NBA Info - February 2026

[Betrayer]

2 hours ago, Deleterious said:

Teams at or below .500 says nothing about the talent in the league.  Fairly standard to have around 50% of your teams at or below .500 for any league where every game produces one win and one loss.  

Sure, but the point is that on any given night nobody cares about half or more of the games because one team is going to get wrecked and everyone knows it. There's an occasional upset, but so many games are trash because only about half the league has the talent to compete. Yet, they're going to expand, thin it out more, and then wonder why nobody cares to watch most of the games or why teams are tanking when that's their only way to break the cycle.

A system where teams just outside the playoffs get the highest lottery picks only makes it worse. That's what a tournament would do.

Maybe just going back to straight seeding is better and easier than all of this. Sure, those bottom 4 teams will tank hard for who's getting that top pick, but at least you won't have potential play-in teams tanking in the hopes that they have a chance to jump up and land the next Cooper Flagg.

[Motor City Sonics]

This is incredible.  

3 or 4 years ago I had totally given up that this team would ever be able to do anything and I really didn't care if they moved to Cincinnati, Virginia Beach or Seattle or wherever.  

 

And this has been done without acquiring a superstar outside of Cade in the draft (and drafts are crapshoots).  

Just a bunch of perfect small moves with a coach that knows how to cook with the ingredients he's given. 

This is fun again

After a decade of Sports Suckitude that may have even outdone the 70s,  All four of our teams are legit title contenders right now.  

They've gotten through one of Duren's suspended games unscathed (Paul Reed, how are ya),  If they can manage to go 5-2 or 6-1 without Beef Stew, wow, that's saying something.  

Langdon for Exec of The  Year.   JB for Coach Of The Year.  

 

 

 

Edited 21 hours ago by Motor City Sonics

[buddha]

exec of the year for what?

[gehringer_2]

what's funny to me about the Pistons is that at least by any conventional basketball wisdom, the team is highly flawed and "anybody can see" their weaknesses and the kind of player move they need to make to be better. That's not the typical reaction to the team with the best record in the league, which usually gets the 'look at how all these pieces fit together so perfectly' type treatment. 

On one hand, it's probably true that it's gotten to where the NBA regular season just doesn't pressure a team enough and that conventional wisdom will rear its ugly head quickly in the playoffs.  But OTOH, if they do some winning in the playoffs, we may have to look at the possibility that they represent something of a paradigm shift in how to win in the NBA.

Edited 19 hours ago by gehringer_2

[Deleterious]

 

[buddha]

sam presti should win executive of the year every year.

the only alternative is to give it to the guy who helped build the spurs but i'm sure adam silver would be too embarassed to accept.

[Motown Bombers]

12 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

what's funny to me about the Pistons is that at least by any conventional basketball wisdom, the team is highly flawed and "anybody can see" their weaknesses and the kind of player move they need to make to be better. That's not the typical reaction to the team with the best record in the league, which usually gets the 'look at how all these pieces fit together so perfectly' type treatment. 

On one hand, it's probably true that it's gotten to where the NBA regular season just doesn't pressure a team enough and that conventional wisdom will rear its ugly head quickly in the playoffs.  But OTOH, if they do some winning in the playoffs, we may have to look at the possibility that they represent something of a paradigm shift in how to win in the NBA.

I think you just described the Going to Work Pistons. 

[1984Echoes]

15 hours ago, Betrayer said:

....

A system where teams just outside the playoffs get the highest lottery picks only makes it worse. That's what a tournament would do.

Maybe just going back to straight seeding is better and easier than all of this. Sure, those bottom 4 teams will tank hard for who's getting that top pick, but at least you won't have potential play-in teams tanking in the hopes that they have a chance to jump up and land the next Cooper Flagg.

I hate lotteries so much that:

1) I either want to kill the lottery altogether. I hate them so much (wait, did I already mention that?)

OR:

2) Do the tournament. I find that an interesting/ compelling idea...

OR:

3) Wow, especially based on what Betrayer posted here: Why not seed the top-6 straight up based on record, and the remaining 8 teams do a seeding tournament? I think that kills two problem-birds with one stone. Fixes the "just miss" tankers from doing stupid tank things, and puts the worst 6 teams back on a "your record says what you are" basis that does NOT penalize a team for being truly ****ty and needing a non-bastardized (read: lottery) draft pick that reflects their record.

Just my 2 cents, but I think that's the optimum outcome.

[1984Echoes]

14 hours ago, Motor City Sonics said:

... This is fun again

...

Yes.

THIS.

Absolutely!

Nothing else needs to be said.

The Pistons are fun again.

I'm actually watching their games again.

[Deleterious]

2 hours ago, buddha said:

sam presti should win executive of the year every year.

the only alternative is to give it to the guy who helped build the spurs but i'm sure adam silver would be too embarassed to accept.

