Kyrie is dirty rotten no good and we have schadenfreude…?

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

It absolutely would be a good thing if the owners disregarded the CBA in this situation. Just like it's a good thing when local municipalities are forcing police unions to get vaccinated.

They don't need to void contracts. Just tell players who won't get vaxxed not to show up to work. Figure out some way to share the financial burden amongst owners in the short term if you have to.

This shit should not be acceptable anywhere, much less with this visibility and with this platform. The NBA did great work early in the pandemic, leading the nation on response. They need to continue that with figuring out a way to make a vaccine mandate work.

Silver's job is to protect the league. He did a good job of protecting the league against something unknown and unprepared for (more or less) last year.

There is a substantial number of people in this country who don't believe for whatever reason. That's about 30% in the general population. NBA seems like it's closer to 10%.

Does Silver have a responsibility to protect those 10%? I'm sure he feels that given the number of players/staff/refs/fans/coaches (etc.) who are vaccinated, at the end of the day, the only people the unvax'd are hurting are themselves and those close to them.

It's going to take a high profile death/conversion to change people's minds unfortunately. Which will also lead to another few thousand subscribers to the Herman Cain Award subredditt.

not helping my perception of Grant here…

I don't know. Grant is 23, just starting his role on the players union. What else is he going to say?

 

[Van Everyman]

This is a very tricky situation for Silver. He has simultaneously run the most efficient professional sports league while also being the most open to allowing the players to express themselves. The problem here is that those two things are now butting up against each other. Call it The Kyrie Konundrum – and I’m not sure how you square this circle.

Allow the inmates to run the prison, as Bob McNair so racistly opined, and you have some of the most prominent athletes in the world, and the Black community, influencing a whole generation to mistrust public health. But create a competitive disadvantage for unvaccinated players and you may push more players into the “Kyrie has a point” camp, empower the PA and turn this into an all out war between players and ownership over something the vast minority of the players actually believe.

 

[RG33]

I can understand Silver’s predicament to some extent, and it somewhat mirrors what my company is facing. Silver has prided himself on creating a certain culture within the NBA that allows these young men to express themselves and respects everyone’s opinion. Now though, the situation calls for the relative heavy-handedness of an absolute decision from the main authority figured that completely dispels other opinions (valid and/or invalid ones). It breaks the culture that he has steadfastly tried to create, and arguably has done the best job in pro sports of creating, so I can understand it being a difficult line for him to step over.

Hopefully, similar to my company, the Biden Administration’s announcement a couple of weeks’ ago will give them some leverage to say they are following CDC/Federal Govt guidelines etc. We are making an announcement on Tuesday that will require all employees who want to come back to the office on 1/1/22 to be vaccinated. If not, you need to stay home and avoid contact with clients. If it impacts your effectiveness at your job, it may impact your job.

 

[bosockboy]

Irving is trying to make this his Ali/Vietnam moment.

 

[Jimbodandy]

Yeah. Didn't Adam Silver single-handedly wake up the United States wrt COVID? Then he pioneered the return of sports with a revolutionary bubble.

Yeah I'm not sure that I've ever disagreed with a post here more (your quoted post, not yours). Silver is fucking gold.

Of course he faces a challenge here. And because of a couple of days of articles, the "shut up and dribble" fanbase is ready to call foul on Silver for not being hard enough on the talent, quickly enough? I call bullshit. And if you don't have faith in Silver's leadership after watching him thread the needle on the pandemic (twice) and civil unrest last summer, then you weren't watching. Years of smart stewardship vs. a couple of days of "we might have a problem here" articles...

 

[The Social Chair]

I think the league is in a much worse place than it was in 2016. Jaylen Brown should get more credit than Silver for keeping the bubble together during the civil unrest in 2020.

• The NBA ratings and attendance have been on a steady decline since 2015 (NBA jukes the attendance stats by giving away heavily discounted tickets at the last minute). Local rating drops are even worse than national.
• The replay rules have made 4th quarters even more unwatchable than they already were with TV timeouts.
• Silver has been much weaker on COVID safety enforcement than Goodell (to be fair that's probably more to do with the weakness of the NFLPA). Lebron getting away with partying without a mask was a low point.
• The player empowerment era has reached its nadir with Ben Simmons' hold out and Kyrie's anti-vax sentiment (two players who won't take a shot).

