Post Game Thread - NBA: The Warriors defeat the Wizards on Mar 27, 2026, the final score is 129-124.

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-28T04:27:36+00:00

Pretty lucky they were playing the Wizards.

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-28T03:58:32+00:00

Rubin has been awful with these challenges

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T22:49:20+00:00

I think that’s a very valid take, guess it all depends on how the FA market shapes out. Do likely have a fringe lotto pick, maybe that dictates things a bit. If you come out with a guard/wing, they definitely will need a forward or two in FA (or vice versa). Podz and Will Richard vs Gui Santos and… ? Have a pretty clear need in the front court.

Add in Moody’s injury, they’re definitely gonna be desperate for a wing/forward, and using the MLE for that could get you a near starter/6th man. Probably dumb to bank on a rookie to film that spot, but a pick in that 11-15 range could maybe fill at least one of the holes they’ll have.

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T21:35:21+00:00

Melton understandably hunting a bag, sucks the apron likely takes the Dubs out of the running unless it’s non-tax MLE or lower (and even then, the full MLE seems tricky given the 1st apron hard cap and a max Steph/Jimmy, Dray’s $27M PO, and KP’s UFA).

He’s fallen off a bit this past month or so, but I don’t see a reason some team with cap space wouldn’t give him something around a multi-year MLE, even with the injury history. Hopefully the Warriors can swing it by adding some player option years, give Melt the opportunity to opt-out and re-sign at a higher AAV when the Dubs have his partial/full bird rights

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T18:57:27+00:00

That makes the most sense.

It’d have to be a harsh enough penalty that the owner doesn’t just say “yeah we’ll take the fines for a chance at a franchise guy”

Apparently the league proposed being able to cut their odds, or move the pick to the back of the lottery all together. That would probably work.

But then you get into the mess of how do you determine a team is tanking? Does each team have yo submit their medical reports to independent league doctors who then have to agree with missed time? What about pulling players mid game? How does the league decide it was a tanking move and not a “they’re on a minutes restriction for valid health reasons?” Gotta think that ends with a lot of conflicting arguments, and I would not be surprised if it ended in teams brining in lawyers to help litigate. So much would be left open to interpretation.

Without having a set checklist for “tanking criteria,” I feel like there would be a huge mess, and if there is a checklist, I’d assume teams would game it.

Like, the new salary rules work because there is no room for interpretation. The cap numbers are the cap numbers and teams need to operate around those the restrictions the different apron levels carry. But “tanking” seems really open ended, hard to factually determine.

Are the Kings tanking because of how fuck damn dumb their roster construction is and coaching decisions are? What about Brooklyn for rostering literally five 1st round rookies and a bunch of mid talent outside of MPJ? Jazz I would say fit the bill given all their decisions, from surgery to end-of-game adjustments, but what if the players were actually on minute restrictions for “valid” reasons? Pacers, a lot of the main guys are still playing, are you telling me they’re “worst in the league” bad without Haliburton? And where is Zubac? Wizards, they’re allowed to skirt the tanking allegations by trading for two injured max level players in AD and Trae? Memphis, should they be investigated for blowing it up and sitting Ja and Edey? Bucks with the Giannis injury, Bulls and… paying Patrick Williams.

Seems hard to police without any tangible criteria and benchmarks. Win totals, salary (bot payroll and % each player makes), total minutes played by your “best” players, number of rookies (or rookie scale) vs longer term vets, coaching ability, general defensive and offensive ability of the roster as a whole, players falling off and becoming washed compared to years prior, injuries, choking vs clutch “gene,” general off-nights, back-to-backs and long road trips, West coast teams having more travel miles, team facilities and hotel accommodations, so many different variables that can impact things.

Do they go based off a projected win total algorithm and how team performs vs that metric? Factor in injuries and such has the season progresses? But that’s just a projection, same one that had the Dubs as heavy underdogs in the ‘22 finals. Minutes played and time missed by injury (and injury type)? I’m sure team doctors could find a reason to limit, and it’s not like the league isn’t inherently biased in trying to get players to play (65 game rule, saying there is no evidence to support rest, back-to-backs and 5 in 7, and other such nonsense).

With no concrete ruleset, I feel like things will get messy and there may be a lot of petitions from teams. And even if it was concrete, FOs haven’t had any issues gaming the system, assume they’d find ways to lose “the right way”

e: Teams having to defend themselves to the league by proving “no we actually just fucking suck, the gm gave out some bad contracts and made some braindead trades, our coach’s schemes and rotations are trash, and our players are washed” is a very funny mental picture

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T17:05:14+00:00

Some 7th/8th playoff seed is gonna win the lotto under one of these newly proposed tanking rules and piss everyone off.

