Drafting players is not a science, it's advance scouting and plain dumb luck. The team and the opportunity for the individual to gain valuable playing time is part of the equation too. Every year I check various websites for their assessment of Laker picks. ESPN's grade is not included since I refuse to pay for their "Insider" information. Ben Golliver CBSSports wrote "2011 NBA Draft: 5 second round steals." Golliver's steals were Laker picks Darius Morris (41) and Andrew Goudelock (46), both point guards. Based on NBC Sports grade should we assume they utilize a different formula for their grading system?

NBCSports.com D-
Yahoo.Sports.com B
CBSSports.com B-
Fox Sports.com A-
SI.com B
bleacherreport.com A
SBnation.com B+

There seem to be several stories circulating at times regarding Wolves GM Donald Kahn it's difficult track them at times. This is the general manager whose front office managed to draft three point guards in succession after the 2009 season. Ricky Rubio remained in Spain and Jonny Flynn remained only to be traded this off season, the draft rights to Ty Lawson were traded later in the evening to Denver. The main question might be is Kurt Rambis still the head coach of the Wolves? Kahn has kept Rambis dangling on a string since the season ended as if he still has a job. Various media sites have been reporting since the end of the season Rambis has been fired but Kahn refuses to confirm it. Last month after the NBA Lottery was held Kahn publically stated it might be "fixed" thereby aiding the conspiracy theorist crowd, he later stated his comment was meant in jest. This morning a story is circulating he'd contacted Coach K. at Duke and offered him the Wolves job as head coach, Kahn has denied this story. If he wants to hire Coach K. more power to him, Coach K. could go a long way to fix some of the problems of this franchise.

Among the more interesting moves draft night was Andre Miller, no he isn't a rookie nor a draft choicev but was acquired in a draft night trade. This is the veteran Miller's second time the Nuggets acquired him in a trade. Miller has always been an interesting player, never super fast but a steady, reliable point guard. Why the Nuggets traded him initially many are unsure. He was featured on an NBA TV segment, he stated how pleased he was with the trade and scoffed at reporters questioning his age. He said "nobody is questioning Steve Nash's age."

Everyone's trying to fix LeBron James game, an ESPN writer suggested James work on his 3-point shoot during the off season. A better question for this writer might be what requirement is there for a 6-8 250 pound player to hang out at the 3-point line chucking up shots? All players have one thing they don't do particularly well. Rather than challenging 3-point line it might be free throw shooting. A fan who is more insightful than all of us believes it his "free-throws," the fan points out James is a lifetime 73% free throw shooter and if he worked on his free throw game that would alleviate many of the inconsistencies of his game. His teammates Wade and Bosh are lifetime at 77% and 79% respectively. This is not intended to indict James it's only pointing out an area that is an easier fix than jacking up distant 3-point shots.


In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost

DRAFT SPECIAL EDITION

I informed a friend and reader I thought there would be no trades due to the pending labor impasse. If you followed the draft of course you realize there were numerous trades, in addition several included veteran players.

Grandview's Alec Burks at pick 12 becomes the highest drafted area player in metro history, Anthony Peeler of Paseo was the 15th pick in the 1992 draft. The list of area players noted by the Kansas City Star will increase by one to 24 area players with NBA careers. The list includes Leavenworth's Wayne Simien and Bonner Springs Ed Nealy, I don't considered them metro but that's me. Simien and Nealy had brief NBA careers, Danny Manning only played his senior year at Leavenworth High School therefore his name is not included in the count.

My son gave me the heads-up on this story, he mentioned to me all the stories surrounding Jimmer and the end concluded differently. Jimmermania was in full effect just in case you missed it, "he was going to the Jazz due to his BYU connection. He was going to the Knicks, his home town of Glens Falls New York is 142 miles from New York City and he grew up a Knicks fan." The other pre-draft story, "he was headed to Phoenix to be an understudy to Steve Nash."

As the draft progressed into the second round KU's Josh Selby had not been picked. I was viewing the draft on television and had ESPN and Lakersground websites open on my PC. I kept reading updates from a few Laker fans expressing hope Selby would be chosen, I'm sure I was the only fan hoping he wouldn't be picked. The Lakers requirement for a young point guard has certainly been documented by several websites. No problem with Selby he has holes in his game in my estimation, he "appears" to be a shoot-first point guard. In addition he should have remained at KU for another year most of us witnessed few examples that would indicate he's ready for the NBA.

