AROUND the NBA:

[SleepingHero]

How many games will Embiid and LBJ play? And how many of them together?

Embiid will play 39 games. LBJ 58. 

They'll play 17 games together.

[BoredAssistant]

Jmo and late to this but AI leading that Sixers team to the finals was more impressive than anything Westbrook did. It was hard to watch Westbrook play.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Federal prosecutors digging into Mark Walter’s business empire are focused on four entities that served as intermediaries between insurance companies he controlled and businesses that he also controlled, according to people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating whether Walter, the chief executive of Guggenheim Partners, who owns the Los Angeles Dodgers and various other businesses, or his companies committed fraud by concealing financial connections while borrowing billions of dollars from insurers he controls. The main entities investigators have narrowed in on, the people said, are ABS Capital, a Miami outfit founded by two former Guggenheim executives; Amistad Financial, an investment company that owns Equi Trust, a life insurer once controlled by Guggenheim and Walter; Bradford Allen, a Chicago-based commercial real-estate broker with long ties to Guggenheim; and Hudson Trading, another Chicago firm. Selling the Lakers freed up other assets and collateral that Walter had pledged to finance the team purchase last year, which might help the insurance remediation move more quickly, The Wall Street Journal reported. The surprise offer wasn’t part of the initial plan to become compliant with regulators, and the group continues to look for other fundraising options.

Wall Street Journal

[omahen]

Looks like NBA is setting a very dangerous practice by giving Clippers a pass. They didn't really circumvent the salary cap, as Kawhi was paid max. However, any max player could now more or less freely demand additional payments beyond the max deal and sign with a team offering most. Not sure owners will be happy about that. It could also lead to max players rather hit an FA market as they would have more negotiating power for those extra deals and "who offers more" competitions.

I understand these kind of things are very difficult to prove, but to say that there is no proof after everything that was presented, come as a very strong (or weak, if you prefer) statement.

[Chicagojk]

Looks like NBA is setting a very dangerous practice by giving Clippers a pass. They didn't really circumvent the salary cap, as Kawhi was paid max. However, any max player could now more or less freely demand additional payments beyond the max deal and sign with a team offering most. Not sure owners will be happy about that. It could also lead to max players rather hit an FA market as they would have more negotiating power for those extra deals and "who offers more" competitions.

I understand these kind of things are very difficult to prove, but to say that there is no proof after everything that was presented, come as a very strong (or weak, if you prefer) statement.

The NBA is disputing it a little bit, but I think the end result is always going to be a slap on a wrist for Bahlmer and a slightly harder slap on the wrist for Leonard.    I disagree.   Although with Bahlmer's money and power, it is going to tough if he is willing to fight every point.    Either way, the NBA will come off very bad imo.

They better hope they have everything though.  I wouldn't shock me if Pablo has one more thing ready to go realizing the outcome was always going to be less than ideal.

[F Gump]

I don't agree with either of you guys on the LAC/Kawhi situation. Neither does ESPN reporting.

ESPN's update on facts (not emotion) in play:  https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/4963...hi-leonard

From what they say, the NBA is apparently heading in the very direction I have been talking about. There is nothing in the rules that prohibits a player from striking a deal with an entity that does biz with either the NBA team or owner.  IN FACT, the NBA encourages it, writes it into the CBA as very legal, and the NBAPA loves it too. They would have a very hard time penalizing either LAC or KL without literally violating federal labor law. Because Pablo "found out!!!" something he could make a big deal about, that isn't really an NBA Big Deal, and doesn't make this a real issue.

The fact that LAC is paying the max to KL avoids the issue of CAP circumvention, because there's no way anyone can say he is being cap-charged a smaller number for his salary. He's literally on the books for the biggest number the NBA allows.

The one exception that makes a possible issue would be if Ballmer paid someone to pay KL, but they report they have found no evidence whatsoever of that, it seems. Show me the money. If a company wants to pay KL and then gets little value, that's on them for being stupid, not on Ballmer, LAC, or KL.

