subbing to sports journalism site is about as bad as paying for onlyfans
there's better free content out there

Well said

But the irony is that you’re likely subbed to animes, so let’s just pipe down with the opinions from now on yeah?

Thats fine I can afford it. You keep watching Randoms takes on youtube from someone who kinda played basketball in highschool, chief

I also read good free stuff.

There is a considerable amount of content on this website and I appreciate the hard work they do, so I pay for it.


Let me know if you need any articles on The Panthers Rebuild.

This post was edited by Crunkt on Dec 8 2020 12:17pm

‘There is no timetable’: What does James Harden really want?
By Kelly Iko 2h ago 53

The question has become more profound since the Rockets’ 2019 second-round loss to Golden State, but as the 2020-21 season gets closer and the ZOOM press conferences get stranger, it’s a question that needs answering — quickly.

What does James Harden really want?

The Rockets, mainly the front office and management, have been trying their hardest to crack the case. Internally, it was known that the Orlando bubble was a difficult and trying time for the team and that psychologically, a break was needed.

Since then, however, it’s appeared as if the franchise is moving three times faster than normal. Immediately after the playoff ouster, former head coach Mike D’Antoni recused himself from his position — making up his mind before stepping foot on the team plane — and former general manager Daryl Morey followed suit shortly after.

What followed was a coaching search, a process that took nearly two months as the Rockets searched for the best possible candidate. With D’Antoni and Morey gone, Houston was suddenly left with a roster that had been built for one specific objective and under the guidance of an old regime. Uncertainty and doubt started to seep through the cracks.

It was also during this time, sources say, that Harden approached management/ownership and gave them his mandate: Either build a championship team around him or get him to a situation where he could achieve that.

So as new head coach Stephen Silas spoke to the media on Monday, the second day of team practices, without his franchise player in the building, his demeanor indicated that the uncertainty and doubt that had existed at the beginning of the offseason had already resurfaced — or perhaps never left at all.

“There is no timetable as far as I know, and it is a setback,” Silas said. “You want your best player to be here and there’s a short window.”

Harden’s recent desires to be traded to Brooklyn may be an isolated incident, but this isn’t the first time he’s approached the team with such intent, sources say. When it became clear after losing to the Spurs in 2017 that another playmaker was sorely needed, the Rockets pulled off a blockbuster sign-and-trade deal for Chris Paul. After the 2019 playoff collapse and fallout with Chris Paul, sources say Harden told the front office the same thing: commit to building a championship team or trade me. That summer, Russell Westbrook was brought in for Paul — and the rest is history.

So, what does James Harden really want?

The Rockets have known for years how important Harden’s legacy is to him and how badly he wants to win a championship. Westbrook’s arrival came off the backs of Harden’s belief that Paul wasn’t a suitable partner to lead the Rockets to a title, sources say. Prior to Houston’s flurry of offseason moves, Harden had told Houston that he didn’t see a realistic path to a title and would prefer to join Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, sources say.

What made Monday’s availability so awkward and unfortunate was that for a franchise that has long been championed for their ability to be ahead of the curve, there simply aren’t any answers right now to Harden’s absence.

“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Silas said on whether the Rockets should assume Harden won’t be available for Houston’s regular-season opener against the Thunder on December 23. “I’m taking it day by day. We operate how we operate, so I don’t know.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s unprecedented, there are guys that have done this before. I’ve been in situations where we had a holdout and you handle each situation on its own merit. As far as any sort of punishment, we haven’t crossed that bridge yet. Trying to work this out piece by piece.”

Silas might be taking the situation on a day-to-day basis, but what about Harden’s teammates? Just look at P.J. Tucker, perhaps the most brutally honest member of the organization (former Rocket Austin Rivers a close second) and a close friend of Harden. Tucker wanted absolutely nothing to do with addressing the issue and appeared angry at the mere notion of it. “I’m here to speak about P.J. Tucker,” he said.

Frankly, Harden isn’t helping his cause at the moment — he’s actually hurting it. Harden is a smart and savvy veteran player, businessman, and person, but he’s going about this the wrong way. The Rockets have long maintained their stance of improving the roster, bringing Harden to camp, and seeing how the season plays out, hoping that he would change his mind. Teams like Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and even Golden State have sniffed around, but the Rockets don’t have to play nice with them.

This is where we get into the tricky world of leverage and motive. Harden’s biggest hurdle with his desires to play elsewhere and the pressure he’s seemingly putting on Houston by not showing up is that the Rockets don’t have to ameliorate him. We’ve seen this in the NBA before — Kawhi Leonard in San Antonio, Anthony Davis in New Orleans, Jimmy Butler in Philadelphia, Paul George in Indiana. The difference between Harden and those other situations is that all four had time on their side. Their contracts were winding down, putting the onus on their respective organizations to move quickly or face losing star talent for nothing. At that point, it’s also a game of conflicting egos — player empowerment vs. the suits.