 

[Jimbodandy]

Player empowerment era? Nothing says "shut up and dribble" like talking about how empowering the talent was a bad experiment.

 

[nattysez]

How are the MLB and NHL ratings doing? How about network TV ratings? Saying "ratings are down" without acknowledging that the average ratings of everything other than the NFL are down is a terribly bad-faith argument. Streaming has significantly impacted how people watch TV.

Anyway, I agree that Silver has to find a way to drop a velvet hammer here -- tell the players they need to get vaxxed or they can't play.

 

[The Social Chair]

Player empowerment era? Nothing says "shut up and dribble" like talking about how empowering the talent was a bad experiment.

This is ridiculous. I didn't say shut up and dribble or anything negative about players using their platform to influence social change. I 100% support that. It's been great and I have many posts on this forum expressing support for that.

However, players holding out with years left on their contract until they are traded to the team of their choice is a problem for the league.

 

[The Social Chair]

How are the MLB and NHL ratings doing? How about network TV ratings? Saying "ratings are down" without acknowledging that the average ratings of everything other than the NFL are down is a terribly bad-faith argument. Streaming has significantly impacted how people watch TV.

National ratings are down for those leagues as well but they are healthier regionally than the NBA.



https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/contextualizing-mlb-s-regional-business-dominance-compared-to-the-nba-01dwa6f4r11s

 

[Jimbodandy]

This is ridiculous. I didn't say shut up and dribble or anything negative about players using their platform to influence social change. I 100% support that. It's been great and I have many posts on this forum expressing support for that.

However, players holding out with years left on their contract until they are traded to the team of their choice is a problem.

Players hold out in every league.

I'm right there with you that Simmons shooting his way out of town with so many years on his deal isn't a great thing. But your whole approach is that Silver is the worst commissioner because he doesn't bust balls on the players enough.

 

[johnmd20]

This is ridiculous. I didn't say shut up and dribble or anything negative about players using their platform to influence social change. I 100% support that. It's been great and I have many posts on this forum expressing support for that.

However, players holding out with years left on their contract until they are traded to the team of their choice is a problem for the league.

That post by Jimbodandy was pretty weak and so completely uncalled for. It's so easy to call someone Laura Ingrahm. SoSH should be better but often it isn't

The NBA is in a horrendous spot. Their ratings aren't down. They have absolutely collapsed. The game is bad, the product is bad, the end of games are interminable and difficult to watch, and the officiating is weak. Silver is a pretty solid commissioner but the NBA has some issues in the short term.

 

[ragnarok725]

Player empowerment era? Nothing says "shut up and dribble" like talking about how empowering the talent was a bad experiment.

This has nothing to do with player empowerment. Nothing at all. That's a ridiculous both sides-y argument.

Platforming anti-vaxxers because you're afraid of "shut up and dribble" criticism is stupid and cowardly.

 

[Jimbodandy]

I'll take a timeout from this. I just want to be clear here that I'm all for punishing antivax employees. Every time that I hear about antivax folks losing their jobs or about to lose their jobs, it brings me great joy. My stance has nothing to do with enabling Kyrie and his weirdo friends in this antivax nonsense. With that, I'll stfu.

 

[SteveF]

I think local NBA ratings will always be pretty bad given the number of teams that go into a season with little to no chance of winning a title. That can be the case for teams extending multiple generations of fans. That's why the league is marketed the way it is. It's hard to market a team that hasn't won in 20 years and likely won't win over the next 20 years given the nature of the sport and players largely congregating in the glamor markets. If you are a 40 year old TWolves fan

Spoiler

you are likely to die without seeing your team win a title.

The league probably needs to invent new things to win for teams that aren't serious contenders to drive more interest. I'm not sure how they do it, but obviously the gold standard there is soccer. You have relegation, Europa league, Champions League, the various cups.

National ratings aren't that much of a problem because you can just pick out the good teams and show those games.

