“Report (of) to the Commissioner”
The above title of a 1975 movie in fact it was Richard Gere’s second movie of his long Hollywood career. I took liberties with the title by inserting the word OF in parenthesis. Last Friday became the Report of the Commissioner as the Commish reported on the plight of the Sacramento Kings. David Stern announced the financial proposal of Sacramento falls short of the one submitted by Chris Hansen/Steve Ballmer group. The commissioners’ press conference raises a significant number of questions; first how short are the finances by comparison to Hansen’s group? Will Sacramento be allowed time to raise additional funds? Are the Kings headed to Seattle for the 2013-14 season? These are but a few questions that surely will be answered over the next several weeks and months. This story has taken on the tenor of a soap opera, it seems almost every other week a new and changing development occurs. (www.imbd.com)

Another story for the haters
This is for Jimmy Kimmel, Jason Whitlock and few others, Kobe Bryant passes the basketball despite the fact he is a shooting guard. They continue to look at the 20-year old Kobe as the basis for their view. If folks bothered to check the NBA Assists Leaders they might be in for a shock, Kobe is averaging 5.6 assist per game, 23rd in the league.  Take a guess the number of position players ahead of Kobe?  I'll save you from racking your brain, only two players small forward LeBron James (7.2) and shooting guard James Harden (5.8). Kobe's per game assist average is above that of Dwayne Wade and Kevin Durant. Funny I never hear complaints about Wade or Durant passing the basketball, how can we conclude Kobe doesn’t pass the ball? My mission in life becomes an over whelming devotion to correct inaccurate portrayals. If you don’t like Kobe I get it but don’t use that as an excuse for making up stuff to validate your feelings. (NBA.com/stats)

Advantage of being drafted by a bad team
There is a distinct advantage in being drafted by a bad team; generally you can play from day one. On perennial playoff teams rookies rarely have the opportunity to play unless they are very, very good. On playoff teams rookies sit at the end of the bench waiting for “garbage time” to play. My research regarding rookies I sometimes come across negative reports. Prior to the 2012 draft we could state reviews on Rivers were certainly very mixed. (1.) “Scouts were much higher on Kobe than they are on Austin now. The reason for the dog pile (sic) on Austin that he hasn't changed his attitude one bit after a season where everyone could see some major limitations.”

To date this scouts assessment might not be too far off base, Rivers has certainly struggled thus far. Playing significant minutes Rivers is at 8.7 ppg while shooting .351 from the floor. His free-throw percentage is 62%, terrible for a guard. You might think the Hornets team may be the problem or the fact Rivers is a rookie. As for the rookie factor it doesn‘t seem to have affected teammate Anthony Davis. I will be honest I haven‘t seen enough of Rivers at this point however he must prove to me he can play at this level. One additional issue to point out, Rivers is listed as a shooting guard; he’s playing behind Eric Gordon. Gordon has made overtures about leaving; if that should occur over the summer perhaps Rivers will have an opportunity to display his talent. This was written prior to Rivers breaking his hand. It’s reported he’s out 4-6 weeks which will probably end his season. Can he play at this level; the jury is certainly still out on that question. (1.) Real GM

Speaking of the draft
The 2013 NBA Draft might be the weakest in several years. The other day the local sports talk radio guys were discussing which player to pick if you had the number one choice. Naturally Ben McLemore of Kansas was first up, one of the other hosts mentioned Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State. Despite his injury Nerlens Noel of Kentucky stock has slid downward very little. Shabazz Muhammad of UCLA must be part of any discussion of top picks. If you were the general manager and had to make the decision who would you chose, McLemore, Noel? Maybe your choice might be someone not even mentioned.