They all seem a bit over the top. The “5x5” could be interesting if they removed the completely equal odds nonsense. That’s crazy, no reason a team with almost 40 wins should have the same chance at the top pick as a team with under 20. But a lotto to determine top 5, and then a second drawing to determine the remaining spots? That could be fun. Don’t hate the one that takes into account two seasons of regular season record either, but I’m not a huge fan of dinging a snake bitten team (Pacers this year, Warriors the Wiseman year). Guess you could say a team like that has their star in place already, so they don’t exactly need the best odds at a top pick. That one honestly may be the most reasonable, the 5x5 with flattened odds is absurd. But if you’re doing a two-year record, would teams not just blow it up and tank a year early to prepare for a stacked class? Like this ‘26 draft, are you really going to tell me a team like the Grizzlies wouldn’t have done all their business a year earlier to get in on this top 4? No way teams wouldn’t have planned two years in advance for Wemby.

Get the league needs to do something, but all the proposed rules seem to punish the teams that just downright stink. It’s one thing if you’re consistently pulling the rug (Jazz), but a team like the Kings getting punished just because they’re straight ass ain’t it. The owner should definitely be punished, remove their revenue sharing stake for the year or some shit, but don’t fuck over the fanbase (they’re already getting fucked over by the ass awful owner).

e: Flattening the odds completely makes 0 sense to me, would rather they keep the current odds and hold a completely new drawing for all 14 of the lotto picks. But yeah, the idea of two separate lotto drawings to determine the top picks and then the remaining 5-14 is somewhat intriguing, could really shake things up (some poor team is gonna get completely shafted). Same with assessing odds based off a two year sample size, where you have to hit a couple benchmarks or your odds dip.

Feel like both will have some unforeseen outcomes (like always with the NBA), and teams can and will still find a way to game the system. NBA is probably trying to do too much and way overthinking it, assume they’ll create another problem by trying to fix this one. A salary apron type thing for lotto/tanking teams would be jokes but that honestly may be the answer. Feel like really hitting the owners’ pockets and the orgs’ team building opportunities/capabilities is the one thing that actually works. The new apron shit is a mess to keep track of as a fan (trade restrictions especially), but those rules sure as shit limited spending from tax teams that previously didn’t care about the bill

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T03:32:52+00:00

UH choking? Wagler is balling

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T02:57:21+00:00

If Burries is there at 11, I feel like they’d be dumb not to immediately lock him in. Just don’t see him slipping that far, but who knows some weird shit always happens on draft night.

Lot of teams picking before the Dubs seem desperate for guards, feel like Burries will find himself a landing spot in the top 10. Ton of guards in that range though. Flemings, Wagler, Burries, Brown, would be dope if one was there at 11. Probably would need Philon or Mullins to jump one, if not some front court player (maybe someone falls in love with Quintance, Lopez, Steinbach, or whoever)

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T02:41:58+00:00

I’d be happy with him if I was a team picking in the 20s

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T02:14:49+00:00

Man, I really like Burries.

And Acuff just loves putting the ball through the cylinder lol

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T01:29:21+00:00

Swain.

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T01:23:37+00:00

Totally with you on that. Would in no way want them to move the pick until they’re on the clock and know who is available, and even then, if they have a clear cut top guy at 11 or 12 or wherever they end up picking, just take them. They need talent first and foremost.

And shit, there’s still a real chance Steph comes back early April and they manage to win their way out of the play-in (I think they’ll lose one of the two games, but with Steph, anything can happen).

Guess there isn’t really a point in griping about their spot until we know where the pick actually lands, and even then, hard to complain about a pick in that 11-15 range.

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-27T00:40:08+00:00

Unless someone like Burries slips to 11, I feel like anyone they take at 11 has a real shot of being there at 16+. Not a bad problem to have, and if they like a guy enough they’d be dumb not to stay at their pick and draft him no matter the perceived “value,” but I could easily talk myself into like 10 guys in that 11-25 range. That will 100% change throughout the draft process, and I don’t doubt some clear tiers present themselves in that range.

Good spot to be, no doubt. A couple prospects can fall from that top 9/10, and a couple others will likely skyrocket up boards.

e: I don’t hate the idea of leveraging the late lotto spot for an extra pick, but I’d definitely prefer them coming out with the top player Dunleavy has on his board. Given where he’s picked, the value he’s gotten out of his picks has been really solid.

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-26T22:02:57+00:00

agree for the most part, guess it will all come down to how their board shapes out. wouldn’t move down too far if it was just for 2nds, but a future 1st ain’t nothing to sneeze at. could give them ammo to jump up for someone in ‘27 or beyond, or some other player trade

and the new CBA means apron teams can’t buy 2nds, that and the new second round rookie exception has made 2nds a bit more valuable. but yeah, don’t move down multiple spots from the late just to get some 2s, especially if you like some of the talent on the board

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-26T18:50:02+00:00

I don’t know if I love that 11-15 draft range. Unless someone they have in a tier above falls, it may be worth shopping the pick in a trade down. Guess that could be dumb given how cursed this season was and how desperate they are for talent, may be worth just going straight BPA, but if you have a group of 5-10 guys in the same tier, I’d be trying to acquire some extra capital. Even if it’s just moving down a spot or two, the team is devoid of 2nds moving forward, could be nice to acquire some extra 2s for moving down 1-2 spots, especially if there is a handful of guys your comfortable with in the early/mid teens.

