The Big NBA Problems with Mike Vorkunov

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily

Episode: The Big NBA Problems with Mike Vorkunov
Date: July 27, 2026
Host: Dave DuFour, joined by Esfandiar Baraheni and guest Mike Vorkunov

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Episode Overview

In this episode, hosts Dave DuFour and Esfandiar Baraheni welcome Mike Vorkunov, staff writer at The Athletic and host of the "Business Decision" podcast, for a wide-ranging conversation on current NBA issues. Topics include LeBron James’s high-profile move to the Philadelphia 76ers, league-wide implications of player sponsorships and ongoing investigations (notably involving Kawhi Leonard), the business of NBA team ownership (with focus on Portland’s arena situation and potential relocation threats), and how these factors shape the future of basketball.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. LeBron’s Move to Philadelphia & the New Era of Superstar Commuting

Starts at 02:46

• Waiting Game: The episode opens by summarizing the summer as a "summer of waiting," especially with big decisions like LeBron James's free agency outcome.
  • “Coming out of summer league... I feel like this has been the summer of waiting more than anything else.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (03:42)
• LeBron’s New Commute: LeBron intends to live in New York and commute to Philly, potentially by helicopter—a rarity even for NBA stars.
  • “If I'm in LeBron's... I have a better chance of taking a port key from New York City to Philadelphia.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (05:46)
• Breaking Down the Commute:
  • Drive: ~1hr 47min (without bad traffic)
  • Helicopter: 45min flight + 10min drive to the arena
  • Considerations: safety concerns, traffic unpredictability.
• National TV Appearances: Sixers will be broadcast nationally 34 times, a nod to LeBron’s drawing power, comparable to the Knicks, Warriors, and Spurs.
  • “You know the teams that'll be on 34 times—Knicks, Sixers, Steph and the Warriors, and probably Vic and the Spurs.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (07:19)

2. Evaluating LeBron’s Fit and the East’s New Power Structure

Starts at 08:05

• Did People See Philly Coming?
  • Hosts and guest reflect on LeBron's unorthodox choice, suggesting it makes sense in retrospect but few truly anticipated it.
  • “Thematically, I don’t understand... storyboarding these things like you would like a show or a movie. I don't understand the thematic storytelling behind it.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (09:46)
  • “If the Sixers get to the finals next year, no one’s gonna be like, ‘Oh man, I didn’t see this coming’.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (10:29)
• Competitive Eastern Conference:
  • Biggest threats: Knicks, Celtics, Miami, Toronto, Cleveland, and the up-and-coming Pacers.
  • Emphasis on the deep talent pool and fierce playoff race:
    “I think 11... teams that could make a case for the top six. And that means one of them is going to miss the playoffs.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (12:49)
• Key Challenge for Sixers:
  • Managing minutes for aging stars (LeBron at 42, Embiid’s injury history) while staying competitive and avoiding the play-in.
  • “You can’t do what the Sixers did last year and come in as a seven seed... You gotta get to April healthy, but you also gotta make sure you avoid the play-in tournament.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (14:15)

3. The New Era of Player Announcements and Sponsorships

Starts at 14:36

• LeBron’s Announcement with Topps:
  • Noted as symbolic of the “influencer era,” with athlete decisions now closely tied to branded announcements.
  • “We’re in a brave new world here when it comes to sports sponsorships and corporate... I mean, what's next? Are we gonna find out Luka Doncic signs his extension sponsored by Subway?”
    —Dave Dufour (14:36)
  • “The inauthenticity makes sense.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (15:52)
• Impact of Sponsorship Dollars & Investigations (Kawhi Leonard):
  • The ongoing probe of Kawhi's alleged cap circumvention is shaping league and union attitudes toward player endorsement revenue.
  • “The NBPA... don't want that to get in the way or act as a chilling effect on sponsorships and endorsement deals for players in the future.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (19:49)
  • Uncertainty about league oversight:
    “Team sponsorship deals... have to go through the league... But it seems that's not the case for player deals.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (21:03)
  • “All the smart money launderers are just using crypto.”
    —Dave Dufour (21:24)

4. Potential Punishments in the Kawhi Investigation

Starts at 22:31

• Who’s Likely to Be Punished?
  • Speculation centers on Clippers GM Lawrence Frank, with lesser anticipated penalties for ownership or Kawhi’s personal representatives.
  • “Of the regular people, Lawrence Frank probably is the guy who has the most to lose.”
    —Dave Dufour (24:16)
  • Ongoing uncertainty about timing:
    “We probably won't be getting a decision anytime soon... feels like it’s going to be another couple of months, especially figuring the legal process.”
    —Esperaheny (21:44)

5. The Portland Trail Blazers, Expansion & the Arena Fight

Starts at 24:38

• Portland’s Arena Funding Crisis:
  • Team owner Tom Dundon is at odds with the city over arena refurbishment money, subtly threatening relocation.
  • NBA reportedly wants to keep the team in Portland:
    “I don't think the league wants the team to move. Seattle—everyone still remembers that.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (25:14)
• Expansion Landscape:
  • New franchises expected in Seattle and Las Vegas, but Portland’s status could complicate matters.
  • Discussion of what cities could feasibly absorb a relocated franchise (e.g., Nashville, Kansas City, Montreal, Mexico City, Raleigh).
• Asset Class Ownership & Community Impact:
  • NBA teams are increasingly treated as financial assets by private equity buyers, sometimes to the detriment of local community ties.
  • Staff layoffs, cutbacks, and a loss in media coverage weaken fan connections.
  • “These teams... are not mom and pop family businesses anymore... This is the problem that the NBA has created for themselves.”
    —Dave Dufour (30:00)
  • “Not us media, but the play by play and TV crew—that's in a lot of ways like the front door... when you lose Kevin Calabro, that’s going to make people less likely to watch.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (33:15)

6. The Shifting Economic Landscape and CBA Tension

Starts at 37:11

• Private Equity and Team Building:
  • Owners’ focus on investment returns affects team-building decisions, like the Thunder slashing salaries and headline trades.
  • “It seems as though we are heading towards a different version of team building because of the type of owners that we are getting in the NBA.”
    —Esperaheny (37:11)
• CBA Stability and League Parity:
  • Mike doesn’t expect a lockout at the next CBA negotiation; the problems are more about player-to-player equity than owner-player disputes.
  • “There’s still too much goodwill between both sides… if the WNBA can avoid missing games, I don’t think the NBA will.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (38:36)
  • Discussion about potential CBA tweaks that could help teams retain homegrown stars, and why cash-versus-cap scenarios complicate those ideas.
  • Luxury tax implications and the increasing financial burden for contenders above the “second apron,” using the Nuggets’ and Knicks’ situation as examples.