Another story of interest is that of Jeremy Tyler, after a highly touted high school career he decided (with his parents permission) to skip his senior year. He signed with a team in Israel to continue his basketball career, immaturity and other factors caused him to leave Israel. The next stop was Japan where he played for former NBA coach Bob Hill. The Tsunami forced cancellation of the season and at that point Tyler decided on the NBA. I guess this is a woulda, shouda, couda story, as a prep player he was odds on to be a first round draft choice. He's in the NBA but was the 39th player drafted by the Bobcats in the second round, his draft rights would later be traded to the Warriors.

What's the deal with the foreign players, are they not required by FIBA rules to provide proof of their age? It seems every draft year a foreign players age is called into question. The discussion this time revolved around Bobcats draftee Bismack Biyombo. We must assume they don't issue birth certificates in the Republic of the Congo. The thrust of the NBA draft has changed in recent years, it once was "who can help me (team) next season?" It's now become as one writer stated "promise and potential", do you agree?

In closing this draft special please read Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, his column of June 24th is titled "Stern steers NBA toward chaos." Certainly not my intent to give it away but Wojnarowski indicts Commissioner Stern for the pending work stoppage, read it, well worth your time. By the way, Wojnarowski is one of those media types who knows the NBA and I certainly value his insight into the sport. Several years ago many in the media anointed David Stern the best commissioner in sports, I for one am unsure if that is still the case. As I finish this on Friday afternoon I'm viewing a Stern press conference on NBA TV, he says "the players and owners are meeting next week and currently the owners are not prepared to lock out the players."


"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Eleanor Roosevelt

Evidently Heat President Pat Riley is paying no attention to Jason Whitlock. Riley's on record stating he has no intention of trading any members of the trio of Wade, James and Bosh. Monday after the Heat lost the NBA championship Whitlock wrote "the trio of Wade, James and Bosh will not work. One of them must be traded" so wrote Whitlock. As critical as I have been regarding the Heat I agree with Riley. This team played for an NBA championship something most of us thought unreasonable just a few months back. The Heat have issues (coaching, leadership) but these and other issues are not insurmountable. I know this sounds strange coming from me but I must call it as I see it. One other point if you read Whitlock have you noticed he almost always manages to throw in something related to football, strippers or Sarah Palin in his columns? But I guess he really doesn't know, his June 6 headline read, "Finals entertaining, but Mavs are done."

My friend Sean might be a little upset with this story, 6-5 Auburn guard Earnest Ross is transferring to Mizzou. Not the big man many fans hoped would arrive but Ross must address a concern of Haith and staff. Ross led Auburn in scoring 13.1 points per game and rebounding 6.6 and was second on the team in steals. Ross will sit out the 2011-12 season but will be available for the next two seasons.

Sam Mellinger Star columnist wrote an interesting article the other day. Those of us who are NBA fans have long held out hope that an NBA team would eventually find a home in Kansas City. The same is true for NHL 21 and others desiring an NHL franchise here. Mellinger makes several points that AEG has been the key stumbling block to gaining either franchise. The four year old arena has been profitable for both AEG and the city, he pointed out as long as the profits are rolling in there is no desire on AEG's part for a major tenant. Over the years there have been several NBA and NHL stories but few have had "legs." Does Mellinger's story have validity, based on our four year old NHL history I could say yes? There will be no response from AEG because there is no need. AEG has the keys to the automobile and they are in the driver's seat, Kansas City metro citizens are standing by the side of the road hoping for a ride.

As I write this I realize one of my readers once played for Quin Snyder at Mizzou. Rob you know a side of Snyder few of us know and I don't think he's a bad guy, I do have continuing questions on his coaching skills. Snyder met recently with Laker coach Mike Brown, and by all accounts will probably be hired as an assistant coach. After he quit Mizzou at some point in mid season Snyder began coaching in the NBA Developmental League. He left the Austin franchise for the 76ers and the NBA as an assistant coach. I was less than enthusiastic with the Brown hire but this one I really question. On the other hand hopefully he's acquired additional knowledge since his Mizzou days.


"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
- Maya Angelou (1928-)

Few of you are aware of Julyan Stone University of Texas-El Paso point guard. When he enrolled at UTEP he stood a mere 6-3 inches and has grown to 6-7 200 pounds in four years . The downside to date is a limited offensive game but remember Celtic Rajon Rondo had the same issue when he first arrived on the NBA scene. Stone averaged 8.5 points per game while shooting 56.1% from the free throw line. Despite the fact his scoring average was insignificant he shoot 51% from the floor. His other numbers were 7.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game and his assist to turnover ratio is very good. If Stone is drafted look for him to be picked somewhere in the second round if not expect him to possibly sign a free agent contract.

