Warriors + Cousins = the NBA HAS JUMPED THE SHARK

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Sure, but for the sake of argument, let's say that LeBron instead joined the W's. You would be excited about that? Why watch any games at all? It would be terrible - terribly boring.

The Globetrotters vs Generals is a niche act. No one goes/tunes in to see that 82 + 16 times per year.

Despite it being a hypothetical, no. Why would I be upset obtaining one of the greatest players in history?

 

[Finito]

All I can say is that if AD, PG and Westbrook decided to join Booker, there would be far less complaining about Super Teams on this board than there is now.

Pretty much

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

All I can say is that if AD, PG and Westbrook decided to join Booker, there would be far less complaining about Super Teams on this board than there is now.

I would still fully admit that I don't think it is good for the league. I just wouldn't be as up in arms about it because we would likely be winning titles.

 

[1tinsoldier]

Cousins got no offers so he reached out to the Warriors.

that he had to turn to the champions because no one else would have him is a sad crock of poo from another tag-along, trophy hunter

The Dubs would've never attained this without growing organically (Curry, Green, and Thompson)

yes, full credit for that. then blame for diminishing their accomplishment and the game itself by adding a ringer in Durant

All I can say is that if AD, PG and Westbrook decided to join Booker, there would be far less complaining about Super Teams on this board than there is now.

for sure. but Homers doing what they do is just a distraction from the issue at hand and a waste of space in this thread

the bottom line is that
the flaw in the system that the Warriors and tag-along players has exploited needs to be fixed for the good of the game

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

I can understand him not getting max deal offers but $5.3M is the best he got? That’s Alan Williams money. In fact that’s not even the whole mid level exception, no denying he’s chasing a ring before GS dynasty ends .

Well, put yourself in Cousins's shoes. Would you accept 6-7 million dollar 1 year deal (with his injury, he wasn't getting multi-year deal) ,with say, Dallas or a $5.3 million deal with the best team in B-Ball? If your going to take it in the shorts salary wise, then it is the smart decision to take less in the best place.

 

[Dback Jon]

All I can say is that if AD, PG and Westbrook decided to join Booker, there would be far less complaining about Super Teams on this board than there is now.

Of course not. But that still doesn't make it right for the long-term health of the NBA

 

[1tinsoldier]

Well, put yourself in Cousins's shoes...$5.3 million deal with the best team in B-Ball?

yes, we get it home-boy
it's smart for all the best players to join the champions in pursuit of a ring

GS fans, like you, are defensive of criticism
other team fans are jealous
both irrelevant

rational NBA fans are concerned that
Warriors + Cousins = the NBA HAS JUMPED THE SHARK
and are interested in preserving parity in the league in everyone's best interest

 

[1tinsoldier]

That's a bit short sighted. This year we were one Chris Paul injury away...

indeed GS has had numerous lucky breaks on their championship paths
but my view is actually long sighted
if GS lost they'd just add more firepower, because they can
like they did Durant
like they did Cousins now as additional insurance

without effective rules in place GS can buy whatever it takes to get the job done

 

[AzStevenCal]

indeed GS has had numerous lucky breaks on their championship paths
but my view is actually long sighted
if GS lost they'd just add more firepower, because they can
like they did Durant
like they did Cousins now as additional insurance

without effective rules in place GS can buy whatever it takes to get the job done

Durant was the result of GS having a superstar on a small contract (due to injury risk) and the unwillingness of the players association to cooperate with the league the first year of the new TV contract. The league foresaw the obvious problems with the huge cap hike and tried to talk them into allowing them to smoothe out the increase. The players would have still received the same amount of money over the smoothing period, they just wouldn't have seen that huge one year spike. It's not likely we'll ever see something like that again.

But as long as the big names can make even more money from endorsements than they can from their team, there will be reason for the stars to congregate. Even if they lose a little money on the contract, they more than make it up in visibility and marketability.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

yes, we get it home-boy
it's smart for all the best players to join the champions in pursuit of a ring

GS fans, like you, are defensive of criticism
other team fans are jealous
both irrelevant

rational NBA fans are concerned that
Warriors + Cousins = the NBA HAS JUMPED THE SHARK
and are interested in preserving parity in the league in everyone's best interest

LOL, you are hilarious. Again, the NBA passed on Cousins...it is a one year deal and he most likely will only be on their team for this season, and likely only appear in 25-35 games. Methinks, you have jumped the shark. Hyper-criticize all you want... Parity in the NBA is a complete myth.

