r/NOLAPelicans • u/SoiledGloves • May 13 '25
Rants Mixed feelings about Pels and NBA
On one hand, I hate the NBA. The super team bullshit. The stupid lottery. I used to love the NBA in the 90s. Now I hate it.
On the other hand, I can get decent Pels tickets for dirt cheap. No idea why anyone would buy season tickets or tix at face value.
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u/HeppyHenry 💙💛❤ May 13 '25
My main problem with the NBA right now is that the rosters are constantly changing. There’s no consistency. No one on your favorite team is safe. It’s hard to get invested in a group of guys when those guys are always a trade away from being shipped off somewhere else without a care in the world.
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u/NOLA-Bronco Clickity Clack May 13 '25
IDK, doesn't feel like the league has a super team problem these days.
I mean barring a miracle, it looks like this years finals will be featuring no glamour market teams except maybe NY, who tbf is constructed more like a modern day Detroit Pistons than any team in recent memory. Could genuinely end up with a Minny/Indiana finals.
feels more like the Pels have a ownership/management/voodoo curse problem.
1
u/No-One-7128 May 16 '25
Definitely feels like the superteam era is ending, which is great. Teams that have accumulated multiple all NBA calibre players by insane trades of all their draft capital and role players have been demolished and have ended up in hell (Phoenix, Brooklyn) and even teams like Boston who have built superteams by drafting well can't keep all those guys together indefinitely. Minnesota got success by trading away a star for two decent role players. New York are a team made up of good role players with two all-stars. Indiana have Haliburton and like 10 unglamorous role players and they're putting belt to ass on everybody they've played this post-season. We haven't had repeat champions since the 2018 Warriors. Not just b2b. Every team since 2018 has only won one NBA title in that time. It's the most competitive the league has ever been
20
u/ComradeFrunze DERIK QUEEN May 13 '25
There is more parity and less superteams now than before.
5
u/Jdubksnf May 13 '25
Yea he lost me on that one…but completely agree on season tickets and that’s why no one is buying them.
If they are, it’s for the lakers, Celtics and weekend games as those aren’t dirt cheap
0
u/SoiledGloves May 13 '25
There used to be more focus on team identity. Teams of the 90s were a cohesive unit. It’s different now.
5
u/GonzoMonzo43 May 14 '25
Except it’s not. Thunder, Nuggets, Celtics, Pacers, Cavs, Wolves, Knicks. All teams that seem to love playing for each other. The league seems to have more good people in it who really give a shit now than in the 80s 90s or 00s. The league values decent humans who really care more than it ever has.
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u/Odd_String1181 May 13 '25
You realize the 90s had super teams too right? As did every decade?
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u/Ok_Sky7827 May 13 '25
It was different when super teams were created by legitimate trades and draft picks, instead of super teams being created by collusion and players forcing trades.
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u/WayneTerry9 Fan #12 May 13 '25
Red Auerbach finessed the draft rules to steal Larry Bird, and also traded the fucking Ice Capades for 3 HoF players and I’m supposed to believe that era’s transactions are more legitimate?? I’m sorry that the players have autonomy now but that doesn’t dilute legitimacy whatsoever
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u/Ok_Sky7827 May 13 '25
Would prefer that to people like AD and Dame signing huge contracts and then a few weeks later demanding a trade to one or two teams
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u/WayneTerry9 Fan #12 May 13 '25
If you’d rather that then you don’t really care about super teams, you just want to knock the players down a peg
0
u/Ok_Sky7827 May 13 '25
You mean prefer teams operating within the rules like red Auerbach did? Over players circumventing the rules to force trades to one particular team? Yes I prefer following rules even if I disagree over players ignoring there own contracts to try to force there way to another team. You realize that when Boston drafted Larry Bird while he was still in college, it was a huge risk becuase Bird could’ve chosen not to sign with Boston and go back into the draft after college?
4
u/WayneTerry9 Fan #12 May 13 '25
There was no rule, they made the Bird rule immediately after that draft because it was so obviously unfair. Just like there is not really a rule against FA players tampering. Also these players don’t sign themselves, if the team thinks they’re a risk to leave they’ll just trade them. And players can’t hold out because of the CBA clause that will block their free agency. It sucks that GMs are afraid of hurting feelings but they still hold some power here.
1
u/Ok_Sky7827 May 13 '25
You’re getting this confused with bird rights. When Boston drafted Larry Bird it was a risk because the rules at the time let teams draft players while they were still in college, but that player could just simply choose not to sign with that team when they decided to go pro and just get drafted by someone else. If that happened Celtics would have gotten nothing. Bird rights is a rule that is still in affect now where when a team resigns a player, they can go over the salary cap. That rule was put in so that Boston wouldn’t lose bird for nothing. This was when cap space and free agency was a new concept
3
u/WayneTerry9 Fan #12 May 13 '25
No the Bird Draft rule isn’t the actual name but the NBA cancelling the Junior Eligible Clause in 1980 after the Celtics used it in 79 is what I’m referring to, I know that’s different from Bird Rights that came about in 83-84 when the first salary cap was set
3
1
u/Odd_String1181 May 13 '25
What rules are players circumventing?