Brad Stevens in Boston needs a mention.  This summer they were facing a $300 million tax bill, just tax, no salary included.  He made moves to not only reduce that tax bill, but he completely eliminated it.  They are now about $800K under the luxury tax.  All while remaining a contender in the east.  Without his best player stepping on the court.  Pretty impressive.  

[Deleterious]

Straight seeding for the draft is like the fire department pulling up to your burning home and spraying gasoline all over it.

[1984Echoes]

At least that would only be 6 teams and not 14.

Did I mention how much I hate the lottery?

[Deleterious]

You don’t have 6 teams tanking right now. So at least you admit your idea would produce more tanking teams.

The Pelicans don’t even have a draft pick this summer. They are not tanking; they are just bad.

The Kings have sat some people, I think. But they also are just bad. So I would rate them as mixed.

Utah is 100% tanking.

Dallas is not tanking. Naji, Max, and Cooper all get run out there every night. Kyrie is supposed to come back after the ASG. If they were tanking, he wouldn’t touch the floor this year.

Memphis, with the Ja stuff, decided to blow it up and go young by moving JJJ. But they are not sitting healthy guys.

The Clippers, like the Pelicans, don’t even have a pick this summer. They are not tanking.

The Blazers, Warriors, and Suns are not even close to tanking.

In the East, Washington, the Pacers, and the Nets are all tanking.

Milwaukee is not. They just picked up Thomas off the waiver wire. Although one could argue that helps tank.

Chicago, Charlotte, and Atlanta are not tanking.

So you have 3 in the East tanking and 2 in the West tanking. That is a total of 5 teams.

But here is the thing. Straight seeding by record will make more than 6 teams tank. Teams like Memphis, Dallas, Milwaukee, and Chicago won’t go in the tank hard now because they still have decent odds at the #1 pick where they are.

Picks 1–3 have a 14% shot at the #1 pick. Pick 6 has a 9% shot. Pick 7 has a 7.5% shot. Pick 8 has a 6% shot.

But it’s more than just the #1 pick. A team that finishes with the 5th worst record has a 50% chance of picking in the top 4 with the lottery. The 6th worst is like 40%. The 7th worst is around 30%. Even the 10th worst record still has a 14% chance of picking top 4.

Remove the lottery and you suddenly have 7–10 teams that will tank hard and early every season. And they would probably start before Christmas.

[buddha]

chicago traded away half their team, they are tanking.

[gehringer_2]

2 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

I think you just described the Going to Work Pistons. 

I think this group plays even more against the grain than that one. Ben was really the only outlier on that team. Other than giving up O for D to the extreme at center (and you did have Okur/Rasheed as PF/C)  I thought that group played a pretty conventional game. The book says this team is way too offensively challenged, doesn't have the height to protect the rim, and doesn't even have that many good on-ball defenders to be a great defensive team. But they do it anyway.

IIRC, years ago Denver ( I think it was Denver anyway)  thought they could change the game by running their opposition off the floor, but the league ended up going in the opposite direction. I feel this Piston team is more in that position, but with a better chance of making it work because they run and defend, Denver just ran.

Edited 4 hours ago by gehringer_2

[Deleterious]

11 minutes ago, buddha said:

chicago traded away half their team, they are tanking.

Vooch, White, and Ayo were guys on the last year of their contract that were not being brought back next season.  They turned them into Simmons and Sexton.  Simmons and Sexton not only figure in their future plans, they are both better than the three guys they replaced.  That is not tanking by any definition.  

[1984Echoes]

2 hours ago, Deleterious said:

You don’t have 6 teams tanking right now. So at least you admit your idea would produce more tanking teams....

 

I admit nothing.

Bad word choice on my part.

IMO... the 6 worst teams in the league are NOT tanking. As far as I'm concerned, if a team decides to go through a rebuild because they have a bad product on the court, it's a "rebuild", not a tank.

That always annoyed me when the Red Wings started going through a rebuild, and the Pistons, and the Tigers... and any discussion of an upcoming draft was "Oh they are tanking".

I'm not slamming anyone here.

It just annoys me when I look at a team trying to rebuild, who jettisons unproductive veterans in the offseason (and maybe also at the deadline or pending FA's at the deadline) in order to rebuild... and everyone starts yelling "Tank!". I do not agree with this "tanking" definition, as a catch all for ANY team that loses more games than they win.

IMO, I think that is unfair to the organization, and to the General manager, who has to make these decisions. They're not fun decisions, I would guess. To go through a rebuild. But sometimes necessary.

