Deleterious

A sports franchise is one of the best investments you can make.

Nikola Topic is not on the OKC injury report for tonight. It will be his NBA debut if he plays. Tore his ACL last year and was diagnosed with testicular cancer this season.

Spotrac has the Jenkins contract listed. $3.8 million this season and a flat $4 million next year and its a team option. That means this year they are about $2.2 million under the luxury tax and $9.1 million under the 1st apron. Sort of irrelevant since they shouldn't be adding anyone to the roster. Next year with 11 guys under contract, they are $66 million below the tax line and $73.9 million under the 1st apron. Obviously Duren's contract will change that. So will what they do with Harris, Huerter, and Green or any new FA's they bring in. This summer, starting July 1st, Ausar is extension eligible. He would have to sign it before the start of next season. If he doesn't then he will enter restricted free agency in the summer or 2027, just like Duren will do this summer. I can't see him getting a max contract in his current form, but just in case. A 25% max contract for him will start in year 1 at about $41.5 million with 8% raises each year. It would roughly look like this. Year 1 — $41.50M Year 2 — $44.82M Year 3 — $48.14M Year 4 — $51.46M Year 5 — $54.78M Total contract value: $240.70 million He could still qualify for the larger 30% max contract. This season or the next he would have to win MVP once, which isn't happening or make the all nba team once, which probably isn't happening. One other way he could qualify is to win DPOY this season and next, which could actually happen IMO. But it doesn't matter because he isn't getting a max contract unless he fixes that jumper. But a 30% max deal looks like this Year 1 — $49.80M Year 2 — $53.784M Year 3 — $57.768M Year 4 — $61.752M Year 5 — $65.736M Total contract value: $288.84 million

Seems really early to have 16 technical fouls.

Max is not happy with the new cars and even mentioned retirement. Some people are saying that during qualifying, you will have guys lifting and coasting to harvest energy. That isn't racing.

Yep. Letting the market set his price is the best way to approach it. I doubt he gets an offer. Teams don't really sign guys to offer sheets anymore. According to this article, only four offer sheets have been signed since 2020. The last one was our very own Paul Reed in 2023. The last time an offer sheet was signed and not matched by the players original team was 2020 when the Kings did not match the Hawks offer for Bogdan Bogdanovic. The article gives a few reasons on why they think offer sheets are way down. I think their second point is the biggest reason.

Utah is shutting JJJ down for the rest of the season to get knee surgery. Something called Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis.

Pistons won 40 before losing 20. Phil Jackson said teams that do that are legitimate contenders.

Wonder how much Toronto regrets that Poeltl extension. Paying him $28 million per is crazy.

Even on an off night Johnson is fun to watch. Shame Atlanta has no clue how to build around him. Cam Thomas exploded against Orlando. I'm going to laugh when Orlando doesn't make the playoffs and doesn't get their pick this year.

Bench isn't good tonight. Honestly, three of the starters haven't been that hot either. This game has been all Cade and Reed.

That should create some spectacular loss porn.

If he gets a max offer you think they will match it? Stop. Pistons are 7-1 without Duren this year. Get a cheap college rim running center and they are fine. Probably better actually, because you can take the money they would spend on him and go get some actual help.

Paul Reed providing another data point on why you never pay Duren.

Raptors don't have any C's worth mentioning, so losing Stew and Duren isn't a huge deal.

Charlotte would be a nice spot for Sochan. He would instantly be their best point of attack defender. Knicks and Nuggets would be a decent fit as well.

Really good defender, awful shooter. I imagine he will clear waivers. Can't imagine anyone having the $7 million in cap space to claim him. He needs to be on a team with shooting.

Still freaks me out when people younger than me die.

Pacers screwed up and won last night. To compensate, their entire starting lineup is listed as out tonight.

I know they give a lot of weight to their team's record, but it's criminal Johnson doesn't get more/any talk for MVP.

The league said Duren can participate in all star weekend even though he is suspended.