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The Mort Report

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I've got a question I kinda hinted at in the Gallinari thread. What role did people see Gallirani having on this team? I saw it as a regular season 15-18 minutes guy to lighten the load, and play very few minutes in the playoffs outside of needing situational shooting. Melo could easily fill that void, it might cost the team a win or two in the regular season but who really cares? I honestly would like the team to give Vonleh those minutes to see if they can turn him into something more, but I'm fine with Melo in that role
 

BigMike

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So I am just learning this now. Cs could sign Melo to a subsidized vet minimum contact so that $1.8M against the salary cap while Melo will be making like $2.9M (league pays the rest). The catch? If the Cs waive Melo during the season, the contract reverts to the full cost. So I guess the Cs would have to find a trade for Melo and who knows what teams would require to save the Cs about $6.75M in luxury tax payments (taxed at $3.75 per $1.00 of contract).

So no buy-out is possible.

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/filling-out-celtics-2022-23-roster-taxing-situation
Expensive is not impossible. But it is good info and might be a factor in their decision making. And I don't think they would nor should do it, if they believed it would be a short term fix

I've got a question I kinda hinted at in the Gallinari thread. What role did people see Gallirani having on this team? I saw it as a regular season 15-18 minutes guy to lighten the load, and play very few minutes in the playoffs outside of needing situational shooting. Melo could easily fill that void, it might cost the team a win or two in the regular season but who really cares? I honestly would like the team to give Vonleh those minutes to see if they can turn him into something more, but I'm fine with Melo in that role
I think they very much saw Gallons to fitting a postseason need they had. I would think they saw him as a 15 min a game postseason player. Given luxury tax and such, he was an expensive signing, and the only other big add they could make to help the team
 

PedroKsBambino

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For me Gallo was going to be situational in post-season---he'll be valuable against teams who play bigger lineups, have weaker scoring wings/4s, and pack the paint defensively and get played off the floor aginst the GS and small-ball teams as I don't believe he can play 5 for any real length of time. So I would imagine in minutes (though not specifically role) he would look like PP did in last year's playoffs - with a few less minutes if injuries don't require him to play (as drove some of PP's minutes with Smart and White missing time). So that's an 8-10 minute a game ish guy...but one you can lean on more when/if you need to as well.
 
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Light-Tower-Power

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Celtics play a preseason game in three and a half weeks, and yes I cannot wait.

Almost time for an in season thread.
Four preseason games and then they start right up on 10/18. That seems earlier than usual but maybe I’m mistaken. I’m right there with you though. Can’t wait for cool fall nights and the sound of Mike Gorman on tv.
 

bigq

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Four preseason games and then they start right up on 10/18. That seems earlier than usual but maybe I’m mistaken. I’m right there with you though. Can’t wait for cool fall nights and the sound of Mike Gorman on tv.
It is a bit early relative to last season when they had their first game on 10/18 but they have started as early as 10/16 in 2018. They would generally start around 10/26-10/28 in seasons prior to 2017.

I can’t wait for the start of the season. It is good to be a Celtics fan and this team is going to be a lot of fun to root for.
 

HomeRunBaker

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https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/268570/Danny-Ainge-It-Was-Clear-We-Needed-To-Transition-Our-Roster

49-33 last season...They dealt their 29 & 25yr old All-Stars that were signed for several more seasons

They'll need some serious draft luck to rebuild this.
The Jazz had made their name on the defensive end in the years prior to Ainge “unretiring” and joining them. The W-L record of last season disguised just how far their passion and intensity on that end of the floor had fallen. The hard close outs on shooters which was their staple had disappeared and replaced by “fake hustle.” The full blow up was the correct move imo.
 

benhogan

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The Jazz had made their name on the defensive end in the years prior to Ainge “unretiring” and joining them. The W-L record of last season disguised just how far their passion and intensity on that end of the floor had fallen. The hard close outs on shooters which was their staple had disappeared and replaced by “fake hustle.” The full blow up was the correct move imo.
totally agree and Ainge is just the guy to do it, since he has done this before.

The question now is can they pull a quick 1-yr Celtics-style 2013 rebuild or will they fall into a half-decade-long 76ers process route?
 

BigSoxFan

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totally agree and Ainge is just the guy to do it, since he has done this before.

The question now is can they pull a quick 1-yr Celtics-style 2013 rebuild or will they fall into a half-decade-long 76ers process route?
I think we know the answer to that. Celtics rebuild was such a unicorn situation. This will take several years for Utah.
 

sezwho

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I think we know the answer to that. Celtics rebuild was such a unicorn situation. This will take several years for Utah.
I think that’s correct for practical reasons as well. Salt Lake isn’t exactly an FA destination so it’s perhaps even more critical for Ainge to draft and develop the next great Jazz team.
 

ManicCompression

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The question now is can they pull a quick 1-yr Celtics-style 2013 rebuild or will they fall into a half-decade-long 76ers process route?
If they get a top 2 pick in this draft, I think that it'll take less than a half decade of futility to return to relevance
 

BigMike

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I think that’s correct for practical reasons as well. Salt Lake isn’t exactly an FA destination so it’s perhaps even more critical for Ainge to draft and develop the next great Jazz team.
Well he is also coming from Boston, so he is used to places that are not very attractive to FA

If they get a top 2 pick in this draft, I think that it'll take less than a half decade of futility to return to relevance
Sure and they might have a 27% chance of that happening, assuming they are a bottom 3 team in the NBA, which is likely but not a guarantee.

