Basketball from a fans perspective
He’s headed home
The NBA dominated the sports airwaves once again with the news of Dwayne Wade. Wade was Heat basketball however he is no longer a member. Word came early Wednesday evening Wade intended to sign a contract with the Bulls. Surprising certainly we believed his NBA career would culminate with a Heat retirement having spent 13 years in Miami. Dwayne Wade at age 34 is headed home---not to South Beach but to Chicago. It's likely he maintains a residence in Miami but Chicago is where Wade is headed. Although he played his college ball at Marquette University in Milwaukee he was born and raised in the Windy City.
The reasoning behind the switch of Wade is simple it’s a matter of $$$$. Despite being part of three Heat championships and All-Star teammates (Shaq, LeBron, Haslem and Bosh) Wade’s never been the highest paid player on his team it appears he simply wants to be paid. Wade first came on the scene for me when Marquette faced Mizzou in an NCAA tourney game. As for the game Wade ran threw, over and around the Tigers. Being unfamiliar with Wade at the time I remember saying to myself; "Who is this guy?" Over the course of three NBA Championships and 13 years we all became privy to the play of Dwayne "Flash" Wade.
Think about it
The fury regarding Kevin Durant presently in Oklahoma and LeBron James earlier caused me to reflect on the present and past. How many of us would leap at the opportunity for a job change that would allow us to reach our desired objectives? I would argue few of us would turn down an opportunity at advancement from our present profession. On the other hand we find it very easy to feel “betrayed” at the time our favorite player decides on greener pastures elsewhere.
Fans need to face facts this is a different age players no longer believe in any sort of team loyalty instead they depend on a big payday or championship.
That’s not as bad a statement as might first appear; we could debate the loyalty of NBA owners as well toward players. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert made a number of inflammatory and derogatory statements regarding LeBron when he left the first time. One stands out for me; “We’ll (the Cavs) will win a championship before LeBron." wonder how that worked out for your Mr. Gilbert. Larry Bird wouldn’t have left the Celtics same for Magic Johnson leaving the Lakers they respected one another but were fierce competitors on the court. This is a different age and different players. We might not like it but this is the NBA of the 21st Century.
In addition
Ian O’Connor reminded us of another “Super Team”; remember Karl Malone and Gary Payton joining forces with Shaq and Kobe? The paring worked fairly well however they lost an NBA Championship after being highly favored. The Heat won two NBA Championships however there were bumps in the road here and there. The first year the "Heatles" were together they lost the series; they managed to redeem themselves by winning the next two. In LeBron’s final Miami season they lost the championship to the Spurs.
Two championships in four years certainly noteworthy but nowhere near the promise of: "Not one, not two, not three etc?” made by LeBron at the introductory press conference. Did you realize the Warriors had to “gut” their roster in order to afford Durant? Missing from the Warriors championship roster are; Fetus Ezeli, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Leandro Barbosa and Brandon Rush. The Warriors picked up Zaza Pachulia to replace Bogut, in reserve are 6-11 Anderson Varejao and rookie Damian Jones a 7-foot center from Vanderbilt.
He’s listed
Researching a story I came across an account in Ranker.com. They listed the all-time top centers in the NBA and I found little to disagree with the order. Jack Sikma made the list and a number might ask; “Who’s that?” Sikma was the 8th pick in the first round of the 1977 draft by the Seattle Sonics. The journey of Sikma is even more unusual because Illinois Wesleyan competes at the Division III level. The 6-11 230 pound center had a 14 year career playing for the Sonics with the last 5 years spent as a member of the Bucks.
