Latest news with #Playe
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pistons offseason outlook: Detroit needs to keep setting up Cade Cunningham for success
The Detroit Pistons were eliminated from the playoffs Thursday by the New York Knicks, but that almost doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. For a team that won just 14 games last year to earn the sixth seed and avoid the play-in tournament, an early playoff loss in no way defines this season, as postseason success was never the point this year. (Of course, the Pistons would have loved to move on and compete for a championship, but the stark contrast of last season to this one allows them significant leeway to focus on process instead of immediate results.) Detroit's investment in veterans Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley paid off. Full stop. Many were skeptical of Harris' impact because his last few seasons in Philadelphia were not particularly impressive and questioned whether Hardaway could even play an influential role. Both did, and Beasley turned himself into one of the league's top sixth men while establishing himself as one of its best shooters to boot, knocking down 319 3-pointers on 41.6% accuracy. The play of the vets allowed the core of youngsters, led by Cade Cunningham, to develop at a faster pace and reach new levels. Cunningham (26.1 points, 9.1 assists) turned into one of the league's best point guards. Jalen Duren (11.8 points, 10.3 rebounds) made defensive strides. Ausar Thompson (10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds) proved himself to be a long-term building block with his play at the wing, where he's now one of the league's best defenders. Oh, and the Pistons did this primarily without 2022 first-round pick Jaden Ivey, who was limited to just 30 games due to a broken left fibula. Essentially, the future looks bright in Detroit, especially if Ivey comes back fully healthy next year. The Pistons should not only be an interesting spot for free agents again, meaning they can make external upgrades, but they can also rely on further internal improvements, which should set a new ceiling for them for next season. Here's what to know about the Pistons heading into the offseason: Record: 44-38, sixth in the Eastern Conference. Lost to the New York Knicks in six games in the first round. Can we just cheat and say Cunningham? There were a lot of questions about Cunningham as the primary player, and he spent the entire season silencing all of them. We don't yet know if he's going to reach MVP levels, but the fact that such a door isn't closed is a huge development for the Pistons. Tobias HarrisIsaiah StewartCade CunninghamAusar ThompsonRon HollandJaden IveySimone FontecchioJalen DurenMarcus SasserBobi Klintman Malik Beasley (UFA)Tim Hardaway Jr. (UFA)Dennis Schröder (UFA)Paul Reed (UFA) $127,468,272 (salary cap projected to be $154.6 million) No. 37 Draft focus: Shooting. With the uncertainty of free agency looming, and the team could technically lose Hardaway and Beasley, it'd behoove Detroit to look for shooting. When drafting that late, there's a good chance that a solid shooter also lines up as being the BPA (Best Player Available). Cunningham's extension kicks in this summer, meaning he'll get a significant pay bump to $38.6 million. That said, the team could conceivably get Hardaway back at a much cheaper rate than his current price of $16.1 million, which should help offset matters some. The big remaining question is Beasley, who's earned a major pay increase. Detroit can get to cap space and use that to re-sign him, or it can operate as an over-the-cap team and use its Non-Tax MLE to keep him, if he's so obliged. The Pistons have to enter the summer with the mindset of being buyers. This means aggressively searching for upgrades to stand a better chance of coming out of the East in a few years. Shooting remains a priority, and it wouldn't hurt to have just a bit more center depth, unless Paul Reed is willing to come back for cheap.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Pistons offseason outlook: Detroit needs to keep setting up Cade Cunningham for success
The Detroit Pistons were eliminated from the playoffs Thursday by the New York Knicks, but that almost doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. For a team that won just 14 games last year to earn the sixth seed and avoid the play-in tournament, an early playoff loss in no way defines this season, as postseason success was never the point this year. (Of course, the Pistons would have loved to move on and compete for a championship, but the stark contrast of last season to this one allows them significant leeway to focus on process instead of immediate results.) Detroit's investment in veterans Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley paid off. Full stop. Many were skeptical of Harris' impact because his last few seasons in Philadelphia were not particularly impressive and questioned whether Hardaway could even play an influential role. Both did, and Beasley turned himself into one of the league's top sixth men while establishing himself as one of its best shooters to boot, knocking down 319 3-pointers on 41.6% accuracy. The play of the vets allowed the core of youngsters, led by Cade Cunningham, to develop at a faster pace and reach new levels. Cunningham (26.1 points, 9.1 assists) turned into one of the league's best point guards. Jalen Duren (11.8 points, 10.3 rebounds) made defensive strides. Ausar Thompson (10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds) proved himself to be a long-term building block with his play at the wing, where he's now one of the league's best defenders. Oh, and the Pistons did this primarily without 2022 first-round pick Jaden Ivey, who was limited to just 30 games due to a broken left fibula. Essentially, the future looks bright in Detroit, especially if Ivey comes back fully healthy next year. The Pistons should not only be an interesting spot for free agents again, meaning they can make external upgrades, but they can also rely on further internal improvements, which should set a new ceiling for them for next season. Here's what to know about the Pistons heading into the offseason: Record: 44-38, sixth in the Eastern Conference. Lost to the New York Knicks in six games in the first round. Can we just cheat and say Cunningham? There were a lot of questions about Cunningham as the primary player, and he spent the entire season silencing all of them. We don't yet know if he's going to reach MVP levels, but the fact that such a door isn't closed is a huge development for the Pistons. Tobias HarrisIsaiah StewartCade CunninghamAusar ThompsonRon HollandJaden IveySimone FontecchioJalen DurenMarcus SasserBobi Klintman Malik Beasley (UFA)Tim Hardaway Jr. (UFA)Dennis Schröder (UFA)Paul Reed (UFA) $127,468,272 (salary cap projected to be $154.6 million) No. 37 Draft focus: Shooting. With the uncertainty of free agency looming, and the team could technically lose Hardaway and Beasley, it'd behoove Detroit to look for shooting. When drafting that late, there's a good chance that a solid shooter also lines up as being the BPA (Best Player Available). Cunningham's extension kicks in this summer, meaning he'll get a significant pay bump to $38.6 million. That said, the team could conceivably get Hardaway back at a much cheaper rate than his current price of $16.1 million, which should help offset matters some. The big remaining question is Beasley, who's earned a major pay increase. Detroit can get to cap space and use that to re-sign him, or it can operate as an over-the-cap team and use its Non-Tax MLE to keep him, if he's so obliged. The Pistons have to enter the summer with the mindset of being buyers. This means aggressively searching for upgrades to stand a better chance of coming out of the East in a few years. Shooting remains a priority, and it wouldn't hurt to have just a bit more center depth, unless Paul Reed is willing to come back for cheap.