The Rockets are in no such predicament. They have Harden under contract for two more years, enough time to either attempt to salvage their relationship (although optics look bad) or canvass the league landscape for the best possible deal. Houston doesn’t have to take 50 cents on the dollar right now for a top 5 player and perennial MVP candidate just because he’s unhappy. That’s bad business. For example, Brooklyn’s best offer — Caris Levert, Spencer Dinwiddie, etc. — might look more tantalizing 18 months from now when the clock is ticking loudly but right now, it doesn’t.

Our Sam Amick had this in yesterday’s explanation of the no-show:

“As for the prospects of him being traded, sources say the Rockets’ demands remain unchanged even after these past few days: An All-Star/All-NBA level player in return, as well as a treasure trove of other assets (young prospects, first-round draft picks, etc.). But as of Monday afternoon, sources say, the trade market wasn’t responding to these demands in the kind of way that would inspire a move.”

So what does James Harden really want?

The drama in Houston as the calendar approaches 2021 is a stark contrast to Harden’s comments following their Game 5 loss to the Lakers back in September. Harden appeared as a humble, honest individual that understood the morality of his NBA career and was willing to do whatever it took to win a championship. Harden was a D’Antoni fan and likely wanted him to stay, but no matter the coach or the system, the biggest hope for change would have to come from within. Harden looked almost apologetic that day as if all of Houston’s past failures were squarely on his shoulders. Between that day and now, it’s obvious that Harden doesn’t feel the same way.

“I have no clarity about the message,” Silas said. “I take it at face value that he’s not here. What the reason is in him. He’s the one who can explain why or why not he’s not here. For me to make inferences and think about the possibilities is not real to me. What’s real is he’s not here and he has a reason but that’s on him to tell what it is.”

The Rockets have a preseason game in 72 hours but there’s no way the team is ready for that game — physically or mentally.

“As I said yesterday, we’re working as if this is the 6th-23rd so there is some time, but it’s a setback,” Silas said.

In his daily updates, Coach Silas has given the impression that there are a lot of positives done on the court but there is still a great deal of work to do. With improvements to the squad depth, the introduction of more “tools in the toolbox,” and overall reshaping the team, Silas has the tough task of not only guiding the organization through a period of transition from the past regime but also has to prepare for another bloodbath of a season filled with vast-improved rival contenders.

It’s incredibly hard to do that without your best player there, and there have been no updates from Harden or his inner circle as to where his head is at. Harden’s mother/manager Monja Willis gave a lengthy response to a random Instagram comment on Monday, but aside from an emoji from Harden, it’s been quiet on that front.

Over the years, Harden has been able to get his message across privately and effectively. When it came down to either him or Dwight Howard, it was Howard who was shown the door. The same can be said for Paul and most recently, Westbrook. Harden is the only person that knows what he truly wants, and regardless if it’s a future with the Rockets, Nets, or elsewhere, it would behoove all parties to have some clarity on the situation sooner rather than later.

I thought the best website for breaking NBA news was Jsp?

It is but the deep analysis and retrospective part could always use improvement

not pointing any fingers to anyone other than Kimmy

This post was edited by Crunkt on Dec 8 2020 02:24pm

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https://theathletic.com/2222210/2020/12/02/kawhi-clippers-chemistry-nba-title/?source=keyweefbadsbc&kwp_0=1827722&kwp_4=5336212&kwp_1=2278002&ad_id=5336212&fbclid=IwAR3c0isDnqFqO1G3wO-szzyYpiS3i5CyoJ3ZwHQRPpDOyI2kGc3BZv7mWhY

Kawhi, chemistry and a failed Clippers title run: Inside the issue that defines 2021
By Jovan Buha 381

Before every Clippers game last season, the team’s training staff would honor Kawhi Leonard’s request and create a private space for his pregame routine.

The staffers would enter and take over that space for roughly 20 to 45 minutes, according to multiple team and league sources. On the road, there were occasions when the space they occupied was the female staffers’ locker room. That also happened sometimes before a doubleheader at Staples Center when the changing of the court limited the availability of the Los Angeles Kings’ locker room, where Leonard normally warmed up privately.

Various Clippers players, coaches and staffers were aware of the arrangement and some felt uneasy about it. While there appeared to be no sexist intent, the visual of women staffers being unable to use their locker room to use the bathroom, to change clothes or to access their personal belongings while Leonard stretched did not go unnoticed. At least one player mentioned it to a confidant and at least one staffer complained about it to coworkers. It was an awkward arrangement, but drawing too much attention to it risked being seen as going against Leonard, the team’s unquestioned star, in the eyes of the organization.

“What were they going to do about it?” one league source said. “It’s Kawhi.”

When reached for comment by The Athletic, the Clippers denied that staffers had ever been dismissed out of a locker room space for Leonard and the training staff, adding that his stretching was scheduled on the team’s pregame itinerary and that spaces, particularly on the road, were limited and would sometimes serve multiple functions.

