ALT GRIND

Not saying it's slow going around here in Sports Ball Entertainment World.. but it's BELMONT DAY on Fox.

Hopefully his first game back is the All Star Game. Maybe he wins the dunk contest, too. ALT GRIND #VoteJa2024 #PaperBallots #ToySoldiers #CountALLtheVOTES

you got me. moratorium on Ja vs. Silver threads until AFTER the decision. Or, maybe WHICH GAME Ja comes back for... I think it will be IN Los Angeles against the Lakers.

I am actually waiting on WHEN... I think we ALL suspect that Ja will be banned for AT LEAST 25-30 games. Maybe 50. Which is what I would bet on. MAYBE he gets a full season ban but I highly doubt it. I think at that point the NBPA would stick up (wrong wording?) for him.

If I live-streamed my draft board at the same time of the Adam Silver/Ja Morant Decision '23 I wonder who would get better ratings.... Just somethin' to think about.

lol. Just reading the thread title again... now, your comment, I feel they can rename this thing Operation Ja Storm. If he DOES end up playing overseas, maybe call it Operation Desert Ja. Or, to be honest, Operation Enduring Ja Morant, if he plays another 10-12 seasons. All I know is, THE LEAGUE OFFICE, better send me a MAIL IN paper WRITE IN All Star Game ballot so I can vote for Ja Morant. #OperationEnduringJaMorant #giJA #RealAmericanHero #VoteJa2024 #CountEveryVote #TheSILVERage

Denver seems to be "punting" on the 2029 draft. Denver is bullish on the 2024 draft which I wouldn't argue against. MUCH less hype, but I think players in the 3-10ish range might actually be a bit better. TONS of guys went back to school. InstaU is spending the big $$$$$$ now. Zach Edey would break Wemby/Chet in half. Probably at THE SAME TIME. Hopefully this draft has some solid, functional wings outside of the top 3 (Matas Buzelis is probably good but he is going top 3, at worst top 5)... and we know this draft has a lot of point guards with hype/upside/buzz. IF one of these guys falls then maybe we need to get Ja Morant insurance relatively cheaply??? Right now, the RETURNING guys I will be looking at include Tramon Mark (transferred to Arkansas I think), Harrison Ingram (back to Stanford), and the Duke guys like Mark Mitchell, Tyrese Proctor and Kyle Filipowski. Dillon Mitchell is going back to school -- might be THE raw boom/bust wing player to keep an eye on. Maybe not as high of a floor as some of the '23 guys like Jordan Walsh or Julian Phillips but potentially has a higher CEILING. Matt Murrell is a solid shot maker and he's going back to school (I think). Drew Pember seems like a guy who will be on TWO consecutive ALT GRIND big boards (that hasn't happened since Jay Huff)....

Lundy/Walsh might actually be a good combo. They might mesh well together. Hit the ground running in Summer League. With "Point Roddy" and Big Junior. Walsh might be the top perimeter defender in the draft, maybe Ausar Thompson, but Jordan Walsh looks more "physical". Seems like Lundy is getting decent enough buzz for an "obscure player". I like that buzz more since he isn't super flashy or a great athlete, so some of that buzz is legit. Hopefully we don't get too cute and just take one of these guys at 25 (if our favorite BPA bigs are gone already). I REALLY don't have a ton of super high level prospects (Tiers 1 and 2) although lots of good role players.... in a 1/1a/refs/Flying Van Gundys/turbo luxury tax/DEEP DEPTH era it will be interesting to see if this shakes up draft boards.... Are there many (any???) potential "flagship" players in this draft outside of Wemby (or Amen who I like a bit more; and looks like he was created in a LAB funded by an NBA/Madison Avenue corporate partnership). Gradey and Cason Wallace seem like the functional/value play versions of Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller. Is this a THIRD OPTION draft in a league that just, effectively, CANCELED third options???

You should give this talk. Put it on YouTube. Then again, NOTHING would be fun. Although maybe you should give a speech on this to NBA rookies, before they all go FULL 2019 Draft.

If the League Office (NYSE: LO) doesn't see Ja Morant as a "company champion" maybe they never will. Seems like they prefer taller guys like a Nikola Jokic or a Victor Wembanyama. You know... Market to kids who buy circus shoes who couldn't pass physicals to join the circus. That's a BIG market. If the NBA wants to buy out Ja's contract and let him do something else. That's cool. Maybe they can fix Amen Thompson's jump shot. The last IT factor guys in the league have been (basically) in order: Doctor J, Magic, Bird, Jordan, Iverson, Kobe, LeBron, Steph.... Maybe Kareem sold jazz records. Maybe Moses Malone sold pizzas. Maybe Manute Bol sold Jenny Craig "systems". Shaq sold tickets to BLUE CHIPS but so did Penny. Jokic??? I watched games 1-4 of this series AND "The Machine" last weekend. Don't have to watch Game 5....

Ok, with Denver up 3-1 this series is “over”. Will we find out soon? Or, does this series have to be OVER OVER. ... maybe Silver needs to call the guys at the Caesar’s sports book to find out how OVER this series is.

Ja Morant can “go into business for himself” and that makes Big Sports Ball Entertainment really, really NERVOUS.

ESPN’s 30 for 30 for 30.

I think 7’2 would be above average height for a rookie scale tree.

When is Adam Silver’s Pyrrhic victory speech?