Kevin Durant signs with the Warriors

Lebron James is happy this morning. He is not the number 1 player that NBA fans love to hate on today. Kevin Durant moves into that spot by signing with the Warriors for two years at 27 million per season. He has a clause to opt out after 1 year.

The Warriors are happy this morning. They just sign the best free agent available and improved a championship team coming off consecutive NBA Finals appearances. They just won 73 regular season games. Could that record be challenged? Daily Fantasy Sports just got more exciting.

Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut are not happy this morning. They will in all likelihood not be re-signed by the Warriors. The money is not there under the salary cap. They both may wind up in Dallas.

Russell Westbrook is not happy this morning. He no longer has his scoring partner that made for one of the best backcourts in the league. He is counting the days until he is a free agent.

The rest of us are somewhere in the middle. Love or Hate the deal. Like or Loathe Durant. We will watch intently. I just want to see the Warriors again when they come to Philly.

After Kevin Durant's announcement that he will join Golden State, the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has moved the Warriors' odds to win next season's title from 3-2 to 4-5, making them an overwhelming favorite.

The Thunder's odds dropped from 8-1 to 30-1 at the Westgate.

The SuperBook also opened the Warriors' season win total for the 2016-17 campaign at 68.5.

Kevin Durant is Happy.  Click and See.

In case you missed it, @KeshisCuties and I discussed if Kevin Durant would fit with the Warriors.
This is in part due to Warriors not winning the title and Barnes lack of production in the close out games.  Follow us for more #HisandHers Talk this coming Friday at 8PM on Twitter.

Read about the Problems with NBA Free Agency here.

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Problems with NBA Free Agency

We should never knock another man's hustle. However, I think Jay Z would do a double take on the salaries that some of the current NBA free agents are getting. While the marquee players are deserving of large monetary compensation, players that are mid level are getting overpaid. The current collective bargaining agreement allows the rookies to be paid at a certain level based on how high they are drafted. This allows the veteran players to get more money until the rookies prove themselves. At the end of the rookie contract agreement they have the option to become a free agent.
The owners know have a body of work and will bid accordingly.
So why not do this with a veteran? As oppose to speculating on the worth of a player, pay them with a 70% guaranteed contract with 30% based on incentives. Performance would dictate earnings. Analytics of how the player's production affects the success of the team are available. Use the plus /minus ratio of how well the team does when the player is on the court. Did he win certain awards? Is the player durable? This would make the mid level player put in the work to train harder during the off season with conditioning and strength coaches.

Imagine yourself as an owner of a NBA team. Let's make it more real and now it's the business of your choice. You have a budget increase of 10,000 dollars. Would you spend the entire amount or part of it. If you spent all of it, would you over spend on any one area?  My point is that just because you have it does not mean you should waste it. Spending wisely is always the order of the day. Unless you are in the NBA.  Mary and Jay are up.

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Happy 4th of July!

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A.

NBA Top Free Agents not named Kevin Durant

The wish list is open. Lebron James just won the championship in Cleveland so he won't leave again.
So besides the King and Kevin, who are the top free agents in 2016?

 Al Horford

I like Al Horford currently with the Atlanta Hawks. He is an unrestricted free agent. He is a solid front court player that can defend and score. Horford averaged 15 points and 7.3 rebounds. His downside is that he is 30 years old. Teams will hope that he is not about to decline in production.

 Hassan Whiteside

Hassan Whiteside is a great piece from the Miami Heat. He is coming off his best season and is a double double machine. He can impact the game defensively with shot blocking and rim protection.
Whiteside averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds. He is 27 years old. He is not that skilled offensively.

Nicholas Batum deserves consideration from the Charlotte Hornet. He is a swingman that averaged
14 points, 6 rebounds and 5.8 assists. Impressive numbers and only 27 years of age. Batum's stats have improved every year over the course of his career.
This is my top three.

You will notice they don't include Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rando or Mike Conley. The 1st two have peaked and would want top money. Rando stint in Dallas stills lingers with me. Conley is coming off a torn Achilles. I also did not mention DeMar DeRozan because he has expressed a strong desire to stay with the Raptors.

Harrison Barnes hurt himself with his NBA Finals performance. He is a good player but he fits the Warriors. I question if he could be the star of a team if he is the centerpiece. If Barnes played close to regular season form, he would be worth the risk. He averaged 11 points and 5 rebounds. He is durable and played in all 82 games this past regular season. He is only 24.

