2021 NBA playoffs thread
- Thread starter JP4CY
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The bad news for PHX is that Giannis is back and looks full strength. He was rusty tonight but will be in beast mode for the rest of the series. It’s already apparent there is no one on the Suns who can guard him.
CP3 gonna do his part!! He definitely wants a ring!! Can CP3 at 36 keep up this pace or level of play?
Good for the fans. I'm rooting for the Suns but it will make a far more interesting finals with Giannis at full strength.
No. If I were the Suns and he wanted to go to LAL I would give him a big ass parade, put his name on the circle in the arena or whatever (assuming the Suns win the title), tell him he has a FO job there when he’s done playing and bid him adieu.
I hear ya. It is not a bad strategy to get best value for an 'older' player if that ever came up. As you said in your hypothetical, give him the appreciation (again also assuming they win this), a parade, etc. but plan for the future. Get the most for him while he is still hot. It can't be much longer like this. Can it?
In the meantime, will CP3 continue to play 'lights out' like this for the remainder of "this" series. I say yes, barring injury. He looks motivated! I say Giannis also remains healthy. Suns win 4-3.
Seems like the best idea…. If he’s looking for a huge contract, maybe let him walk. You still have an extremely young core of solid to great players who now know how to win.
Jae Crowder scored 0 points but had the best +/-. His shooting was bad but he was fantastic defensively.
I don’t think the Suns have any options. If CP3 exercises his rights with the Suns I think they have to pay him 39 million a year for the next 3 years. The free agency/contract gurus can probably correct me but I’m pretty sure it’s a player option.
It looks like CP3 can exercise a player option for $44.2 million next year.
He should be a FA after that, though.
Based on the above... they should be able to just run it back next year.
They have a lot of really high-value contracts (e.g., Ayton, Crowder, Payne) where they can afford to pay pretty high dollar for the high productivity they are receiving from Paul and Booker.
I figure, win or lose, Paul picks up that option and they bring the same team back.
And go for two in a row. And it could happen.
This just got me to thinking. With the millions of dollars each team has in salaries, expenses (travel, hotel, etc.), how much extra money do you think teams earn by: one series in the playoffs, two series..., three..., makes the Finals, wins the finals in 7 games? This would include added TV and ticket sales revenue.
What is the monetary prize? How much incentive do the owners have toward "putting the best possible" team together in order to win in the playoffs?
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I thought TV revenues from playoff games are split between everybody -- not just the teams that make the postseason -- so there is no incentive to "cheat" there. Yes, teams who play more games can sell more seat tickets and concessions, but TV money really dominates the financial conversation.
I also thought the NBA signs long-term contracts with the House of Mouse and the other networks to "lock in" their compensation in the long term. There are no clauses the NBA receives extra money if it is the Lakers versus the Celtics, so they are not losing anything with the Suns and the Bucks instead.
The networks are probably bummed having two relatively unpopular franchises in the Finals and would love to have the marquis teams and stars every season. For the NBA, however, I am 99.9% sure they end up with the same money either way, so the Association doesn't gain by fixing anything there.
By the way, amending my previous post...
The Suns are setup to be competitive for a long time. I figure they either require Paul take a huge pay cut after next year or let him walk while singing his praises for helping them win maybe as many as two championships. They use the Paul money to extend Ayton, and they can be competitive for years with the team led by peak Booker and Ayton surrounded by draft picks and ring-chasing veterans on a discount.
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Interesting. What then is the incentive for teams to have a better team, higher priced players? Other than ticket sales during the season and potential ticket sales during the playoffs?
There really isn't one from a purely financial standpoint outside of keeping butts in seats.
Plenty of teams in the various major leagues (the Miami Marlins are the best example of this) have figured out you can maximize your profits by minimizing your costs and pocketing all the TV money, even if your team is going to suck and you're not going to draw very much at the gate or in merch from fans.
The only real incentive to win is most of these teams are owned by old White dudes who were already fantastically wealthy before they bought a franchise and have the ego that comes with it. They want to win because it means bragging rights over their billionaire buddies and because being seen as the owner of a successful, winning organization has a prestige value that feeds their considerable egos.
I'd say most owners are successful in other industries and their teams are akin to a very expensive hobby or status symbol.
Well yeah, OK. But I would have thought there would be just a little more financial incentive.
I guess another question might be, how much money do owners have to play with? How much profit do they typically make each year? How much money do they have (other than their own pockets) going towards the 'extra mile' in signing some of these more expensive players?