7. Lighthearted Closer: The Ultimate Commute

Starts at 43:41

• How Far Would You Commute for Work?
  • The hosts joke about the lengths (and modes of transport) they’d accept for an NBA-profile salary.
  • “What are they paying me? That’s the question.”
    —Mike Vorkunov (43:52)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “LeBron should live in Jersey City or Hoboken... The pizza in Hoboken is amazing.”
  —Mike Vorkunov (04:29)

• “You have to somehow find a way to do both—you gotta get to April healthy, but also avoid the play-in tournament.”
  —Mike Vorkunov (14:15)

• “We're in the influencer era, and you can't trust anything you see anywhere because you don't know who's behind it and what money's behind it.”
  —Mike Vorkunov (15:50)

• “The NBPA... they're gonna want a say in it because they don’t want that to get in the way or act as a chilling effect on sponsorships and endorsement deals for players in the future.”
  —Mike Vorkunov (19:49)

• “This is the problem that the NBA has created for themselves—these teams now are treated as assets.”
  —Dave Dufour (30:00)

• “To me, not us media, but you know, the play by play announcers... that’s in a lot of ways like the front door for a lot of fans.”
  —Mike Vorkunov (33:15)

• “The owner in Major League didn’t fire Bob Uecker... and that’s a movie about how this owner was basically a bad person who wanted the team to lose on purpose.”
  —Dave Dufour (35:02)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:46 – Episode start, “summer of waiting,” LeBron’s decision
• 05:46 – The commute debate: New York to Philadelphia
• 07:10 – National TV schedules; LeBron’s impact
• 10:28 – Thematic analysis: why Philly, LeBron’s logic
• 12:50 – The deep, competitive East and playoff pressure
• 14:36 – LeBron’s Topps partnership and modern sponsorship commentary
• 16:31 – Kawhi Leonard investigation status and NBA discipline process
• 19:49 – Discussion on sponsorship implications and NBPA oversight
• 24:38 – Portland Trail Blazers: arena battle, relocation, and expansion context
• 30:00 – NBA teams as investment assets and private equity shift
• 33:15 – Community and media impacts of staff changes
• 37:11 – New ownership types influencing team building and salary moves
• 39:14 – CBA design, homegrown talent, and cap considerations
• 41:00 – Luxury tax, second apron impact on rosters
• 43:41 – Fun closer: longest commute for a dream job

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Summary

This episode provides a smart, conversational look at the shifting landscape of the NBA from multiple perspectives—business, basketball, and cultural. The hosts and guest tackle the consequences of superstar mobility, player sponsorships and league oversight, franchise relocation threats, and the broader effects of changing ownership models on teams and communities. Throughout, the show delivers not only knowledge for the basketball-obsessed but also context for how today's NBA is rapidly evolving off the court.

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For those who haven't listened: This episode is must-hear for anyone interested in how off-court developments—from superstar transactions and sponsorships to arena fights and legal drama—are increasingly shaping the NBA’s future.

Transcript

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[Dave Dufour]

Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the NBA Daily. Dave Dufour here with esperaheny. Joining us today, Mike Vorkanoff. Steve, staff writer at the Athletic, also writes about basketball business for us and the host of Business Decision Podcast, which is a great name. We should definitely have thought of that as, like, at least we're not very

[Esperaheny]

good at the business decision aspect of things. So I'll leave that to for.

[Dave Dufour]

How's your summer going, Mike?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

It's good. I'm not in Las Vegas anymore, which is always beautiful to say in July.

[Sarah Gibson Tuttle]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

And you have to stick around because, again, like, you cover so much of the business side and like, Adam Silver waited until midweek to do his press conference, I guess, hoping that the rest of us were all out of town. Any, any big news stories that stood out for you? Coming out of summer league.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Coming out of summer league. I mean, I feel like this has been the summer of waiting more than anything else. And so coming out of summer league, we, you know, continued to wait. LeBron gave us one answer, at least on Friday. Waiting on other answers still. Kawhi expansion aspiration investigation, Kathy Engelbert's future. Like, pick your, pick your topic. We're just waiting.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. So I'm glad you brought up LeBron, man. Like, LeBron going through the Sixers. Pretty incredible.

[Esperaheny]

Let's talk about commutes.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, let's talk about this commute. I mean, you're in New York, man, and he's going to live in New York and apparently commute by helicopter.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

You know.

[Dave Dufour]

How do you feel about this? This is like the JJ Reddick plan.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Well, first of all, I want to say I live right next to New York in, in one of the towns right next across from the Hudson River. And I want to make the case that LeBron should live in Jersey City or Hoboken. Beautiful that you can see the skyline. There's a wonderful waterfront. The pizza in Hoboken is amazing. We have a diverse set of restaurants in Jersey City. I mean, you're making a good pitch. And, and best, best thing is you're right there next to New York, but the commute to Philly is even better. You know what I would. Best of both worlds, what I would

[Esperaheny]

argue is that pitching to LeBron James on podcast seems to work. And so you're making your pitch. Do you feel like the. Let's, let's break down the Numbers. Okay. Driving from New York to Philly is an hour and 47 minutes per Google Maps, per sources flying. What did you say it was, Dave?

