OFFICIAL 2010-2011 NBA PLAYOFFS THREAD : VOL. MOST. ANTICIPATED. PLAYOFFS. EVER?

[ace rawstein]

new tech rules claims another...Jason Williams got tossed in a blowout

 

[ace rawstein]

new tech rules claims another...Jason Williams got tossed in a blowout

 

[casperjr]

Originally Posted by JPZx

Picking Wall's debut game isn't bad from a viewership standpoint. Problem is the rest of the Wizards' squad sucks.

he shouldnt be taking 10 more shots over the next man on his team

 

[casperjr]

Originally Posted by JPZx

Picking Wall's debut game isn't bad from a viewership standpoint. Problem is the rest of the Wizards' squad sucks.

he shouldnt be taking 10 more shots over the next man on his team

 

[hood17]

Man the Jazz are really small up front again. I think Big Al will be the biggest question he has a habit of just stopping the ball from moving and passing out of double teams. 

 

[hood17]

Man the Jazz are really small up front again. I think Big Al will be the biggest question he has a habit of just stopping the ball from moving and passing out of double teams. 

 

[mronegative]

If you can tell Milsap and Jefferson apart, respect on your 80" TV.

 

[mronegative]

If you can tell Milsap and Jefferson apart, respect on your 80" TV.

 

[justhotkicks]

Spoke with someone who works in NBA Events and whatnot...this year's Dunk Contest is going to be similar to the 2002 contest. Each contestant will be given an "identity" of a past dunker (i.e. Nate Robinson is Spud Webb) and will have to perform dunks in that dunker's style. According to him, someone to watch out for: Terrence Williams.

 

[justhotkicks]

Spoke with someone who works in NBA Events and whatnot...this year's Dunk Contest is going to be similar to the 2002 contest. Each contestant will be given an "identity" of a past dunker (i.e. Nate Robinson is Spud Webb) and will have to perform dunks in that dunker's style. According to him, someone to watch out for: Terrence Williams.

 

[executive76]

[h3][/h3]

[h3]On renegotiating a trade after the fact[/h3]
October, 28, 2010
Oct 28

4:12

PM ET

• Email
• Print
• Comments13

According to a league source, the Timberwolves have asked the NBA to look into whether Portland knowingly traded them an injured player when the Blazers dealt Martell Webster to Minnesota for the 16th overall pick in last summer's draft.

Webster on Monday underwent surgery to repair a disk in his back and is expected to miss about six weeks. He said the injury dates to last spring's playoffs, when he was undercut and fell hard in a game against Phoenix.

The Wolves are likely looking for a draft pick as compensation.

(This, apparently, is the play in question.)

My first thought was: maybe the "league source" was wrong. Maybe the Timberwolves aren't really appealing to the league.

I asked the Timberwolves, and had the following exchange:

Timberwolves: This is something that we don't want to discuss publicly at the present time.

Me: Just to super double extra-clear: That means the team is not shooting down Zgoda's report.

Timberwolves: Correct.

Hmm ...

The league would not comment.

My main thought was: If only the league had some standard procedure for a team to determine if a player was healthy or not. For instance if, before trades were finalized, the player's new team could do a thorough physical examination of the player -- and if they player didn't pass the physical, the trade could be voided.

Oh wait! They have that already!

The Thunder, for instance, rejected Tyson Chandler this exact way in 2009.

Now, is there some obligation, on the part of the player's old team, or the player himself, to disclose medical issues to the new team? Might any number of trades be rescinded any time a team discovers an undisclosed medical condition?

There would have to be such a rule for the Timberwolves to have any claim at all.

I scoured the collective bargaining agreement and found no such thing. (Trade rules are discussed beginning on page 181 of the document you can download here.) There are rules saying players risk voiding their contracts if they are not honest with teams during physicals at the time of signing deals. But I couldn't find anything in the rules governing trades that requires teams to point out medical issues.

