Kyle Jones

NEW ACCOUNT My old account was hacked and I am unable to get access to it, so I'm starting from scratch. This account will be solely (mostly) dedicated to my sports thoughts and opinions, as well as supporting my fellow contributors for The League Winners.

@Yaadymon_ @BigKnickEnergy_ Oh I understand and would much rather have Mikal. I just think it’s funny that they’re bashing Dyson when their much more expensive player is playing just as poorly.

@Kyle_Jones_96 @BigKnickEnergy_ I think you’re missing his point here. Teams aren’t going to risk leaving Mikal open and give him confidence. Mikal can win the Knicks a game vs a team’s game plan being well live with Dyson Daniel’s being the person that beats us because it most likely won’t happen

I don’t care how elite Dyson Daniels is defensively — any team that has him is basically playing 4 on 5 on the offensive end. In today’s NBA, there’s nothing worse than that.

But the teams don't benefit from tanking for a decade because the half of the players are gone by then. Rebuilds take multiple years and even longer if they make a mistake like those teams did. There are examples of it working. The Thunder did it and are the most dominant team in a decade and maybe much longer. The Sixers would've done it if Embiid wasn't made of glass. Boston did it after the Big 3 era. Cleveland did it after LeBron left both times. It works. You can't punish the teams that are trying because there are a couple teams that aren't.

@Kyle_Jones_96 @pinkhoopsss But you can see how prioritizing the worst teams has lead to the current tanking situation, right? We can't keep telling teams they'll get free picks if they tank then act shocked they keep tanking. All 3 teams have the talent to be middle of the pack now, they should be fine.

I have a new lottery proposal… - worst record gets the 1st pick - 2nd worst record gets the 2nd pick - 3rd worst record gets the 3rd pick - 4th worst record gets the 4th pick - 5th worst record gets the 5th pick - 6th worst record gets the 6th pick - 7th worst record gets the 7

@jespvg Franz for MPJ Who says no?

Makes you think about some missed opportunities at the deadline

Also, a lot of those teams did have good picks, they just go unnoticed because the teams don't have the surrounding pieces to compete. Utah: Bailey, Collier, George New Orleans: Fears, Daniels, Zion Sacramento: Raynaud, Murray, Mitchell, Hali, Fox Memphis: Edey, Ja, JJJ Yes, those teams are still near the bottom outside of a couple playoff appearances. Taking away those picks certainly wouldn't change that though. Utah had a bad trade (Mitchell) New Orleans had bad injury luck (Zion & Murray) Sacramento had a bad trade (Hali) Memphis had bad injury luck (Ja & JJJ) Their struggles are not solely based on their draft picks and certainly wouldn't be solved by taking those picks away from them.

@Kyle_Jones_96 @pinkhoopsss Small markets haven't exactly handled the draft well. Memphis, Sacramento, New Orleans, and Utah have all gotten incredibly good picks repeatedly and squandered it. They even got good trade hauls and squandered those. At some point you gotta ask if picks are the solution.

@Fullcourtpass @ShamsCharania @Pistons__Talk I'm looking into moving to a safe city to protect my family. I'm thinking either St. Louis or Detroit.

The Detroit Pistons are expected to go “star hunting” this summer with the following players as targets, per @ShamsCharania - Trey Murphy III - Lauri Markkanen (h/t @Pistons__Talk)

@sharintaint @pinkhoopsss That's the issue. You said 2 of the bigger markets would benefit more than 1 of the smaller markets. The small markets are already at a disadvantage in free agency. They don't need another hurdle. The NBA should care about parity more than selling out to the biggest markets.

@Kyle_Jones_96 @pinkhoopsss I would rather middle pack teams get the best picks over bad teams. If we had to give a top pick to someone give it to the team that will get the most out of it. Miami or Chicago with a star would be much better for the league, fans, and the sport than Pelicans getting a star,

@sharintaint @pinkhoopsss Any system that allows the good teams to have an equal chance at getting the best rookies is a system that favors the good teams and if you don't see that then you just don't want to see it. Do you think it would be fair if the Packers got the first pick in the NFL Draft?

@Kyle_Jones_96 @pinkhoopsss The system we have now was so warped to favor bad teams that good teams were benching their stars so they could keep tanking. When you've gotten a top 5 pick for multiple years in a row and you're still tanking then the system is broken. I'd rather these teams never compete again

@sharintaint @pinkhoopsss Warp the entire game? You mean like what they're doing now to make it harder on the bad teams? The system that was in place was better for worse teams and they're changing it. I'm all for trying to stop tanking, but it shouldn't go as far as the worst team picking 12th.

@Kyle_Jones_96 @pinkhoopsss Then be bad? These are the consequences of your actions, live with them. If you're not fundamentally poorly run your team should be able to bounce back after a few seasons. We don't need to warp the entire game and incentivize bad basketball just to give bad teams handouts.

@sharintaint @pinkhoopsss Sometimes teams are just bad. They make a big trade & it doesn't work. They sign a big free agent & the chemistry isn't right. They draft a top pick & he doesn't pan out. Sports aren't some linear thing where if you follow an exact process you're guaranteed to have success.

@Kyle_Jones_96 @pinkhoopsss Parity: a decent team getting top pick will be more competitive immediately Players: decent teams have better management & development to get the most out of their careers Fans: we get to see better basketball. Bad teams don't deserve players until they fix their orga first.

@sharintaint @pinkhoopsss You realize that there has to be a worst team, a 2nd worst team, etc right? It doesn’t matter how good every team is, there has to be somebody that drafts 1st, 2nd, and so on. What sense does it make to give a good team a top talent while the worse teams just get good players?

@Kyle_Jones_96 @pinkhoopsss Bad teams shouldn't be given handouts. You can get your team from last to middle of the bottom tmon your own, you don't need a superstar for that. If you do that's frankly a waste of superstar talent and you belong at the bottom. Help middling teams, fuck trash teams.

The Celtics shot 27% from three in the first half and they still lead by 7. That’s bad news for the Sixers. Hard to imagine they shoot that poorly for another 24 minutes.

@malskiiiiii @FieldGeneral13 @Carsobi It’s not hindsight when you say it before the series starts

@Kyle_Jones_96 @FieldGeneral13 @Carsobi Hindsight got 20/20 vision. And yes.

Magic-Pistons is gonna be such an ugly series. Doesn't get more physical than that. Big ass, defensive teams with sketchy shooting. However, while Orlando can match their physicality better than most, Detroit is significantly better at everything. I predict a gritty sweep.

@malskiiiiii @FieldGeneral13 @Carsobi Let me guess. Pistons in 7?

@FieldGeneral13 @Kyle_Jones_96 @Carsobi Never said sweep buddy, quit getting ahead of yourself. I’ve never seen another person more happy to win 2 games in a 7 games series ever in my life lol, you’re going to be heartbroken when the pistons com back and take the series 😂😂😂😂😂

Everyone has been so obsessed with Shai's foul-baiting that we forgot the real foul-baiter and free throw merchant plays in Philadelphia.

Hey Baker, we’re good. We got Jalon Daniels.

The difference maker in the Magics/Pistons series has been Wendell Carter Jr. Averages in their 2 wins 15.5 points on 72% shooting 12 rebounds 4 assists In their 1 loss 3 points on 17% shooting 5 rebounds 0 assists In a matchup that was expected to be controlled by Jalen Duren, Carter has provided a much needed spark for the Magic.

Whether or not Desmond Bane finds his rhythm could determine who wins this series. He averaged 14.5 points on just 29% from the field in the first 2 games, but already has 8 points halfway through the first quarter.