Basketball from a fans perspective
Bits n Pieces
We are a little under two weeks from the draft lottery. On May 17 the order of draft selection by NBA teams who are in the lottery will be determined. As this is written draftExpress.com list Duke’s Brandon Ingram as the top pick. The other mock site I regularly visit nbadraft.net says the top pick will be LSU’s Ben Simmons. Interesting that both sites are agreement with the third pick, 7-foot power forward Dragan Bender from Maccabi Tel Aviv.
It’s interesting I posed the question 6 or 8 weeks ago. Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton on May 6 released a story asking the question “What if the Lakers win lottery? “ I’m unable to read their column because it’s ESPN.com Insider. Now I’m not claiming any type of psychic ability just forethought on a subject very close to me.
I’m too old for the fashion stylings of Russell Westbrook. I have issues with portions of his
on-court game however I have greater problems with his wardrobe. It’s clear I’m not the only one TNT’s Charles Barkley made note prior to telecast of a Thunder game. Google Russell Westbrook fashion and make your own judgement. Its all okay I guess nobody will ever force me to wear any of his clothing choices.
Headed elsewhere
Zach Brown is a 7-foot 260 pound center from Miami (FL). The highly rated 2017 prospect verbally committed to UConn, he would leave Florida for Putnam Science Academy in Putnam (CT). An altercation with opposing players and the youngster was “asked to leave” and he’s returned home. Brown has since de-committed from UConn with no indication where he’s headed. Brown is a talent however he needs to get his act together if he intends to at least enroll in a college.
I could be (likely) wrong
You realize it’s difficult to admit you might have been wrong about something, well that’s exactly what I’m about to do. I cannot provide you the day, date or time but I remember my statement. After construction cost and the like soared to $1 billion dollars for the Barclays Center I said something similar to this. “The U.S. economy has improved but it’s my belief sports fans are tired of paying for billion dollar stadiums and arenas for billionaire owners.” Since I made that statement no new arenas have opened however three are on the horizon.
I’m not sure of the order of events so I’ll just list them in order of planned opening date. The 17,500 seat Golden I Center will open g next fall in Sacramento and will become the new home for the Kings. The Milwaukee Bucks Arena which is yet to have a corporate name attached will open in 2018 and will seat 18,065. In San Francisco the Chase Center an 18,000 seat arena will become the new home of the Warriors, it has a planned opening in 2019. This account doesn’t end here as this is written Seattle is entertaining a downtown arena to replace Key. The city council is voting on the proposal so it’s not a done deal. I don’t have complete details on all these construction projects however public funds are probably being utilized in some form or another.
Bits n Pieces
Thon Maker will be drafted in round ______ and he will be the _______pick. Of course there are blanks we don’t know, we only can speculate at this point however these projections might be close to accurate. NBADraft.net projects the 7 foot prospect as the number 28 pick by the Suns in the first round while draftExpress.com says number 39 by the Pelicans in the second round.
Junior Bridgeman played in the NBA from 1975 through 1987 the better portion of that time was spent as a member of the Bucks. This 6-5 former guard retired from the NBA with a business plan in mind. Bridgeman’s plan would allow him to eventually own 240 Wendy’s and 120 Chili’s, he’s placed sales sign on his restaurants to move into another business directions. He intends to become a Coca-Cola bottler in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Nebraska.
Sikeston Missouri is located 150 miles south of St. Louis and is home to Fred Thatch. Thatch is a 6-2 200 pound forward who led his Bulldog team to a 28-3 record this past season. He does everything for his team, 20 points 10 rebounds 5 assists and 3 steals a game. Did I mention he is completing his sophomore year at Sikeston High School? The only issue unless he’s still growing it’s likely he’ll move over to a guard position in college.
ESPN’s Mark Jackson was a member of the Knicks and Jeff Van Gundy coached the team. The two are paired as analyst for the network but I couldn’t remember if they were in New York at the same time. Jackson left after the ‘91-‘92 season for the Clippers Van Gundy arrived with the Knicks in ‘95-‘96.