The only teams that would be pulling a "tank" under these circumstances (or at least under my own definition) would be teams 7-9 (ish) who start the season trying to win but fall out of the playoff picture and then start pulling shenanigans to get into the top 6. If they trade pending free agents to go through a mini-rebuild or recharge (or whatever the correct terminology may be); IMO, that's not tanking or shenanigans. If they are finding creative injuries or reduced playing time for their remaining stars... Then I would call that tanking.

PS: The bottom 6 teams have a high winning % of .321 (Jazz). They're just bad teams and deserve whatever draft pick their record says they would qualify for (under a no-lottery system), IMO.

The next 4 range from .352 to .436 winning %. This is where tanking shenanigans occur, IMO. But put them in a tournament in which they can only lose draft pick number by losing in the tourney... And it forces them to make a decision. Do shenanigans and get fined by the league and MAYBE get up to #6...

Or be a bad #7 team that will lose in a tourney first round and drop to #11. Also, any shenanigans and they lose home court (just on the theory that teams' #7-10 get home court UNLESS they play tanking shenanigans... FURTHER DIS-incentivizing tanking maneuvers...)

That REALLY puts the onus on the #'s 7-10 teams to make a decision on how they want to play this. 

Again...

I think no lottery for teams 1-6 and a tourney for teams 7-14, home court for teams 7-10 UNLESS they are caught/ (convicted by the league? however one should say that...) for tanking shenanigans... 

Is a SPECTACULAR remedy for the current state of tanking.

Maybe the Jazz ARE tanking. But IMO, I'm just guessing here... they'd be the ONLY team pulling tanking shenanigans because teams 7-10 are too easily penalized with losing draft position or home court (under that scenario), etc. if they use those shenanigans. And teams 1-5 are just BAD. And correctly rebuilding.

Edited 2 hours ago by 1984Echoes

[Deleterious]

If you straight seed 1-6 by record there is no reason to have a tournament. The tanking issue is not seeds 7-14.

Honestly, if you think Utah isn't tanking then we probably don't have much to discuss. 

Utah's pick this year is top 8 protected. They have a roster good enough to sniff the playin tournament. Which is why guys like Markkanen have not dressed for multiple games. 

Utah lately has taken it a step further. In close games with no injuries and no foul trouble, they have benched their starters for the entire fourth quarter. Not only are they tanking, they are taking it to a new level.

[Hongbit]

I don’t think anyone else is interested in watching a tournament for losers.  I doubt even the home fans would show up to watch.  

Keep it simple.  A true lottery.  Each non playoff team gets a ball.   No purpose for the worst teams to tank anymore. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Hongbit

[Shinzaki]

Speaking of the draft..be great if Lendeborg was there for us.  Plug and play replacement for Harris...with a 7ft plus wingspan. 

Mara would be an interesting bench big too.  

[1984Echoes]

46 minutes ago, Shinzaki said:

Speaking of the draft... be great if Lendeborg was there for us.  Plug and play replacement for Harris...with a 7ft plus wingspan...

I think Yaxel will need to be traded up for: our pick is going to end up at 29 or 30...

And IF Minnesota's is not top (18 or 19?), we swap and get up to 20-21-ish or so.

I think Yaxel is looked at as a top 15 prospect, maybe higher. But... we'll see. Things can change... certainly in the draft process.

But if you want him, we'll have to trade up, my guess.

Same with Cedric Cenac Jr. ... That's the guy I want. His comps? Jaren Jackson Jr. and Kel'el Ware. If he can get there...

He's ranked lower than Yaxel, I don't know why... Maybe because he needs more work/ development than Yaxel? Yaxel has a higher floor? His comps are Kuzma and Obi Toppin? I believe Cenac has the much higher upside. But a lot more development is required...

And he'd be easier to trade up for if he's hitting the 18-21 range...

Just my 2 cents.

[1984Echoes]

1 hour ago, Hongbit said:

...  A true lottery.  Each non playoff team gets a ball.   No purpose for the worst teams to tank anymore. 

I think that's absolutely HORRENDOUS for the worst teams in the league. The team (insert name: ) is terrible, gets rid of all its unproductive vets in order to enact a rebuild, gets the worst record in 2026-27... and gets pick #14?

That's TERRIBLE!

I would never vote for that (if I had a vote). That's just truly ****ting on the teams who are genuinely trying to rebuild.

No thank you.

Zero interest in that scenario.

[1984Echoes]

1 hour ago, Shinzaki said:

...  Mara would be an interesting bench big too.  

PS: I'm not really interested in Mara... I don't think he matches what the Pistons are trying to do.

I don't mind a big who can protect the rim. But he has no foot speed at all. At least compared to everyone else in the NBA. I would love to have a stretch-4 or stretch-5... but that also is not Mara. He's probably unstoppable (or nearly so) within 5 feet of the rim. But I - still - don't think that's what the Pistons are looking for.