Magic center Dwight Howard indicates he's not going to sign an extension, he will become a free agent but hopes to remain with the Magic. The statement has opened the floodgates of discussion. Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times wrote "it's time for the Lakers to trade Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom for Dwight Howard and J.J. Reddick." Interesting that Plaschke thinks the Magic (and/or) the Lakers would sign off on this deal. So let's see how this works out, the Lakers trade 6th man of the year (Odom) for a backup shooting guard (Reddick). As for Howard and Bynum on the surface one would assume Howard's upside would be superior to Bynum. Both are near the same age, Howard 25 and Bynum 23 so age is a non-factor. Offensively Howard's game is much better than Bynum excepting free throws and so too is his rebounding and defense. I almost always try to look at POTENTIAL, at this time I view Bynum's future development (baring continuing injury problems) will eventually be at are near the same level of Howard. In fact his game might exceed that of Howard, there I said it and I ain't scurred!

Kudos to Chad Ford and ESPN for this story. If we wanted to write a story about Marquette's Jimmy Butler's we could almost titled it "Blindside 2." Butler is a 6-6 guard/forward whose name just might be called out at Thursday night's draft. It certainly is unknown at this point if he will make it in the NBA or even be drafted but he will survive in life. Butler was a homeless 13 year old living with friends and finally taken in by a foster family. The shortened version of the story at the tender age of 13 his mother decided she didn't want him around any longer. She is reported to said "I don't like the look of you. You gotta go." she kicked him out of the house and the rest of his life closely approximates the movie Blindside. I hope some team will take a chance on this young man whose managed to rise above homelessness graduate from college and just maybe make it in the NBA.

A surprising story from Phoenix, then again maybe not. The Suns are reported to be on the verge of buying out Vince Carter. You remember Vince Carter the player TNT commentator Kenny Smith dubbed "half-man half-amazing" on his arrival in the NBA. That Vince Carter disappeared from the NBA years ago. We can only speculate on what caused this once high flyer to become just an average NBA player.


"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."
- Plato (427-347 B.C.)

For once the NCAA decided in favor of humanity rather than economics. The Mizzou basketball team was seeking to play a charity game against Missouri Southern in Joplin. The game was intended to benefit victims of the Joplin tornado. The problem, Missouri Southern is a Division II school and the Tigers had already scheduled the max number (2) of Division II schools. A shout out to the NCAA for their decision they okayed the game. It's scheduled for Sunday October 30 in Joplin, the notice indicated ticket pricing and other information would be provided later during the summer.

Speaking of Mizzou basketball Coach Haith and staff continue to recruit, the KC Star is reporting Keion Bell a 6-3 Pepperdine guard is transferring. Bell will sit out the upcoming season but will be eligible in 2012 with one year of eligibility left. This combo guard has a career scoring average of 16.4 points per game at Pepperdine. The Tigers lost Justin Safford to graduation and Ricky Kreklow to transfer for this upcoming season, the balance of the 23-11 Anderson team returns. The key year of course is 2012-13 for Mizzou and Coach Haith.

Ricky Rubio drafted in 2009 is officially a Wolves player. Rubio was a well hyped player two years ago as a 18-year old. For reasons still mysterious to most of us he continued play for DKY Joventut in the Spanish League. The downside his game doesn't appear to have progressed, if anything he appears to have regressed. From what I've read Rubio spent most of this past season on the bench playing for FC Barcelona in the Spanish ACB league. In fairness to him he'd injured his leg but seemed to be unable to regain his role as a starter. Only an average shooter all along his other numbers assists and steals slid as well.

I listened to an ESPN discussion regarding the draft, ESPN's Chad Ford had an interesting take on James "Jimmer" Fredette. Ford said "Steve Nash was a shoot-first guard when he came out of Santa Clara. He (Nash) worked hard at Phoenix making himself into a point guard, was traded to Dallas. Eventually he returned to Phoenix playing at a high level." Ford could be correct in his assessment of Fredette I do remember the shoot-first Steve Nash. The reports from various websites indicate Fredette's stock is raising. Over the weekend it was announced he'd been invited to the green room which usually means lottery pick, we shall see come Thursday.

Magic Johnson has no official connection with the Lakers, thus he is allowed the freedom to continue issuing asinine statements regarding the Lakers. Magic was one of my all-time favorite Laker players, in addition I have long admired how he managed to make an impact in the corporate world. Once a vice-president with the Lakers I was never sure of his official duties but felt a great deal of pride for him. While he was an owner we heard few comments on the team, since he's sold his share we must guess he feels compelled to make statements on how the team is or should be run. I have no Twitter account so my only statement is why tweet something and immediately take it back, that's what Magic did. Magic was supposed to have tweeted "the Lakers need to get on the phone and contact the Orlando Magic." Magic has now retreated, the Tweet has been removed.


