( ( ( ( ( nba bubble ball 2020 ) ) ) ) )

cwebb went deep

it's ok to fully support the players in whatever they want to do but also to not want basketball to go away, right?

no

i think it comes down to whether the players feel like mentally they can’t/don’t want to play, or whether they want to try and leverage things out of ppl, whatever that may be. it seems like maybe there’s a little bit of both happening rn which is understandable given the freshness of the blake shooting. if the players feel like they need to be in the streets or with their families and they walk away from the season i totally get that. but if they want to hold the season hostage in order to obtain x, y and z that’s a different thing — it’s equally as understandable but also implies a willingness to resume the season if certain demands are met. and also means that all of a sudden everyone has to come together to make a list of demands and be willing to apply pressure behind a unified set of goals. it can be done ofc but it would be a very intense environment given the personalities and stakes involved.

my gut says they have more potential power and leverage by staying put and apply pressure however they can, whether it's by using their voice/platform or, as Jordan says, holding the season hostage. i feel like if they disperse, they can be in the streets if they choose, but they would lose a lot of the attention they're receiving now.

(this is not considering whatever general exhaustion/isolation/bubble-disillusionment is setting in for these guys.)

also, just to be clear, my comment up there was just a half-joke by a guy who really loves watching basketball. all power to the players, i hope they can make some change.

NEW: Jared Kushner on NBA players' boycott following police shooting of Jacob Blake: "NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they're able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences to themselves financially." @CNBC

— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) August 27, 2020

I have to say that as my sports fandom slowly wanes due to kids, work, and life, I'm glad to still give my time to the NBA. It's not perfect or anything, but god, football and baseball culture is just the worst.

yes.

as was mentioned upthread, the initial wave of (much deserved) good will is likely to dissipate rather rapidly if the involved corporations determine they're unable to recoup the literal billion dollars they were planning to make off the bubble and either nudge a backlash forward and/or push to minimize the players.

until then one of the immediate upsides of this boycott is being able to see which fans really believe that a league predominantly made up of Black men is morally obliged to perform for their audience's pleasure

Jared Kushner says he plans to reach out to @KingJames. This comes amid him saying on CNBC, “NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they're able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences to themselves financially.”

— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) August 27, 2020

lebron is not taking that call

"the devil on line one for you"

it's ok to fully support the players in whatever they want to do but also to not want basketball to go away, right?

may i still desire the famous slam dunk in such times...

do i dare dunk a peach basket?

alone in my rooms thoughts turn to hoisting

I have to say that as my sports fandom slowly wanes due to kids, work, and life, I'm glad to still give my time to the NBA. It's not perfect or anything, but god, football and baseball culture is just the worst.

the nba is culturally more liberal, you can hear it in the tone of the announcers when you switch from football to basketball, but yeah ultimately its corporate sociopathy all the way down

much like the clowns in washington

interesting aspect of the whole sitch for sure

I was just saying that the bubble did this https://t.co/mB7gxEj6BG

— Tressie McMillan Cottom (@tressiemcphd) August 27, 2020

I wasn’t specifically calling out the players here. I think part of the leverage they have in this situation is that they know their audience will back them as well. Also this coming from someone who grew up listening to racist talk about the worthlessness of the nba while getting so piss drunk tailgating for college football games that they can’t remember bc they blacked out. That’s not the players fault

at least nba players dont throw a small hard ball at you for getting excited you made a good play

“How silver handled the China thing” idk man the players kinda put him in that spot

The NBA's players have decided to resume the playoffs, source tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 27, 2020

Today's three playoff games will be postponed, source tells ESPN. Discussion underway on when teams will resume play. https://t.co/A2PazNKDhy

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 27, 2020

Sources: NBA players in meeting today agreed to continue playing this postseason — but want to find new and improved ways to make social justice statements. Players expect games to resume this weekend.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 27, 2020

excited for the return of bubbleball.

I hope they got some better concessions this time around.

The concession stand is closed. But these players are searching for very different concessions. My latest:

lol

Blazers in 7, btw

cj will need to drop 60 pts per game

something kinda of out there about michael jordan telling a bunch of billionaires to listen https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29754265/michael-jordan-urges-owners-meeting-listening-better-talking

i can't tell if MJ is actually trying to redeem himself in his old age. he also opened a hospital in a very underfunded part of NC. my sister used to shit talk him all the time at parties for being a ruthless corporate asshole and all the dudes would mansplain to her about how that is the essence of his greatness.

attempting to redeem himself publicly would be a pretty ruthless corporate asshole move tbf

but i cld see it being genuine, he seemed pretty adrift in the doc

Some of Balkan boy’s 💯
🇧🇦 🇭🇷 🇸🇮 🇷🇸 🇲🇪
📸 by Terry Stotts pic.twitter.com/5gAer9KApN

— Jusuf Nurkić (@bosnianbeast27) August 28, 2020

bring tito back from the dead, reunite yugoslavia, let them play in the olympics

oh man they really should

they could legit take the US team

he seemed pretty adrift in the doc

yeah I mean the one time he lost his composure and immediately ended the interview was when he was talking about whether being a ruthless prick in order to win was worth the cost of being disliked

The NBA and NBPA announced that playoff games will resume Saturday.

They also agreed to establish a social justice coalition, to use league arenas as voting sites for November's general election and to promote voting information through advertising during the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/5Fr3AgIrWF

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 28, 2020

That's . . . good?

I mean it's a start.

its good, prob couldve just got it by asking tho, obvs the whole strike wasnt super organized, but at the very least they prob learned a lil something about the power they have

Powerful statement from NBPA president Chris Paul. pic.twitter.com/31mixkGOKM

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 28, 2020

huh I wouldn't have thought there's enough time to establish arenas as voting sites but I have no clue how that works

"So done with watching the Marxist supporting NBA. Just burned all of my gear. What a shame this has come to this."
^lolol of course this guy's twitter profile pic is him in a car wearing sunglasses

yeah i was gonna say the comments on that tweet are toxic nearly beyond belief

Stephen A Smith says LeBron James left players and owners 'turned off'

"He was speaking out of pocket and was talking to players in a fashion that really turned some of these young cats off . . . He came across as if he was the King with some crown."

(🎥 ESPN) pic.twitter.com/21ZkqCXzkz

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) August 28, 2020

lebron loves the drama

he is one of us

I'm very fed up with Marxists like LeBron James