[Dave Dufour]

It's a 45 minute helicopter flight. Then. Then the helipad in Philadelphia is only 10 minutes from the arena. I checked that out on Apple maps.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, pretty sweet.

[Esperaheny]

And then private jet, must be something similar, right?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

Airport.

[Esperaheny]

You don't want to Taylor Swift this thing too also, I guess.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

I don't know.

[Dave Dufour]

What would you do?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I mean, to me like one of those is a non starter. I'm never taking a helicopter. Like you're just not convinced me to go in there. So LeBron, if I'm in LeBron's, you know, I have a, I have a better chance of taking a port key from New York City to Philadelphia. And if he can do that flu powder like any of that stuff, that'll be cool. It seems fun, the driving. I hear you on an hour 47 and this is where I push back. What time are you leaving and how bad is the traffic? Because an hour 47 could be 2 hours and 47 minutes. And I know LeBron will not be doing the driving there, but that is still his time that he has to account for. So that gets a little, you know, wobbly, the flying. I don't know.

[Esperaheny]

I don't know.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Like where are you going from Westchester County? You taking a PJ down to, to Philadelphia somewhere or Camden when you got to go to practice? Practice facilities in Camden?

[Dave Dufour]

Are you just.

[Esperaheny]

What if he just lives in Philly?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, that's a crazy idea. But I guess he could try it.

[Dave Dufour]

So there, there are a few interesting things about this. Number one, we just found out they're. They're going to be on national television 34 times.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah. I mean, wow. Not hard to predict.

[Esperaheny]

Shocker.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. But I will say this. It's going to be disappointing when it's like Adem Bona and Dean Wade at the 4 and 5 and not LeBron and Joel Embiid. Right. That's, that's going to be disappointing for us.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, I, I mean, but we know, we know the, the NBA rules and stuff. Like if there's back to backs, they're going to try to maximize those national TV appearances for LeBron. Joe Embiid's a different case.

[Esperaheny]

Right.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Like he's got a lot of injuries to tend to. He's always, you know, 50, 50 for every game. And so, you know, you're trying to bank on LeBron and Tyrus Maxey and Jalen Brown. And I'm gonna throw Vijay Edgecomb in there because I really like watching him play basketball. Probably not the same star power at this point in time, but still. Yeah, I mean, look, I. Yeah, I can tell you the teams that'll be on 34 times. I think the Knicks will be on 34 times. I think The Sixers will be on 34 times, and I bet you Steph Curry and the warriors are on 34 times. And. And probably Vic in the Spurs. So just guessing, you know, all respect

[Esperaheny]

to Steph and the Warriors, 34 times for that team.

[Dave Dufour]

That's.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Hey, Jimmy's gonna be healthy. Draymond's gonna resign. Mvp, summer league. Come on, get.

[Dave Dufour]

Get going.

[Esperaheny]

In all seriousness, did you. Did you see Philadelphia coming as a LeBron destination? I know it was one of the reported kind of like, places, landing spots, but did you feel like towards the end, it was going to be Philly?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I. I mean, to me, I think I was like pretty much everyone else. Like, I didn't have a good grasp on where he was gonna go. It seemed like he was. That was a finalist. And so it didn't surprise me just because. It surprised me, because it was new. Right? So we didn't have the same familiarity as if he had chosen the Heat or the Cavaliers, but it didn't surprise me because I would argue the Heat still had a lot of questions, even if they got LeBron in terms of being a Finals contender. Cleveland, you know, pretty talented, but, you know, you got to get through the James Harden of it all, and Philly just looks like a stronger team with that starting five than I think even Cleveland would have with that starting five if. If LeBron had chosen Cleveland there.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, the. The Miami fit, like, for me, it was all. He was there before. From a basketball perspective, I didn't really like it all that much, but I never took Philly seriously because it. It does. And again, this is my own bias here, but, like, LeBron, does it feel. Tend to make some of these decisions thematically, Like. Like, where. Where is my story going next? And now in hindsight, you know, a lot of people are saying, oh, Philly makes perfect sense. I'm gonna disagree. I like it. It doesn't make me not like the basketball fit or any of that, but the idea that LeBron, I guess if the Knicks had lost and he winds up in New York, we say what people are saying now about LeBron and Philly, so I guess I can get it in hindsight, but I. I did not see it coming at All.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I mean, thematically, I don't understand. I agree with you. Like, he thinks of this in a. You know, you're storyboarding these things like you would like a. Like a show or a movie. I don't understand kind of the thematic storytelling behind it. I know that it's now, hey, this is the best chance to win a title, all that stuff. But it does make a lot more sense if you think back to what Rich Paul said on his podcast two or three weeks ago, where he's like, look, if the Knicks didn't win a title, we'd be going to New York. Well, okay, now, knowing that he also wants to live in New York, commute to Philadelphia, then it makes more sense, right? Like, he wants to be in a big city. I get. You go from la, you want to go to. To New York and live there, and the Knicks aren't going to work. They just want a title. Like, they're good.

[Esperaheny]

They're.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

They've got a great thing going, and Philly's really close, and so you get to live in New York. You get to still play for a really good team. I mean, look, if the Sixers get to the finals next year, like, no one's gonna be like, oh, man, I didn't see this coming. So it makes sense basketball wise, too. I just. I can't go out there and say, yeah, I knew this was gonna happen. I thought it would happen, that that wasn't me. But it makes sense.

[Dave Dufour]

In.