Edit: Though really how much of this is just youtube? People watch the 10 minute highlights of a game instead of the game these days.

 

[Kliq]

Milwaukee just won the title and we are only a couple years removed from the sad sack Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers meeting in four straight Finals. The idea that certain teams will NEVER win a championship because they aren't located in a glamorous market seems incorrect.

 

[SteveF]

NEVER is your word, Kliq.

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

What about global growth? There has never been more talent in the game than there is right now. It's a great product.

 

[Marciano490]

I think the league is in a much worse place than it was in 2016. Jaylen Brown should get more credit than Silver for keeping the bubble together during the civil unrest in 2020.

• The NBA ratings and attendance have been on a steady decline since 2015 (NBA jukes the attendance stats by giving away heavily discounted tickets at the last minute). Local rating drops are even worse than national.
• The replay rules have made 4th quarters even more unwatchable than they already were with TV timeouts.
• Silver has been much weaker on COVID safety enforcement than Goodell (to be fair that's probably more to do with the weakness of the NFLPA). Lebron getting away with partying without a mask was a low point.
• The player empowerment era has reached its nadir with Ben Simmons' hold out and Kyrie's anti-vax sentiment (two players who won't take a shot).

This was elegant. The China debacle was also embarrassing.

 

[nattysez]

National ratings are down for those leagues as well but they are healthier regionally than the NBA.

View attachment 44595

https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/contextualizing-mlb-s-regional-business-dominance-compared-to-the-nba-01dwa6f4r11s

Funny how you didn't mention the quality of the MLB and NBA teams in those cities during those years. I'm sure it's completely irrelevant. Yeesh.

And try to find a better source than the Big Lead, which is trash.

 

[Ale Xander]

What about global growth? There has never been more talent in the game than there is right now. It's a great product.

Global growth is basically saving the game right now.
Can’t imagine it without Giannis, Doncic, Jokic, Embiid and others

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

National ratings are down for those leagues as well but they are healthier regionally than the NBA.

https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/contextualizing-mlb-s-regional-business-dominance-compared-to-the-nba-01dwa6f4r11s

Do you really think MLB is a healthier sport than the NBA? I don't think many do if you will.

There was a report out earlier this year that the NBA is looking to lock up its next rights deal for a HEFTY raise over the current deal - in the $70+B range for 10 years. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/22/nba-is-next-up-for-a-big-rights-increase-and-75-billion-is-the-price.html. From all accounts, the NBA is going to get close to that.

The NBA has three things going for it: (1) its viewers are younger (and they also consume the NBA in different ways outside of traditional watch the game model); (2) the NBA is the most global of all US sports; and (3) the NBA seems to have gotten China back as a market after Morey's statements.

I don't know where people think the NBA is in trouble. This isn't the 1970s. The league is as healthy as its been in a long time.

You may not like the NBA's product but I would much rather watch any NBA game on my DVR versus even a Red Sox non-playoff game. YMMV>

 

[the moops]

That post by Jimbodandy was pretty weak and so completely uncalled for. It's so easy to call someone Laura Ingrahm. SoSH should be better but often it isn't

The NBA is in a horrendous spot. Their ratings aren't down. They have absolutely collapsed. The game is bad, the product is bad, the end of games are interminable and difficult to watch, and the officiating is weak. Silver is a pretty solid commissioner but the NBA has some issues in the short term.

The NBA game has never been better, IMO. So much talent out there. Sorry you find it unwatchable.

 

[128]

The NBA game has never been better, IMO. So much talent out there. Sorry you find it unwatchable.

I'm bullish on the NBA too, especially the amount of young talent in the league, but the interminable fourth quarters, when virtually every borderline call is reviewed, are definitely an issue Silver and Co. should try to address.

That's probably my biggest gripe with the NBA right now. Games tend to flow well until the fourth quarter, when everything comes to a halt.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

I'm bullish on the NBA too, especially the amount of young talent in the league, but the interminable fourth quarters, when virtually every borderline call is reviewed, are definitely an issue Silver and Co. should try to address.

That's probably my biggest gripe with the NBA right now. Games tend to flow well until the fourth quarter, when everything comes to a halt.

