Not sure if this has been discussed as I rarely frequent this board, though I gotta say trying to watch the Mavs Warriors game is just awful.

Floor is hideous and I remember one team last year (maybe Portland?) that had a bright red court.

The cup gave us this great highlight of Larry, Mo and Curly...

Karl Anthony Towns head-butted two 76ers at the same time I’m CRYIN 😂😂pic.twitter.com/Ayw4NcBpvi

— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) November 13, 2024

Considering they are trying to copy the EPL and SPL soccer stuff, they can't even get it right.

Poor idea to try to boost ratings.

I don't love it or hate it. I'm indifferent towards it. I would love to see my team win it, but nobody will remember that in a year or two.

I'd rather they make the payout for the winning team in the All-Star game be $500,000 per player and make the winner of the Dunk Contest and the Three-Point shootout each get a million dollars so you get the greats in there every year.

I think the winner of the NBA cup should get 1% of the balls in the lottery or something like that

I hate the courts but I like the premise. For the top contenders it isn't going to mean much, but it's a nice add on for the middle of the pack teams

Guitarsoup said:

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I think the winner of the NBA cup should get 1% of the balls in the lottery or something like that

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NOW we're talking!

These dudes have enough money. They don't care about money. The 10th-15th guys probably care about $500k, and they don't draw audiences.

Obi Wan Ginobili said:

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The NBA cup isn't dumb. These teams were already going to be playing each other, so adding extra incentive and driving revenue by grabbing another sponsor makes sense. It's been going on with European football for a long time. Players get paid more, fans get more nationally televised games, and hopefully, the players will give a ***** These dudes like winning, no matter how spoiled they are.

The floors are a tough look. I can't argue this.

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In Europe the cup competitions include different leagues. The League Cup is 90+ clubs and the FA Cup 700+ clubs. You are not just playing the same exact teams as your primary league. Even when you play teams from your league the cup games and records are separate. NBA Cup games are just regular season games. They are just trying to reverse engineer a competition from the same regular season games and asking everyone to care.

To make it worthwhile, differentiate the NBA Cup from the regular season other than the paint on the court. Change the rules. Make it 3 on 3. Play international rules. Include G League teams. Problem is that separating the 2 requires everyone to play more games, which is a problem since the players want to shorten the season as it is now

walton91 said:

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Obi Wan Ginobili said:

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The NBA cup isn't dumb. These teams were already going to be playing each other, so adding extra incentive and driving revenue by grabbing another sponsor makes sense. It's been going on with European football for a long time. Players get paid more, fans get more nationally televised games, and hopefully, the players will give a ***** These dudes like winning, no matter how spoiled they are.

The floors are a tough look. I can't argue this.

---

In Europe the cup competitions include different leagues. The League Cup is 90+ clubs and the FA Cup 700+ clubs. You are not just playing the same exact teams as your primary league. Even when you play teams from your league the cup games and records are separate. NBA Cup games are just regular season games. They are just trying to reverse engineer a competition from the same regular season games and asking everyone to care.

To make it worthwhile, differentiate the NBA Cup from the regular season other than the paint on the court. Change the rules. Make it 3 on 3. Play international rules. Include G League teams. Problem is that separating the 2 requires everyone to play more games, which is a problem since the players want to shorten the season as it is now

---

Give it a few years and there will be international teams making appearances in these types of tournaments. It's only year 2 of the NBA Cup. I realize I made a comparison to European soccer, but you can't compare it line for line, 100% my friend. You KNOW it's a bad comparison when you take it this far. Other than the ELITE, Olympic level, there aren't enough quality teams in the world to make it worth the effort. The NBA is still the gold standard. It's why all the big international names still come here.

They will figure out how to differentiate these games by doing something other than painting new floors. Money isn't the answer. Guitarsoup suggested lottery implications, which is one of my favorites. I was thinking the winner could get an extra first round pick, number 15, making them the first non-lottery team to pick, and it would be in addition to whatever pick they already have.

Rule changes for in-season tournament are likely. I'm guessing the NBA Cup is where they will experiment with a 4 point line, Elam endings, etc. again, it's year 2. Last year was a success, teams tried, and LeBron won. Just because you didn't like it doesn't mean the numbers support the theory.