CBS News
06-02-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Roblox sues PlayerAuctions marketplace to block transactions outside of its gaming platform
A lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco against the PlayerAuctions gaming marketplace may provide the answer to an important question for online gamers. Gamers know that the assets they acquire as they play -- the game's "currency" and the virtual assets like clothing or tools that they earn or purchase along the way -- have real value, but how can they take advantage of it? Do they have to spend it on the platform where they got it, or can they sell it to someone else? Roblox Corp., the San Mateo gaming company, filed its suit in the hope of preventing its gamers from using the online marketplace run by PlayerAuctions of Los Angeles to buy and sell "in-game" assets outside of the Roblox platform. Roblox's suit focuses on a "virtual currency" called "Robux" and other virtual assets earned by players of Roblox games when they are playing the games. Those "in-game" virtual assets have significant value, but according to the Roblox's terms of service, gamers can only spend or trade them on the Roblox platform. PlayerAuctions maintains the leading marketplace where gamers may buy and sell virtual assets -- including virtual currencies like Robux, in-game "loot," and even a player's pending games or power levels -- just as if they were trading stocks on stock exchange. Roblox is no fan of its gamers selling their Roblox assets on the exchange, and presumably in the hope of blocking that, Roblox's suit claims that by using the names "Roblox" and "Robux" on the exchange's website, PlayerAuctions is infringing Roblox' trademarks and diluting their value. Roblox asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction to stop PlayerAuctions from using the trademarks while the suit is pending. The PlayerAuctions exchange covers more than 200 games including the Roblox games. The company claims to have more than 3.4 million traders (buyers and sellers) from 135 different countries that make on average a million monthly offers to buy or sell game assets. PlayerAuctions touts its ease of use, security, and tools it offers like a market tracker where traders can see the price of virtual assets. The tracker shows that Roblox is currently listed 17th on the website in terms of open offers (46) to buy or sell game currencies. The top listed game, World of Warcraft: The War Within, had 9,183 active offers for its in-game currency. The company says that its size and scope have created a liquid global market that helps sellers obtain value for otherwise illiquid assets. While Roblox's suit is only about its game and its trademarks, if its approach proves to be successful, other gaming platforms may consider whether they can do the same thing. A similar suit was filed against PlayerAuctions in 2010 in federal court in Los Angeles by the San Francisco gaming company Zynga. According to court records, the case was settled the next year, but the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. (A review of the list of all of the games currently traded on the PlayerAuctions' exchange does not appear to include any games offered by Zynga.) An invitation to comment on the lawsuit was not immediately acknowledged by PlayerAuctions. The dispute arises at a time of increased attention on the practices of the online gaming industry. An April 4, 2024 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau valued the global gaming industry at $249.55 billion in 2022 notes that "billions of U.S. dollars are spent each year in gaming and virtual worlds, where consumers buy gaming assets using fiat currency and then use those assets to make purchases in-game." The report says that "an estimated 76 percent of children in the United States play video games." It added, "the most popular virtual platform among young people in the U.S. is Roblox, which ... averaged 71.5 million active daily users globally in December 2023 and roughly 58 percent of those users were under the age of 16." The primary focus expressed in the report and a later proposed interpretive rule is on the gaming companies. The bureau expressed concern that "young people may be especially vulnerable to tactics used by gaming companies to induce spending and monetize gaming, as their financial habits are still forming." (While PlayerAuctions and other online marketplaces for in-game assets are mentioned in the report, the bureau did not express an opinion on their operations.) The ongoing role of the CFPB in the world of online gaming is unclear. This month, the Trump administration replaced the former CFPB director and thereafter froze all of the bureau's activities for the time being. Roblox was sued in 2021 by consumers in federal court in San Francisco in a class action concerning its alleged practice of denying refunds for in-game purchases when the virtual asset (clothing, tool, , etc.) was removed by Roblox as part of its content moderation efforts. The case was settled in 2023 by an unusual settlement in which part of the settlement amount was paid in cash and part via refunds of Robux.