"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is."
- Yogi Berra

Most high school players cannot play AAU basketball, the schedules generally conflict. That's not always the case and as far as I can determine no rule prohibiting a player from doing both. AAU basketball led to NBA careers for numerous NBA players including Alonzo Mourning, Penny Hardaway and B.J. Armstrong. Present day former AAU players include Laker center Andrew Bynum, Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire and Blazers guard Andre Miller. AAU basketball has suffered several black eyes in the past and attempts have been made to clean up many of it's more unsavory elements. Does the AAU still have issues, probably but maybe no more than it's much larger brother the NCAA.

I've never visited New York City so I have little idea of driving distances between the various boroughs. The latest article I read on the Nets new home in Brooklyn uncovered an unusual fact for me. The writer indicated the "Nets are not in direct competition with the Knicks although the two arenas are located about 6 miles from Madison Square Garden." Any of you distance challenged consider this, road mileage from Sprint Center to Kauffmann Stadium is about 7 miles. The key to constructing an arena so near an existing one must be populace rather than distance. 2010 figures indicate Manhattan's population is 1,629,000 while Brooklyn is 2.6 million.

In my public life I have stumbled over a word or mispronounced a name on more than one occasion. Foreign names have been even more difficult to pronounce however I've always made a valid attempt. The larger the audience the more embarrassed I've been however unlike NBA Commissioner Stern I've never had the world view my misstep. Before a world wide television audience NBA Commissioner Stern presented the MVP trophy to Dirk Nowitzki however he said "Dirk No-whence-ki. Mr. Commissioner the correct pronunciation of Dirk's last name is No-vince-ki.

Kevin Gray was President of the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission, he died of bone cancer on Thursday at 51. His death was far too soon for this passionate proponent of Kansas City sports. My Kevin Gray story reveals some of his passion, several years ago a Kansas City Star article Gray detailed why he thought the NHL was a better fit for Kansas City over the NBA. Naturally yours truly disagreed with him and fired off an email informing him his take was flawed. Over the next several days we exchanged several emails with each of us attempting to validate our view. Finally with his last email he invited me to become a member of the sports commission, what a classy guy. At the time I received the invitation I was working fulltime and knew my schedule wouldn't allow me adequate time, now that I'm retired I just might join.


A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
Nelson Mandela

Concluding the 2011 NBA Championship with random thoughts and views.

The NBA Championship has proven one fact, talent alone will not win for you without execution. Mavs defense plus the inability of the Heat to execute was their downfall. In addition I owe an apology to Jason Terry, I was upset with some of the posturing (trophy tattoo) prior to the series but he proved something to me. Terry is clutch and certainly unafraid to play at a high level unlike the more highly touted trio from Miami. To Chris Bosh, after being criticized most of the season by the media and this writer came up big in the finals. The Heatles forced to eat humble pie must now begin refocusing their effort and must decide this is Wade's team. James as talented as he is has proven (at least in this series) is too passive at times, he seems to prefer dishing the rock. Finally to Chris Broussard and ESPN, all season long your hype machine has worked overtime for the Heatles. Please I implore you to turn off the hype machine----on second thought I guess you can't, you were part of the creation. You were the network who chose to broadcast the one hour "Decision" last summer.

I could see why many thought the Lakers might seem old after all 10 of the 12 players on the current Laker roster are 30+. Guess what, 9 of the 12 players on the Mavs roster are age 31 and beyond. This number includes key players Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd. This is intended to point out execution not age might be key to winning an NBA Championship. The Mavs play through this post-season was superior to all other NBA teams including the South Beach crew despite their average age.

I'm not to proud to admit it but I was wrong, last Tuesday I expressed to several Rick Carlisle must be in a panic mood. Nobody I informed these folks would change their starting lineup (excepting injury) in the middle of a series. Well unlike a rather rotund pretend sports writer I'm back to confess my assessment was off-base. Rick Calisle knew what he was doing and knew his team much better than me. In the last three games 6-8 250 pound LeBron James outscored 5-11 (?) 175 pound Barea by six points. James scored 46 points to Barea's 40 isn't that interesting?

I've never thought of Mark Cuban as a bad guy, a little crazy but not bad. Over the years he's been a constant thorn in the side of Commissioner David Stern, sometimes Cuban's complaints have been way off base other times valid. He's always been outspoken providing opposing teams plenty of bulletin board material. This post-season we just witnessed his alter-ego, the quiet refrained Mark Cuban. I remember few instances of him jumping out of his seat as he usually would do, I remember few media interviews. At the trophy presentation I thought we'd have a Pete Rozelle-Al Davis moment. To refresh your memory Raiders owner Al Davis had attempted to move the Raiders to Los Angeles in 1980 but was blocked by a court injunction. He filed suit against the NFL and eventually won, he then moved his team to Los Angeles. In 1981 Commissioner Rozelle was "forced" to award Al Davis the Super Bowl Trophy. It was well known the two men did not get along so I thought we might have a Kodak moment in Miami. The Mark Cuban clone stepped aside and allowed the original Mavs owner Donald Carter to receive the championship trophy from Commissioner Stern.