I just don't think there's anything here, I think it's been much ado about nothing, and life will go on. The NBA loves the situation where players get Money For Nothing for being NBA celebrities. The players do too. So there's no one to drive a complaint or real hearing or a penalty. With the ESPN article opting for common sense and focusing on the rules issues (which favor Ballmer and Kawhi, who apparently but unsurprisingly did nothing to actually violate the rules as written, because they incredibly broad), and opting for the facts rather than manufactured outrage or angst, this silliness should die very soon. imo

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Yea, ESPN is definitely an impartial observer in this situation.  



ESPN has an 11-year, $76 billion league-wide media rights agreement shared with NBCUniversal and Amazon, running from the 2025–26 season through the 2035–36 season. Under the Disney Agreements, ESPN and ABC retain exclusive rights to the NBA Finals, regular-season packages, playoffs, and licensed studio programming like Inside the NBA.

[F Gump]

Be that as it may, there's no smoking gun to work with. In fact, there's no dead body either. Who has been hurt? Rich people shuffling money to other rich people in ways that seem too easy sure makes us poor people jealous, but please.

NO ONE (with "standing" to do so) has incentive to complain, and even more so when the evidence of any real CBA wrongdoing is somewhere between wispy and non-existent. What happened as is known (and reported to date, from about every actual report of what happened) is not against the NBA rules (in fact, it's basically endorsed in a backhanded way in the rules themselves) and there are very likely 29 other teams whose players may be in similar deals. Money For Nothing. No one in the actual NBA world cares. Not even a little bit.

[omahen]

The one exception that makes a possible issue would be if Ballmer paid someone to pay KL

This is basically exactly what happened, according to the Pablo finds out reports. At least two (alleged) cases of payments from Clippers to a third company that were than paying Kawhi to do nothing. You really think these are just stupid companies wasting their money? Of course Ballmer is hiding this that it is not him personally paying (Clippers, other employees of Clippers were giving the orders and similar).

[omahen]

Buss family sold remaining shares to Kushner and Iger. This also means Jeannie Buss is out as the Governor. End of an era

[F Gump]

Buss family sold remaining shares to Kushner and Iger. This also means Jeannie Buss is out as the Governor. End of an era

Jeannie Buss is saying that did not happen.

(By appearances, she is the West Coast version of Mark Cuban - wants to sell, but wants to still play with her toy - but with much better awareness, skill, and lawyering in doing the legal work and creating the necessary groundwork to make it happen.)

I think she holds the cards.

[omahen]

Jeannie Buss is saying that did not happen.

Looks like there will be drama  Brothers are saying they are selling and she is contesting it.

[F Gump]

Looks like there will be drama  Brothers are saying they are selling and she is contesting it.

Shouldn't be hard for her, assuming the Buss ownership has indeed been structured as reported. She has had total control of the remainder, to continue to be Laker Governor under agreement of the Buss Trust, and without her signature their desire to sell would be meaningless (unless she dies or is rendered incompetent).

This would not alter the sale by Walter. It was a piggyback (pre-agreed terms) where Buss Family share of Lakers can ALSO be included in the sale at the same valuation if the Buss Trust so desires. But unless she no longer wants the job, she stays which means they keep their shares.

[omahen]

Shouldn't be hard for her, assuming the Buss ownership has indeed been structured as reported. She has had total control of the remainder, to continue to be Laker Governor under agreement of the Buss Trust, and without her signature their desire to sell would be meaningless (unless she dies or is rendered incompetent).

This would not alter the sale by Walter. It was a piggyback (pre-agreed terms) where Buss Family share of Lakers can ALSO be included in the sale at the same valuation if the Buss Trust so desires. But unless she no longer wants the job, she stays which means they keep their shares.

I don't think it will be that easy for her. Signs are, new guys want her out and easiest way for them is to buy them (and her) out. She can fight it, but she will be alone. Her whole family is against her, majority owners will be against her.