If there was one dynamic that showed the issues with some of the preferential treatment the Clippers conceded to Leonard and Paul George last season, and how it affected both other players and staffers, it was Leonard’s pregame privacy request. And while the locker room space situation didn’t happen in the NBA’s restart in the Orlando bubble, the chemistry issues created earlier in the season contributed to the team’s shocking loss in the Western Conference semifinals. Up 3-1, LA dropped games 5, 6 and 7 after having led the Denver Nuggets in each of them at halftime.

On and off the court, the players never established the requisite chemistry, continuity or trust to win a championship in their first year together. The organization estimated it could layer superstars on top of the core group of returning role players to win a title, but it awfully misjudged the internal blowback over everything from playing time to preferential treatment to personality differences.

“How do you ever build a strong team with that shit going on?” one team source said. “I thought from the beginning, ‘We’re doomed. Kawhi wants too much special treatment.’”
Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today

NBA players understand that the league is a star-driven operation, and it doesn’t start or stop with Leonard and George. Every All-Star receives some form of preferential treatment, and the Clippers were no different, especially in light of the uncertainty regarding their stars’ contract status — both players can enter free agency again in 2021.

But according to multiple league sources, the perks the Clippers gave Leonard and George began to compromise the standard of the culture they had built over the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons — the very culture that the Clippers used, in part, to attract Leonard and George to Los Angeles.

Some of those perks included:

• Leonard and George were the only players to have their own personal security guards and trainers.

• Leonard and George had power over the team’s practice and travel schedule, leading teammates to believe Leonard canceled multiple practices.

• Leonard was allowed to live in San Diego and commute from there, which often made him late for team flights.

• Leonard and George typically didn’t speak to the media until at least 45 minutes after games concluded, under the guise of postgame treatment or workouts. This usually resulted in their teammates speaking with the media first, and for longer, essentially becoming the public voices of the team.

• Teammates also believed that Leonard and George were able to pick and choose when they played. Not only did they sit out games entirely, but also at times they accepted or declined playing time in the moment.

While star treatment can work in a locker room, and some of these practices aren’t necessarily unique to the Clippers, it resulted in a lack of buy-in from this particular group, league sources said.

The hard-nosed, competitive culture the team had built from 2017 to ’19, predicated on their all-for-one ethos, was undone in a matter of months, and now a challenging new season beckons, with camps opening this week and games tipping off three days before Christmas.
Jayne Kamin Oncea / USA Today

Following the playoff elimination by the Nuggets, which ruined a much-anticipated Lakers-Clippers conference finals, reserve guard Lou Williams, who was often the public conscience of the team to the media, offered insight into why LA flamed out.

“I think a lot of the issues that we ran into, talent bailed us out,” Williams said. “Chemistry, it didn’t. In this series, it failed us.”

Williams uttered the word “chemistry” three times postgame. Then-coach Doc Rivers cited “trust” three times. George also mentioned “chemistry,” adding that the Clippers dealt with “adversity” and “didn’t get much time to be together.”

The team’s coded language all pointed back to the same issue: The Clippers were rarely on the same page during the 2019-20 season.

Even in the aftermath of their ouster, the Clippers couldn’t agree on the context of their failed season together. George surprisingly downplayed the team’s internal ambition despite the potential two-year window he and Leonard could be in L.A.

“I think, internally, we’ve always felt, this is not a championship-or-bust year for us,” George said.

Meanwhile, Williams shared the opposing viewpoint, one that most of the Clippers felt internally: This past season was title-or-bust.

“We did have championship expectations,” Williams said. “We had the talent to do it. I don’t think we had the chemistry to do it — and it showed.”

The Clippers’ postgame comments were a microcosm of the internal disconnect that affected the team all season.

The calamitous ending was the tipping point for Rivers, along with his lack of postseason adjustments and several philosophical differences about the team’s future, which led the franchise to mutually part ways with him.

Following a two-week coaching search, the Clippers hired Tyronn Lue, an assistant on Rivers’ coaching staff, to replace his mentor on Oct. 20.

Lue enters one of the more intriguing and high-pressure situations in the league. He has a Leonard- and George-led group that will compete for a championship immediately, but there will be several lingering challenges — including implementing greater accountability in the locker room — that he and the organization need to resolve ahead of the next playoff run.

Looming over the entire situation is Leonard’s and George’s 2021 free agency.

Back in January, The Athletic chronicled the Clippers’ inner strife, including the awkward adjustment period incorporating Leonard and George and the locker room’s resentment toward their preferential treatment. The quiet personalities never fully clicked, leading to a divide between the taciturn stars and seemingly marginalized role players, league sources said.

When adversity eventually hit in the playoffs, the Clippers unraveled under the pressure.

“They didn’t have good chemistry,” one league source said. “How could they?”

Immediately, Lue and his coaching staff are facing a similar challenge to the one he overcame during his first season in Cleveland: holding his superstars accountable and settling the group of complex personalities.

One of the central issues last season was that the Clippers essentially built the core of their roster from the outside in, rather than the inside out.

The dynamic primarily affected the most prominent players from the previous season, namely Williams, Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell, multiple league sources said. Those three had enjoyed greater adulation and responsibility in the prior season and didn’t always agree with the perceived internal hierarchy.