[Esperaheny]

In hindsight, I would also argue that, like, from a. From a storytelling perspective, this does hit that kind of equilibrium of a chance to compete, plus a chance to kind of ribbon on this whole story of he won the first title for Cleveland in 50 years. If he went to New York, you would have helped break the drought there. And now I'm going to go do it in Philadelphia. If that actually ends up happening. If the Sixers win the championship, it's your point for, like, making the finals. That's one hell of a way to go out, you know?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah. I mean, LeBron is an amazing player, and he has had success wherever he's gone, success has followed him. Successes come because of him, wherever he has gone in his career. So, like, if Philly is another one, it's just a testament how amazing he is as a basketball player. And we'll all see how it goes. Like, it's going to be an interesting team. They've got some. Maybe some. You know, Dave can speak to it better than I can about some structural issues. They might have to Work through. Obviously, God knows what kind of like physical shape Joel Embiid will be in. Obviously he is, you know, his, his body is a question mark every time it seems and understandably so. He's a very large and athletic person and you know, it's, you get why it's hard to kind of hold that up. But the east is also really good next year. Right? Like the Knicks, we may have forgotten they did won an NBA title like a month ago and they're pretty good. And Boston can be interesting. Miami, I still don't know who does the guard things for the Miami Heat, but they have Giannis and they have bam. You know, my brain is lacking in coffee. There's a team that I'm thinking, oh, Toronto could be pretty interesting next year. Like Cleveland just got to the Eastern Conference Finals. It's like there's 11 will be back. Yeah, the Pacers, who last time we saw were taking the Thunder to Game 7, leading at halftime of Game 7 in the NBA Finals. Tyrese Halburn should be healthy. So like there's going to be, I think 11, you could say, like teams that could make a case for the top six. And that means one of them is going to miss the playoffs.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah, that means there's going to be a lot of disappointed teams. Right. A lot of teams that think they can win but will be disappointed.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah, but it's going to be so much more competitive. I think it's going to be a lot of fun to watch with the Sixers though. They got to just figure out how to get through the regular season and have LeBron and Joel Embiid ready to play in the playoffs because like they could beat anybody come playoff time if those guys are out there. It's just, can you win enough during the season? And I mean it, with the east not being as soft as it has been, I bet we don't see a, a 57 win team.

[Esperaheny]

We won't see a 60.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

We won't see a 60 dot but that, that's the question now. Right. Like this is kind of the heart of the struggle for the Sixers and for others teams too. Other teams too. Like LeBron's going to be in his age 42 season. You need to pare back his schedule a little bit. Right. Like he's not an 82 game player. Again, understandably so. Joel Embiid by default is not an 82 game player. Understandably so. Nick Nurse usually is a minutes maxing type of coach. Right. Like his guys are always top of the leaderboard for Minutes per game. And that'll work with Jalen Brown and Tyrus Maxey. And I'm sure Vijay Edgecombe's getting a lot of run, and they've improved their depth a little bit. Like, Dean Wade as a sixth man is awesome. Anthony Simons, great as a seventh guy there. But you can't do, like, the load management thing. It's. Or rather, it's not as easy to do the load management thing when you just got to, like, legit win enough games to be a top six seed.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

You can't do what the Sixers did last year and come in as a seven seed. Winning a play in, I think two playing games. Right. Maybe one or two there. That's dangerous. Like, you. You kind of have to somehow find a way to do both. You gotta get to April healthy, but you also got to make sure you avoid the play in tournament. And so that's. That's the path they're gonna have to walk next year.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. What do you think about the fact that LeBron announced this in a partnership with Tops? This is a. We're in a brave new world here when it comes to sports sponsorships and corporate, like, I don't know. I mean, what's next? Are we gonna find out? Like, Luka Doncic signs his extension sponsored by Subway. I don't know. Like,

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I don't know if you guys watch Community like I did or have and still. Do you guys remember when Subway became a real sentient person?

[Esperaheny]

Yes.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

There's, like, a few episodes there.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

And then I think he became Kia or Nissan or one of them, you know. Oh, and the car.

[Esperaheny]

Car.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, like. Yeah. I mean, I was thinking for a while, I was like, what is. How is LeBron going to announce this thing? Because he's always been so good at, like, understanding where media is and. And matching that. And so it does make sense that he announces it through, you know, his. This endorsement deal with fanatics. Right. Getting paid to do things for money and with companies and we're in the influencer era, and you can't trust anything you see anywhere because you know who's behind it and what money's behind it. Yeah, that feels right.

[Esperaheny]

This is a wonderful segue.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I'm just saying, like, the inauthenticity makes sense.

[Esperaheny]

Speaking of getting paid by tertiary places, Kawhi Leonard, obviously the investigation has. Has been looming for a very long time. You recently said that, you know, according to, like, your own reporting, that the Wachtel Lipton aspect of the Investigation is done, and now the NBA is sort of parsing through what to do, what the decision making process is. And I know that will be long winded in its own way. What do you think? Or at least maybe a better question is, how long do you think this will all take?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I. I mean, I. I got nothing for you. Mostly because, like, it's really hard to say. Like, Adam Silver 2 weeks ago now said he hopes it's done by the end of the summer. But he said expectation is this is over by the start of next season. Well, end of summer, depending on, you know, I think of end of summer as, you know, Labor Day. I think the calendar says end of summer, September 21st. The start of the season is what, like October 20th or something?

[Dave Dufour]

86 days away?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, it's a big range of time. And additionally, this whole process is very convoluted, not just because the investigation has taken this long. And, you know, I think our reporting earlier this month maybe kind of expound a little bit on why that might have been, but also because, like, the CBA calls for a process which essentially, if the NBA finds that there is punishment that it wants to hand down, you have to have an arbitrator approve it. Right. Essentially, you have to. It's almost like a kind of a trial and where the NBA makes its case and the arbitrator says, okay, this works or it doesn't work or whatever. Again, if, if the NBA finds that there's a reason to have a punishment, but then there's also an appeals process written into the cba. So there are many steps here that the league and if it needs to, has to go through, they could also settle. Right. Like, you could, you could kind of have a settlement that preempts that whole process, but that kind of just tells you all the different paths you can go down and, and also how long this can all take them.

