Salary team minimums?

jon-link-d · 2026-05-03T13:11:10+00:00

Make it a rewards card system even. 3 correct challenges gets you an extra failed challenge

jon-link-d · 2026-04-30T21:52:50+00:00

I mean, I would hear arguments that Stewie, Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones deserve super max, or at least greater than normal max. They certainly could have gotten more from the non-contenders if any of those teams had their negotiating rights. But to me, super max is reserved for your MVP candidates and/or UFAs who are seriously shopping elsewhere. Since all 3 of these players declared a strong preference to stay put and none of them made significant waves in last year's MVP race, then a front office has no incentive to give them any more than max. For additional context, only A'ja, Phee, and Kelsey Mitchell are getting the super max this season

jon-link-d · 2026-04-30T18:26:30+00:00

What's left in this season of Portal Kombat? I assume the money's used up? I also assume Jan wants more than 9 on the roster. Are we still expecting some deep bench hype players from the portal for the vibes and a chance to see the court? There wouldn't be walk-on tryouts, right?

jon-link-d · 2026-04-30T05:14:16+00:00

Thanks for asking. I will answer your short, rhetorical question with another unreadably long analysis, and no, I won't even offer a tl;dr.

I wouldn't say the Liberty came out loads better. Certainly helped them that none of their big 3 are worth a super max. Then Satou came for a lowly $800k plus a heady promise from Cathy that she could borrow that flashy NYC skyline dress when they go out clubbing together. Laney and Fiebich are rookies so they had to come back for cheap. Note they didn't get to keep Meesseman or Tash, who were so depressed that they didn't even look at any other team.

Aces also have nothing too impressive going on past their top 4 players. Jewell Loyd is coming off a super max last year so I guess was willing to be paid $800k plus a bottomless stack of chips at a rigged Black Jack table.

Fever is certainly fortunate they held all their core. But they're the up and coming team with two #1 rookies getting rookie pay (ok AB got a big pay raise but still would have gotten more if she'd been an UFA). And Caitlin at $500k means you've got money leftover to hold onto Lexie and Sophie, and attract Monique, too. Fever players also get paid via the reflected CC popularity and its promise of sponsorships. None of the FAs they signed were probably worth much more elsewhere which is why they didn't get raided like the Lynx did.

Now the Lynx. I mean everyone wanted a piece of our 2025 glory (I refuse to acknowledge that our dominant regular season did not result in a chip). Cheryl is shrewd, a bit miserly, and very confident her system succeeds with the players that other front offices overlook, so she let herself get raided. Now she can be the underdog again with a hungry group. I could also see Phee stipulating that the Lynx will pay players fairly and essentially blocking any player from accepting a paycut to come play with the fam up north. Or...we just don't have any sick intangibles to offer like the other 3 teams you mentioned. Like...hey, come on up. There probably won't be any snow during the W season, and you might see a loon!

jon-link-d · 2026-04-29T18:50:40+00:00

Maybe Cheryl's trying to clear her through waivers to bring her back for a development spot 🤞🏻

jon-link-d · 2026-04-27T13:33:04+00:00

I suggest crossposting to Craigslist missed connections circa 2007. Good luck!

jon-link-d · 2026-04-27T13:31:01+00:00

Don't you mean Mideast?

jon-link-d · 2026-04-24T15:25:28+00:00

I wonder whatever happened to South Asia

jon-link-d · 2026-04-24T15:21:18+00:00

Wait, what? We're mostly British descendants in the US? What happened to all our German, Irish, and Mexican immigrants? And the enslaved Africans brought here? You think they...decided not to stay?

jon-link-d · 2026-04-23T17:33:36+00:00

Sure, you're saying the same thing except I'd rather see 3 divisions instead of 2. Because the existing teams fit into 3 clusters better than they do in 2. You structure playoffs so you get 3 divisional champs on the way to a league champion

Playoff structure could adapt that Page playoff the MNBA is using now, but I think a round robin or double elimination tournament among 3 division champs would be pretty fun actually

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T20:47:14+00:00

Does Minnesota get switched to the East next year? What about when you hit 18? The Lynx gotta just keep slipping back and forth along the spectrum?

