Paul George keeps it REAL about the NBA In-Season Tournament 

A) $500k is still $500k regardless of how much a player has made but more importantly B) A team with high chemistry is gonna probably care about that money even more because the guys that play are gonna want to win it for the guys at the end of the bench who are gonna be significantly more affected by an extra half a mil.

Bro got more chemistry with these two then his own team right now 😭😭💀

It’s like a soccer cup, I like it. In years to come they will measure great teams by “winning the double” and it gives small market teams/non-playoff teams a chance at a 🏆

I think it's awesome. After everyone sees it play out, everyone will grow to appreciate it more. At the very least, it gives fans more competitive games to watch. Did y'all see that OKC vs Warriors game? Good lord, that was amazing.

I think the most interesting thing about the in season tournament is going to be how it influences our conversations and predictions about the eventual champion. It's going to allocate momentum in an interesting way. You know like if a team we expect to do well tanks, or a lower team does unexpectedly well, that's going to mix things up.

Bro says “I think it was the heat that won the play-in” as if that happened a decade ago 😂😭 3:40

paul found the 2 biggest yes men of all time. this is borderline unlistenable, nobody will disagree with him

You can really see PGs injury scars here

Fully agree, the new jerseys and courts look awesome. Especially the Clips 🔥🔥🔥

love the idea that if you win the nba cup you can pick out which team you want to play in the first round of the playoffs (if you make it).

The real reason for the in season tournament is for media revenue. In a time where TV contracts are being decided and how many eyes they can attract during the slow time in the NBA season. If they play competitively, then everyone wins, not just 500k for the winners but more money in salaries for all players in the league if TV contracts are earned.

500k each player for the win. 350k each for NBA Championship. They are going to have to raise that up for the ring.

You need to surround yourself with someone willing to disagree once in a while. These 2 here just nod and say yes and set you up everytime.

This podcast is growing on me 🔥

I like how half a million “doesn’t move the needle.” For us lowly plebeians, that would change our life. Kind of annoyed that they talked about that sum of money like that

I'm liking it so far - because we just came from the high of the playoffs and the fact that many teams are shaken up - its interesting and fun to see games that 'matter' with these new pieces. Makes me more excited to see teams continue to develop over the course of the season

For me the solution would be to award an extra win to the teams that make it to the semifinal and final if they win the matches. The winner of the cup would get 2 extra wins added to their wins column and the finalist 1, you don't get losses. It's a nice incentive to play hard for the group stage that also counts for the regular season and a chance to get those extra wins.

Y’all see the clip where Lou Will was like, “yeah we didn’t take the bubble seriously so we let off the gas.” Man this guy Paul George part of that too. The clips won’t even be competitive in the in season tourney

I think the in season tournament is a great idea. It helps build team camaraderie because the vets would try to win it for the 2nd rd picks and two-way guys. The assistant coaches get a smaller share as well. The head coach could donate his share to his assistant coaches. The winning organization would definitely be in high spirits for the holidays.

Saw the Nuggets Clippers tournament game last night and that was such a dope experience. New floor was cool, everyone got a free shirt and it was a great game. It wasn’t even expensive because the group stage games are early season weekdays. Highly recommend getting to a tournament game if you can.

Yo you can see the part where PG injured his leg, I hate that it happened to him but he still is balling out

I like Gilbert Arenas' idea. Winner of the mid season tournament gets a lottery spot in the teens for the next draft, on top of the 500k

AD said it best after winning it. “We know it’s not the real thing, but it’s nice to win it”. Kind of like the all star game, slam dunk competition or three point shootout-it has some short term entertainment value, but has no real meaning aside from that.

They should make the in-season tournament a mini-bubble (maybe even at an international location for enhanced global appeal). A week and a half, to 2 weeks.

Remember when our stars wanted show out whenever they touched the floor? It just felt different in the previous decades.

that scar is a painful reminder of when pg got injured...props to him for playing at such a high level now

PG saying no to the automatic playoff spot cuz players will take the year off is hilarious. He should say that to his teammate