[Dave Dufour]

Have you heard anything as far as what, what the punishment, like, where it could wind up? I know, like, the trade was put on pause and, and people have acted like some new information has popped up or something and that. And that triggered that. But, like, where is this heading?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I. I don't know. No one knows. I. I think the only people that really know or work for Wachtel, Lipton and. All right, you know, yeah, Pervy. Have pre. Have privy to it at the highest levels of the NBA League office. And I think that's. That's really it at this point. And it's hard to say what they found, how confident they are in their findings to then try to create a punishment. I think the league made it clear from my understanding correctly, and I think Adam Silver said this, like, the reason the Raptors trade held up was or is being held up, rather, is that they slid a paper across, you know, across the desk or. Yeah, probably set the docuSign over to. To the Raptors and said, hey, sign this. You are indemnifying us from all the risks you may take and understanding that, you know, if something comes down, this could still affect you down the road. Right. And, like, when paperwork and legal paperwork gets floated, we all kind of just like, rethink things a little bit. And so now the Raptors are sitting on it, and they still are making it seem as if, like, this is not an indication that they think something's coming, it's just them covering their bases. Which is all to say, I don't know. I don't know. This could take a long time.

[Esperaheny]

It could take a long time. And to the point that you were mentioning about the NBA and the mbpa, like, the precedent that this decision sets for sponsorship dollars for guys getting deals to do endorsements. We just talked about LeBron and the tops deal. Like this will have a ripple effect on other guys and their ability to make money. How do you think that shapes this kind of new world we're living in in the NBA and sports?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, I mean, it's. It's a great question. Like the nbpa, you mentioned them, like, again, if there is a punishment, they're going to want to say in it because they don't want that to somehow get in the way or act as, like, a chilling effect on sponsorships and endorsement deals for players in the future. Right. They have a vested interest in that. There's something if, again, if there's a punishment, it's fair and it's equitable, and if there's not, this is all a moot point anyway. But, you know, not to mention, I was looking back in the past, like, everyone talks about the Joe Smith deal as our last case of Capsar convention, because this is what they're investigating now. But, like, in the 90s, the NBA tried to void, like, six contracts, and that went to actual real federal court. Right. Like, is that a potential outlet for all of this? There's just so much unknown that we have to consider here, and it's hard to speculate. But, yeah, you would think in the future, too, like, all of these. All these sponsorship deals have to be much more closely watched by the league. Right. I don't Know how you get a handle on it?

[Dave Dufour]

Isn't there. Is there a clearinghouse of some sort where, hey, I've got this deal. I have to. Maybe it's via the players association. I mean, this feels like a different conversation, but isn't there some checks and balances here where we're. These guys are getting their money from is monitored.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I guess not.

[Esperaheny]

Right.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

The aspiration one kind of like went all the way through. No one knew about it. Team deals are. Team sponsorship deals are. They have to go through the league. You know, you have to kind of make them aware. But it seems like that's not the. The case for player deals. But now, obviously the league has a very vested interest in understanding where all the money to players is going. But that's again, something you got to negotiate with the players. Like, why is.

[Dave Dufour]

Hey, all the smart money launderers, aren't they just using crypto? Like, I mean, you know, you don't have to set up these fake deals. Yes.

[Esperaheny]

Crypto.com arena, by the way.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

What happened to cash? What happened to just drop in a big bag on someone's doorstep?

[Dave Dufour]

Arizona basketball probably a big reason why

[Esperaheny]

thinking about Ozark, the TV show, you know how they're. They had to money launder with actual cash. Anyways, need to be said, we probably won't be getting a decision anytime soon in terms of Kawhi being on the Raptors, in terms of Brandon Ingram being on the Clippers, whatever have you. It feels like it's going to be another couple of months, especially figuring the legal process for things, which is tough.

[Aura Ad Narrator / Ozempic Ad Speaker]

Yeah.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I mean, the interesting thing too is right, if you remember Adam Silver last week or whenever two weeks ago said the NBA was waiting on LeBron to make his decision so they could set their schedule. Well, they probably want to know how many times Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors should go on national TV or the Clippers. Right. Like that matters too. So there's a lot of kind of loose ends here that are still up in the air. But yeah, there's no. There's no TBD here.

[Esperaheny]

Let's. Let's do a little quick ranking here. Okay, guys? Rank who will get the hardest punishment in this whole situation.

[Dave Dufour]

If there's a punishment. Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

Wait, there's multiple parties here. There's Kawhi's representation, there's Kawhi himself, there's the Clippers. There's kind of different departments in the Clippers, whether it be ownership, whether it be front office, whatever. Rank them fork. You can go first you're the guest.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I'm gonna be the lame guy and say, I don't know. I'm reporting on all these things. I don't want to.

[Sarah Gibson Tuttle]

That's fair.

[Esperaheny]

Yeah, that's fair.

[Dave Dufour]

Let's not make him speculate.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I will, though.

[Dave Dufour]

I'll say this. Any punishment to. As their car alarm goes off outside my house, Any punishment to Steve Ballmer is not that big of a deal. He has, you know, money where he could just purchase the league. I think Lawrence Frank, you know, as gm, if. If he had a hand in this stuff, he probably gets a pretty severe punishment and maybe the worst out of anybody. I think the Clippers, as a team, like the organization, they'll lose draft picks maybe, right. Some sort of a. There could be, like, a financial penalty, but ultimately not very much. And then I would say maybe something happens with Kawhi.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Right.

[Dave Dufour]

Representation, I think. Are they even. I mean, you know, we're talking about Uncle Dennis here. This is not, you know, what are they gonna do? He just hired a new agent, like, which we heard about when this trade went down. So I'm not sure what kind of punishment you can even give to someone who's not invested. Like, he's not a part of the league. He's not an agent. He's none of those things. So. But I would say that of the regular people, Lawrence Frank probably is the guy who has the most to lose. You know, that's my guess.

[Esperaheny]

I'm there with you, too. I think I'm there with you, too.

[Dave Dufour]

And we. We were hearing, like, crazy stuff, I'd say, six months ago, like, wow, they're gonna avoid Kawhi's contract. And, you know, But I. Again, to Vork's point, I don't think anybody knows anything about where this is going, including the. The outcome. Vork, you mentioned expansion, right?

[Monday.com AI Agent / Olivia (Creative Director)]

We.