I just DVR the games and skip over those parts.

Honestly that's one of the reasons I like the NBA better than MLB - I can use the DVR with great effect for NBA (and the NFL) but it's harder with the MLB.

 

[RedOctober3829]

The anti-vax issues are completely separate from the shut up and dribble stuff. There is no way Silver can be bullied on this issue because it is a matter of public health. If the willfully ignorant unvaccinated players have issues, they can find another line of work.

 

[Swedgin]

The anti-vax issues are completely separate from the shut up and dribble stuff. There is no way Silver can be bullied on this issue because it is a matter of public health. If the willfully ignorant unvaccinated players have issues, they can find another line of work.

Bullying has nothing do with this. A vaccination mandate would be a term and condition of employment. The NBA's players (like the NLF and MLB) have a recognized collective bargaining representative and a CBA in place. Silver cannot unilaterally impose a vaccination requirement. It would have to be negotiated with the players' association.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Bullying has nothing do with this. A vaccination mandate would be a term and condition of employment. The NBA's players (like the NLF and MLB) have a recognized collective bargaining representative and a CBA in place. Silver cannot unilaterally impose a vaccination requirement. It would have to be negotiated with the players' association.

It’s exactly what the unvaxxed portion of the players are doing here. Kyrie and his band of YouTube doctors seem to be influencing other players union members to not push for a mandate.

 

[Devizier]

The biggest issue concerning the NBA has existed since its inception. The better teams win too consistently. It’s just the nature of the game, and it means bad/mediocre teams really have no title shot every year.

But that’s even more true in soccer, and that’s the most popular sport in the world, and it continues to grow. That’s the model the NBA should aim for, although it would require that Eurobasket (or whoever) becomes at least a tier 1b league to replicate it.

More to the point, this has nothing to do with that dummy Kyrie Irving. I don’t think he wins this battle, either.

 

[ragnarok725]

Bullying has nothing do with this. A vaccination mandate would be a term and condition of employment. The NBA's players (like the NLF and MLB) have a recognized collective bargaining representative and a CBA in place. Silver cannot unilaterally impose a vaccination requirement. It would have to be negotiated with the players' association.

They have the option of simply telling unvaccinated players to stay home without messing with their contracts. Owners certainly wouldn't love paying players to sit out at home, but it would also hurt players quite a bit and they wouldn't be able to get new contacts when their current ones expire.

It's a bad solution if they can't get the union on board, but having unvaccinated players playing should be an unacceptable outcome.

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

The biggest issue concerning the NBA has existed since its inception. The better teams win too consistently. It’s just the nature of the game, and it means bad/mediocre teams really have no title shot every year.

But that’s even more true in soccer, and that’s the most popular sport in the world, and it continues to grow. That’s the model the NBA should aim for, although it would require that Eurobasket (or whoever) becomes at least a tier 1b league to replicate it.

More to the point, this has nothing to do with that dummy Kyrie Irving. I don’t think he wins this battle, either.

Since 2000, each sports finals have seen...

NBA-17 different teams
MLB- 23 different teams
NHL- 24 different teams
NFL- 24 different teams

(On my phone, so these numbers might be off by one or two)
It seems like a lot, but when comparing the roster numbers, it makes sense. I'm sure it's always been this way. I'll do 1980-2000 if I have time tomorrow.

 

[Cesar Crespo]

MLB's problem is it's too regional. The NBA has the opposite problem. Fans in Boston will watch LeBron James or Dame, they won't tune in for Mike Trout or Vlad.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

And if I’m reading this right; it sounds like Granite is encouraging this “it’s a choice” bullshit as a union rep:

He doesn’t really have a choice regardless of his belief. The Union has pushed hard for their players to have this choice.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

I think the league is in a much worse place than it was in 2016. Jaylen Brown should get more credit than Silver for keeping the bubble together during the civil unrest in 2020.

