Basketball from a fans perspective
I’m okay with it
What to do, what to do? There are rumors floating about regarding Thursdays NBA Draft and the Lakers. With three draft choices (2, 27 and 34) I wouldn’t be opposed to a trade. Trade the 27th and 34th pick along with Nick Young for an NBA veteran. The Lakers are in a full-scale rebuilding mode however I cannot see them adding three rookies to the roster at one time. Is that veteran the Heat's Dwayne Wade, he's a free agent and rumors are circulating he is interested in the Lakers. On the other hand they might avoid a veteran and draft three rookies, what ever occurs I’m okay with it.
My response
Skip Bayless-Tweet
“I love Steph but GSt had a fortuitous run to title. Avoided OKC, Clips, Spurs and 4 straight injured starting PGs. Needs to validate next yr”
Steph Curry-Tweet response
“Love you too Skip!”
The Curry response is so much nicer than the one I would have made, this is mine. Question; “When and what level of competitive sports did you play Skip Bayless? If you bothered to check facts you would discover your comments while partially correct are off base. How were the Warriors to defend themselves against a team (the Thunder) who didn’t make the playoffs? In addition the entire world knows the Clippers holding a 3-1 game series lead self-destructed in losing to the Rockets. As for your Spurs, they were losers as well against those Clippers as I stated early imploded.“
On the other hand
In Thon Maker news the acknowledged number one prospect in the Class of ______is making news once again, read on you’ll see why I left the space above blank. The acknowledged number one prospect in 2016 last winter indicated he was re-classifying and would graduate in 2015. Most recruiting sites moved him to one or two for the Class of 2015. Maker said; “Things didn’t work out and I’ll remain in high school another year.” The strange and unusual journey continues for this youngster born in South Sudan. He and his family immigrated to Australia and later to the United States.
Once in the states he enrolled in a school in Louisiana but later moved to Virginia and last year left for the Basketball Academy at the Athletic Institute in Metro Toronto Canada. I’ve seen plenty of video on the 7-foot youngster and he certainly looks talented. A large number of schools are still waiting patiently in line waiting on Maker’s college decision. It should be noted Thon has a “little” brother who is a highly rated Class of 2017 prospect. Brother Matur Maker is a 6-10 200 pound center.
We can’t blame the Kings
I’m sure in some circles I’m sure there are fingers pointed at the Kings. The question might be how in the world could the Kings have given up on Hassan Whiteside? After remaining on the Kings roster for 2 seasons they released him and after several basketball stops he arrived in Miami and experienced a break-out year. Some of that background information that led him to the Heat. The Kings originally chose Demarcus Cousins and Whiteside in the same 2010 draft, Cousins the 5th pick in the first round and Whiteside the 33rd pick in the second round. After some early maturity issues Cousins has settled down, he’s become one of the building blocks as the Kings attempt to rebuild the franchise.
Whiteside’s development was also delayed by maturity issues in addition he was less skilled offensively and defensively than Cousins. Whiteside was not ready to play at the NBA level however there was another factor in his decision to leave Marshall. His then coach at Marshall Donnie Jones left to take the UCF head coaching job after Whiteside’s freshman year. He probably wasn’t ready to play at the NBA level due to skill and more importantly maturity issues. The Kings can’t be blamed for giving up on Whiteside after all Cousins was ahead of him on the depth chart. Although his NBA career was delayed it appears with hard work Whiteside has proven he’s finally ready. It’s up to Whiteside to continue developing his game.
My hope
I’m passionate about my teams, I hate when they lose. It’s even worst when they lose a game or games I believe they could have or should have won. Despite my passion my hope is to never make excuses for my team(s) losing. A relative who loves LeBron said after the series was completed; “The refs had it in for the Cavs, there were so many fouls on LeBron that weren’t called.” Sometimes there are a disproportionate number of calls against one team over another however I refuse to believe it’s on purpose, my team loses they lose.
I’d mentioned this story previously it was 1989 my Lakers won two NBA Championships in a row and were headed for their third. Guard Byron Scott went out with a hamstring before the first game. Magic Johnson suffered the same injury in Game Two.; neither was able to play in the series. The final result the Pistons swept the Lakers 4-0 much to my dismay. I knew why the outcome but to mention the injuries to vital starters sounded like an excuse. From that point on I made up my mind I wouldn’t make excuses just simply state “My team didn’t win.”