It may be that such rules are part of the NBA constitution, or their operations manual -- two shadowy documents that have never been public.

In any case, several league sources confirm that what is certain is that disclosing injury history is a focal point of those trade calls we always hear about.

A typical NBA trade goes like this: Marc Stein breaks the news, and says that the trade will be official once the trade call with the league is complete. And then 12 hours later, teams e-mail out press releases. For as long as anyone can remember, a call like that has consisted of representatives of the relevant teams, and league officials and lawyers, all digging into the nitty gritty of contract particulars, bonuses and trade kickers. And part of those calls, whether by tradition or rule is unclear, is to declare known injuries.

The question is whether, on his last day on the job, then-Portland GM Kevin Pritchard or his staff did or did not know about, or declare, any Martell Webster back injuries.

Officials from other teams say it almost doesn't matter, and that the only prudent approach is operate in "buyer beware" mode, and assume every player is injured until doctors on the team's payroll prove otherwise.

Nobody can remember a time failing to disclose an injury in a trade call has ever resulted in any kind of sanction or other league intervention, although sources allowed that a trade could, at least in theory, be rescinded for that.

However, everybody I talked to says it's unlikely the Timberwolves could prove information was withheld.

"We're all laughing about it," says one front office executive, who expressed no sympathy for Minnesota's reported position. "You can't watch the freaking playoffs? That was a pretty obvious incident, right on national TV."

 

[executive76]

[h3][/h3]

[h3]On renegotiating a trade after the fact[/h3]
October, 28, 2010
Oct 28

4:12

PM ET

• Email
• Print
• Comments13

According to a league source, the Timberwolves have asked the NBA to look into whether Portland knowingly traded them an injured player when the Blazers dealt Martell Webster to Minnesota for the 16th overall pick in last summer's draft.

Webster on Monday underwent surgery to repair a disk in his back and is expected to miss about six weeks. He said the injury dates to last spring's playoffs, when he was undercut and fell hard in a game against Phoenix.

The Wolves are likely looking for a draft pick as compensation.

(This, apparently, is the play in question.)

My first thought was: maybe the "league source" was wrong. Maybe the Timberwolves aren't really appealing to the league.

I asked the Timberwolves, and had the following exchange:

Timberwolves: This is something that we don't want to discuss publicly at the present time.

Me: Just to super double extra-clear: That means the team is not shooting down Zgoda's report.

Timberwolves: Correct.

Hmm ...

The league would not comment.

My main thought was: If only the league had some standard procedure for a team to determine if a player was healthy or not. For instance if, before trades were finalized, the player's new team could do a thorough physical examination of the player -- and if they player didn't pass the physical, the trade could be voided.

Oh wait! They have that already!

The Thunder, for instance, rejected Tyson Chandler this exact way in 2009.

Now, is there some obligation, on the part of the player's old team, or the player himself, to disclose medical issues to the new team? Might any number of trades be rescinded any time a team discovers an undisclosed medical condition?

There would have to be such a rule for the Timberwolves to have any claim at all.

I scoured the collective bargaining agreement and found no such thing. (Trade rules are discussed beginning on page 181 of the document you can download here.) There are rules saying players risk voiding their contracts if they are not honest with teams during physicals at the time of signing deals. But I couldn't find anything in the rules governing trades that requires teams to point out medical issues.

It may be that such rules are part of the NBA constitution, or their operations manual -- two shadowy documents that have never been public.

In any case, several league sources confirm that what is certain is that disclosing injury history is a focal point of those trade calls we always hear about.

A typical NBA trade goes like this: Marc Stein breaks the news, and says that the trade will be official once the trade call with the league is complete. And then 12 hours later, teams e-mail out press releases. For as long as anyone can remember, a call like that has consisted of representatives of the relevant teams, and league officials and lawyers, all digging into the nitty gritty of contract particulars, bonuses and trade kickers. And part of those calls, whether by tradition or rule is unclear, is to declare known injuries.