[KillerLeft]

I don't think it will be that easy for her. Signs are, new guys want her out and easiest way for them is to buy them (and her) out. She can fight it, but she will be alone. Her whole family is against her, majority owners will be against her.

I'm not as up on all this as you, obviously, but I'd think getting rid of Buss and Pelinka would be a huge step in the right direction for the Lakers as a franchise.

[omahen]

I'm not as up on all this as you, obviously, but I'd think getting rid of Buss and Pelinka would be a huge step in the right direction for the Lakers as a franchise.

I don't really care, I just wish Luka would get some stability. I think Pelinka was doing a good job considering the situation and limited assets last two seasons. Considering all the circumstances:
- understaffed front office as it seems like Buss family didn't have the money to support a modern analytics driven organization
- managing the definitely very difficult situation of "replacing a king". I think Lakers (and LeBron) handled this really well. It is not easy to execute a divorce with an aging legend while he is still performing well without making a huge drama, a bunch of people being offended and a huge PR nightmare. I think all of them really pulled off a win-win situation for everyone involved. Lakers moved on (they needed to), LeBron (also needed to move on) got to a place where he "can be happy" without really any damage to his reputation as allegedly half of the league was fighting for his services and he was "the king" in picking his place

[Chicagojk]

Exhibit 1000 of these guys are really good. One of the reasons I put little stock in this summer workout videos. NBA players are awesome. Put them in a gym to play pickup or workout and they will look incredible.

https://x.com/collinsworth55/status/2089...07438?s=46

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Since Mat Ishbia didn’t have to sell a ton of stock in his mortgage company (UWM) to fund the Phoenix Suns, he maintained majority control via voting rights (~90%) and the board of directors. The only problem with this strategy is what happens when things go south. Say the stock you pledged starts to drop. 10% in a month. 40% in a year. 75% in five years. Every time that happens, the bank calls you and asks you to put up more collateral. This is a margin call. Just days before he purchased the Phoenix Suns in 2023, Ishbia secured two loans from JPMorgan. Those loans gave Ishbia the liquidity he needed to complete the $4 billion purchase, but in exchange, Ishbia’s personal holding company had to pledge 805 million shares of UWM stock as collateral. That pledge represented more than half of all UWM's outstanding stock, and the company’s stock price has since fallen more than 70%. In simple terms, that means Ishbia put up roughly $4.6 billion of UWM stock as collateral with JPMorgan, but those shares are now worth just $1.15 billion. So what happens next? When will JPMorgan reach its limit? And if JPMorgan does reach a limit, does that mean Mat Ishbia will have to sell the Phoenix Suns? UWM’s stock has fallen about 70% since Ishbia initially pledged his shares as collateral, and people are justified in asking whether this has implications for Ishbia’s broader sports portfolio, including the Phoenix Suns and Mercury and a piece of the Chicago White Sox. The logic is that UWM’s stock has dropped so low that Ishbia has no choice but to repay the JPMorgan loans with cash. And to access that much liquidity in such a short period of time, Ishbia might have to sell equity stakes in his sports teams.

Huddle Up

[HoosierDaddyKid]

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Luka Doncic is chartering a private plane for 14 people and has organized several activities designed to bring the new-look Lakers closer together ahead of the 2026-27 season. The trip will include gift bags filled with Slovenian items, dinner at one of Luka's favorite restaurants, fishing at Lake Bled, golf and other team-bonding activities. "It starts off with Luka chartering a plane for 14 people," Shelburne said on ESPN Los Angeles, adding that additional gifts are expected to be waiting for the players once they arrive at the hotel.

BasketNews

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Maxima Roma has announced the signing of Aaron Holiday, who arrives from the Houston Rockets. A highly talented, athletic, and reliable point guard, Holiday’s main strengths are his three-point shooting, aggressiveness in attacking the rim, and tenacious defense. A complete and modern player, he brings speed, exceptional scoring ability, and proven, steady leadership to the team, making him an invaluable floor general.

LegaBasket.it