Okay folks I get it, many of you hate Kobe Bryant no matter what he accomplishes. Last year I heard plenty of howls about Kobe Bryant winning the series MVP. They pointed at Kobe's poor shooting in the seventh game, I can agree he did shot poorly but it's an MVP award for the series not one game. Many expressed the view teammate Paul Gasol should have been MVP. Kobe had scored but had a low .250 shooting percentage for the game. Could we not make the same claim about this year's MVP Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk shot .333 from the floor yet was awarded the MVP, was there no love for Jason Terry?

In 1948 a Chicago newspaper ran a headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" which was an error. Early voting returns indicated Thomas Dewey would be elected president, Harry Truman who assumed the presidency on FDR's death would be replaced. The headline went down in history, Truman was elected president by the narrowest of margins. This past Monday the Miami Herald ran a full-page Macy's ad that read "Congratulations Miami" with photos of championship gear and to compound the error it ran beneath a story of the Heat loss.


"Snatching Victory from the jaws of Defeat" = Win when it appears you will lose!

Once upon a time my desire as a youth was to own a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor's. At that time Chuck Taylor's were the only basketball shoe to own, unfortunately I couldn't afford them. I had to settle for P.F. Flyers which were less expensive but didn't come close to measuring up to a pair of Chuck Taylor's. Converse still manufactures Chuck Taylor's but the whole landscape has changed in recent years there are over 25 companies manufacturing basketball shoes far more than I first thought. At the top of the (shoe) pyramid in sales is Nike but it wasn't always that way. NBA teams of the '50's and '60's wore Chucks, at some point in time the landscape began to change. New companies began springing up here and abroad and the shoe market became high profile beginning in the '70's. Nike, Adidas, Reebok and others pulled out all stops to compete and overtake Converse. After all Converse Dr. J. and several other high profile athletes of the day but Nike was slowing gaining ground. How did Nike do this when they were a company who started out with running shoes. Someone (maybe Phil Knight) had the foresight to sign Tar Heel Michael Jeffery Jordan to a shoe contract. Converse could not maintain pace eventually filing bankruptcy and then all assets were purchased by Nike. Chuck Taylor's and other shoes are still manufactured under the brand name but it's not the same knowing Nike is actually running the company. Nike controls 47% of the shoe market with Reebok at 16% and Adidas at 6%.

Mizzou will lose a player (other than a senior) with it's coaching change. Ricky Kreklow who attended Columbia Rock Bridge High School is leaving the program. Kreklow was able to gain playing time as a freshman under Coach Anderson, his loss will not impact the program greatly. It would have been great to see how this sharpshooter would have played under a more conventional offense. Before I could finished writing this CBSSports.com is reporting George Goode, 6-8 230 pound forward announced his transfer from Louisville to Mizzou. Goode is a Raytown South graduate and would be eligible immediately due to an NCAA rule I had never heard of being utilized. It reads: "a player can transfer for a final year of eligibility if they graduate in four years and their current school doesn't have their desired graduate program. "Goode needs to complete academic work this summer that would qualify him to transfer and play this fall without sitting out a year."

A portion of my family spent the weekend in Hutchinson Kansas at an AAU tournament. Our grandson is a first year player for a team from Mansfield (Dallas) titled Select. We attended games Friday evening, Saturday morning and afternoon. The weekend was concluded with Sunday morning and afternoon games, Select won a "share" of the championship. The tournament consisted of AAU teams from Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

(This was written prior to the Mavs winning the NBA Championship) My buddy Sean asked me who I was rooting for in the series. I wasn't sure if I made it clear earlier but win or lose it's the Mavs not because I like them. This series has really begun strange. I thought for sure the Heat were going to win and they still can despite their meltdown in games four and five. But that's another story, the Mavs beat my Lakers which should put this team at the top my hate list. Unfortunately even the Eastern Conference race didn't turn out like I thought so without further ado the Heat are at the top of my hate list. Why, because of "The Decision" which continues to bother me. LeBron James has every right in the world to do what he did, the problem was the showbiz introduction last July and the continued "they all hate us" mentality. Just go out and win, that will shut me and everybody else up.


