Summer break

It's time for a break, Kentucky has been crowned NCAA champion and the Miami Heat are NBA champions. The NBA draft has concluded, most NBA free agents have either signed with their new team or at least decided on their destination. Of course that statement excludes Dwight Howard who is still pretty much in limbo. Next week Words eye view will be a Wednesday only publication until September. Monday, Wednesday and Friday publication will begin again at that point. Thank you for your loyal readership.

Patch quilt
Anybody out there familiar with patch quilts? I certainly don't claim to be an expert so I checked dictionary.com. for a definition, it offered two which I offer for your consideration. 5. "to stitch together (two pieces of cloth and a soft interlining) usually in an ornamental pattern. 6. "to sew up between pieces of material." The quilts can be purchased at a variety of stores but that's not how they first became well known. The quilts were a collection of un-matching fabric scraps sewed together by the homemaker. Where am I going with my quilt story. 

I hinted at possible future problems for the Mavs in a July 9th feature.  The Mavs will not fall enough to reach the lottery but I will be shocked if they make the playoffs. As expected they have begun retooling the team, the first signing former Hornets center Chris Kaman and acquiring Pacer guard Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones in a sign n trade deal. In addition they have signed former 76er Elton Brand from the amnesty list. Former Grizz O.J. Mayo announced he will be signing with the Mavs. All veteran NBA players however assembling a team in this manner to compete is certainly unusual. ( 5. & 6. dictionary.com)

The Lakers International Roster
It's noteworthy to point out the Lakers summer league is comprised on several international players. First up is Christian Eyenga a 6-7 210 pound forward acquired in the Ramon Sessions trade. Eyenga is from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Also on the roster is 6-10 240 pound power forward/center Julian Khazzouh from Melbourne Australia. Khazzouh played last season for the Sydney Kings in the National Basketball League of Australia. Next up is Ater Majok 6-10 233 pound forward. "Ater Majok was born in South Sudan in 1987. He migrated to Sydney Australia through a refugee camp in Egypt. Upon arrival in Sydney, he bonded with a group of young men from South Sudan, called the South Stars basketball team." 1. He played briefly at UConn before declaring for the NBA draft was drafted by the Lakers in the 2011 NBA draft, he played for BK SPU Nitra (Slovakia) last season.

Greg Somogyi from Budapest Hungary, this 7-3 242 pound center played for California-Santa Barbara but went undrafted in the 2012 draft. The last player I'm reluctant to consider international because he's actually from our northern neighbor Canada. Robert Sacre was the last player chosen in the 2012 draft but that has little impact on what he intends to be his next role. This 7-0 263 pound center has already indicated he's prepared to play backup to Andrew Bynum. Sacre played his college ball at Gonzaga and originally hails from North Vancouver British Columbia. The Lakers needing an infusion of youth and depth might find room on their roster for more than just Sacre. 1. http://www.suchgreatheats.net/

Are you paying attention

There's been so much caw-caw flowing back and forth we don't know the actual truth, this is a portion of what we think may have occurred. Initially it was reported Dwight Howard was forcing a trade to the Brooklyn Nets, it was the only location he intended to play. He would not sign an extension if traded anywhere but Brooklyn, in addition he would refuse a possible trade to the Lakers. The reason for the refusal, "he wanted to create his own legacy, he couldn't accomplish this as a member of the Lakers." Since July 1 a media storm has circled around Dwight Howard and his reported comments and demands. In order for Howard to be dealt a 3-team trade had to be part of the equation, reports indicated Howard could land in Houston, Brooklyn or Los Angeles next season.

The report of a third team changed almost daily but the latest teams involved were Cleveland, Houston, Brooklyn, Los Angeles along with Orlando. What about the extension Howard said he'd only sign with Brooklyn? He's backed away from that statement yesterday, it was reported "he was okay with signing an extension if traded to the Lakers." Where are those folks who question Andrew Bynum's immaturity, are you confused as I am by this ever-changing evolving story? I guess I stand alone, the only Laker fan that's not excited about the possibility of Dwight Howard coming on-board.

Texas

I wrote of the ever increasing numbers of talent produced in Texas. I'm unsure if I mentioned this previously the Class of 2013 the first prospects all hail from the Lone Star State. Number two on Rivals list is Julius Randle a 6-9 240 pound forward from Plano Texas. This youngster indicates he has twelve schools of interest on his list, all twelve have offers on the table including Mizzou. I haven't had the opportunity to check him out yet, hopefully ESPNU will telecast one of his games for all to see. Those of you living in the Dallas Metro area Randle's enrolled at Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano Texas.