[Dave Dufour]

We know it's going to be Seattle and Las Vegas. What are the odds that the Portland Trailblazers are moving? Because with the expansion happening and. And the arena fight that's happening between the Trailblazers new owner Tom Dundon and the city of Portland, where they're trying to get more money to refurbish the arena and essentially threatening to move the team if this doesn't happen, you know, they're not. It's not implicit. They're not saying it out loud, but they are threatening to move the team. What's the stomach for that with the league?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Well, I don't think the league wants the team to move. You know, Seattle. Is everyone still Remembers that. And that obviously still has reverberations, you know, reaching on two decades later as the NBA tries to potentially make good and bring a team back to Seattle. Portland is not a small media market. I think it's the 23rd largest media market in the country. So it's not tiny. You know, Oklahoma City, smaller. Indianapolis is small. Like, there are many smaller markets in. In the NBA than that. But, you know, Tom Dundon and the Blazers haven't gone to, like, outright threatening relocation to this point. They're still working on this. But obviously the question is, and it becomes okay, if you don't reach a deal, then what? Tom Dunn has made it clear he doesn't think that he needs to invest his own money into a refurbished arena. And there has been no talk of a new arena. Right. So, you know, you kind of deductive reasoning, figure out what's next. I don't think the league wants it. You know, we have to get through expansion first. And I. I don't. I'm still. I still think expansion will happen. I don't think it's 100 certainty. You know, even people who have. Who are interested in bidding on these teams have been told, like, there's no guarantee that expansion will happen. I think Las Vegas and Seattle are two separate cases. I don't think that they are equal in terms of interest and equal in terms of value and equal in terms of likelihood. But I think the presumption is that it does eventually happen. And you got to think about what market is good for the NBA. Like, if it gets to that breaking point and. And the Blazers say, we want to go, like, where are you moving? Probably not Austin. Right. Like, San Antonio is trying to co op that. Yeah. Nashville, I would guess Memphis might have a problem with that. Kansas City, Montreal, Mexico City, you know, rally would make a lot of sense. I think it's roughly the same size media market as. As Portland is, if I remember correctly. And obviously, wouldn't that be an issue with Charlotte? Well, that's. I was gonna say Charlotte. I don't remember if it's exactly within Charlotte's territorial rights, but it's, you know, in the same state, and I'm sure that they would raise an issue there. And so where are you going? Right. Like, that's. That's kind of the question. It takes money to move a team that would take a relocation fee of its own. You know, like this Tom Dunn, this

[Dave Dufour]

guy doesn't want to spend any money.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Right. And you need the NBA to approve a move. Right. Like a Majority of the owners have to approve of a relocation. And so like, if Tom Dunn is going to do the same thing and say, hey, I'm not paying any relocation fee, approve it, why would the NBA just be like, yeah, we're going, we're going to let you leave. You're not going to pay any relocation fee and you're arguably going to a smaller market. Like, how does that make sense? So there's, there's just basically, I think, I think, if I had to guess, I think that they will find a way to make it work because it just. Occam's razor is still probably the easiest and most logical outcome. Yeah, it's just getting hairy.

[Esperaheny]

There's, there have been a few precedents of like the NBA, I guess, stepping in when it comes to disputes like this about arenas and things like that. I know Sacramento, I think maybe a decade ago or something along the lines of that was one of those potential teams that could have moved but didn't end up moving. And I know the city really rallied to make sure that didn't happen. Seattle, obviously, you talked about. Do you think if it were to get to the point of relocation that the NBA and Adam Silver would maybe try and step in and solve the situation?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, I mean, I think they're already trying to. I think they already have stepped in and are trying to solve the situation. Adam visited Portland this spring. I think he met with local government officials there. So they're, they're already getting involved. I mean, if it gets to a breaking point, perhaps they get in, step in further. I just, I don't think that it doesn't seem like anyone in the NBA as of right now wants a relocation. Right. And a relocation. There's also kind of like a weird precedent that you're setting. Like the Blazers were bought for $4.25 billion. I think that's Jason Quick, our colleague reported, which is like, you know, the way sports teams are is basically a bottom barrel price, you know, and so it's not really, I think, in the NBA's best interest for someone to come in, buy one of the cheapest teams in the league and then move it wherever he wants. Right. Like that's almost like jumping ahead of the actual expansion process. And that's. I, I don't think they, they'd want to make that a precedent where if they do want to expand to new cities in the future, you can just get around that by buying the cheapest team out there.

[Dave Dufour]

Isn't this the problem though, with that? The NBA kind of has where these teams now are treated as assets. These are not mom and pop owned family businesses anymore. And it's a lot of private equity money. These ownership groups want a return on their investment. It's why the city is kind of being worked over right now so that they can get money. Isn't that, I mean this is, this is the problem that the NBA has created for themselves is the, is having a situation like this where you have a guy come in, buy the team cheap, try to increase the value and I mean maybe he's not even going to own it that long. Like don't, doesn't this stuff come into play? Like they built this system and now he's trying to take advantage of it potentially.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Well, you know, we've seen teams move in the past. Like it's always been a thing where, where teams have wanted to move. Right. And the reasons have been different. You're right, there's more money involved now. Right. So like whereas teams used to lose money decades ago would have been millions of dollars, now it could be tens of millions, hundreds of millions depending how much you're paying in salary. So there are much larger financial stakes, that's for sure. Part of the, you know, is the NBA doing what it can to increase values for NBA teams. Right. But we've seen that just all across sports too. Like these are. Now to your point, the sports teams are an asset class. Right. Like now I read about them. I was reading a Bloomberg story the other day about how now dinosaur fossils are the newest asset class. You know, getting your own T Rex reconstructed T Rex is it asset class. But it's like, you know, an asset class like a sports team, you know,

[Esperaheny]

like a museum, like realistically used to be.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So like everything is now an asset class. And I think that kind of speaks to a larger issue systematically.

[Dave Dufour]

18 year old Subaru is an asset class.

