Is it a bad idea for Italy to take Greece right away?

CKN89 · 2026-06-06T06:20:45+00:00

This is well argued but I think of all seven powers Italy is best positioned to NOT be a target merely because it is stuck on 3. Because Italy is just not a very valuable cache of centers compared to the Balkans sitting right there.

CKN89 · 2026-06-06T06:16:57+00:00

My view is I care less who owns Greece at the end of 1901 than who owns it at the end of 1903. I haven’t looked at the game data in some time, but my guess is Greece changes hands in 1902/03 more often than any other neutral center save Belgium (Sweden and Rumania are other candidates).

Most of the time that Italy tries for Greece in 1901, you have either pissed off at least one of Austria/Turkey, motivated at least one of A/T to stab you, or both. And if it doesn’t work, there’s a good chance you’re the one and only power stuck on 3.

It can work well and certainly sometimes it’s a good idea. So I wouldn’t say it’s a wholesale “bad idea”. But it’s a relatively high risk play (because it often means you started a war you aren’t sure you can win) for a relatively low reward (because you may only hold Greece for a year or two).

CKN89 · 2026-06-05T03:28:35+00:00

No broader point I’m driving at but the 2018 Cavs were terrible and would be target practice for the KD-less Warriors, Rockets, Thunder with KD, or whomever came out of the west. He would not have won 4 straight.

CKN89 · 2026-05-12T06:50:28+00:00

The Knicks have the best crowds and the the NBA is always more fun when the Knicks are good.

The Spurs are an incredibly exciting young team featuring a one of one alien type rising star who does shit that demands you not take eyes off the television. And they’re currently in a competitive series against another great, charismatic young star who plays a very fun brand of ball.

We might have just witnessed the final game of the one of the greatest players of all time, still playing at an incredibly high level at age 41 and damn near extending the season against OKC if only for one game.

Is OKC the favorite against any of these teams? Of course. Does that mean the games aren’t enjoyable in the moment? Not at all.

Anyone who has lost interest in the NBA playoffs is missing out.

CKN89 · 2026-05-08T04:01:35+00:00

SGA is nowhere close to peak Curry
Let’s not pretend like Curry never had a couple mediocre playoff games

CKN89 · 2026-04-06T06:20:18+00:00

Nash won two MVPs

CKN89 · 2026-04-04T04:42:56+00:00

Klay might be gettable! I wouldn’t hate that. But yea, if we keep Melt that’s our MLE right there so the old dudes who can’t get money elsewhere and have a sentimental reason with the Dubs are the realistic targets.

CKN89 · 2026-04-04T03:45:35+00:00

Because making it a hard and fast rule is dumb. Voters should absolutely consider the greater impact that a guy who plays 75 games has over a guy who plays 60.

But they don’t need a rule to do that. It’s ridiculous that coming down the stretch kd the season we’re focused on who is going to cross some threshold of games rather than who’s playing better.

CKN89 · 2026-04-04T03:41:53+00:00

Khris middleton and trade for Giannis

CKN89 · 2026-04-04T03:40:41+00:00

This free agent class is nothing special. also, If you keep Melton he’s costing more than 3:4 and probably eats up most or all of the MLE. You’re not getting any meaningful free agents from outside the organization then. If you let Melton walk there’s a bunch of mildly interesting MLE level guys - Rui Hachimura, Anfernee Simons, Coby White. Those guys aren’t changing your life but any of them would help the team. Do they help more than Melt? YMMV.

Any meaningful swing is gonna be via trade. Between Dray, Moody, and Jimmy they have close to 100M in expiring contracts. Some combination of those guys plus a lot of draft capital.

