Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon.
The ESPYs were last night, hosted by NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry. So you know all kinds of Warriors propaganda was spread throughout the award show.
Reaction was mixed, but there were a couple of funny moments like Curry soliciting Kevin Hart and Peyton Manning for jokes to tell. But one moment that got my attention was Andre Iguodala’s apology to Warriors owner Joe Lacob, who was fined for comments he made last week on Iguodala’s podcast with Evan Turner called Point Forward.
Lacob was reportedly fined $500,000 for disclosing his criticisms of the luxury tax penalty at the league’s labor meetings, which violated the NBA’s policy on publicly discussing collective bargaining talks. He called the system “unfair,” something I initially dismissed because, well, of course he would think that. According to Lacob, the club was $40 million over the threshold which equals $200 million with penalties included. But after hearing his whole quote, I’m actually in agreement with Lacob on one thing.
“Obviously, it’s self-serving for me to say this, but I think it’s a very unfair system because our team is built by … all top eight players are all drafted by this team.”
First, let’s dismiss him saying the Warriors drafted all eight of their top players. That part is untrue. They didn’t draft Andrew Wiggins. They didn’t draft Kevin Durant before that. And they didn’t draft Iguodala before him. But Lacob does raise an interesting question. What if they did?
A team that drafts incredibly well and decides it wants to keep all of its own home-grown talent shouldn’t be penalized for that. Those penalties lead to situations like we saw in Oklahoma City when a loaded Thunder team decided to part with James Harden. The tax is obviously in place to spread top talent through the league and prevent teams from loading up via free agency – which is a whole other conversation on the fairness of that. But as is, that penalty shouldn’t apply to teams that want to keep their own guys. The Warriors don’t quite fit the description, but Lacob does give the league something to think about.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Klay Thompson won the ESPY for Comeback Athlete of the Year and gave an emotional speech where he thanked the Bryant family. My colleague Andy Nesbitt rounded up some of the best reactions to Thompson’s speech, including Vanessa Bryant’s response:
“@klaythompson , you’re a class act. Thank you for your support and love for Kobe, my Gigi and our family. Thank you for always including my Gigi when you think of Kob. Congratulations.”
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Indiana Fever (+1100) at Las Vegas Aces (+16.5, -3000), O/U 174.5, 10 PM ET
Bookmakers are giving Indiana absolutely no shot in this one, and for good reason. The worst team in the W, the Fever are on a 10-game losing streak. I’m staying away from this large spread and will instead take the over because I expect Vegas to run up the score.
Shootaround
— Was Wednesday’s game between the Chicago Sky and Seattle Storm a WNBA Finals preview?
— What does James Harden’s new Sixers deal mean for him and the team? HoopsHype has the answers.
— Longhorn wire wrote about Texas’ announcement of Kevin Durant into its 2022 Hall of Honor class.
