to. Sure, some of those guards can flex up to SF, particularly Hami and Burks. And yes, some of those Centers can flex down to PF (though each will struggle on one end of the floor or the other). But you've got 5 guys whose natural position should be Center in today's NBA, all of whom need or expect minutes. And that's even before we get into the point that moving them down to PF is the opposite of today's "positionless basketball" which is all about Forwards with guard skills who can defend up or down a position. None of these Centers have the "Guard skills" you need them to have to be the answer at PF. Your best archetype for PF is actually Livers or Bey...but that just makes the minutes situation even more of a train wreck when you've just 3 signed three young Center prospects who need hefty minutes and you also have two vets at that position who are still in their core playing years.

Because another guard is what this team needs 🙄 Maybe we'll get news that Saben is cut soon. But even then, we'll still have too many Guards and Centers and not enough Forwards.

Actually, I had that opportunity more times than I can count in my career. For more pay as well. Instead I chose to stick with the team and the culture that I built and to take on the challenge of building that into something bigger. We did, it succeeded, and it was something that I could never have experienced by jumping ship and taking an easier job. There are many in this world who are content with settling and just making their life easier, but that's not what I expect from the <1% of players who make it to the NBA level. Those people I expect to have competitive pride as well as a desire to achieve greatness and create a legacy. Sometimes the best things in life require challenge, sacrifice, and a strong sense of competitiveness to achieve.

They're still terrible. And why would we want to usher in the new era of Piston basketball by linking them to one of the worst? Use the reds from '04, not these.

It's an easy answer. KD has no heart. He'll never be one to build a winner, be a leader, or rally guys around him. OKC was 5 minutes away from the finals and a probable championship, but why fight back against the team that beat you when it's just easier to jump sides and get a ring the easy way. Things getting a little awkward in the locker room in GS? OK, easier to just leave and go where the grass might be greener. In BKN and the soil is a little rocky. Now it's on you to seed and mow to create that green grass...nope, time to bail again So, once again, it's time for KD to move on to somewhere where the grass looks greener without him having to put forth the effort to make it green. This is KD. Look up the word "weak" in the encyclopedia and you'll find a picture of him...if anyone still has an encyclopedia.

Everything - and I mean everything - would have to click perfectly for them to be in the play-in. Not because they're a bad team acting like they might be good (the Dre years), but because they're all about 19-22 years old. They simply need another couple years to grow and learn. Spurs got a play-in game with 34 wins in the West, but in the East it was 43 wins for Charlotte. I'll reserve my final predictions for October, but right now I'm thinking 32-35 wins based upon what they did in the second half of last season. I don't think the loss of Grant hurts them much and the addition of some front-court vertical threats, some athleticism, and the growth of the second and third year players should help. Shooting and spacing (along with youth) will be the things holding them back

JE3 posted his first take on the Pistons depth chart.