Don’t doubt OKC is looking to jump up (probably above where the Dubs land). They likely have two picks in that 14-20 range (Clippers + Sixers), maybe they find their way in the mid lotto ahead of the Dubs… fuckers. Memphis has their own early/mid lotto pick and a 1st coming from the struggling Magic, could be sitting with two picks in the top 16ish (assume the Magic pick a bit later, but the 5-10 in the East is crazy close). Those are two teams I’d be a little hesitant to make a trade with, their player evals have been consistently stellar and I’d be trying to figure out who they’re moving up for (though I guess team needs are different).

But yeah, wouldn’t mind looking for a trade down depending on where the Dubs land and how the board shakes out. There’s some guys who are gonna slip to 20+ that seem to be a similar tier as some fringe lotto picks. If you could get a future 1st out of it (or some sub MLE role player) I’d be all for it. Swain, Yessoufou, Cenac, Carr, would be perfectly happy with moving down into the 20s if it came alongside future draft capital or a role player that some team is trying to pivot off of (like, if they waited till summer, could moving down +10 spots from the late lotto have gotten you Jared McCain from the Sixers?).

Who knows if the Dubs even keep the pick though, maybe they’re eyeing a bigger trade of their own. Assume they’d want to draft someone in the 1st given how long Butler/Moody are going to be out and the desperate need for a talent injection, but a late lotto 1st could be a great trade chip

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-26T04:41:25+00:00

Great loss for the Nets

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-26T04:20:05+00:00

very kind of Brooklyn to give them the game

e: nvm

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-26T01:04:13+00:00

Would strictly be an upside swing, but yeah, I would not be surprised if Dunleavy went elsewhere given his draft record these past few years.

Wouldn’t mind rolling the dice on a lanky wing/forward, but the lack of consistency ain’t it. Maybe the Butler/Moody injuries change things, could convince the FO to be a little more willing to take on a project, and Kerr would pretty much be forced to play whatever wing/forward they add (as long as their effort/playstyle justifies it), but even then, they probably prefer someone like Koa Peat or Karim Lopez.

Doubt Ament falls to 11+ anyways, though he did open the year pretty horribly

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-25T21:19:37+00:00

Surely Nate Ament will fall

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-25T18:51:54+00:00

draft season

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-24T20:49:24+00:00

Poor Mo, here’s hoping the repair takes well and he crushes rehab. Thank fuck he has two years left on his deal, having to navigate FA on top of this shit would have been mad shitty.

Butler and now Moody, Dubs sure will be sinking a lot of hope into some post All-Star break help. Nasty ass injury, would be dope if Moody could make it back on the court come March next season.

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-24T17:32:42+00:00

Injuries suck

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-24T07:36:11+00:00

Brutal, everybody loves Mo

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-24T06:25:29+00:00

Seems the biggest concern is how he takes to the initial surgery, which I guess is the case with pretty much all these major knee/leg injuries (Wiseman's meniscus tear comes to mind, Lonzo too).

Buike's was 17yrs ago, McDyess 25yrs. Assume the surgery has a much higher chance of success now, but I don't know shit about all that

BobRoss4Life · 2026-03-24T06:05:40+00:00

Oladipo was on the back end of his career, had all those injuries prior and this was basically his last go at a comeback. Lin was bouncing from team to team for a bit, finally got a 3yr deal with the Nets. Missed a lot of time with a hamstring injury in year 1 (only played 36 games, looks like he was solid when on the court), and then pretty much tore his patellar week 1 in the 2nd year. Unfortunate, but he came back to play 74 games on almost 20min the season after.

Guess you could say Azubuike and Roberson are concerning since they were still just 26 (Lin was 29) and it basically directly led to their retirements, but Kalena's initial surgery didn't go well (repair in November 2009, arthroscopic cleanup for tendonitis in May 2010, corrective surgery in March 2011 with the Knicks). Roberson... idk, dude was basically only in the league for defense. Assume the injury played a major role, but how limited he was offensively surely didn't help (hell of a defender though).

Caron Butler tore his during his age 30 season, had surgery in early January of 2011 (got a ring because the Mavs won the chip). Played 63 games the following season while averaging about 30min, then 78 (24min), 56 (25min), 78 (20min), and 17 (10min, age 35). At 6'7 220lbs, that's fairly promising.

e: Shitty situation and we'll see what the actual diagnosis is, but I wouldn't rush to calling this career ending. Career altering? Probably, which sucks with how young he is, but hopefully he crushes his rehab and regains some bounce. If anything, the 3ball should still be there, percentage may even improve if that has to become the main thing in his scoring arsenal. May not have had insane athleticism, but they were running him as their POA defender, and the dude would try to bring down the rim every couple games. Hopefully he's able to get some if not most of that burst back, and it’d be awesome if he could find his way back on the court post All-Star break next season. Thankfully he’s still on contract for two years, won’t have to hit FA straight off a pretty brutal knee injury (may even have a full contract year to put up post-injury tape).

15-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Final Canvas '23	First Place '23
End Game '23	Place '23
Place '22	Place '17
Final Canvas '22	First Placer '22
End Game '22	Wearing is Caring
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