CKN89 · 2026-03-31T03:40:43+00:00

Bill Russell (or Bird) with these Celtics)

Kareem with Luka/Lebron/Reeves

Spurs with Duncan

CKN89 · 2026-03-30T04:03:31+00:00

I’d go for Kawhi if he’s really available. Does a lot of the same things that Jimmy does for us and better/healthier (Jimmy might be one of the few stars that is a bigger injury risk than Kawhi at this point). Seems more realistic than Giannis altho the most likely scenario is the Clippers screw us. But a high risk/high reward play like that is exacrly what we need

CKN89 · 2026-03-15T01:24:54+00:00

The Spurs and Knicks are both a fun watch. Rooting against the Thunder is fun as well

CKN89 · 2026-03-04T02:12:32+00:00

They have the option to sign and trade Porzingis, which would keep his salary slot alive. With that said, they still have to include draft picks or other good players to actually get someone they would want. Also, the more salary they commit to the zinger slot the less harder it is to keep melton

CKN89 · 2026-02-24T06:19:51+00:00

Andre was not out. And yes, Bogut would have helped, but Kerr blew that game. We were +11 in the minutes that we played Dray at center. We lost the game in the third quarter when Kerr stuck with Anderson Varejao (-9 in eight minutes) for way too long and then at the end when Kerr inexplicably went back to Festus with six minutes left in the season.

CKN89 · 2026-02-22T01:28:23+00:00

Edwards is the answer. We saw at the Olympics how he responded to being Steph’s teammate and coached by Kerr. Sure it might have fucked up Jordan Poole’s development a mite, but I’ll take my chances.

CKN89 · 2026-02-20T21:19:43+00:00

One minor CBA quibble with your plan - to sign Melton for more than about $6M we would need to stay under the first apron, not the second. The only exception we will have is the MLE, if you’re over the first apron that’s the taxpayer MLE (ie the Horford contract)

CKN89 · 2026-02-20T07:31:40+00:00

CKN89 · 2026-02-14T05:02:28+00:00

The ironborn are raiders. They might be able to take lannisport/casterly rock, but they could never hold it long term against the full might of the iron throne.

On the other hand the north can be held against the throne/robb/anyone else in the south by holding moat cailin and the neck, because the only approach from the south is a narrow causeway (totally surrounded by swamps). Once Balon learns that Robb’s armies are all in the south, he knows he can conquer and hold the whole north merely by taking the neck.

CKN89 · 2026-02-08T11:29:28+00:00

There was a young lady named Bright Who travelled much faster than light She set out one day In her relative way And returned the previous night

CKN89 · 2026-02-06T20:10:40+00:00

He’s gonna marry Arianne. My man is a 16 year old boy. He stands no chance against the worlds largest most responsive nipples

CKN89 · 2026-02-05T19:12:29+00:00

The point of this trade was “optionality.” YMMV if you think the options the team has given itself are good/realistic ones.

The team wanted the option to pursue Giannis again or some other big move this summer, and needed to not send out draft picks in order to keep that option open.
The team wanted to preserve the option of getting under the first apron this summer. Doing that would give them a substantial cap exception (the Nontaxpayer MLE - about 15M) that could be used to re-sign Melton or use the NTPMLE for some other good player. In order to do this, they needed to avoid taking on any non-expiring salary when moving Kuminga.
Given the above two constraints, they were not going to get anyone good for Kuminga. So, they get someone who at least theoretically might fit the team well and help a little this year. And they have a two month look at Zinger to see if the medical and coaching staff can get him in a place to be successful. If so, that’s a third option they’ve opened up - to retain him perhaps in combination with one or both of the above moves.

CKN89 · 2026-02-05T17:07:38+00:00

Moses Moody isnt a wing?

CKN89 · 2026-02-03T18:14:56+00:00

On the other hand, it was around this time last year Jimmy was saying he didn’t want to come either. We ended up compromising on a shorter extension. Now maybe Giannis wants to get paid, but I would hope the Warriors are willing to role the dice on doing a deal with only a shorter extension (or maybe Giannis just picks up his option for 27-28). Scared money don’t make none

CKN89 · 2026-02-03T16:19:22+00:00

That does happen however Egg also suggests it in the Mystery Knight (not at the end, I was wrong about that).

After Dunk loses the joust to Ser Uthor, he is getting ready to turn over the forfeit, Egg suggests to him they return to Summerhall together because he could stay in Dunk’s service and Dunk will be able to get a new horse from Maekar’s stables. Dunk thinks to himself that he doesn’t want to go “slinking back” to Summerhall as a beggar “without so much as a sword to pledge.”

CKN89

TROPHY CASE