No I’m sure he was a tool being used by larger monied interests, I’m just not prepared to say the leverage of those interests wasn’t his own debt, it often is
Who knows, no reason in continuing to fight without further info
Like Porter owed lots of money (because of gambling) to the people he was “working for”
He spent a summer in prison between seasons for threatening some folks with a stolen gun.
Porter also ran a Discord server touting stocks, day trading, crypto and stuff right? Feel like he was probably taking multiple avenues toward his debts 
I’m aware. I don’t think I’ve claimed he’s a good dude
Bad people can also be victimized
I honestly don’t know - I do know that his gambling debts were the stated motive for both the prosecution and his own lawyers, so he definitely had them
I think he’s a bad and stupid person. I think the apps are bad. I think the extent of his victimization if any is not in evidence.
I’m not sure what the Timberwolves are doing tbh
Trying to keep the core together hoping Dillingham, Shannon Jr and Clarke all take the next step along with the continued ascension of Anthony Edwards. Not much else they can do. It’d be nice if Mike Conley would retire so we could figure out the PG situation.
I thought the whole point of the Towns/Randle thing was to not pay Randle but what do I know
I think it was, until they all figured out how to play together. We finished 17-4 to end the season and made a nice WCF run. Randle was a big part of that until he was god awful against OKC. I just assume they’re hoping the few guys I mentioned make the leap and that’ll keep them competitive in the West. Randle, Reid and Divencenzo all have pretty manageable contracts that we can pair together to make a mid season trade if something pops up. I’ll take this route over trading for a 38 year old Durant.
He was pretty dang good in the playoffs and I don’t think this is bad money. Can send him out as matching if and when the time comes.
I do wonder if they should’ve kept NAW instead of Reid. I’m not sold at all on Dillingham and it’s an open Q whether their deep bench is going to produce another genuine average or better player. Seems to be one of Connelly’s gifts tho.
I find this stuff fascinating. I get how it goes deep but rebounds are pretty random to an extent unless you’re Angel Reese.
I guess given where they were, I’d be seeing what could get me to the finals, not just maintain the status quo, which likely isn’t enough unless Dillingham seriously pops (I realize that was sort of the point of trading up for him last year)
I think I’d have rather kept NAW than Reid but that’s more preference than strongly held conviction, more to do with positional scarcity, but understand Reid has a personal narrative/history with the club
Maybe it’s just keeping salary slots open in lieu of other stuff. Like, $25 mil is steep for a bench guy, but Reid is one of the best bench guys and just 25. It’s a totally fair number and he should still be good at its end. I also generally respect Connolly enough that I doubt he was negotiating against himself, so I’m sure this is what it took.
If $25 mil is “ok starter money”, Randle is totally worth $30. In % of cap terms, this is actually a small reduction. So the contracts strike me as fair and stuff, and I’m sure they’re both going to be easily moveable if that’s what has to happen.
Yes, rebounds are a random stat for a player like Beasley. There should be a lot more action on his points and 3s. It’s hard to bet very much on things like his rebounding o/u without drawing attention. It doesn’t look like the work of a sharp or deep pocketed criminal group.
Pretty sure it is linked to same group involved with Porter, Rozier, the college investigations, etc. (At least according to this.)
KAT’s salary for the next 3 years is:
2025/2026: $53 million
2026/2027: $57 million
2027/2028: $61 million
Naz Reid and Randle will combine to make $58 million a year over that span. I guess when you look at it that way it makes a little more sense considering it’s easier to trade one or both of those contracts than it will be KAT as his salary continues to grow. If they let Randle walk they wouldn’t have the ability to replace that asset. I liked what NAW brought, but he was generally mediocre for the entire playoffs. I’d rather go this route and let Shannon Jr and Jaylen Clark get those minutes. You’re right, it is basically status quo unless Ant goes up another level and/or Dillingham becomes an actual part of the rotation.
https://x.com/shamscharania/status/1939513083338322366?s=46&t=2quOIHVA_RQfFfYYsCmG3wBy
Kinda unexpected ufa?
Surprising, but TB has 1000 centers on the roster. Ayton, Timelord, Clingan, Yang and Reath. Somebody was going to get left out of the team, and it’s not Clingan and Yang.
EDIT: I just realized that the LAL would be interested in Ayton. Jaxon Hayes is unplayable for them and Ayton is an upgrade despite his issues.
“it’s worth $35 mil to us for you to not be here” is quite an endorsement for a dude who’s had his share of negative rumblings (buyouts are generally like 85/90% of the money owed so actually probably more like high 20’s)
Just read that Atlanta is now the front runner to get Alexander-Walker. They would absorb him into their large trade exception in a sign and trade with Minnesota.
The Pistons are now focused strongly on signing Caris Levert away from Atlanta. They are also weighing making a run at Duncan Robinson. It would be some type of sign and trade with Miami.
This is all per Marc Stein’s Substack.
