Austin Rivers says Star Player Freedom is bad for the NBA

[TrillaMonsoon]

This thread showing the messenger is just as important as the message because people ignore what's actually said and project what they think Austin Rivers is actually saying

 

[No1]

It’s not like NFL contract swear a team can drop their so-called “agreement “mid contract, so you understand players wanting to be traded mid-contract. These dudes are getting their full salaries once they signed the dotted line. They should deal with it.

Aside from Harden quitting in games, they’ve all played despite their requests. What exactly are they doing exactly besides asking to be out of a bad situation like soccer players always have done? I think Americans are just unaccustomed to employees have any leverage at all.

 

[GoldenGlove]

This got me thinking. I remember a few years ago, when Kyrie was kicking around the idea that players should start their own league. With all the money that the Saudis been throwing at sports, with NBA contracts being structured the way they are, if they got involved with basketball, could we potentially see something like we saw with the PGA Tour?

Your superstars won't go first, but the play would be to play the guys who are in the middle and some star players crazy amounts of money that the NBA just can't come close to. A top heavy NBA salary structure kind of enables this kind of fukkery to be a possibility. Unlikely right now, but who knows in the future.

 

[LV Koopa]

Didn’t notice that, good catch

Still think the point is fair, watch discussion about Harden after his career is over; these last 3 years are gonna look shameful

I really think it's just Harden and to a lesser extent Ben Simmons. No one has ever done what they did and now some people are pretending everyone is doing it. Lillard has basically done the standard approach of star players. He hasn't even went Kobe 07, which was a wild firestorm of holding a team hostage through the media.

 

[No1]

He's right and it's not really player empowerment, it's star player empowerment. Role players and rotation guys are still getting thrown into deals as filler and just happy to get whatever contracts they get.
The last 10-15 yrs fans really started living vicariously through some of these athletes and defending goofy shyt as long as it meant sticking it to the owners/org. We got to acknowledge it's needs to be a balance between players having no rights and players having all the leverage and creating scenarios that decrease the quality of the league.

So you think owners need star players to want to leave to trade dudes for contract fuller?

 

[In The Zone '98]

This thread showing the messenger is just as important as the message because people ignore what's actually said and project what they think Austin Rivers is actually saying

Players asking for trades has shown no detrimental effects to league viewership or attendance.

 

[num123]

I mean these teams can just stop signing players that do this. What does it show top players when teams will sign someone that forced their way out from their current situation, which the same thing happened before with the current team?

The teams doing bad deals and crying after, you do not have to go through with a trade. If you are a team with the top player and you do not have to trade to get that player as another team. Simple.

 

[FaTaL]

Harden and Simmons are a problem and abuse the system but lillard has earned his trade demand

 

[Shadow King]

He's right, some mid level guys are now getting underpaid because of these crazy contracts thrown at top tier talent. And even worse when a non star jerami grant gets crazy overpaid lol

No they aren't lol. Who are these underpaid mid-level players?

Harden done forced his way out of 3 teams in 3 yrs. He's been paired up with KD, Kyrie, Embiid and STILL jumping ship.

This shyt gotta stop.

Brooklyn was a shyt show, forcing his way out made sense.

 

[NYC Rebel]

This got me thinking. I remember a few years ago, when Kyrie was kicking around the idea that players should start their own league. With all the money that the Saudis been throwing at sports, with NBA contracts being structured the way they are, if they got involved with basketball, could we potentially see something like we saw with the PGA Tour?

Your superstars won't go first, but the play would be to play the guys who are in the middle and some star players crazy amounts of money that the NBA just can't come close to. A top heavy NBA salary structure kind of enables this kind of fukkery to be a possibility. Unlikely right now, but who knows in the future.

Saudis have their own league, stadiums, and all that.

Players here lack the latter. Not similar by any respects

 

[LV Koopa]

This got me thinking. I remember a few years ago, when Kyrie was kicking around the idea that players should start their own league. With all the money that the Saudis been throwing at sports, with NBA contracts being structured the way they are, if they got involved with basketball, could we potentially see something like we saw with the PGA Tour?

