There is a distinction between lack of talent and lack of effort!
-------Larry Laker
Back in the old days
Freshmen were ineligible to play varsity sports, the idea was for them to become accustom to college life. Then someone had a bright idea it was costing universities far too much money to fund freshmen and varsity teams. The decision was made freshmen would be eligible to play immediately. The Big 10 is considering this move once again using the same observation. My question why only football and basketball athletes. Just making the move for the “big ticket” sports seem to be self-serving it would guarantee basketball players remain in school through their sophomore year. Sorry Big 10 not on this this no longer is this move valid it appears to be self-serving. Perhaps the conference could provide us a further explanation for this proposed change.
More was expected in Gotham City
Confidence reigned supreme in Gotham City; a series of off-season events guaranteed the Knicks would “immediately” become a better team. Well things are not always as they are first perceived to be. Hiring Phil Jackson who would later hire Derek Fisher as coach and resigning Carmelo Anthony, these were the key off-season events. There were other front office moves however the hires and re-singing Anthony were key. Events derailed the Knicks on the road to an NBA championship. Number one Phil Jackson hired Derek Fisher instead of Phil Jackson. This is no knock on PJ however he’s never ever built a team. A championship coach making trades and performing front office stuff. The Knicks have certainly not played up to the level their fans believed. Again this is no knock on Fisher; I believe he can coach however he inherited a bad, really bad team.
Given appropriate time and roster adjustments the team can improve. The chief complaint by most fans is the amount of money paid Jackson he should have been able to change the mentality of this team. It didn’t help when PJ made it known the season has not turned out as he hoped. I’ve been a critic of owner James Dolan in the past I am not going to blame this “train-wreck” on him. He hired basketball people (PJ & Fisher) to run his team; he’s not received to date what he hoped for. The Knicks certainly have been worse than fans expected however they were not world beaters last season, they finished 37-45. Carmelo Anthony sitting out the remainder of the season was the last piece of this puzzle. Maybe this is not the right coach, maybe it’s not the right president and general manager. Adequate time to build (or re-build in this instance) must be given.
Do you have an idea what is going on?
We have been hearing for years reports of the 76ers tanking, i.e. losing on purpose to benefit them in the draft. I didn’t want to believe a team an NBA team would lose games on purpose, now I’m not so sure. One of the multitude of trade deadline moves was the 76ers trading Michael Carter-Williams. How can the 76ers trade the 2014 Rookie of the Year less than a year after his outstanding rookie year?
I admit I haven’t seen a great deal of Carter-Williams because his team is not a national television drawing card. The focus is not just one player but Sam Henke and his front office team. There appears to be no direction for this team other than stockpiling draft choices. If I were Joel Embiid I’d keep a suitcase handy. Reports are circulating number one pick Joel Embiids’ weight has ballooned while sitting out the 2014-2015 season. He might also be in danger of a trade we might speculate.
It’s over officially
It’s been over for awhile, the Brooklyn Nets that is. As this is written they stand 21-31 not at the bottom however nowhere near what was expected two years ago when the trio of Jason Terry, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett arrived in Brooklyn. We are two years down the road from the trade and now all are gone. Terry was the first to go; the guard was traded to the Kings (although he never suited up) in February 2014. The summer of 2014 Paul Pierce signed a two-year free-agent contract with the Wizards and left.
The last day of the trade deadline 2015 Kevin Garnett was traded to the Wolves. The Wolves were the team that originally drafted the 6-11 power forward in 1995. This not intended to be a negative commentary on moves made by the Nets. Management believed the acquisition of the trio would allow them to effectively compete for the Eastern Conference crown. If there is any second guessing it could be the trio had too much mileage to sustain a long and continuous run