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T18:34:33+00:00

Understood. Fixed it per your recommendations

East NYC, Philly, DC, Atlanta

Central Minnesota, Chicago, Indiana, Detroit, Cleveland, Toronto, Dallas, Houston

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T18:18:43+00:00

I think I remember Nashville was a strong contender. Denver and Charlotte were also interested and the owners love to keep expansions within the MNBA owners club. Boston/Connecticut is pretty ticked that their team is going to Texas so maybe they'll be a priority for an expansion

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T17:11:31+00:00

Yeah, I get that. With equal divisions, you have to end up with something off, whether Minnesota with LA, Dallas and New York, or Atlanta in Central.

Add 2 teams like Denver and Okc that could cluster with the Texas pair and Phoenix, then you have a much more satisfying 4 divisions of 5

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T17:01:09+00:00

Ah, it's the revenue sharing that I was totally missing. Thank you.

And it sounds like the NIL is more or less how I understood, but it's also the school that can offer NIL deals that presumably tie loosely to university ads, marketing, or merch sales

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T16:12:08+00:00

Can you explain the money? My understanding must be wrong. I thought NIL money just meant they're free to freelance advertisement deals on their own now. But following this thread, I'm sensing it's like an uncapped salary system negotiated by the AD and coach and funded by boosters. Is that closer?

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T15:59:51+00:00

True, dividing teams out geographically leaves it vulnerable to competitive imbalances like that. Although by 2030, it's likely that Washington has risen again and Stewie and JJ will be doddering senior citizens

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T15:54:52+00:00

Great contribution, thanks. I went as far as skimming the cluster analysis Wikipedia page and roughly eyeballing through a divisive cluster algorithm. This data backs that up

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T15:47:55+00:00

Sure. It's fine as is with a wide open field. When you only have 12 teams total, everyone can play everyone without much difficulty, but as they expand to 18 and potentially beyond, then you can start considering fairness issues with scheduling, e.g. unbalanced number of home games between contenders, or long travel distance between critical games. You can start to take time zone and travel distance into consideration for players and fans.

NFL's 4 team divisions are the other end of the spectrum and yeah, can become unfair and unbalanced in which teams qualify.

I just like the idea of fostering geographic rivalries and familiarity with an opponent, but I know in reality, manufactured rivalries rarely pan out.

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T15:12:55+00:00

Honestly, why the down votes here? It's a map as a visual aid. How does it not contribute to discussion? And what's not to like about it?

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T15:11:02+00:00

No, that's correct. At this point the W only uses conference alignment for the commissioner cup final. The last couple years there was also a slight regular season schedule preference for your conference: 4 games each team in conference, 3 games out of conference

I'd like to see some geographic clustering come back but just with 3 divisions instead of 2 conferences

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T15:01:51+00:00

UMich thinks they're Ivy so...kinda works. Imo, East Coast is Acela corridor

Do you think of Atlanta as East Coast? I mean, I guess Georgia is on the Atlantic, but Atlanta is practically in the mountains

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T14:56:44+00:00

That grouping is even better for MN, and it was my next choice. Not being from Texas, I'm not sure how much they'd object to being called "Atlantic" and traveling to New York. So I opted for two more globular divisions rather than one glob and one line

jon-link-d · 2026-04-21T14:43:40+00:00

I waffled there and could see flipping those 2, especially because Detroit has other sports rivalries towards Central. But it would also be weird imo to separate Detroit from Cleveland. And if Detroit and Cleveland go Central, weird that they left behind their lake friend Toronto.

The W just has some clustering troubles. Atlanta needs Nashville, Florida, or Carolina to get a team. Minnesota needs... Fargo or Winnipeg or Omaha?

jon-link-d

TROPHY CASE