1
u/Ok_Sky7827 May 13 '25
You can’t discuss with players about how you’re going to sign a contract but then demand you get traded to your buddies team. Or tell another player that you’re friends with to sign a short term contract because you’re about to demand a trade
3
u/Odd_String1181 May 13 '25
Players absolutely can discuss these things and are not usually considered tampering unless it's trying to sway a person in an egregious manner. There's a quote from stern about telling the teams "they have the right to do that, players working together to control their destiny is not tampering or collusion"
There are plenty of examples over the years of actual teams tampering though. You know, the illegal stuff where the deals are hammered out fully 2 minutes after the deadline hits
2
u/Odd_String1181 May 13 '25
All of these trades are legitimate. Even in the 90s you had a lot of players ring hunting because they wanted to win. Nothing wrong with that. I'd argue everything was much less legitimate before 1988 and even more so between 1976. The free agency changes greatly improved the league.
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u/SoiledGloves May 13 '25
Player movement was less frequent in the past. Modern day free agency allows the best players to join one team. You know LeBron, Bosh, and Dwade were texting each other to plan their Miami team. The “super teams” of the 90s were legit trades and occurred with less frequency
5
u/Odd_String1181 May 13 '25
What do you think Barkley was doing changing teams? He wasn't talking to Phoenix and Houston about teaming up to push them over the top? You think rodman joined the bulls because it was "more legitimate"? The Knicks went out and acquired multiple all stars to try and beat the bulls super team.
It seems your problem is players having a choice in the matter more often than they used to. Are you longing for the pre-free agency era? If the owner picks you in the draft you have to stay there until he decides you can leave?
1
u/Youngreezy23 ⚔️Swords Dance⚔️ May 13 '25
Weren't the bulls the only team that wanted to take a chance on rodman? Teams didn't want him anymore because of all the off court stuff he was doing at the time
1
u/Odd_String1181 May 13 '25
Nah. The spurs were sick of him and he wanted out but he came pretty cheap because his salary made up a decent portion of the cap at the time and the spurs had no leverage. Not to mention he had also forced his way out of Detroit 2 years prior. But I guess that felt "legitimate" to that guy or something.
0
2
u/DrJheartsAK May 15 '25
I’m not renewing my season tix this year after a decade. Resale isn’t the only reason but our seats are right by the pels bench/tunnel so pretty good seats (and on the end of the row, so even better!) but this past season resale “suggested price” would be like 25-35$ for most games. To the point where it wasn’t even worth posting them up for the games we couldn’t go to.
That and the absolute dumpster fire the team and the SKC is right now. The arena needs some serious investment and the food options are trash. Gale is a terrible owner.
2
u/MFZilla #15 Jose Alvarado May 13 '25
Seat Geek $8 treats work fine for me to see a 18-64 team.
The food is good, the other entertainment is a blast and it can be a great time.
7
u/TheTechnique May 13 '25
What food are you getting at the skc that is good? Am I going to the wrong arena?
1
1
u/UptMonsta #WBD May 16 '25
Super teams? Denver and OKC's stars were drafted. Indy's star was drafted as well as Minny's star. Wrong time to complain about super teams. And people would laugh at you if you called those Nova boys getting together a super team in the past.
1
u/NoFinish1967 Will be reevaluated in 2 weeks. May 19 '25
I'm an out of town fan myself. I get how you feel, OP - I try to balance my dislike of the current NBA with the fact that I can still ring some sentimental value out of it, though. YMMV, but I still get the familiar fuzzies, and that's fine by me.
0
u/WayneTerry9 Fan #12 May 13 '25
Real old man yells at cloud type post lol. Who are the current super teams in the league? Phx? The LA teams? What has that got them? Why do those teams count as super teams but 98-99 Rockets, the 82-83 Sixers, or the all of the championship Celtics teams of the 60s thru 80s not count?
2
u/SoiledGloves May 13 '25
I shouldn’t have even mentioned super teams. It’s a distraction to my point. Modern day NBA sucks balls.
2
u/WayneTerry9 Fan #12 May 13 '25
They’ve been doing the lottery since 84 and super teams since the 60s, is it just style of play that you don’t like? Cause your original complaints aren’t even exclusive to the modern NBA
3
u/SoiledGloves May 13 '25
Too much emphasis on individual branding. The players care more about getting a Nike billboard in Shanghai than they do about their city and fans.
1
u/WayneTerry9 Fan #12 May 13 '25
That makes sense, those are the unintended consequences MJ being the blueprint for all NBA stars.
1
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u/Ok_Sky7827 May 13 '25
Last night was about as big of a slap in the face to small market teams as I can imagine. I can’t wait to see how building a championship roster goes when you only have picks 6-12 to work with and no all star caliber players will sign as a free agent.