2026-27 Team Developments: Trades / Free Agents / News / Rumors / Ideas

I don't feel sorry for multimillionaires that can't buy a private jet like a billionaire. And I don't feel sorry for billionaires that can't buy Twitter or space ships like a trillionaire.

I don't feel sorry for stupidity either. You have to live responsibly within your means.

 

If they save a couple of million dollars and own a home, they will be set for life. You have to live within your means but if you keep a million dollars in a meager money market account, you can make around 40k-50k a year. If you invest it wisely, you can easily double that. If you don't have a mortgage, 80-100K is pretty easy to live on. Heck, even Knecht has a 4-year, $18.48 million rookie contract. Even if he only keeps 5 million of that, he can easily live off of that for the rest of his life. Nope, don't feel sorry for anyone. They have all made their money. The problem is, many of them are financially as dumb as rocks and just blow through all their cash in the short term, living high on the hog. That is just stupid.

 

Yeah I never got this sympathy for millionaires lol
And when they come with the talk of "oh we are taxed so much, plus agent fees bla bla bla". It's so out of touch

99,9% of the world won't make a million in their lifetime and they make multiple in a year for playing basketball.

They just fall into the trap of comparison. It's very common in the human mind. Myself did it too in my life and it can send you into a bad path.

It's actually a very interesting psychology topic, abeer must have some good inputs.

It's tough for them because they share the locker room with guys that make much more than them while doing the exact same job every day. It's very hard to have similar conversations and relate with them with such lack of balance. Guys showing up in different sports cars every day. Living in mansions. Showing off Rolexs. Sharing they went to dinner last night and spent 100k. Vacations in desert islands. Fly private jet anywhere. Just try to imagine in your workplace having this type of disparity among your peers.

You really need to be strong minded and avoid comparisons and live your privileged life within your budget and be happy with it. But spending every day with so many different guys with so many different ranges of wealth, while having to build a relationship and chemistry with them is not easy.
Now that I think about it, these guys should avoid being friends, especially the vet min with the max player. They should see it as a job and be close on-court and basketball related but don't mix up personal life, experiences and lifestyle. I think it's much more healthy.

 

haha so true.

 

what was the point of that trade?

 

Dog they don’t talk like that. Guys go to practice. Play dominoes. They hang out with each other. They hang out with the trainer. Guys are humble. They bag on each other. It’s more of a frat house. But I assure you guys aren’t like look at my rolls Royce. They talk about the same s*** you and your bros would talk about. Music sports comedy specials.

it’s pretty simple. Guys with money will take the guys to things that they spend their money on that other guys can’t pay for or have to save. Maybe they’ll get a suite at a concert. Or take a private jet to the Kentucky Derby.


A lot of the guys are playing golf.

 

I think you missed the point.

I'm not saying guys are bragging to other guys that they have more money. But there's a natural mismatch on lifestyle that you're constantly being reminded off just by their own existence. The vet min feels it towards the 10M. The 10M towards the 20M and so on.

That's what drives Kuminga chasing the bag as his own goal this offseason. Or Dwight, Arenas or Melo (?) complaining about their 50M contract not really being a 50mil. One of these guys even said it's not generational money. That's just an out of touch perception that I can only explain by them comparing with other guys in the league that made much more than them.
Because if you compare a 20/25 million salary net on a year with anyone else in the world it's a dream come true. You can be set for life.

It's not about their behavior towards other guys but rather their behavior towards themselves.
Because there's this expectation of acting like a millionaire, spending big on a night out because you are that guy. Having a bunch of cars you barely used. Etc etc. JR Smith talked about it too, how he would spend 60k in a club and how absurd he thinks that is now. You see other guys in the league living the best life and you want to be that guy, you want to follow that pattern, and that's to your own detriment.
Shaq talked about it too, wanting to have the biggest mansion in the block. To later find out his neighbors were "unknown" millionaires, didn't give a fudge about public perception and their wealth was only growing. He said he learned a lot from that.

Finally there's peer pressure. You have your boys growing up, you made it and you want to show off. It's so common, especially when you come from an humble background and breakthrough like that.
Problem is, you don't make enough for the lifestyle you're trying to live. You make enough to live well for the rest of your life, but not if you act stupid and start spending crazy and want to be that guy.

It's not by chance many 90s/00s superstars had money problems after retiring and financial literacy has been a big thing in recent generations of sports. There's definitely a lifestyle issue and that comes from comparison and trying to fit in the society's expectation of you as a new millionaire in sports.

My point is a bit all over the place, there's many layers on this. But what I'm getting to is, due to all the above, guys like Kuminga feel like signing a 3/50 deal is bad because he wants to make a 100. When 50 is already an unbelievable wealth and he has 2 or 3 more big contracts to sign. But he's comparing to other peers and feels like he deserves the 100 and is now stuck at this limbo where the league doesn't see that way and he's not wise enough to see how better he can maximize his career, both financially and sports wise.

 

think we felt like ayton was going to mentally check out as the backup, and that would be a distraction for which we couldn't even net 2nds later. best guess i have, and i'm not sure i disagree. he's a head case.

 

Don’t care about Ayton. Do care about losing Jax as a backup.

 

I think this is the exact reason. JJ spoke of having to do different things to motivate him as a starter. Can’t imagine trying to do the same with him coming off the bench.

 

if you make 10 mil you only pocket say 4 mil

80-100K at age 36 when that player retires and if marry with kids better find some where with very very cheap cost of living. a million is no longer a lot of money. the moment he has to pay taxes and no more income he is screwed.

 

"An estimated 60% of former NBA players go broke or face severe financial distress within five years of retirement, according to widely cited data originally published by Sports Illustrated." family expenses, bad investments as all dont turn out well, injuries, Marrying the wrong person, cant live normal steady lives, taxes, fees, agents,
cost of living an NBA lifestyle. If you make 100K a year you live base off that number. an NBA player makes more and making more comes with a different set of financial issues and your a target. you cant just bank it, you just cant spend it on failed investments, people managing your finances thief their money, Women see you as a bank. you just cant live anywhere. It sounds simple but it not as simple as it looks.