2022 NBA Offseason Thread: Preseason kicks off; Things are fine in Los Angeles, Draymond beats the charges

[DripNick]

What trips me out is the butterfly effect here. Putin and Russia have been trying to get The Merchant of Death freed since 2011 when he was sentenced to 25 years in US prison.

11 years later one of the most famous WNBA players/female athletes who is a trailblazer in the LGBTQIA+ community happens to be traveling to Russia and has on her a vape pen containing hash oil which is illegal in Russia.

Russia then detains her and keeps her as a high profile hostage to trade for The Merchant of Death.

Just the fact that a silly/absent-minded mistake by one particular individual created this massive geopolitical tension that is leading to this big-time international criminal’s release.

That is crazy.

I don't know, maybe if she was valued and paid as the trailblazer or asset she is, she wouldn't have to go play to Russia in order to make "ends meet" just like Rapinoe and her teammates. Maybe if she was from the same demographics as female us soccer players, it wouldn't be an issue.
To be honest, i don't really give a rodent's *** if they trade her against 10 Russians, merchants or not.
Ask the Ukrainians if Putin needs this mf to go ahead and deal death to innocent people. And miss me (not literally you) with the fake pearl clutching and outrage of the "Merchant of Death" when US arms killed more kids, say in Yemen since '15, than he would dream of.

FREE HER

 

[DripNick]

storm2006 not to mention “Merchant of Death” (hate calling him that, I’ll stay with his name Victor Bout) supplied weapons to almost everyone during the African civil wars of the 90’s.

This really might be “millions” of lives lost. Man is pure evil incarnate.

This guy's evil incarnated, he's been pretty cool with a lot of American presidents

 

[Coupé It]

This guy's evil incarnated, he's been pretty cool with a lot of American presidents

F*** him too tho.

 

[nick.]

one of the worst basketball social media accounts on the internet

 

[Coupé It]

I lowkey think @antidope is lying about hating dance music.

Mans probably going clubs down on Wall St., and when the Tiesto comes on he be going nuts like...

MajinZuub and I are going to bring him to Ultra next year.

I’ve decided.

 

[amitt5504]

MajinZuub and I are going to bring him to Ultra next year.

I’ve decided.

Keep me posted lol

 

[ballinsam23]

MajinZuub and I are going to bring him to Ultra next year.

I’ve decided.

About to send him some Jonathan Peters.

In all seriousness, down for a NT Summit at one of these.

 

[earldagoat]

 

[getback]

What trips me out is the butterfly effect here. Putin and Russia have been trying to get The Merchant of Death freed since 2011 when he was sentenced to 25 years in US prison.

11 years later one of the most famous WNBA players/female athletes who is a trailblazer in the LGBTQIA+ community happens to be traveling to Russia and has on her a vape pen containing hash oil which is illegal in Russia.

Russia then detains her and keeps her as a high profile hostage to trade for The Merchant of Death.

Just the fact that a silly/absent-minded mistake by one particular individual created this massive geopolitical tension that is leading to this big-time international criminal’s release.

That is crazy.

Yup playing out like a movie with a ripple effect, like 21 Grams or something.

 

[moe200069]

I'd recommend everyone just do that **** online and/or the cheapest Community College that exists in your area then transfer to Big State U after your first 2 years with a scholarship but idk if they even do that like they did in the early 00s when I was in school. Even Bob University hitting for 60k a semester then you got the out of state vs in state tuition scam.

couldn’t agree more. i encourage a lot of the youth i work with to consider the community college-transfer route, especially if they’re not getting academic or sports scholarships. it’s criminal that state schools in CA will charge in-state students $8-$15k per year for what could more easily and affordably be obtained at the community college level or online

 

[storm2006]

I don't know, maybe if she was valued and paid as the trailblazer or asset she is, she wouldn't have to go play to Russia in order to make "ends meet" just like Rapinoe and her teammates. Maybe if she was from the same demographics as female us soccer players, it wouldn't be an issue.
To be honest, i don't really give a rodent's *** if they trade her against 10 Russians, merchants or not.
Ask the Ukrainians if Putin needs this mf to go ahead and deal death to innocent people. And miss me (not literally you) with the fake pearl clutching and outrage of the "Merchant of Death" when US arms killed more kids, say in Yemen since '15, than he would dream of.

