Game Threads Index (October 24, 2026):

Article

Malik Beasley, a nine-year NBA veteran, is in plea negotiations with Department of Justice lawyers on federal charges that he was part of a gambling scheme that wagered on his play.

Beasley was indicted this summer for his role in an alleged scheme that bet on his performance while he was with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2023-24 season. Beasley is accused of manipulating his play so that bettors could win their wagers on him. Beasley initially pleaded not guilty, but court records Friday night said that he intends to change his plea.

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But for as long as Mitchell is ringless, doubts will persist and critics will remain.

He hears all of it.

“I can do whatever and I feel like it’s always going to be something,” Mitchell said. “I think there are a few guys like that, and I have certain things that won’t go away until I retire and then people will be like holy (expletive) this dude was really good. I think for me I’ve kind of let go of that, and I credit my therapy work. I’m just going to try to be the best player I can be. I’m really good. I’m really talented. I’ve done a lot. At the end of the day, when I’m done playing in 10 years, 15 years, whatever that is, people will be like, I could have appreciated this dude a little bit more.”

Coming into this season, Mitchell and the Cavs have repeatedly spoken about taking the next step. That means getting to the NBA Finals. There’s pressure and expectation. But the Cavs are embracing it.

That includes Mitchell, who enters 2026-27 with a new contract, clear eyes and a fresh perspective.

“We had an opportunity and we blew it,” Mitchell said. “I think that’s something that will forever resonate and sit with me, not even just coming into the season, I think forever, right?

“But I feel confident in what we can do as a group. I feel at peace.”

Source: https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2026/10/i-dont-ever-want-to-wear-another-uniform-donovan-mitchells-journey-from-knicks-rumors-to-playoff-breakthroughs-to-finding-his-home.html

Since 90% of this sub is Indian including myself.

I feel like Luka is very popular.

He is similar to Messi who has a large fanbase in Hindustan.

Lebron too obviously.

This is why Curry messed up the sport because he has all these kids confused about what they should be really doing. Big men are softer than ever and we got 7 footers standing at the 3 point line and trying to iso top tier defenders in crunch time instead of just dunking the ball when they are a foot taller than everyone. You can say it’s only the 2nd game but the Spurs have lost the last 6 out of 7 games and beating Chet was Wemby’s championship. The league has them figured out but sooner or later we will all have to admit it.

From Keerthika Uthayakumar:

Raptors are 2-0 to start the NBA season for the first time since 2018-19, when they started 6-0.

Their opponents through 2 games: 57 made shots, 50 turnovers

Also: Toronto has not trailed yet this season. 2 straight wire-to-wire wins.

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WASHINGTON – Late in the Toronto Raptors’ 112-102 win over the Wizards Friday, Kawhi Leonard played patty cake on the offensive glass. Once, twice, three times, he rebounded his own miss, before finally putting the ball in the basket.

A Wizards fan was not pleased.

“He should be suspended!” the fan yelled.

But Leonard isn’t.

He’s back in Toronto, where he led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA title. Everyone knew that he wasn’t going to stay there afterwards, and after much … consideration, he wound up in Los Angeles, with the Clippers. His six seasons there were … eventful.

And, ultimately … unprecedented, leading to Leonard’s departure in a late June trade back to Toronto – as well as leading to a Pulitzer Prize in Audio Reporting for Pablo Torre and the staff of the podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” which unearthed the myriad side deals Leonard asked for and received from the Clippers, starting with the sustainability service Aspiration, in violation of the NBA’s salary cap, in a series of podcasts that forced the NBA to hire a white-shoe law firm to investigate.

But Leonard, after agreeing to a deal between the league and the National Basketball Players Association in which he was fined $700,000, but received no other punishment, was free to go. And, he went.

“It was a long summer,” Leonard told The Athletic Friday. “It was kind of expected. I didn’t know when it was going to happen. But they made their decision when they did. I just stayed focused. I know what type of guy I was. I was honest. And that’s all you can do, be honest; just look in the mirror yourself and see if you did anything wrong. Just kept moving forward. Talked to God, my family. I just kept moving forward after that.”

We will never likely know exactly how honest, and/or cooperative, Leonard was with the league, or with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the law firm whose comprehensive report in early September laid the groundwork for the NBA’s unprecedented penalties against the Clippers.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7718340/2026/10/24/kawhi-leonard-toronto-raptors-return/

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Not sure if anyone else has noticed, but over the past couple days the play by play on the NBA's Website has changed dramatically.

For those who don't know, for the longest time after a game was completed its play by play would update so that each individual play was accompanied by a link where you could watch the play and even download it if you wanted to.

As a hoops sicko who likes to argue about the game more than I should and a nerd hobbyist who creates their own film reels I loved this feature and used it all the time and after a few days of it not being there I did some digging to figure out what might be going on.

I quickly came to learn that the NBA is changing its attitude on copyright and is beginning to block small accounts and creators from sharing content featuring gameplay clips. For years the NBA has not only allowed this but encouraged it as a means to grow the game. Commissioner Adam Silver has even referred to the NBA as "a highlight league" and encouraged fans to interact with it in such a way, but now at the start of the 2026-2027 NBA Season that seems to no longer be the case.

In my shallow dive into the matter I learned that in the past if you shared NBA highlights to YouTube the league would simply claim them meaning any revenue generated would go to the league instead of the creator but now they're striking channels and having them taken down. ZH Highlights (the guy who runs the dribbling gloves ad before his highlights) who has provided individual post game player highlight reels for years has added commentary over the top of his highlights to circumvent copyright strikes and be able to keep his channel alive. Other channels and creators have gone dark as they simply can no longer access the clips they needed to make their content and I find it all to be very sad.

In an era where the league is already in bed with the sportsbooks and the Saudis & courts, jerseys, and other merchandise look more and more like a sticker covered street sign on New York's Lower East Side with the amount of ads they have plastered on them I found a lot of comfort in the fact that underneath all that BS the NBA seemed to not only tolerate, but in many cases, empower fans and community members to not only have a higher level of access to things than other leagues, but to be able to create things that help grow the game. With that being pulled back I can't help but be a little bummed out and beg the question of how greedy a league I love needs to be?

Wanted to get the rest of the community's thoughts on the matter. Maybe if we make enough noise they'll at least give us play by play clips back.

TL;DR league used to allow fans to pull clips from their site and create around them. they're seemingly no longer allowing it and it sucks.

Per tradition the NBA season has just started and the main topics are gossip off the court. JT vs. Tatum. LuKa vs. the rookie. off-season was Lebron’s trade and copter rides, heat brawl in Vegas. I know we all know this just pointing out the obvious. 🤣

Oh, yeah and of course basketball. Lakers look good two games in I guess.