The league has made it harder and harder since the Process days. Utah is gonna have to get lucky a few times in the next 3 years.
 

ManicCompression

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Sure and they might have a 27% chance of that happening, assuming they are a bottom 3 team in the NBA, which is likely but not a guarantee.

The league has made it harder and harder since the Process days. Utah is gonna have to get lucky a few times in the next 3 years.
No doubt, but I'm sure every non-contending team in the league would prefer a 27% chance at a true franchise player vs. no chance at one. You have to play the game to get lucky. I don't think tanking is right in every situation, but clearly this Jazz team had run its course, there was a ceiling on Mitchell/Gobert, and there was no way to improve that roster after the moves of the previous regime, so sell everything off and see what shakes out.
 

JM3

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The problem for maintaining the Jazz as is was that they had a capped, aging team with 2 best players who couldn't stand eachother.

DMitch passed the ball to Gobert less than twice per game - not assists, PASSES.

& all their roleplayers were aging, not improving, so how are you going to improve as a team?

You have to trade at least one of Mitchell or Gobert, & you'd have to get similarly talented, but different replacement pieces. & that's just not really how most trades work. I'm sure they looked into those options to see if anything was out there & I'm sure it wasn't.

So they receive a godfather picks offer from the Wolves for Gobert & you have to take that, right? Because what's your other option? Just gradually getting worse while 1 or both of your stars demand to be traded & crater their value?

With that Gobert package you can look into other ways to pivot that into a contender but I doubt there was much out there that would make them better, especially considering how reliant they were on Gobert.

So you move Mitchell for the best package possible & freeing you up to get value for Conley, Bojan, PBev etc before they become free agents/retire.

This also allows you to take a swing at a probably stacked '23 lottery, & probably keep your top 10 protected '24 1st.

So I think this path was inevitable, & it's just a matter of whether they choose it now when they can maximize their assets & have a real chance at getting back to where they are, or do it after 1 more season of a 1st or maybe 2nd round exit, when their assets are worth much much less or disappear.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Agreed---Jazz had virtually no projection left and were staring at a couple years of 45-52 wins and first/second round playoff losses. Absent a Wizards/Pacers-like desire to just make the playoffs there was little reason not to blow it up and try a different way.
 

jezza1918

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View: https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1569718124177391617


Sarver suspended 1 year, fined $10M for being a piece of shit
I have no idea what the right punishment is, but this is nice to see -
View: https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1569721111473963010?s=20&t=x1O-FLPU6J4x_HBajWiU2A

per Shams - "The NBA says it will donate Robert Sarver's $10 million fine to organizations that are committed to addressing race and gender-based issues in and outside the workplace."
 

PedroKsBambino

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I have no idea what being suspended really means for an NBA owner, but it is an interesting year for the Suns, with Ayton being tradeable before the deadline and the question of whether they are all-in this year (chasing Durant or otherwise) and whether they will pay more tax being out there.

Surely the best thing for the players and fans is for Sarver to truly be out of that picture!
 

Tony C

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It's absurd to say it, but for someone of his wealth this sure seems like a wrist slap.
 

Smokey Joe

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It's absurd to say it, but for someone of his wealth this sure seems like a wrist slap.
Largest fine for a single person in sports history. It still was dwarfed by the 100 million team fine for the mercedes mclaren f1 racing team.
But yeah for Sarver, it’s a wrist slap. A wrist slap by a teaching nun of 30 years experience with one of those rulers with a sharp metal edge embedded in the wood.
 

sezwho

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Largest fine for a single person in sports history. It still was dwarfed by the 100 million team fine for the mercedes mclaren f1 racing team.
But yeah for Sarver, it’s a wrist slap. A wrist slap by a teaching nun of 30 years experience with one of those rulers with a sharp metal edge embedded in the wood.
I winced at that mental image, I’m guessing Sarver did too. It could easily have been 1m or even 250k.
 

Cellar-Door

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Lebron's right. This is an own goal for Silver. They should have made the sale happen, like with Sterling.
For Silver? He has no real power over an owner without the backing of the other owners, he all but said it yesterday (hence the "clarification" from a spokesman later).
 

Jimbodandy

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For Silver? He has no real power over an owner without the backing of the other owners, he all but said it yesterday (hence the "clarification" from a spokesman later).
Yeah I get it. I'm just surprised that he didn't marshal the support. He probably has insight that this will blow over, so fine. But if it were to pick up any momentum among the players, they might wish that did more about this.

My gut is that it's not going to just go away.
 

Cellar-Door

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Yeah I get it. I'm just surprised that he didn't marshal the support. He probably has insight that this will blow over, so fine. But if it were to pick up any momentum among the players, they might wish that did more about this.

