Maverick Carter's basketball league

[rms13]

Is anyone aware of this potential alternative to the NBA? I didn't know anything about this until I heard Bill Simmons talking about it and he seems confident it's going to happen. It would be an international tournament league with games all over the world and a much shorter season like 50-60 games. And he seems to think they will be able to offer big names like Luka $100 million per year. So basically the LIV version of basketball (I assume it will be backed by Saudis). Historically most of these alternative leagues fail but Liv was able to get big names and apparently there is a soccer league that is doing it too. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. But in theory if they can offer stars a lot more money then the NBA to play a much shorter season i would think they'll be able to convince people to go there. And for foreign players they'd be able to live in their home country for more of the year and then they would be able to live at home during parts of the regular season with games in Europe and Asia.

[jcardstore]

Why would any NBA stars do this?

Nobody will care, they are already under contract, the NBA will continue to be more important.

I don't think NBA stars only play for money. You'd only be able to attract the guys who are overpaid and washed up and then the league would suck. Did LIV golf crash and burn or is that still a thing?

[siebertb]

Can't wait til Topps Chrome/Finest come out for this

[Scottish Punk]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Why would any NBA stars do this?

Nobody will care, they are already under contract, the NBA will continue to be more important.

I don't think NBA stars only play for money. You'd only be able to attract the guys who are overpaid and washed up and then the league would suck. Did LIV golf crash and burn or is that still a thing?

Some NBA stars would do it if the money is good enough. I agree, getting aged out stars looking for a final payday will be a big part of it. I can also see more Euro players doing it.

LIV is still a thing. Big stars moved over and the major tournaments kept them all eligible to play. So they got the best of both worlds - big guaranteed payday and can still play/win majors on the PGA tour.

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by Scottish Punk

Some NBA stars would do it if the money is good enough. I agree, getting aged out stars looking for a final payday will be a big part of it. I can also see more Euro players doing it.

LIV is still a thing. Big stars moved over and the major tournaments kept them all eligible to play. So they got the best of both worlds - big guaranteed payday and can still play/win majors on the PGA tour.

That’s probably the only way for this to work. Dual eligibility for an extra payday but I can’t see the NBA NBPA or Owners ever allowing that

[rms13]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Why would any NBA stars do this?

Nobody will care, they are already under contract, the NBA will continue to be more important.

I don't think NBA stars only play for money. You'd only be able to attract the guys who are overpaid and washed up and then the league would suck. Did LIV golf crash and burn or is that still a thing?

They would have to wait until they are free agents. They were specifically talking about Luka who would be 28 when his current contract ends and is an international star. The reason they would do it is to make twice as much money while playing far fewer games. The season length is a big point of contention right now between players and owners in the NBA. Players want to reduce the amount of games and owners want to keep adding games. The original proposal of the in season tournament was that they would reduce the regular season schedule and add the tournament but the owners would only agree if they kept the regular season games and added more games for the tournament. And they argue that most players today don't have any loyalty to the NBA especially the foreign born players. LIV is still going strong and has some big names and they have an endless supply of Saudi money so they can keep paying forever. And the Saudis have significant money in UFC and WWE now and clearly want to be in the sports business. It sounds like the basketball league is definitely going to happen and the NBA owners aren't taking it seriously but time will tell if they will be able to get stars. But you have to image that at least older guys like Kawhi i and Butler who only want to play 60 games per year would think about it if they got offered a huge amount of money.

[rms13]

Originally Posted by siebertb

Can't wait til Topps Chrome/Finest come out for this

If I was Panini I'd try to lock up the license asap before Fanatics since they need every license they can get

[pingbling23]

Golf, majors are the primary importance and the pga tour isn’t a requirement for that. Basketball nba championships are the primary importance. Gotta be in the nba for that.

[kipgen]

The main comparison I draw here is the saudi football (soccer) league whose main draw is the amount of money they're willing to throw at players

For guys like Messi and Ronaldo who are over the hill compared to their younger contemporaries it makes sense that they would take a big payday to play in a weaker league as their careers wind down (Messi in MLS and Ronaldo in the saudi pro league), but younger guys will always want to play with and against the best players even if they have to take slightly less money to do so. Unless some massive shift occurs, those players will still gravitate towards the NBA.

Your example with Luka for example could happen, but it would probably take him being like 38, not 28.

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by pingbling23

Golf, majors are the primary importance and the pga tour isn’t a requirement for that. Basketball nba championships are the primary importance. Gotta be in the nba for that.

Yea NBA is the greatest basketball league in the world where everyone wants to play.

These guys are competitors first and I really doubt there’s any reasonable amount of money that would draw NBA stars in their prime away from the NBA

[rms13]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Yea NBA is the greatest basketball league in the world where everyone wants to play.

These guys are competitors first and I really doubt there’s any reasonable amount of money that would draw NBA stars in their prime away from the NBA

The argument is that a lot of the foreign players especially don't have as much reverence for the history of the NBA. And those guys are here for the paycheck and if there is a bigger paycheck somewhere else. Joker is open about how little he cares about everything and how much he prefers to be back home. So if he could go there at age 33 when his contract is up I could see it.

It could also be a big draw for younger players. Guys that are skipping college for Ignite etc could go there and probably make more then they would as NBA rookies. Plus young players in europe and austrailia could choose to go over there. If this league existed a few years ago maybe Wemby goes there instead of playing in France and then maybe he never comes to the NBA. I think that's the real threat to the NBA if they start getting top guys right out of high school and giving them $20 million per year. Maybe those guys play 4-5 years and enter the NBA. Or maybe the league gains steam and players decide to just stay there and skip the NBA.

The main thing that Simmons was talking about is how deep the divide is right now in the NBA between players and owners and a lot of players would welcome another option. The main thing the NBA has going for it is that it's currently the place where you can make the most money.

[boxbuster7]

NBA is king - ain't nobody leaving the nba for some amateur league

[rms13]

Originally Posted by boxbuster7

NBA is king - ain't nobody leaving the nba for some amateur league

How about for a professional league where they get paid twice as much and play 25% less games and have much less travel because they are in each city for weeks?

I agree it will be an uphill battle to get the biggest stars but I can definitely see people going. And especially see kids out of high school looking at it as a viable alternative. You don't think Cooper Flagg would be playing there right now for $20 million per year if he had that option?

People talk about the deep history of the NBA here but the fact is nobody cared about the NBA until the 90s. The history isn't like MLB or NFL or even the NHL. They didn't even have the Finals on live television until the 80s.

[boxbuster7]

get paid twice as much?

where exactly is that money going to come from?

[JWBlue]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Did LIV golf crash and burn or is that still a thing?

Nobody cares about LIV. It crashed and burned but none of the players care b/c they are being paid.

[rms13]

Originally Posted by boxbuster7

get paid twice as much?

where exactly is that money going to come from?

Saudi Arabia

[ninjacookies]

No chance unless they get Bin Rashid onboard.


If they do, then they will lure at least one star player, if not more. You'd be surprised (or not, if you've actually been paying attention) how money driven these kids are, and how unmotivated they are when it comes to the championship grindset.

Larry O' Brien is overrated for a good portion of these dudes that'll forego legit ring hopes for the bag on a meh franchise. Especially when you're younger and know that you have several big inkings left.

Thrice compounded if they play overseas where a lot of countries have much friendlier tax structures, and those 2x contracts could end up netting them dramatically more than any NBA team could ever afford to throw out.

Let's also not act like America is some gleaming bastion of ultimate living these days.