 

[1tinsoldier]

LOL, you are hilarious. Again, the NBA passed on Cousins

again, bull****! Cousins could have gotten more than 5 mil from 29 other teams in the league

(32,504 posts and you're still using "LOL" and "hilarious" as a debating device?
no wonder you only have 7% worth of Likes)

 

[Russ Smith]

again, bull****! Cousins could have gotten more than 5 mil from 29 other teams in the league

(32,504 posts and you're still using "LOL" and "hilarious" as a debating device?
no wonder you only have 7% worth of Likes)

If it were just Cousins saying I got no good offers I'd agree with you, but basically every NBA "insider" is saying the same thing. I just watched Paul Pierce earlier today say the same thing, what he hears is Cousins found out quickly nobody was going to give him even the 9 million slot because of the injury, so he contacted the Warriors and Sixers to see if they had interest.

If he were healthy and took this deal absolutely I'd want the NBA to step in and do something, but that's not the case here.

 

[1tinsoldier]

Cousins found out quickly nobody was going to give him even the 9 million

that does not refute me saying "Cousins could have gotten more than 5 mil from 29 other teams in the league"

...and more playing time to prove himself again

 

[AzStevenCal]

again, bull****! Cousins could have gotten more than 5 mil from 29 other teams in the league

(32,504 posts and you're still using "LOL" and "hilarious" as a debating device?
no wonder you only have 7% worth of Likes)

The vast majority of his posts occurred prior to this format. We had no like button until the change.

 

[CardsFan88]

(32,504 posts and you're still using "LOL" and "hilarious" as a debating device?
no wonder you only have 7% worth of Likes)

Not to take any side of the debate, only the 7% of likes thing. The message board has been around 16 years whereas the like button is new. I don't even remember exactly when, but maybe 1-2 years?

 

[devilalum]

Nobody's offerin' max money? Might as well rehab in GS and try again next season.
If I happen to collect a ring along the way I won't complain.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

again, bull****! Cousins could have gotten more than 5 mil from 29 other teams in the league

(32,504 posts and you're still using "LOL" and "hilarious" as a debating device?
no wonder you only have 7% worth of Likes)

Who cares about that nonsense? LOL @ your superficial, sophomoric and horrible "burn." I find it hilarious.


Please tell me more about how Cousins was getting a lucrative deal in his current condition, I'll wait...

 

[Raindog]

All it is going to take is for one example of the "superteam" concept to fail on a major level, and everyone will drop it. No franchise wants to be paying hundreds of millions in luxury tax for a team that isn't bringing home a guaranteed championship. It could be as soon as this year if the GSW fall on their faces, which is entirely possible once the over expectations, chemistry issues, complacency, and other "human elements" naturally set in. Nothing is won on on paper.

In any case, sports run on a reactive and imitative basis. One team being successful at something inevitably starts a trend that everyone else jumps on (as much possible) until it falters... then it's on to the next thing. Baseball is a good example - for decades everyone followed the NYY model of throwing massive money at any and all high priced free agents. As time went on, lots of teams found themselves stuck with high payrolls and nothing to show for it ("Los Angeles of Anaheim"... ahem), and the teams that actually started being genuinely successful began building from the ground up and investing more resources in youth, scouting, player development. And now, what do you know, but nearly every MLB franchise is doing that - even traditional high spenders like the Yankees. The other approach just wasn't sustainable and became downright stupid.

So all the Suns really have to do is stay the course - the "superteam" fad will run it's course, eventually ending in some kind of crisis for the teams that are following it. I fully expect the Warriors to end up as a wreck of a franchise sooner than anyone else seems to be expecting - there is a certain inevitability to it. Yes, they will have their four or so championships to look back on, but that is more a result of dumb luck than brilliant planning. The Superteam Heat have their two championships to look back on, but it may not be much solace for a fanbase that is now stuck with a team in perpetual mediocrity purgatory.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

All it is going to take is for one example of the "superteam" concept to fail on a major level, and everyone will drop it. No franchise wants to be paying hundreds of millions in luxury tax for a team that isn't bringing home a guaranteed championship. It could be as soon as this year if the GSW fall on their faces, which is entirely possible once the over expectations, chemistry issues, complacency, and other "human elements" naturally set in. Nothing is won on on paper.