• The NBA ratings and attendance have been on a steady decline since 2015 (NBA jukes the attendance stats by giving away heavily discounted tickets at the last minute). Local rating drops are even worse than national.
• The replay rules have made 4th quarters even more unwatchable than they already were with TV timeouts.
• Silver has been much weaker on COVID safety enforcement than Goodell (to be fair that's probably more to do with the weakness of the NFLPA). Lebron getting away with partying without a mask was a low point.
• The player empowerment era has reached its nadir with Ben Simmons' hold out and Kyrie's anti-vax sentiment (two players who won't take a shot).

This is only a small part of the story. The NBA is growing with enormous momentum overseas with total revenues exploding. It isn’t only about the United States anymore.

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

National ratings are down for those leagues as well but they are healthier regionally than the NBA.

View attachment 44595

https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/contextualizing-mlb-s-regional-business-dominance-compared-to-the-nba-01dwa6f4r11s

Dipping back to this chart, meaningful that it appears to show household ratings, not more useful A18-49 demo. NBA kicks MLB’s ass where it counts money-wise.

 

[Auger34]

That post by Jimbodandy was pretty weak and so completely uncalled for. It's so easy to call someone Laura Ingrahm. SoSH should be better but often it isn't

The NBA is in a horrendous spot. Their ratings aren't down. They have absolutely collapsed. The game is bad, the product is bad, the end of games are interminable and difficult to watch, and the officiating is weak. Silver is a pretty solid commissioner but the NBA has some issues in the short term.

Calling out jimbodandy with this post isn’t it, I think you wanted to prove a point by being extremely negative but most of your post is just wrong and not fit for an NBA board.
The game hasn’t collapsed and the products not bad. Not sure what you’re going for here honestly.
Agree the ending of games are bad with the length of replays. Officiating in every sport sucks and Im not sure that the nba is markedly worse than any other major sports league

 

[HomeRunBaker]

They have the option of simply telling unvaccinated players to stay home without messing with their contracts. Owners certainly wouldn't love paying players to sit out at home, but it would also hurt players quite a bit and they wouldn't be able to get new contacts when their current ones expire.

It's a bad solution if they can't get the union on board, but having unvaccinated players playing should be an unacceptable outcome.

But they don’t have the option of simply telling unvaccinated players to stay home as they have the Union behind them…….just as the NFL and MLB has their unions behind their players and unvaccinated players are playing in those sports as well.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

But they don’t have the option of simply telling unvaccinated players to stay home as they have the Union behind them…….just as the NFL and MLB has their unions behind their players and unvaccinated players are playing in those sports as well.

Does the NBA anticipate that having too mny unvaccinated players will impact legue revenues and therefore player compensation? Also, if all non-player team personnel and league personnel are required to be vaccinated that would provide a healh benefit to the players. If we lived in a rational world a deal could be cut.

 

[Swedgin]

They have the option of simply telling unvaccinated players to stay home without messing with their contracts. Owners certainly wouldn't love paying players to sit out at home, but it would also hurt players quite a bit and they wouldn't be able to get new contacts when their current ones expire.

It's a bad solution if they can't get the union on board, but having unvaccinated players playing should be an unacceptable outcome.

As a labor lawyer, I would be shocked if the NBA's attorneys were telling the owners that was a viable option. First, it would directly "mess with their contracts" because many have incentive clauses. Second, separate and apart from the incentive, vaccination requirement as a condition of playing would still be a new term and condition of employment, which would require bargaining. Third, as you said such a requirement would "hurt players quite a bit and they wouldn't be able to get new contacts when their current ones expire". That's a great recipe for a successful ULP/grievance.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

As a labor lawyer, I would be shocked if the NBA's attorneys were telling the owners that was a viable option. First, it would directly "mess with their contracts" because many have incentive clauses. Second, separate and apart from the incentive, vaccination requirement as a condition of playing would still be a new term and condition of employment, which would require bargaining. Third, as you said such a requirement would "hurt players quite a bit and they wouldn't be able to get new contacts when their current ones expire". That's a great recipe for a successful ULP/grievance.