I like Gilbert Arenas idea of draft picks, maybe not lottery but from 11 to 15 is my thought. Extra pick for the winner

i think the in season tournament is good cos it's similar to the g-league idea; diversifying and expanding the nba as a professional and organizational network by putting money in a place that is more within the reach of the players. it diversifies away from how top heavy the nba championship pressure is in the current nba climate. when the emphasis is no longer about salary (which is paid by your team) but on the championship, then the power gets drawn away from he players or coaches hands. its very much in GM and owner and whoever is trading or constructing/conceiving roster/salary. to us ordinary people, it's like the last ten years, when you join companies, and they under pay you, and they say "yeah we'll IPO and you'll be rich", and most of us just get underpaid and overworked after a few years and that IPO never comes about. general people harp on the players demanding trades and all, but really, even if you demand a trade, it takes a willing GM and owner and a super star to conceive of it. EVEN THEN, you also then impact 10 to 20 players or even more, and their salaries, their families, their lifestyles (this doesn't even factor in the coaches or the team staff). but the super star isn't the evil person here, it's the system and the way it works. if superstars like harden don't push for these trades, then there isn't any track record or historical legacy for future players to then figure out how to benefit themselves rather than allowing the organization to reap all their benefits. if you're just a roster player or a g-league or a two way contract kind of guy, you have less and less hope in the current league to have any semblance of power or authority or say in where you play and what you earn. a set up like this kind of tournament is an investment in the future to allow another portal where players can make a name for themselves or just get some cash, since most of them get churned out in a year or two (or less), and over 90% will never come close to holding that championship. ESPECIALLY role players on those 10 to 15 last roster spots (veteran minimums and rookie contracts and randoms) and most importantly, when you look at most bball rosters, there are like 1 to 5 players where 500k is almost equivalent to half or a third or a quarter of their annual salary. and that 500k is free and independent of agents and owners, there is no contract negotiations. you just go and ball and take 4 or 8 games seriously and then you don't have to worry as much about money as you used to. in times of increasing income inequality and entitlement culture, this kind of move is a step in the right direction. it doesn't pander and it creates a new layer of opportunities for those who take it seriously and seize it. previous examples of: NBA ALL STAR, MVP, and all that, all factor into contract negotiations. this may also become part of that. if you examine america, its sports institutions represent the practical and most powerful (existing) example of retribution and the attempts to address slavery and the terrible things that went on in plantations. if you examine all the sports leagues, the NBA has by far been the most equitable when you consider baseball and football, in terms of addressing, socially and financially, the repercussions of slavery. someone may just think they're talking about ball or money, but to a lot of people, it's about righting some historical wrongs, in a responsible, entertaining, and inspirational way.

I think wants it gets a few years in and there's some history and tradition built around to the cup, it will become more coveted and mean more to the players and fans.

I think the problem here is that the Cup Championship has no prestige. Players and fans are invested in an NBA season because what the winners are rewarded with at the end has a lot of meaning. The Larry O'Brien trophy is symbolic of several decades worth of blood, sweat, and tears that came from competition at its highest stage. All of the names and moments that are connected to that trophy have created an honorable reward. The history. This Cup Championship doesn't have an ounce of that...yet. If the league can really get behind this thing I think fans will follow. If we can change the perspective to something more inspiring, like having the privilege to be the first season of teams to ever compete for it, would be special. Who is going to cement their place in NBA history and be the first Cup winner? Who will be the first Cup loser? Who will repeat? So many narratives to entertain the masses and keep things lively while the bigger mission of the NBA championship looms. I think there's a real opportunity here to make teams compete harder and more often, not less. And when that happens, the players, fans, teams, organizations, everyone wins.

Pacers straight up playing well right now. Far better than we ever did with PG when he played for us. He was here to talk about the In Season Tournament and did basically everything but that, what a shock.

I think the in-season tournament is good practice. I hope the Clippers make it, so there are these low stakes games against good competition. Ty can try out a bunch of random rotations if they get some games.

It's simple the league and fans are seeing too many players taking the regular season more relaxed than they should, resting too much or the games not being as competitive as they should. So why not make certain games have a bit more meaning. Why not give them another trophy to try win. To have more bragging rights. Most sports people would love another trophy or accolade to add to your career. Give it time. It works in other sports it can work in basketball 🙌

Isn't there a point for the top tier players such that if this increases the overall revenue of the league through increased engagement and viewership the seasonal contract values will increase. Cuz with the NBPA the players are entitled to a certain percent of the revenue share so Max_Individual_player_contract_values = Player_revenue_share_percentage * revenue * some_more_math Theoretically if the league makes more money the top players make more money at a ratio that's meaningful to them. It seems shortsighted to say "well I make 48M a year 500K isn't anything to me, because if the revenue increases such that max contracts now are 100M a year you make significantly more? Also isn't the whole in season tournament kind of a self fulfilling prophecy as well if players don't at least seem enthusiastic? Like if Dame and PG and TH are like "I don't care about this it doesn't make sense to me" why should we as fans care if nobody seems stoked on it.

Jackie dodge the bullet 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I truly think this podcast would thrive with just P and a guest, no co-hosts or just one co-host.