In any case, sports run on a reactive and imitative basis. One team being successful at something inevitably starts a trend that everyone else jumps on (as much possible) until it falters... then it's on to the next thing. Baseball is a good example - for decades everyone followed the NYY model of throwing massive money at any and all high priced free agents. As time went on, lots of teams found themselves stuck with high payrolls and nothing to show for it ("Los Angeles of Anaheim"... ahem), and the teams that actually started being genuinely successful began building from the ground up and investing more resources in youth, scouting, player development. And now, what do you know, but nearly every MLB franchise is doing that - even traditional high spenders like the Yankees. The other approach just wasn't sustainable and became downright stupid.

So all the Suns really have to do is stay the course - the "superteam" fad will run it's course, eventually ending in some kind of crisis for the teams that are following it. I fully expect the Warriors to end up as a wreck of a franchise sooner than anyone else seems to be expecting - there is a certain inevitability to it. Yes, they will have their four or so championships to look back on, but that is more a result of dumb luck than brilliant planning. The Superteam Heat have their two championships to look back on, but it may not be much solace for a fanbase that is now stuck with a team in perpetual mediocrity purgatory.

You make very good points...

Warriors ownership has stated they want to turn the Warriors in to the Spurs with 15-20 years of relevancy and excellence. They have the right leadership in place for it to happen and it's a great goal to aspire to and--so far--they are on that path. But, it could absolutely come crashing down in a short period as well, which is exactly the reason I am enjoying this run as much as possible.

 

[Hoop Head]

I can understand him not getting max deal offers but $5.3M is the best he got? That’s Alan Williams money. In fact that’s not even the whole mid level exception, no denying he’s chasing a ring before GS dynasty ends .

Actually the MLE is 3 different amounts depending on your cap situation. It's higher for teams over the cap but not at the luxury tax line, then it's $8.3 million, but for teams paying the luxury tax it's $5.3 like he got. So he did get the full MLE.

 

[1tinsoldier]

Loyalty, i retract the 7% likes comment. The statistical support was unnecessary. My criticism stands on your illogical partisanship and snickering.

 

[Hoop Head]

the bottom line is that
the flaw in the system that the Warriors and tag-along players has exploited needs to be fixed for the good of the game

What can the league do to fix this? Cousins didn't receive a bigger offer. He signed in Golden State for cheap but he didn't turn down bigger deals. No analyst or insider has said he had bigger offers and they're actually backing his statement of not getting sizable offers. This isn't much different from veterans signing with championship teams at the end of their careers for cheap. Cousins isn't at the end but he could be given his injury. You can not like the signing, I don't, but there really isn't anything that can be done to stop it. If all he could have gotten was a minimum deal then he probably would have taken that on the best team that offered it. Why not get a ring in case his rehab doesn't work out? If he's forced to retire at year's end because of his surgery, at least he's got a ring to show for it.

36% of players with torn achilles never return to the sport they played. That's 1 in 3 odds that Cousins is done. This is not a foregone conclusion that he's joined a dominant team to make them more dominant. He could be a shell of his former self.

 

[SirStefan32]

There is nothing to fix. Free agent signed with a team. That's literally what happened.

 

[DevonCardsFan]

I could see the league starting to block moves in way to keep the league competitive, we saw when they controlled the Hornets, a Paul trade block to Lakers. The NBA loves to cheat and award the larger media markets. The NBA would love that power

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

There is nothing to fix. Free agent signed with a team. That's literally what happened.

The problem isn't the signing of Cousins, but the whole situation they have been able to manufacture over the past couple years. Under just about any other cap system they would not have been able to sign KD when they were already as talented as they are. KD would have either stayed in OKC or gone to another team that could realistically have found a way to fit him in. However the way the current cap works they were able to work some magic within the rules to find a way to make it work.