Winners never quit and quitters never win
Unknown

Laker Coach Mike Brown states categorically the triangle offense left with Phil Jackson and staff, I'm taking a wait and see on this one for the following reasons. Phil Jackson would often "allow" Kobe Bryant to free-lance a great deal of the time. The triple post or triangle offense is troublesome and difficult for veterans. Artest, Blake and Barnes if they remain with the team will play much better with a less complicated offensive scheme. In fact a less complicated offensive scheme might aid everyone including Kobe Bryant. This is certainly not intended to knock Phil Jackson but he didn't play rookies or fully utilize his bench. I believe both of these areas will be addressed with a Brown team.

I'm guilty at times of looking at the potential of a player especially those in high school. So it goes with Fab Melo of Syracuse, you probably never heard of him although I did. I had read last summer about the 7-footer from Brazil who had scouts salivating, I know what you are saying "another foreign player." Well that's only partially true, Melo had arrived here in high school and played in Westin Florida. In any event he arrived on the campus of Syracuse as a highly recruited freshman. His season ending numbers were far from impressive and I'm sure the Syracuse faithful were expecting a little more than they witnessed. Melo was 2.3 points a game and 1.9 rebounds all this for a 7 foot 244 pound player.

Construction on the Barclays Center future home of the Brooklyn Nets is progressing quite nicely (see link). The arena is scheduled to open for the 2012-13 season which is good news in another area. It would be a shame if the arena were to open in November '11 and there was no basketball. Perhaps the timing is better based on the unresolved labor issues.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/photo-galleries/2011/05/26/barclays-center-construction-update-may-25-2011/

I guess we can expect almost any type of question from Jason Whitlock, afterall he's the guy who "believes" Jeff George can still play quarterback in the NFL at age 43. A couple of months back Jason Whitlock addressed a rather strange question to Kobe Bryant after the All-Star game. "Bryant spoke of the energy he gained when playing alongside young stars like Blake Griffin and Russell Westbrook. Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock found the comments interesting, so he asked Bryant if he was making subtle hints toward the Lakers organization. "Kobe," Whitlock said, "not to twist your words or read too much into what you said, but being around young players energized you -- that's not a statement about maybe you'd like to see some young players on your team?" The question was met with a drawn-out "Wowwwwww" from Bryant. "You know what, that's a Bikram Yoga stretch," Bryant said. "You stretched the hell out of that ... good job. Good job. I'm not even gonna answer that, that's just silly. Next." A day or so after this exchange Whitlock writes a scathing column hinting that Kobe was "over the hill" and this (2011) would be his last All-Star game. Check out this latest from Mr. Whitlock aimed at Mavs Coach Rick Calisle after game four and see what you think.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Rick-Carlisle-does-not-care-for-your-question-?urn=nba-wp4554


You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."
Albert Einstein

Reports indicate Duke's Kyrie Irving will likely sign a shoe deal with Under Armour, his agent is currently negotiating a contract with the company. To date Bucks guard Brandon Jennings had been the only NBA player under contract. The company seems to have focused on signing NFL players. Irving will join Wizards guard John Wall and Clips forward Blake Griffin who signed with Reebok and Nike respectively prior to the NBA draft. These players will have shoe deals prior to an their first NBA contract, my how things have changed.

The Lakers Brian Shaw didn't get the job he probably wanted but Mark Jackson did. The Warriors hired the former point guard and current ESPN television analyst as head coach. This hire only fills one of perhaps four positions, the Pistons recently fired John Kuester and Kurt Rambis is asking for a vote of confidence from Wolves management. In addition the Raptors and the Pacers must be included in the coaching search too. Will one of these remaining teams be willing to take a chance on a Brian Shaw? It's not beyond the realm of possibility the Warriors did it with Jackson.

The rumors of a Chris Paul trade reminded me I'd forgotten a promise I had made. A couple of weeks back my barber asked me about the New Orleans Hornets and their status on trades. As a reminder the NBA purchased the team from George Shinn late last year. My research indicates general manager Dell Demps has the authority to conduct business which should include any possible trades.

The annual NBA Draft will occur on June 23, the site has been moved from Madison Square Garden for the first time in a number of years. The two rounds will be telecast by ESPN with a 7:00 pm (EDT) start. The new location is the Prudential Center in Newark New Jersey. I wonder if the studio audience will be a little less rowdy. I have issues with the commissioner at times but booing him is a little silly .

I researched Ashton Kutcher's bio due to a USA Today story I read. Most of us are aware Ashton Kutcher is replacing Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men." Bet you didn't know he also was an agent for the University of Iowa? Kutcher attended the school before dropping out and eventually heading for Hollywood. Ashton Kutcher his wife Demi Moore and two former Hawkeye players met with four high school recruits last September. This is taken from the USA Today story. "NCAA rules prohibit recruits from having contact with people considered to be representatives of athletic interests. The former basketball players and Kutcher were named as representatives in the Iowa report." I don't make this stuff up, I only report it.



Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day.
Unknown

This really pains me to write this but I think the Heat are a better team than the Mavs. As this is written the Heat lead the series 2-1 with two games remaining in Dallas. The series is far from settled but the Mavs certainly don't look like the team that swept my Lakers nor beat the Thunder in five games. The speed game of the Heat seems to have caught the Mavs flat-footed. The morning after the Heat win in game one Dan Patrick had an interesting take on LeBron and the Heat. The shortened version of the story "no matter how many championships James wins he will never eclipse Michael Jordan!" Strong statement by Patrick but he further stated, "Jordan was a part of the Bulls and help make them a better team, he didn't need Johnson or Bird for the Bulls to become a championship team." The legacy of LeBron James was also one of the key topics of discussion at the barber shop. Ever how many championships the "chosen one" wins it will always be said "he left for another team, he didn't help the Cavs to a championship." Okay let's try the other argument, the Cavs front office failed to make moves that would have secured the Cavs better players around James. This is the position expressed by fans of James and is not without merit but there is a difference. Jordan remained, Kobe complained loudly but stayed. The Cavs didn't leave LeBron, LeBron left the Cavs, that is his true legacy.

Many NBA players are resolved to an NFL type lock-out June 30. Commissioner Stern continues to repeat his earlier statements, "only eight of the 30 league teams are economically solvent." A recent USA Today column provided an interesting read and certainly doesn't project the doom and gloom Stern and others are providing. Of course none of us are privy to any teams books so if they say they are losing money I guess we must believe them right? The other point, we have no method to verify the figures below but if correct the folks who say nobody is watching the NBA are way off-base.

• Total regular-season attendance rose 1% to 21.3 million, just shy of the league record 21.8 million for the 2006-07 season, before the economic downturn.

• NBA arenas were filled at or over 90% capacity for the seventh consecutive season. Average game attendance of 17,306 was the fifth highest. The record is 17,757 during 2006-07.

• TV partners TNT and ABC/ESPN saw audience gains of 42%, 38% and 28%, respectively.

From USA Today

Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times columnist and panel member of ESPN's Around the Horn wrote a "wouda, shouda, coulda" column the other day. It was titled "Shaquille O'Neal and Lakers could have done so much more." Plaschke went on and on about what could have been, he made valid points but at this stage my question is why? Whether we agree or disagree O'Neal managed to play the game in the manner he wanted. I wouda, shouda coulda been a millionaire I begin my adult life with the goal in the forefront, at this point I'm not laying awake at night saying I shouda. Could Shaq have won more NBA championships, no doubt but that ship has already sailed and from his comments the only career regret is the number of free throws he missed. He said "I coulda been close to 30,000 points if I had not missed so many free throws."

Should we believe Zeke based on his past statements regarding the Knicks? Last week Donnie Walsh indicated he would relinquish his role as president of the Knicks, the remainder of his contract would be fullfilled as a consultant. ESPN contacted Isiah Thomas due to his many comments on the Knicks. He once attempted to become become a consultant to the Knicks while still coaching Florida International. The commissioners office stepped in and informed he and the Knicks he couldn't hold this position. Funny thing, to my knowledge the NCAA said nothing about this arrangement. In another instance Thomas said and I'm paraphrasing the quote "I think about the Knicks all the time." He appears to have changed his tune with the Walsh development. This time when Thomas was questioned he told an ESPN reporter "I have no interest in returning to the Knicks, my only interest is Florida International basketball!"


Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.
James Baldwin, author

Kansas City's NHL21 group continues to live in a dream world. Sprint Center announced the Los Angeles Kings (AEG owned) and Pittsburg Penguins will play a pre-season game September 27 at Sprint. The NHL21 group is as a grass roots hockey group, they continue to "believe" the NHL will eventually award a franchise to Kansas City. What's even more unbelievable AEG president Tim Leiweke sits on the NHL executive committee. Let's see if I understand this correctly, AEG owns Sprint Center, the president of AEG is on the NHL executive committee. In addition Sprint Center is one of the busiest concert venues in the nation and hockey would tie up 40 some calendar dates, ain't happening. I can make this statement without any hesitation, nobody in the NHL has played Kansas City like the NHL.