 Top Free Agent: Kevin Durant

In case you missed it, @KeshisCuties and I discussed if Kevin Durant would fit with the Warriors.
This is in part due to Warriors not winning the title and Barnes lack of production in the close out games.  Follow us for more #HisandHers Talk this coming Friday at 8PM on Twitter.

                   Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates!
                   Check out my app, Smart Responsible Gaming at thegamingguym.com/

This Week in Gaming Review

This week, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a preliminary bill to expand gaming.
This expansion will include IGaming, Daily Fantasy Sports and slot machines at airports.

This is what online gaming enthusiast have been waiting for.Pennsylvania need the revenue and the public demand for gambling online is increasing every year. While the projected revenue varies, it will be at least 9 to 12 months before implementation. The next step is the bill moving to the Pennsylvania State Senate. While nothing is guaranteed, I like the chances of this passing.

New York made headlines with a reversal. They authorize Daily Fantasy Sports just months after issuing a ban on FanDuel and DraftKings. The following is an except from Sports Illustrated.
"Indeed, this was the reason for the cease-and-desist orders in 2015. Now, however, amended laws will seek to bring clarity to the matter. The full bill can be found here. Crucially, it alters the state’s gambling laws to include “regulated interactive fantasy sports contests with an entry fee.”

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NBA Draft: Who is Number 1?

The Sixers are on the clock. There is speculation as to who they should take with the top pick in the draft. Brandon Ingram and Ben Simmons are the top two names that are floating around. Jamal Murray from Kentucky is getting some consideration as well.
This is one that the Sixers can not miss on. The fan base has endured 3 straight years of losing on purpose. Who ever they pick must make an impact on and off the court. Jahlil Okafor was a good pick last year but they need a player to market the team around. Some of Okafor off court actions don't translate well to Madison Avenue.

Ben Simmons has more upside. While he did not perform or shoot as well as his critics would like, he is a tremendous passer and ball handler. I see him as a Lamar Odom if and when he develops a outside shot. That may take a season. Simmons has not worked out for any team other than the Sixers and did not attend the combine.

Brandon Ingram is a shooter and a scorer. While he is very slight and will need to gain weight, he is what the Sixers need right now other than a point guard. He would score at least 15 to 20 every night as is. I see him being as a junior Kevin Durant. He also worked out for Sixers.

The pick: If I work for the Sixers I go for what I see. Simmons is good and was touted as the next Lebron out of high school. He did play for a poorly coach and underachieving LSU team. He did not make them better. He is ready physically.
Ingram played for Duke and lead his team to the NCAA tournament. He will provide an immediate need. If I am patient I go Simmons. But if I want now then I go Ingram.
Best Scenario: Sixers trade Okafor to Lakers for number 2 pick and take Ingram and Simmons. I start going to Wells Fargo Center again.

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After the NBA Finals: The Next 7 weeks.

The next 7 weeks is the slow period. Since we don't cover baseball until the latter part of the season,there is a lull.  So here is the agenda. We will do a #HisandHers chat featuring @kesiscuties and myself on Twitter. This feature will appear every Friday at 8PM. We will preview our conversation on Wednesday at the same time.

We will have #GTLivechat every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 until NFL football returns. We will cover OTAs,training camps, rookies and injuries. We will do a Hall of Fame Edition where we discuss the inductees as well as people we think should be in.

There will be Olympics Coverage from Rio De Janeiro on the popular events.

We also have casino news with interviews from the top executives and organizations.

We will have the best photos from Atlantic City and Las Vegas on Facebook & Instagram.

The readers can submit pictures as well via Twitter.

Don't forget to check out the website thegamingguym.com and my Smart Responsible Gaming app.

We are going to have fun this summer.

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This Week in Gaming Review

Atlantic City News dominated the media with the announcements that Revel and Showboat were going to reopen. This would be in time for the summer season. Showboat will have a non gaming
facility with a hotel only. Revel will reopen as a casino hotel. It appears that Revel will offer slots
only for now. The slot gaming experience should return in August. This will be timely since this is
Atlantic City's peak time and hotel occupancy is up.

The International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking was held in Las Vegas and concluded yesterday. Jan Jones Blackhurst was a speaker and address the group about the lack of women and minorities in top gaming positions. Attendees reportedly came from over 250 cities. The next conference sponsored by UNLV will take place in 2019.

No news from Pennsylvania about online gaming. Since the budget talks are heating up, I expect this and a expansion of gaming into Fantasy Sports to be part of the new revenue for the Commonwealth.


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