I wonder
The Lakers as with most NBA teams invite a number of players to camp. The majority of invitees fail to earn a roster spot however that’s not always been the case. There have been instances a player has distinguished himself enough in camp to earn a contract and gain a roster position. That brings us to one of the invited Lakers, Jeremy Tyler. Tyler made basketball news several years ago when he decided to follow the route of Brandon Jennings. Jennings after signing a letter of intent chose to forsake college in order to play professionally overseas. Jennings returned home and was drafted by the Bucks in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Tyler actually went one better than Jennings he skipped his senior year of high school to play professionally. After playing two years the first in Israel and later Japan he returned to the USA. In the 2011 NBA Draft the Bobcats (Hornets now) chose Tyler and since that time his NBA career has been up and down. With all the time past Tyler is still only 23 years of age; can this 6-10 250 pound power forward gain a roster position with the Lakers? Despite the P-O-T-E--N-T-I-A-L many believed Tyler once held time is running out for him to distinguish himself.

To hair or not to hair
Recently we began to hear or read comments regarding LeBron James hair. It was quite evident last season his hair was thinning on top. He now has hair in the front portion of his head in the area that had become thin. To hair or not to hair is the question, is it really that important? It’s been reported the first basketball player to appear with a shaven head had a similar dilemma. If you check out photos or video of young Michael Jordan you will note early in his Bulls career he had hair. His hair was closely cut but hair was visible it was only later he began having his head shaved.

Jordan actually set the trend for basketball players; there may have been players with shaved heads however I don’t remember any prior to Jordan’s arrival.  Balding is natural for a significant number of adult males, has hair (or lack of it) affected careers in fields other than basketball? How about the entertainment industry, does hair or the lack there of influence a career? Musician, writer and producer Isaac Hayes had a long stellar career prior to his death. Actors Yul Brenner and Telly Savalas shaved heads never appeared to impact their movie or television careers. How about the Die Hard guy Bruce Willis, he began his career with hair but has been clean shaven for a number of years. Finally we come to Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson, don’t think he’s done too badly career wise for himself. As for someone with thinning hair I certainly would never criticize or make fun on what LeBron’s done with his hair.

Bits n Pieces
I will re-state an earlier stance I’d taken; the NCAA requires a major fix. Several might assume I’m on the side of “pay for play” for athletes. That is not the case I believe there are far too many hot-button issues to fully detail paying athletes in the limited space here. Let’s just say reform the NCAA, I vote yes and pay for play I abstain for now.

The NBA ready arena in Kansas City is a definite revenue generator. Forbes estimates Sprint Center is the 8^th largest earnings producer in the nation. Sprint finished ahead of The Palace of Auburn Hills, American Airlines Arena and Prudential Center, two arenas with NBA teams and the other an NHL team.

Tell me something I didn’t already know. A special gold patch will be added to the back collar of NBA Champion teams. Teams with multiple championships the patch will contain the number of championships won. The Thunder announced they would not add a gold patch to their jerseys. Wasn’t one of the conditions of sale the Sonics brand and records would remain in Seattle, the Thunder would be considered a new franchise.

It was recently brought to my attention rapper/entertainer/entrepreneur Nelly said; “Nobody wants to play with Kobe.” I have three views of his statement I‘ll share.  1. Nelly is a fan pure and simple. 2. If Nelly played at an NBA level there might be degree of credibility in the statement. 3. Why do entertainers continue to believe their political/sports views influence us.

A San Francisco website detailed the initial designs for the new Warriors arena. The arena will be constructed in the Mission Bay area Southeast Plaza at Terry Francois and 16th Street, the 18,000 seat arena has a 2018 planned opening. This is the second site chosen after environmentalist expressed concerns regarding the original site.

Home of basketball
There are a number of urban settings that qualify as the home of basketball. This has nothing to do with the fact of where the game was invented, rather a city that develops high school talent which translates to college and then the NBA. There was a time period we’d point our finger at New York City on the map but that’s now necessarily true these days. Oh sure the five boroughs and surrounding metro continues to produce talent however there are others.

How about including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco/Oakland and Dallas in the discussion. We could add Houston and the entire State of Florida. If your city was omitted it’s strictly an oversight on my part, there is another metro area to consider. The metro overlooked is Toronto; yes the area has become a hotbed of high school basketball. Naturally that translates to college and eventually to the NBA. The last two NBA draft choices are from Toronto, 2013 number one pick Anthony Bennett and 2014 number one Andrew Wiggins.