The question is whether, on his last day on the job, then-Portland GM Kevin Pritchard or his staff did or did not know about, or declare, any Martell Webster back injuries.

Officials from other teams say it almost doesn't matter, and that the only prudent approach is operate in "buyer beware" mode, and assume every player is injured until doctors on the team's payroll prove otherwise.

Nobody can remember a time failing to disclose an injury in a trade call has ever resulted in any kind of sanction or other league intervention, although sources allowed that a trade could, at least in theory, be rescinded for that.

However, everybody I talked to says it's unlikely the Timberwolves could prove information was withheld.

"We're all laughing about it," says one front office executive, who expressed no sympathy for Minnesota's reported position. "You can't watch the freaking playoffs? That was a pretty obvious incident, right on national TV."

 

[ex carrabba fan]

Originally Posted by HOOD17

Man the Jazz are really small up front again. I think Big Al will be the biggest question he has a habit of just stopping the ball from moving and passing out of double teams. 

Um, Al is bigger than Boozer and can guard centers.

Plus Okur is coming back, just rehabbing his knee.

So they'll be "big" once healthy.

 

[ex carrabba fan]

Originally Posted by HOOD17

Man the Jazz are really small up front again. I think Big Al will be the biggest question he has a habit of just stopping the ball from moving and passing out of double teams. 

Um, Al is bigger than Boozer and can guard centers.

Plus Okur is coming back, just rehabbing his knee.

So they'll be "big" once healthy.

 

[mr2cool80]

Originally Posted by justhotkicks

Spoke with someone who works in NBA Events and whatnot...this year's Dunk Contest is going to be similar to the 2002 contest. Each contestant will be given an "identity" of a past dunker (i.e. Nate Robinson is Spud Webb) and will have to perform dunks in that dunker's style. According to him, someone to watch out for: Terrence Williams.

Good looks on the early info. Not sure why the league would do this though, didn't think it was too much of a success back in 02

 

[mr2cool80]

Originally Posted by justhotkicks

Spoke with someone who works in NBA Events and whatnot...this year's Dunk Contest is going to be similar to the 2002 contest. Each contestant will be given an "identity" of a past dunker (i.e. Nate Robinson is Spud Webb) and will have to perform dunks in that dunker's style. According to him, someone to watch out for: Terrence Williams.

Good looks on the early info. Not sure why the league would do this though, didn't think it was too much of a success back in 02

 

[mister916]

Robin gouging Al's eye out. 

 

[mister916]

Robin gouging Al's eye out. 

 

[mr2cool80]

Originally Posted by Mister916

Robin gouging Al's eye out. 

 

.. seriously though I'm glad he's ok cuz it sure looked a lot worse while rolling on the ground

 

[mr2cool80]

Originally Posted by Mister916

Robin gouging Al's eye out. 

 

.. seriously though I'm glad he's ok cuz it sure looked a lot worse while rolling on the ground

 

[strongmind3]

Originally Posted by mr2cool80

Originally Posted by Mister916

Robin gouging Al's eye out. 

 

.. seriously though I'm glad he's ok cuz it sure looked a lot worse while rolling on the ground

wait what? his eye literally came out???

 

[strongmind3]

Originally Posted by mr2cool80

Originally Posted by Mister916

Robin gouging Al's eye out. 

 

.. seriously though I'm glad he's ok cuz it sure looked a lot worse while rolling on the ground

wait what? his eye literally came out???

 

[mr2cool80]

haa damn near seemed like it 

 

[mr2cool80]

haa damn near seemed like it 

 

[mister916]

Originally Posted by StrongMind3

Originally Posted by mr2cool80

Originally Posted by Mister916

Robin gouging Al's eye out. 

 

.. seriously though I'm glad he's ok cuz it sure looked a lot worse while rolling on the ground

wait what? his eye literally came out???

Nah, Robin unintentionally hit Al's eye while going for a block. Al was down for a minute but he's fine.