My gut is that it's not going to just go away.
The owners absolutely don't want precedent that they could lose their team. I mean, if he didn't use the N word all the horiffic shit towards women wouldn't even have been punished, just look at the Mavs. You think CUban wants a precedent that you can be booted for sexual harrassment (and I bet like half the league is the same if not more). The Sterling thing happened for a couple reasons:
1. It was on tape.
2. A number of key sponsors pulled out ($$$$ is king)
3. It happened in the playoffs and the union threatened to boycott a playoff game.
4. Sterling was reviled by players, fans, other owners, had a long history of public racism.
5. There was an easy out in getting his wife to take and sell the team by having him declared incompetent......

AND EVEN THEN a bunch of owners were reluctant.
 

snowmanny

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The owners absolutely don't want precedent that they could lose their team. I mean, if he didn't use the N word all the horiffic shit towards women wouldn't even have been punished, just look at the Mavs. You think CUban wants a precedent that you can be booted for sexual harrassment (and I bet like half the league is the same if not more). The Sterling thing happened for a couple reasons:
1. It was on tape.
2. A number of key sponsors pulled out ($$$$ is king)
3. It happened in the playoffs and the union threatened to boycott a playoff game.
4. Sterling was reviled by players, fans, other owners, had a long history of public racism.
5. There was an easy out in getting his wife to take and sell the team by having him declared incompetent......

AND EVEN THEN a bunch of owners were reluctant.
Right. This guy is awful but owners don’t want to be forced out every time there is some level of scandal.

As for James, his credibility on this issue is (in my mind completely) diminished by the fact that we all know he wants to buy a team so it’s to his (great) advantage if things can be put in motion to get a few owners to sell cheap over the next several years.
 

djbayko

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Here's the whole statement. Strong.
"Due to the NBA’s investigation and findings, I have no choice but to speak up on behalf of the hundreds of you who have been impacted by your interactions with Robert Sarver and the resulting investigation of his conduct. I first and foremost want to give my deepest thanks to all of you who garnered the courage to share your experiences, as difficult as it may have been, to help piece together a clearer picture of what work life must have been like for you over these past 18 years.

"There should be zero tolerance for discriminatory actions of any level, in any setting, let alone a professional one. There is no question that the findings determined that Mr. Sarver’s lewd, misogynist, and racist conduct had a substantial negative impact on you and has no place in our society. The report confirmed by multiple eyewitnesses that Robert Sarver used the “N-word” at least five times. The report confirmed Sarver engaged in conduct demeaning of female and pregnant employees. The report confirmed Sarver made crude and sexually inappropriate comments in professional settings. The report confirmed Sarver made inappropriate comments about the physical appearance of female employees and other women and made inappropriate workplace physical conduct toward male employees."

WORDS AND ACTIONS MATTER.

"Similar conduct by any CEO, executive director, president, teacher, coach, or any other position of leadership would warrant immediate termination. The fact that Robert Sarver “owns” the team does not give him a license to treat others differently than any other leader. The fact that anyone would find him fit to lead because of this “ownership” position is forgetting that NBA teams belong to the communities they serve. Team investors are merely temporary stewards. If we, as sports leaders, are not held to the same standards then how can we expect a functional society with integrity and respect on any level? We owe it to you: employees, players, partners, and your families to provide the same positive workplace environment we would require of any other business.

"I cannot in good judgment sit back and allow our children and future generations of fans to think that this behavior is tolerated because of wealth and privilege. Therefore, in accordance with my commitment to helping eradicate any form of racism, sexism and bias, as Vice Chairman of the Phoenix Suns, I am calling for the resignation of Robert Sarver. While I have no interest in becoming the managing partner, I will work tirelessly to ensure the next team steward treats all stakeholders with dignity, professionalism and respect."
https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2022/09/15/suns-vice-chairman-jahm-najafi-calls-robert-sarvers-resignation/10392418002/
 

benhogan

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Yeah I get it. I'm just surprised that he didn't marshal the support. He probably has insight that this will blow over, so fine. But if it were to pick up any momentum among the players, they might wish that did more about this.

My gut is that it's not going to just go away.
Silver just bought time with the 1yr suspension.

The NFL/MLB wouldn't bat an eye at these allegations BUT the NBA is way too woke to let this go away.

They'll dig up more on Sarver in the next year, the players will band together and ESPN will be interviewing ex-employees relentlessly...he gone
 

ifmanis5

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View: https://twitter.com/Baxter/status/1570792600608845824

From PayPal, the Suns' jersey patch sponsor: "We have reviewed the report of the NBA league's independent investigation into Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and have found his conduct unacceptable and in conflict with our values."
Statement from PayPal, a sponsor of the Phoenix Suns, reads, in part: "In light of the findings of the NBA's investigation, we will not renew our sponsorship should Robert Sarver remain involved with the Suns organization, after serving his suspension."
 

the moops

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Right. This guy is awful but owners don’t want to be forced out every time there is some level of scandal.

As for James, his credibility on this issue is (in my mind completely) diminished by the fact that we all know he wants to buy a team so it’s to his (great) advantage if things can be put in motion to get a few owners to sell cheap over the next several years.
If the Suns go up for sale, or any other team, it will not go cheaply
 
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