[Aura Ad Narrator / Ozempic Ad Speaker]

It is.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

And if you made an NFT out of it, you could probably, you know, you could probably recoup the money you paid for it real quick. Yeah. And I don't know, like, I don't know which, you know, which chicken or the egg here. But yeah, this is like a thing like you're trying to make money on it. You also want to make sure it's a position where the most of the money you're going to make is going to be in 5, 10, 15, 20 years when you resell it. Right. Hopefully you're hoping double the amount of money, triple the amount of money, like whatever it is. And yeah, when private equity gets involved, they have partners that they have, you know, fiduciary duties too, that they got to make money on. Right. Like, so all these things are getting involved in what you do about that. I, I, frankly, I don't, I don't

[Dave Dufour]

expect the Portland Trailblazers to be offering endless shrimp anytime soon at the arena. Right?

[Esperaheny]

Yeah.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

No media meals. No media meals for the Portland speak.

[Monday.com AI Agent / Olivia (Creative Director)]

It.

[Aura Ad Narrator / Ozempic Ad Speaker]

No media.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

How about that?

[Dave Dufour]

I mean, you know, this is something that is actually like, it bothers me not just because these are our colleagues and people that we know that are, that are losing their jobs. It does feel like this new ownership is, is, it is in a lot of ways disconnecting this team from the community between the arena fight and then, you know, just not renewing or, or outright firing long, a lot of long tenured employees there. You know, Casey Holdall, who's been with the team doing media stuff forever. The, the people that they're not bringing back.

[Esperaheny]

Kevin Collaborators.

[Dave Dufour]

Right. Like, doesn't, doesn't the community around an NBA team matter as much as the bottom line? I know that it's not like that anymore, but like, shouldn't it.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, no, I think it definitely does. You know, like to me, not us media, but you know, the play by play media, sorry, the play by play announcers, the TV crew, the radio crew. That's in a lot of ways like the front door, right, for a lot of fans and how they consume your, whatever your local team is. And we, you know, I think fans all build relationships with those people. Like in New York, people love Mike Breen and Walt Clyde Frazier. And if you replace Mike Bream and walk Clyde Frazier with somebody, listen the games and wall Clyde Frazier is on vacation, deservedly so, by the way, and not calling games and it's someone else sliding into that color analyst seat. Big downgrade. People notice people Ms. Clyde. So yeah, when you lose Kevin Collaboro, right, that's going to matter. That's going to lose people or that's going to make them less likely to watch. And this all comes too at a time where there's changing media ecosystems. Right? Like what is the value of radio altogether? I think it's still really matters, but there's probably fewer people listening on radio tv. There's fewer people watching on tv. Like the entire local RSN infrastructure is just imploding right now too. And the NBA has to figure that part out. And so it's clear they're trying to cut costs and they're trying to, you know, you know, make the margins a little bit better. But that'll probably lose some people while they do that. And then, or at the very least, even if it doesn't lose, it makes their experience worse. And so that leads to, you know, discontented fans. Right. Like you want to have the best experience. You always can when you're watching a game, listening to a game, attending a game. And yeah, to your point, like combined with the fact now that there's just this negotiating very publicly about even, you know, potentially keeping the team in Portland, which again hasn't been said yet, but it seems to be the undercurrent here. Yeah, I could see how that kind of disillusions people who are trailblazers fans.

[Dave Dufour]

The owner in Major league didn't fire Bob Uecker. Okay. Like, and that's a movie about how this owner was basically a bad person who wanted the team to lose on purpose. Right?

[Esperaheny]

Yeah. Great movie.

[Dave Dufour]

Bob Euchre doesn't get fired.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

How do you feel about Major League 3?

[Dave Dufour]

I didn't see that.

[Esperaheny]

I've not seen Major league.

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[Dave Dufour]

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[Aura Ad Narrator / Ozempic Ad Speaker]

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[Mike Vorkanoff]

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[Dave Dufour]

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[Mike Vorkanoff]

Nice disclaimer.

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[Dave Dufour]

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[Esperaheny]

You know, I will say to the point about private equity and ownership and the way sports, not just the NBA but sports in general, is kind of leaning towards, you're seeing the spending power impacting actual team management between Jaylen Brown getting traded and sort of the decision making that went into that, the Oklahoma City Thunder slashing salaries. Like it seems as though we are heading towards a different version of team building because of the type of owners that we are getting in the NBA. Do you think, you know, the CB, I believe is is getting renegotiated in 2029 or there's an opt out clause to Renegotiate it in 2029? Might be a bit of a leading question here, but do you think we're headed towards a lockout?

[Mike Vorkanoff]

No, I, I don't think there's gonna be a lockout. Like, okay, baseball seems like it's heading towards a lockout. So because they, they don't have a salary cap revenue sharing system with the players. I'm not saying that's good or bad. They just don't. And that means every dollar is zero sum.

[Dave Dufour]

Right.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

And now that's a problem for them and it's a problem for both sides really. And so they're going to a lockout because of that. And it seems like the union and the players really genuine, sorry, the union, the league genuinely seem to dislike each other at the top levels. The NBA like, you know, for all the troubles that they have, the players are still getting 51%. Now the 51% might be distributed differently amongst the different players and tiers of players and all that stuff, but they're getting their 51. So that's more of like an, you know, almost an internecine issue for the players.

[Sarah Gibson Tuttle]

Right.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

To decide what do we want to prioritize? Who do we want to prioritize. So unless the NBA tries to change that, there's just too much money, there's still too much Goodwill, I think between both sides. Like if the WNBA can avoid a lockout or rather missing games, they had a strike, lockout, whatever. But if they can avoid missing games, like, I don't think the NBA will miss games.

[Dave Dufour]

Also, the stuff that's in the CBA that, that people are kind of, you know, chafing about, that was on purpose, design intended. It is intended to create parody. It was to distribute talent throughout the league so that you did have interesting playoff races and stuff like it wasn't because.

[Esperaheny]

Okay, but I go away from a top heavy league. It's like when, when you, when you are incentivized to trade away a guy you drafted. I agree that that changes.