If you win the tournament you’re guaranteed a playoff spot but based off of your regular season wins. For example, you must hit 50+ for a 1-3 seed. 40 wins or less, you’re now in the 7-8th seeds. Therefore forcing you into the Play-In tournament. Keeps interest alive for the NBA Cup, Regular Season, and Play-In Tournament.

Unless the tournament has a reward worth the hype it’ll never stick. Even could be multiple rewards. 5% increase in draft probability, monetary, choosing your playoff opponent, awarded a regular season win, things of that nature.

This type of tournaments are normal here in europe so i actually love it

maybe it should be a thing of if you win the in season tournament you get Home Court advantage if you make playoffs . if you don’t make the playoffs, you’re given a chance at a play-in spot (maybe you play the lowest ranked play-in team in your conference if you don’t make the playoffs and get to play them in basically a pre-play in game)

Nba has a great opportunity, Fiba has a great opportunity. The game of basketball has a great opportunity. They can create a championship league like international football. The winner of this can play the winner of other federations. It's a great way of getting your hands in multiple markets around the world. Like the 92 dream team, this can open the door to build more opportunities for basketball players to play in cities that in a lot of cases, the door would be closed to them. Bigger picture, this can really be big.

Draft picks should be rewarded

I think a good incentive would be expanding the first round of the NBA Draft from 30 slots to 31 slots. The nba lottery would also be expanded from 14 slots to 15 with the 14 worst records getting their odds based on record and with the winner of in season tournament getting 15th best odds. once a team wins the in season tournament and has the draft pick they are then eligible to trade it if they want or hold on to it. This would incentivize both rebuilding teams and contending teams. Rebuilding teams would want to add additional draft picks to rebuild a roster while a contending team would want to add a late lottery pick to help pursue trades at the deadline to upgrade the roster. in order to prevent top teams from winning the tournament every year, if you win the in season tournament then you are not eligible for the tournament for 3 years. imagine a team like the clippers who are over the salary cap and pretty much traded all their picks to build a title contender. They dont have much wiggle room to continue building out their roster except for a few salary exceptions in free agency. This situation would give them the opportunity to win the tournament get a top 15 draft pick to add young talent in the offseason or use that pick at the trade deadline to add an additional piece to compete for the title. then they will not be able to compete in the tournament for 3 seasons to prevent them from simply winning it every year and having a lottery pick every year.

I think it’s going to be a place for young players to shine since they really have the most to gain from the financial incentive. Reminds me of the out-of-season tournaments in European soccer.

Listening to this after seeing the clips at 0-3 on the in season makes it painfully

It needs bigger sponsors and should be extended to be played throughout the season with the final being either before nba play offs or after

Paul... We Need tournaments... for them guys.. under 6 seasons/new guys. Gatorade series. Summer league for new guys. Needs more tournaments. For Bench team

Instead of winning a play off spot just give them like an extra regular season wins and cash prize.

😂😂😂 Jackie said don't you put that evil on me.

But that harden pass tho 🔥

It’ll be about momentum. This thing will get way more fun the deeper it goes. That’s how tourneys work. Ur gonna have gambling once the field is set. I predict this will actually be huge.

The in season tournament has added another (much needed) dimension to the regular season. Its like mini-playoffs within the season.

Of course he’s gonna speak positive of it 😂 they write his checks. He has to support it 😂

I’m excited for nba cup shoe colorways!

It’d be better if they got an automatic play in bid, if they were to fall in that position, or the in season tournament should be connected to the play in overall and be played closer to that period

If Paul is worried about winning the tournament, earning a playoff spot and then taking the rest of the year off, why not just push the tournament back so the “taking off” part would only account for like the last month of the season. I mean players are already “taking off” now in the beginning so it won’t really change much.

I know people are gonna find ways to hate on this in season tournament chip especially if the winner ends up choking in the playoffs. BUT- I like it. Anyone in the world who watches soccer gets it and respects it tho. It’s just the EFL Cup, man. Plus games count towards in season record

If a playoff spot was on the line this tournament would be pretty interesting.

I’ve never seen NBA athletes seem more American than not understanding how this tournament works. This happens in so many other sports. It’s not that hard to understand. It’s a way to make the season more competitive. Everybody in the NBA is competitive, and I guarantee when the tournament starts no one is gonna want to lose. BTW, I’m American.

I think winner should receive a spot in the play-in tournament, w/ a chance at home court advantage for a team that seeds in the top 8.

I think the in-season tournament could be a great opportunity to the young guys and the bench to get some game time and showcase their skills

the NBA should go to a point system like soccer. conference wins get 2pts, non conference get 1pt. the winning teams of the in season tourney get a pt multiplier for winning it

I think enjoy it for the competition. As a long time basketball fan I just wanna players BALL. I think ever since covid it was weird to have fun watching it, I think even the players looked bored on the court playing. I’m just excited for great basketball.