This next story I'm unsure who to credit. The article I read was an NBC Sports story quoting Jazz Coach Ty Corbin, a respondent claimed Corbin received his information from stock exchange.com. This story is actually part of a barber shop argument and I thought it was worth discussing, AAU basketball. Several customers in the barber shop saw nothing wrong with "The Decision" others thought LeBron was wrong. For those who thought the decision was wrong it was mentioned Bird, Johnson and others would have never "joined" their competitors team unless it was through trade. Corbin places the blame (or credit) for the Miami Heat squarely on the shoulders of AAU basketball. Corbin states “Just thinking back in the day when I was younger in the league, superstar guys wanted to have their own show. It’s changed,” Corbin said. “These kids they grew up in AAU, being on all-star teams, and they’re used to playing with superstar guys. And they want that kind of team because … they have a chance to win big every night. They want to win championships and not have to be the only guy getting it done." We might not agree with Corbin but he might be on to something. Many older retired players had difficulty with "the decision" same with many fans. Corbin certainly gives us food for thought.

KFAN radio has reported the Wolves "have secured a deal with Rickey Rubio to play in the NBA next season." Kevin Love tweeted "he'd believe it when he saw it", Love must be from Missouri rather than Oregon. In any event if he has signed he might have been prompted by the current collective bargaining agreement. Rubio and other rookies had a May 31 deadline for the contract to be honored under the current agreement. From all indications rookie contracts in the future will not be nearly as lucrative as in those of the past. NBA owners want a hard-salary cap to replace the current agreement, the players are opposed. A hard-salary cap would not allow a team such as Miami to dump players and salary to sign a Chris Bosh and LeBron James.

Shaquille O'Neal announced by Twitter he was retiring, this larger than life personality failed to notify the Celtics first but that's not surprising for him. I first remember remember reading about him as a San Antonio high school prep player it seems such a short time ago. I remember seeing him play for 3 seasons for Dale Brown's LSU Tigers. Shaq is now 39 years old and just completed his 19 year in the NBA, where has the time gone? In the latter stage of his NBA career I became critical as he moved from team to team orchestrating each of the moves in an attempt to acquire another championship ring. There is no doubt Shaquille O'Neal is headed to Springfield Mass and the Hall of Fame. Early this evening the Lakers announced they will retire number 34 at some future date, I can proudly display my Shaq jersey along with the others.


Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.
Mary McLeod Bethune

ESPNU recently broadcast portions of the NBA Draft Combine from Chicago. The varied number of skill tests are intriguing and interesting. As an example there is the standing leap, the player stands flat-footed and then jumps as high as he can touching a measured point on a pole. Right-left agility is measured utilizing lighted poles, 3 poles in front of the player 2 on the side. The players agility is measured in this manner and then a measured half-court run to measure the players speed. The balance of drills are standard used by colleges and high schools, the viewing public is not given any hint of what the scouting combine uses as a basis for a players ability.

Former Bulls player Scottie Pippen has created a huge firestorm! He said in a radio interview that "LeBron James may be better than Michael Jordan." I didn't hear it only read it so I'm unsure why he volunteered his opinion but----fans are coming out of the woodworks asking the question why Scottie and why know? Winning an NBA Championship is not the only criteria for judgment, several great players never won an NBA Championship. Elgin Baylor, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone are just a few Hall of Fame players who never won. One of my barometers for greatness is a players ability to will his team to victory, this can be defined as leadership, lock-down defense, scoring and other intangibles. LeBron James has all those qualities just mentioned so he's part way there in my view. Unfortunately a ring or lack there of must enter into the conversation, recent example Kobe Bryant. Although Bryant has been Hall of Fame for a number of years and despite three early championships many said "he rode Shaq's coattails." Every time his greatness was mentioned out came the crew repeating the same statements questioning how he won the first three. Over the last two seasons the talk has ceased as he's won two additional titles. In conclusion LeBron win multiple championships, that will validate your standing as an all-time great.

Mizzou wants to play Missouri Southern in a benefit game in the fall. The game is intended to aid victims of the Joplin tornado but there is a scheduling issue. Missouri Southern is an NCAA Division II school and Division I Mizzou has already scheduled the maximum number of D-II schools allowed. Mizzou has filed an appeal with the NCAA to allow them to play an extra game, no idea if the NCAA will approved the request so stay tuned for an update.

This is one of those stories that causes me to scratch my head in wonderment. It reported several weeks ago the Cavs had secured the number one draft choice (through a trade), in addition they already owned their own number four pick. A story is circulating they are attempting to secure the number two choice, this is supposed to allow them to draft Duke point guard Kyrie Erving and power forward Derrick Williams of Arizona. The second draft choice belongs to the Wolves and because David Kahn is still running the Wolves I don't think anybody would be shocked if some sort of trade is worked out.

"The two most common elements in the world are hydrogen and stupidity!"