[Dave Dufour]

You know, I thought Brad Stevens made a. Made a good point. And we've all talked about this throughout the years when discuss it. But if it's a homegrown talent, which is someone you draft and develop, why does that 35 max. Why is it an actual 35? Maybe it's a 35 for the player salary, but toward the cap it's a 25.

[Sarah Gibson Tuttle]

Yeah.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Also I'll tell you why that likely won't happen.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Is because then you are paying more in cash than you are on the books for on your payroll. Right, Right.

[Dave Dufour]

The basketball related income balance, it gets thrown out of whack.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Well, that, well, that. But also like, you know, if you're a team like Boston and you have two 35 guys, but they count as 30. Right. And that extra, I don't know, 15, $20 million, you got to make sure you have an ownership group that's able to float that financially. And so they're almost kind of like paying different sums than if, if the Milwaukee Bucks had, you know, two 35 guys who they, you know, didn't. Who couldn't. Couldn't be in that type of class. Right. So it's almost. Players. Teams are gonna have to pay different amounts of money for the same costs, basically.

[Dave Dufour]

Yeah. Like the Nuggets right now, they, the Thunder signed Spencer Jones to an offer sheet. Yep. The Nuggets don't only have 48 hours. They had to match. And this puts them at great risk of losing Peyton Watson now because.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Does it?

[Dave Dufour]

I think so.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Because it's a voluntary choice, right? It is.

[Esperaheny]

It is a choice. Yeah. And like.

[Dave Dufour]

But.

[Esperaheny]

But again, it's kind of a baked in excuse to be like, well, we, we obviously cannot spend that type of money, you know.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Sure. Well, and this is a question I've had to try to think through and I really don't Know the answer. I don't know if the most punitive part of the second apron in this system is the roster building mechanisms that, you know, you lose out on if you're in the second apron, let alone freezing your pick or if it's the higher tax payments that you'll have to make. Right. Because the last CBA also increased higher tax multiples when you're above, I think $20 million over the tax line or something like that. Right. So basically you're just paying more in taxes. And so is that the bigger problem rather than it is, you know, losing your first round pick? And that's the part we don't talk about. Right. We don't talk about the tax punishments as much as we do the like. Well, you won't get to sign and trade and, you know, your own guy to another team and the second apron got you for that reason. And it costs a lot of money. Like the Knicks were, I think, 19 million over the tax last year and they paid $44 million in, you know, in luxury tax. So the Denver Nuggets are in a different class. They for years had just been unwilling to pay the luxury tax. Period. Right. If you remember that. Yeah, there are pelicans, like up until kind of like the. Just recently. And so, you know, they might have to make the choice now of whether they want to pay those taxes at the second apron level and keep this team together as they try to win another title during Nicola Jokic's prime, or if they want to, you know, diminish the team for, for kind of financial

[Dave Dufour]

purposes, they should try to trade for Steph Curry.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

They should. Can they do that?

[Dave Dufour]

I. I'm sure I'm at the point, guys, we, we might have to start the free Steph free stuff movement. Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

Well, look, if there's one place Steph grew up, if you've seen it, if you've seen the images of a young Steph Curry, an Air Canada center, you know, just want to put it out there.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

I thought. Yeah.

[Esperaheny]

What were you. Oh, you were gonna say Charlotte.

[Dave Dufour]

Charlotte. I was gonna.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

No, I was gonna say, you know, there's two Akron born mega stars in the NBA.

[Esperaheny]

That's true. He technically was born in Akron. How about Philadelphia? What's the flight from Akron?

[Dave Dufour]

You know, no one's gonna move to Akron.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

That's a lovely. I'm sure it's six hour drive. I've done that drive. It's lovely.

[Dave Dufour]

Oh, is that what we call it?

[Esperaheny]

I don't know.

[Dave Dufour]

It's not bad.

[Esperaheny]

I've also done that.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

It's just all trees and mountains and rest stops. That's fine.

[Dave Dufour]

What's the helicopter length? That's what we got to figure out.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

As someone who will not take one. I don't know. Don't ask me nice.

[Dave Dufour]

Okay. It is a six hour drive. Six hours and 17 minutes. Shout out to Andrew Schlecht with the info. All right.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Yeah, we're Back to the PJ. That's like 30 minutes.

[Dave Dufour]

All right. That's a great point to end.

[Esperaheny]

Wait, wait, wait, wait. Actually, one final question. What's the furthest you would commute for a job Daily?

[Dave Dufour]

I haven't had a commute in so long, I.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

Listen. What are they paying me?

[Dave Dufour]

That's.

[Mike Vorkanoff]

That's the question.

[Dave Dufour]

That's the question. Find out. Stay tuned to find out.

[Esperaheny]

All right.

[Dave Dufour]

For Mike working off in Esperahetti, I'm Dave Dufour and this has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for hanging out with us, guys.

[Aura Ad Narrator / Ozempic Ad Speaker]

Monday.com AI agents took over my work

[Mike Vorkanoff]

and I absolutely love it. Chasing deadlines, writing status reports, updating stakeholders. Agents handle the daily grind now. I stay in the loop only when it matters. Create your own AI agent in minutes

[Monday.com AI Agent / Olivia (Creative Director)]

on Monday.com Most people don't realize how much of their personal information is being bought and sold every day. Data brokers are making billions, pulling details about you from public records and the Internet, then packaging and selling it, usually without your consent. That's how your information lands in the hands of scammers, spammers, even stalkers. It's why you get endless robocalls and why ads seem to follow you everywhere. That's where Aura comes in. Aura actively removes your data from broker sites and keeps it off. They also instantly alert you if your information shows up in a breach or on the dark web. But Aura goes beyond data protection. With one app, you get a vpn, antivirus, password manager, spam call protection, dark web monitoring, and even up to $5 million in identity theft insurance. All backed by 24. 7 US based fraud support. Other companies might sell just credit monitoring or even just a vpn. Aura gives you all it together at the same price Competitors charge for just one service. Start your free trial [e-mail] safety. Protect yourself [e-mail] safety.