****I would also like to point out that it's the middle of November and we are arguing NBA. Their plan is working…..****


The NBA Cup is the League taking an actual, real approach to trying something new. No reason to **** on it or they will just go right back to playing the same boring ass 82 games making the regular season meaningless.

Obi Wan Ginobili said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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I think the winner of the NBA cup should get 1% of the balls in the lottery or something like that

---

NOW we're talking!

These dudes have enough money. They don't care about money. The 10th-15th guys probably care about $500k, and they don't draw audiences.

---

So you think they won't play for $500,000, but they're all going to be super jazzed about having a slightly better draft pick chance?

The Porkchop Express said:

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Obi Wan Ginobili said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

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I think the winner of the NBA cup should get 1% of the balls in the lottery or something like that

---

NOW we're talking!

These dudes have enough money. They don't care about money. The 10th-15th guys probably care about $500k, and they don't draw audiences.

---

So you think they won't play for $500,000, but they're all going to be super jazzed about having a slightly better draft pick chance?

---

No, I didn't say that. You connected dots poorly.

You have to look at all of this holistically.

The players that MATTER don't give a rats ass about $500,000 for the chance to win this tournament. It's a short-sighted solution that won't work.

To get the best product, you have to get the players to try like it matters. To get the players to try, you have to incentivize them. The NBA can't incentivize players with money, so they need to go to their bosses. This ties back to the biggest issue the league has, which is tanking. There are too many quality players in the world for teams to be this bad. Tanking should have consequences, and winning should have rewards.

If you incentivize the owners to put good teams on the floor, they are going to try and win because that's what good teams do. When teams are trying to win, you get the best basketball. How do owners get players to buy in? YOU WIN. And then you open state of the art facilities (Clippers new stadium, Spurs new practice facility), and then you take the players to Hawai'i for training camp instead of the same lame ass Santa Monica hotel. And when you are on the road, instead of only 2-3 players getting suites, all of a sudden ownership splurges for EVERY player to get a suite. All of these things add up to quality basketball.



I'm not trying to sound dramatic, but the NBA Cup might literally be the beginning of a larger play to increase the overall quality of the league. Increasing revenue means more money for players. More money for players means every Luka and Jokic hiding in every corner of the Earth will be training since childhood so when they get to the league, we have THAT many good players. It's a bridge to the international style you mentioned, where NBA teams will soon be playing international teams in meaningful games.

It's the second year of the NBA Cup. You can't possibly be THIS against it. They didn't change anything but make the floors ugly. These games were already taking place. You aren't being forced to watch more or less basketball, they aren't playing at weird times. What's the problem?

I am not sure there is much incentive for fans. Who cares if millionaires make slightly more money. It just feels too forced and there is no difference to fans than any other regular season game in Nov.

Obi Wan Ginobili said:

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The Porkchop Express said:

---

Obi Wan Ginobili said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

I think the winner of the NBA cup should get 1% of the balls in the lottery or something like that

---

NOW we're talking!

These dudes have enough money. They don't care about money. The 10th-15th guys probably care about $500k, and they don't draw audiences.

---

So you think they won't play for $500,000, but they're all going to be super jazzed about having a slightly better draft pick chance?

---

No, I didn't say that. You connected dots poorly.

You have to look at all of this holistically.

The players that MATTER don't give a rats ass about $500,000 for the chance to win this tournament. It's a short-sighted solution that won't work.

To get the best product, you have to get the players to try like it matters. To get the players to try, you have to incentivize them. The NBA can't incentivize players with money, so they need to go to their bosses. This ties back to the biggest issue the league has, which is tanking. There are too many quality players in the world for teams to be this bad. Tanking should have consequences, and winning should have rewards.

If you incentivize the owners to put good teams on the floor, they are going to try and win because that's what good teams do. When teams are trying to win, you get the best basketball. How do owners get players to buy in? YOU WIN. And then you open state of the art facilities (Clippers new stadium, Spurs new practice facility), and then you take the players to Hawai'i for training camp instead of the same lame ass Santa Monica hotel. And when you are on the road, instead of only 2-3 players getting suites, all of a sudden ownership splurges for EVERY player to get a suite. All of these things add up to quality basketball.