FREE HER

You made a lot of good points so I want to address them all.

EYE agree that WNBA players deserve better but at the same time, I kind of feel as if that debate is separate from the issue of the swap or perhaps another element of the butterfly effect. And I also can’t speak for others but my thoughts would not change based on the race or sexual orientation of the player.

I don’t think the issue is Putin needing him to kill innocent people. It is moreso that he is international (which Coupe alluded to) so even though Putin is caping for him, the fear is that he has global reach. Realistically, as it currently stands, death can be dealt to innocent folks in a lot of places. However, he helps to facilitate the process by making it easier or allowing them to kill more.

I know the US did a lot of bad in Yemen but I can’t compare body counts. That is why I don’t think it is as much fake pearl clutching as it is the fact that the US found him to be such a threat that they had him extradited from Thailand then he was convicted of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens and officials, delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization which led to a 25 year sentence. Why wouldn’t l want to ensure he sees the end of his sentence?

But I ultimately understand why Biden made the decision he did and I believe a lot of people would do the same in his position.

 

[smedroc]

Back 2010, there was no online coding videos and classes as there are now. Ain’t no way you learning computer engineering without college back then.

Photography and filming was my side hustle. English and Anthro were required gen eds

Yeah i'm just playing man.

Besides which I majored in Illustration so I got ZERO room to talk

 

[lovehateself]

I blame Denzel valentine.

why ?

he got that work @ the drew

 

[Coupé It]

MENACE

You don’t even know the half

 

[nick.]

"The New Orleans Pelicans forward is entering the final season of his rookie deal. Once it concludes, he is owed $193 million over a five-year span. If he is able to make an All-NBA team, win Most Valuable Player or be named Defensive Player of the Year next season, Williamson could make as much as $231 million over the life of his next deal."

"According to league sources, Williamson’s contract stipulates that he will have weigh-ins periodically throughout the entirety of his new deal. The sum of his weight and body fat percentage must be below 295. If it is not, the amount of guaranteed money in Williamson’s contract can be reduced."

 

[addict4sneakers]

why ?

he got that work @ the drew

That tweet was 100% related to Denzel getting cooked by the dude that worked at T-Mobile.

 

[storm2006]

"The New Orleans Pelicans forward is entering the final season of his rookie deal. Once it concludes, he is owed $193 million over a five-year span. If he is able to make an All-NBA team, win Most Valuable Player or be named Defensive Player of the Year next season, Williamson could make as much as $231 million over the life of his next deal."

"According to league sources, Williamson’s contract stipulates that he will have weigh-ins periodically throughout the entirety of his new deal. The sum of his weight and body fat percentage must be below 295. If it is not, the amount of guaranteed money in Williamson’s contract can be reduced."

Damn…so one week of binge eating could have him losing out on guaranteed money? Yikes!

 

[amitt5504]

 

[elpablo21]

Almost had me there

 

[Raji Lowenthal]

Damn they gave Zion a prenup

 

[Coupé It]

Keep me posted lol

Shhhhhiiiiii

While we’re down there might as well get his Maj’s money too.

100 bucks will get us like 5 bottles of water at Ultra.

Everybody wins.

 

[smedroc]

"The New Orleans Pelicans forward is entering the final season of his rookie deal. Once it concludes, he is owed $193 million over a five-year span. If he is able to make an All-NBA team, win Most Valuable Player or be named Defensive Player of the Year next season, Williamson could make as much as $231 million over the life of his next deal."

"According to league sources, Williamson’s contract stipulates that he will have weigh-ins periodically throughout the entirety of his new deal. The sum of his weight and body fat percentage must be below 295. If it is not, the amount of guaranteed money in Williamson’s contract can be reduced."

I'm tryna see him at 289 5% body fat.

 

[DripNick]

I'm tryna see him at 289 5% body fat.

You got a really specific kink my guy

 

[amarano]

bad week to to be lazy and get a new contract

 

[datznasty]

who is Zion's agent who really approved/accepted/advised him to take that?

He was listed 285 at Duke and was certainly more than 10% bodyfat