To what degree does this depend on local law and OSHA requirements? I'd have thought, not being a labor lawyer I acknowledge, that if there are local (or OSHA) guidance that allows employers to tell unvaccinated employees not to be in the workplace (with disability accomodations, etc.) that would give teams cover to tell unvaccinated players to stay away. That, of course, is not the situation everywhere but may be in some cities

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

To what degree does this depend on local law and OSHA requirements? I'd have thought, not being a labor lawyer I acknowledge, that if there are local (or OSHA) guidance that allows employers to tell unvaccinated employees not to be in the workplace (with disability accomodations, etc.) that would give teams cover to tell unvaccinated players to stay away. That, of course, is not the situation everywhere but may be in some cities

The CBA is subject to applicable law. That's why WIggins and Kryrie can't play in their local arenas. If some local jurisdiction said that no person in that particular jurisdiction can be at a large jurisdiction can be inside an arena without a vaccine, the NBA would have to follow it but I don't know of any major jurisdiction that has passed this rule.

Here's the NYC rule: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/counseltothemayor/downloads/Key-to-NYC-FAQ.pdf. It doesn't exempt just "visiting players" - it exempts players who do not live in NYC and are appearing in NYC only to play/perform. (Note that it also exempts certain delivery people, suppliers, vendors, or contractors.) I would guess that there are legal concerns about applying a vaccine mandate to someone who does not live in NYC and are only temporarily in NYC. The policy also exempts kids on school fields too FWIW.

The CBA would also have to comply with any mandatory OSHA requirements. However, here's OSHA COVID page - https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/safework - and my quick reading does not reveal any mandatory OSHA requirements that would be applicable to NBA games. (Don't confuse the "recommendations" with the "requirements").

 

[joe dokes]

Irving is trying to make this his Ali/Vietnam moment.

That's "Ali/Viet Nam/willing to go to federal prison." If Kyrie really believes he's taking an Ali-esque stand, then he's more of a delusional idiot than I thought. And he'd also need to retire and walk away from the NBA in order to satisfy his "beliefs" and have any credibility. Missing random games in cities where regulations may change over time is about 50 times more selfish than heroic. (this si not a criticism of your post. You may very well be right about his intentions).

It sounds like Kyrie’s Aunt is a major influence in his life. Her quotes in the article are alarming.

Part of one such quote:

Hey, if you don’t get the vaccine, then you can’t be a part of the franchise that you fuckin’ helped build.’”

Yeah, Irving was instrumental in getting the Nets INTO THE NBA...oh wait, that was Erving.

 

[joe dokes]

The CBA is subject to applicable law. That's why WIggins and Kryrie can't play in their local arenas. If some local jurisdiction said that no person in that particular jurisdiction can be at a large jurisdiction can be inside an arena without a vaccine, the NBA would have to follow it but I don't know of any major jurisdiction that has passed this rule.

Here's the NYC rule: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/counseltothemayor/downloads/Key-to-NYC-FAQ.pdf. It doesn't exempt just "visiting players" - it exempts players who do not live in NYC and are appearing in NYC only to play/perform. (Note that it also exempts certain delivery people, suppliers, vendors, or contractors.) I would guess that there are legal concerns about applying a vaccine mandate to someone who does not live in NYC and are only temporarily in NYC. The policy also exempts kids on school fields too FWIW.

The CBA would also have to comply with any mandatory OSHA requirements. However, here's OSHA COVID page - https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/safework - and my quick reading does not reveal any mandatory OSHA requirements that would be applicable to NBA games. (Don't confuse the "recommendations" with the "requirements").

Playing this out to its extreme, Kyrie ( or the PA) could try to get some sort of court injunction allowing him to play.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

The CBA is subject to applicable law. That's why WIggins and Kryrie can't play in their local arenas. If some local jurisdiction said that no person in that particular jurisdiction can be at a large jurisdiction can be inside an arena without a vaccine, the NBA would have to follow it but I don't know of any major jurisdiction that has passed this rule.

Here's the NYC rule: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/counseltothemayor/downloads/Key-to-NYC-FAQ.pdf. It doesn't exempt just "visiting players" - it exempts players who do not live in NYC and are appearing in NYC only to play/perform. (Note that it also exempts certain delivery people, suppliers, vendors, or contractors.) I would guess that there are legal concerns about applying a vaccine mandate to someone who does not live in NYC and are only temporarily in NYC. The policy also exempts kids on school fields too FWIW.