I'm not trying to sound dramatic, but the NBA Cup might literally be the beginning of a larger play to increase the overall quality of the league. Increasing revenue means more money for players. More money for players means every Luka and Jokic hiding in every corner of the Earth will be training since childhood so when they get to the league, we have THAT many good players. It's a bridge to the international style you mentioned, where NBA teams will soon be playing international teams in meaningful games.

It's the second year of the NBA Cup. You can't possibly be THIS against it. They didn't change anything but make the floors ugly. These games were already taking place. You aren't being forced to watch more or less basketball, they aren't playing at weird times. What's the problem?

---

I didn't say $500,000 to win the tournament, I said $500,000 to win the All-Star game, with $1 million each for the slam dunk contest and the three-point shootout. I think the tournament is stupid.

The Porkchop Express said:

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Obi Wan Ginobili said:

---

The Porkchop Express said:

---

Obi Wan Ginobili said:

---

Guitarsoup said:

---

I think the winner of the NBA cup should get 1% of the balls in the lottery or something like that

---

NOW we're talking!

These dudes have enough money. They don't care about money. The 10th-15th guys probably care about $500k, and they don't draw audiences.

---

So you think they won't play for $500,000, but they're all going to be super jazzed about having a slightly better draft pick chance?

---

It's the second year of the NBA Cup. You can't possibly be THIS against it. They didn't change anything but make the floors ugly. These games were already taking place. You aren't being forced to watch more or less basketball, they aren't playing at weird times. What's the problem?

---

I think the tournament is stupid.

---

Truly, you have a dizzying intellect

EastSideAg2002 said:

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I am not sure there is much incentive for fans. Who cares if millionaires make slightly more money. It just feels too forced and there is no difference to fans than any other regular season game in Nov.

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In the next 5-10 years, I would imagine there is going to be a significant amount of international play. Maybe a couple of international teams get to enter. Now, the fans are exposed to the next Wemanyama, the next Luka, the next Jokic.

The NBA has this weird problem where international players are taking over in a way they never have. Americans don't support international guys the same way they do when the stars are from the USA. It's not surprising, and it's not even necessarily a bad thing. It just it is what it is right now.

The NBA needs to get the common fan interested in these guys BEFORE they come to the league, because some of them are coming in ready to rock and there's no reason to hide them. Once again, this brings in more fans from around the world, which inspires more people to play basketball, which widens talent pool, and then we get more stars.

There is only 450 roster spots in the NBA. There should not be wasted space on NBA benches, and there should be no teams as bad as the Pistons and Wizards right now. There's just too many talented basketball players in the world. Basketball is long overdue to become more international, and the Olympics has proven that the world is slightly closing the gap.

The reason these games are regular season games is because the players have no interest in playing more games. They all want to shorten the season as it is now so adding additional games will have to be approved through the collective bargaining agreement, which I don't see happening.

The playoffs are way too long as it is.

An NBA cup standings casualty

The NBA just announced that the Mavericks' home game against the Grizzlies on Dec. 3 will no longer be televised by TNT. The game time has also been changed to 7:30 p.m.

TNT will air Magic-Knicks instead.

— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) November 25, 2024

walton91 said:

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The reason these games are regular season games is because the players have no interest in playing more games. They all want to shorten the season as it is now so adding additional games will have to be approved through the collective bargaining agreement, which I don't see happening.

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The players can "want" lots of stuff, but with their paychecks swelling the way they are, the owners are about to push back, especially with all of this "player empowerment". I'm not saying either side is right or wrong, but the players have been getting their way quite a bit lately, and the fans are noticing. No one wants to see Embiid take an extra $150 million extension and then pull this crap. The Clippers are ruined until they can get 2-3 years post-Kawhi. The Spurs are just now crawling out from under that same rock.

There is no equilibrium, just swings back and forth so both sides feel like they win enough to keep moving forward. It's the same as politics, sales, you name it.

In a group with the Celtics and Cavs, the 9-11 Atlanta Hawks have clinched the Group.

HAWKS CLINCH EAST GROUP C 🔥 #EmiratesNBACup pic.twitter.com/oTHD2fNiBd

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 30, 2024

In case you care (Warriors and Rockets have clinched):