Your superstars won't go first, but the play would be to play the guys who are in the middle and some star players crazy amounts of money that the NBA just can't come close to. A top heavy NBA salary structure kind of enables this kind of fukkery to be a possibility. Unlikely right now, but who knows in the future.

I remember someone talking about this a few years ago on a podcast. Some sports agent type connected to the league.

They were asking him if some billionaire from China offered LeBron or a superstar 50 mil to play 1 year in China does the agent think LeBron would leave the NBA? The guy said maybe, but 50 mil isn't enough for LeBron to just up and go. But he did say once you start throwing around close to 90mil+ then the NBA can't compete because there's the contract structure would make it impossible for LeBron to say no at that point.

 

[FaTaL]

This got me thinking. I remember a few years ago, when Kyrie was kicking around the idea that players should start their own league. With all the money that the Saudis been throwing at sports, with NBA contracts being structured the way they are, if they got involved with basketball, could we potentially see something like we saw with the PGA Tour?

Your superstars won't go first, but the play would be to play the guys who are in the middle and some star players crazy amounts of money that the NBA just can't come close to. A top heavy NBA salary structure kind of enables this kind of fukkery to be a possibility. Unlikely right now, but who knows in the future.

The nba money is great, nobody wants to spend 6 months in Saudi Arabia

 

[TrillaMonsoon]

Players asking for trades has shown no detrimental effects to league viewership or attendance.

Hes not talking about it from a fan/owner perspective. Hes talking about it from a players perspective. He said it started with Harden or Simmons when the first time I personally remember it happen was Vince in Toronto. A player, with a contract saying, "fukk it, I dont want to be here and gonna make it clear". It sucks for the franchise who has that player because now they dont have any leverage but it really sucks for that fan base.

To me he was saying, dont sign a contract for a team you know you dont want to be with. I think that's fair but I also dont blame players for signing these deals that equal up to an extra $30-50 mil. But dudes who do that, then more or less phone it in or sit games with phantom injuries is saying "fukk you" to his teammates. I can see why those mid level, vet minimum guys would be annoyed dealing with that shyt

 

[GoldenGlove]

I remember someone talking about this a few years ago on a podcast. Some sports agent type connected to the league.

They were asking him if some billionaire from China offered LeBron or a superstar 50 mil to play 1 year in China does the agent think LeBron would leave the NBA? The guy said maybe, but 50 mil isn't enough for LeBron to just up and go. But he did say once you start throwing around close to 90mil+ then the NBA can't compete because there's the contract structure would make it impossible for LeBron to say no at that point.

They're offering soccer players 9 figures. shyt's crazy.

Bron wouldn't do it, just like Tiger passed because of the optics and PR backlash that would have came with it. But they kept getting enough solid guys that in the end PGA folded up. If the NBA was just the top players and all the high level role players, and fringe all-stars were in a different league the quality of the league would look like some shyt.

 

[In The Zone '98]

Hes not talking about it from a fan/owner perspective. Hes talking about it from a players perspective. He said it started with Harden or Simmons when the first time I personally remember it happen was Vince in Toronto. A player, with a contract saying, "fukk it, I dont want to be here and gonna make it clear". It sucks for the franchise who has that player because now they dont have any leverage but it really sucks for that fan base.

To me he was saying, dont sign a contract for a team you know you dont want to be with. I think that's fair but I also dont blame players for signing these deals that equal up to an extra $30-50 mil. But dudes who do that, then more or less phone it in or sit games with phantom injuries is saying "fukk you" to his teammates. I can see why those mid level, vet minimum guys would be annoyed dealing with that shyt

GMs barely want you to get to free agency on your own. Everything is trade him for something now.

Within the CBA a player is well within his rights to ask for a trade at anytime. Is what it is.

GM and players both have to be able to do what's best for them.