The CBA would also have to comply with any mandatory OSHA requirements. However, here's OSHA COVID page - https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/safework - and my quick reading does not reveal any mandatory OSHA requirements that would be applicable to NBA games. (Don't confuse the "recommendations" with the "requirements").

Thanks---that's what I imagined.

Among other things, that likely means Kyrie just needs to rent a place in Hoboken and call that his residence this season doesn't it?

 

[Senator Donut]

So it begins: Kyrie Irving has been barred from Nets media day

View: https://twitter.com/zachlowe_nba/status/1442486920068620289


not sure if training camp has been moved in response to NYC mandates or if thatwas previously determined

 

[RedOctober3829]

So it begins: Kyrie Irving has been barred from Nets media day

View: https://twitter.com/zachlowe_nba/status/1442486920068620289


not sure if training camp has been moved in response to NYC mandates or if thatwas previously determined

Training camp in SD was previously determined, maybe in part because of the mandate.

 

[benhogan]

I'll take a timeout from this. I just want to be clear here that I'm all for punishing antivax employees. Every time that I hear about antivax folks losing their jobs or about to lose their jobs, it brings me great joy. My stance has nothing to do with enabling Kyrie and his weirdo friends in this antivax nonsense. With that, I'll stfu.

Yikes, sounds like you got your head bit off??

I go watch the Ryder Cup for the day and return to NBA post-apocalypse nuclear winter.

Ky-Hex is even infecting the Cellar

Do you really think MLB is a healthier sport than the NBA? I don't think many do if you will.

There was a report out earlier this year that the NBA is looking to lock up its next rights deal for a HEFTY raise over the current deal - in the $70+B range for 10 years. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/22/nba-is-next-up-for-a-big-rights-increase-and-75-billion-is-the-price.html. From all accounts, the NBA is going to get close to that.

The NBA has three things going for it: (1) its viewers are younger (and they also consume the NBA in different ways outside of traditional watch the game model); (2) the NBA is the most global of all US sports; and (3) the NBA seems to have gotten China back as a market after Morey's statements.

I don't know where people think the NBA is in trouble. This isn't the 1970s. The league is as healthy as its been in a long time.

You may not like the NBA's product but I would much rather watch any NBA game on my DVR versus even a Red Sox non-playoff game. YMMV>

Yea the numbers from the attached article says it all. Thanks for posting.

The NFL with its eventual concussion liability and the length of baseball games make it background music/radio at this point. Even the Olympics has lost its panache. I'd say the NBA is probably the healthiest league in all of sports. Silver has balanced both player/owner interests in the past and will figure out this vax situation. I doubt Kyrie can strong-arm anyone, he's the 3rd banana on that Nets team. He's is an eccentric kook at this point, not many take him seriously.

Taking this back to the Celtics. Anyone that thinks the league is unhealthy must be grabbing their pearls with all of the Celtic extensions. I was bearish on the NBAs finances last summer, but they have weathered the worst by flattening the cap for a few seasons. I'd expect to see a large bump to the CAP once they sign the new TV deal and those Celtic extensions in retrospect will be very clever.

 

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View: https://twitter.com/hbryant42/status/1442225612278673410

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Among other things, that likely means Kyrie just needs to rent a place in Hoboken and call that his residence this season doesn't it?

It actually works the other way. Since KI is an employee of a covered business - BRK Nets - he has to get vaccinated even if he lived on Mars (which may be true). However, if a visiting player lives in NYC, that player would have to get vaccinated. A player must meet both criteria not to be vaccinated: (i) must not be an employee of a covered business or not a NYC resident and (ii) must be in town only for the performance/game.

While that's the letter of the requirement, I'm going to go ahead and doubt that anyone is looking at the residency of any visiting NBA player.

Playing this out to its extreme, Kyrie ( or the PA) could try to get some sort of court injunction allowing him to play.

That's correct. I would be surprised if a NY court enjoyed the requirement but I've been surprised before.

 

[BrotherMouzone]

Regardless of all the other posts, saying that Silver might be the worst commissioner in sports when his competition includes Roger Goodell and Rob Manfred is truly one of the dumbest things I've read on this board.