War of the
Sorry I was thinking about the classic 1953 Sci-Fi movie not the 2005 re-make. I meant to say the war of the words between Melo and Jackson has reared its head once again. I’m not taking either side in the war of words between Carmelo Anthony and Phil Jackson but I believe I understand. PJ is hoping Melo will waive his no-trade clause in order for the Knicks to trade him. If a trade should occur where is Melo headed you might ask?
Although LeBron and Melo are buddies the Cavs are likely out of the question. One rumor has Melo headed to the Clippers he and Paul are friends. I’m going to play GM, although it’s likely to not occur I could see a Love for Melo trade. They (whoever they are) claim Blake Griffin would not be part of the trade it would involve other Clipper players. Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford plus draft choice(s) for Melo is the word. The one remaining question is who moves to the power forward Melo and Griffin play the same position?
Bits n Pieces
LaMelo Ball scored 92 points for his Chino Hills team versus Los Osos on Tuesday night. The youngster similar to his older brothers is talented but I continue to maintain he’s a “hot dog”. A portion of the video I witnessed on ESPN was interesting; most of the scoring was done cherry picking. In the video I witnessed Ball often didn’t travel much pass half court. From all indications the 6-2 sophomore plays little if any defense. The Los Osos coach not doubting LaMelo’s talent didn’t mince his words in a tweet after the game. I call him a “hot dog’ because who takes unnecessary half-court shots just because you feel like it ----LaMelo does?
I guess I should be more careful with my words in conversations. An acquaintance noticed my Laker jacket one day last week, he walked over to me and asked me about the state of the team. I mentioned a couple positives I believe and then said; “Magic’s coming back.” I could see the shock in his face and I quickly said; “He’s returning as a consultant.” He said; “Good I thought you were saying he was returning as a player.”
Just in case you missed it at some point in January I wrote “Division I could see its first 30 point game a scorer in 20 years.” He’s not 7 feet tall he’s not even 6-5 he stands 5-9, Marcus Keene of Central Michigan is a scoring machine. He’s currently at 30.7 ppg. Hopefully Keene can maintain the pace over the remainder of the season.
The long, long, long road trip
For years we’ve heard about the “Circus Tour” of the Bulls. The Chicago Bulls took an extensive road trip every season to accommodate the circus. Further south and west the Spurs have the annual Rodeo Road trip. In So Cal the Lakers and Clippers are forced out of town for the Grammy Awards. There might be other NBA teams with extended road trips these are the four most prominent.
Kansas City no longer wants NBA basketball
It’s my belief this city no longer wants pro basketball either the NBA or minor league variety. The view is Royals baseball, Chiefs football and minor league hockey the sports dollar and interest are at its maximum. Consider this fact at the time Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005 the Hornets (Pelicans) was displaced. The New Orleans Arena (Smoothie King Center) was not damaged but for a number of reasons basketball was played in Oklahoma City from 2005-2007. Truth is told Oklahoma City reached out to the owners of the Hornets offering use of the arena.
Although Kemper Arena sat basically empty local government made no effort to offer Kemper Arena as a possible site for Hornet games. At the time Sprint Center opened there was unofficial talk of an NBA team but that never came to fruition. Anschutz Entertainment owners of Sprint Center have ensured the maximum number of available dates is filled. Ownership made it know a basketball team would tie down 41 arena dates and it might be in the best interest of the city if those dates remain available. So there you have it limited interest from the city and no effort by the Anschutz group in basketball at Sprint Center.