I like how PG emphasized that 500K is still something...always be grateful

Winning the tournament should count as five extra wins on your record. That way people have something meaningful to fight that isn't significant enough to completely overshadow the rest of the season.

They gotta make it so that the team who wins the tournament gets the ability to choose who they want to go against in the first round of playoffs

Winner of the in-season tournament should have a wild card for the play in.

love the podcast p, if u really want an episode to blow up yall should get lillard on the podcast

rockets floor/jerseys are cold af

If winning the in-season tournament to get a guaranteed spot in the playoffs gets the clippers to be healthy for the playoffs for once, then I'm here for it.

The conference champion gets homecourt advantage in the finals. They already do this with the MLB All-Star game.

The NBA CUP won't have significance until about 10 years from now if they're still doing it. Takes alot of time to develop something like this in order for it to mean something to everyone.

I said this and I’ll say it again. The best way to make this competitive is the winner is guaranteed home court advantage in each round of the playoffs.

Make it an NHL-style point system. With tournament wins counting for more points than reg season wins. It could mean the difference between making or missing the playoffs. Home court or not, etc…

they should make the tournament games x2 the win value. if you have a record of 5-5 , if you win a game, you go to 7-5 instead of just 6-5. it would add up more than 82 but it would still be even among the league, then those games would be more intense

To add onto the idea of the winner gets a playoff spot. What, if after they win they need to maintain a certain amount of wins to keep that playoff spot this way they can’t tank the season just because they got comfortable. What do you think?

The prize for the tournament should be an extra draft pick. You have your first 30 picks as usual, then the 31st pick is guaranteed to the tournament winner, and then your last 30 picks. There's enough talent each year for 61 draft rookies

How about giving the winner the benefit of playing each round of their conference or the whole playoffs and finals ( if they make it) with home court advantage.

You’re not just playing for money. You’re playing for the cup. No it’s not the championship but these guys aren’t going to show up and want to lose. Them being regular season games was a great move imo

Just say the Clippers won't take it serious lol

They just gotta give a team an extra 3 wins on their record if they win. Helps for getting into the playoffs and getting homecourt without just straight up giving it out.

how about home court advantage throughout the playoffs?

I think if you win you should get a extra pick that is automatically in the top five draft second place top 10 and third place should be just a extra 2nd round pick

Its not about the cup, its about creating insentive to have more competitive regular season games.

The In-Season Tournament Should Kick-Off On Christmas Day And End On MLK Day. The Winner Of The In-Season Tournament In Each Conference Should Get An Extra Home Game In Round 1 Of The Playoffs If They Finish With A Top 4 Seed At The End Of The Regular Season & Each Player Should Be Awarded A Million Dollars After Taxes & Fees

I think the winner should get to choose their playoff opponent if they make playoffs

I know i can go back and watch the clips but if im not mistaken Palmdale P broke his right leg chasing down Harden who didn't help him but yo at 1:00 u can see the hole in his leg when he change positions. Those doctors pulled a miracle off by getting him back to life and shout out to him and the new tech we have that helped him grind hard to get on the court again

Winner should get auto home court IF they make the finals. Or give a week off

Paul, I have bought 2 pair of the PGs for my son basketball season ever since nike released ur shoe. When are the PG7 coming out

my suggestion for the in season tournament is if the team that will win the tournament landed on a spot in the play-in they should move up to number 6 and the original number 6 goes down to 7 and so on

It’s another product the nba can slang which would ultimately make the players more money in the long run..without having to invest that much more money

so do the teams not playing get to chill and rest?

It should give home court advantage in the playoffs.

I hope this turns into the "Champion's League" of basketball, where the top teams in the world play.

In-Season Tournament should only allow teams to play their youngest players. Older vets get a chance to rest, younger players get a chance to shine, fans can watch new young talents and get tourney champs with more parity

They should give the winner an extra first round draft pick, and the team that loses the championship game an extra second round draft pick.

The winner should get home court advantage in the NBA finals IF they win the In-Season Tournament! Best idea 💯

maybe they should give the team that wins the option to pick a certain number of games to automatically win. thought that is kinda crazy

I have a few options that would possibly work. Give the team that wins the tournament a playoff spot as the 6th seed but if they make the playoffs as anything higher than the 6th seed they automatically get home court advantage for the entire playoffs that way they have incentive to win still. Or give the team no playoff spot but they get home court advantage no matter who they play if they make playoffs. Or give the team a play in spot if they miss the playoffs so it’s kind of a fail safe that injury prone teams might go for in case they start strong but then lose a lot due to injuries.