Basketball from a fans perspective

Home elsewhere
It’s long been the belief Phil Jackson had issues with Carmelo Anthony.  Over the course of his tenure with the Knicks he’s established this view so its not exactly hidden  The latest news broke Friday evening with PJ saying “Carmelo should waive his no trade clause.”  Carmelo needs to find a home elsewhere justified or not PJ wants him gone.  We cannot read PJ’s mind but he must believe the Knicks are “stuck in mud” primarily due to Carmelo. 

Construction update
In discussing new arenas in old places I don’t believe an opening date was provided for any of the buildings.  In Detroit Little Caesars Arena owned by the NHL Red Wings will open in the fall of 2017.  As was indicated earlier the Pistons will share dates in the downtown arena.  In Milwaukee the yet unnamed arena for the Bucks has a planned 2018 opening.    

Chase Center new home of the Warriors may have had an earlier beginning however lawsuits resulted in a late construction start, Chase will open in 2019.  I’m going to include non-NBA Seattle in this report due to plains, as most are aware Seattle desperately wants to return to the NBA.  The city has not one, not two but three proposals to consider.   
.
Who is he?
This might be rags to riches story nobody wanted Derrick White when he graduated from high school.  No offers to play basketball anywhere however fate stepped in and aided his pursuit.  A coach he’d become acquainted was hired at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs an NCAA Division II program.  He played at UCCS for three years and one year at Division I Colorado.  

Presto in four years he’s become an NBA prospect, the guy who couldn’t get any notice excelled at UCCS and later at Colorado.  He followed this up by stand out performance at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and now is projected to be a second round draft pick.  Although his high school record was outstanding at 6-1 and 150 pounds it was easy to overlook him.  White now stands 6-5 and checks in at a solid 200 pounds.   

I’m a Laker fan
This reminder is provided once again for many of you.  I have been a Laker fan since I was a little kid; I have remained a fan despite a downturn in play over several seasons.  That is indeed the case currently, they are not good.  There are a number of other NBA teams I follow I don’t believe I would consider myself a fan.  

Case in point the Rockets, I enjoyed the re-birth of James Harden and what he’d done for his team during the season.  I didn’t believe they were a championship team but one I enjoyed seeing play, I wanted them to advance as far as possible.  No Tony Parker no Kawhi Leonard and the Rockets couldn’t handle the Spurs.  Friends how does this news impact the Lakers?  I have no idea I believe the discussion was about the Spurs-Rockets. 

Bits n Pieces
Could Chicago support two NBA teams, I believe that’s possible.  For years the city has supported the Cubs and the White Sox, there are divided loyalties.  Cubs’ fans are not Sox fans and vice-versa.  One NFL team but even that’s not always been the case, the Chicago Cardinals represented the city in the NFL along with the Bears.  In 1959 the team moved to St. Louis and later Arizona.  I’m sure the same issue would prevail if there were a second team in the “Second City.”  The only issue there is doubts if Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf would okay an NBA rival with Chicago on the jersey.  

I just checked a list of pending 2017 NBA free-agents.  The list is quite interesting and several are impressive.  Derrick Rose, Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry are just a few of the names on the list.  I dare not make any predictions of the destination of any of the players.  Last year my family was returning to Kansas City from the Dallas area.  On I-35 in Oklahoma City a friend sent a text message.  The text notified me Kevin Durant was going to leave the Thunder and sign with the Warriors.  You are probably thinking I was texting while driving not true.  My wife was driving the vehicle and I was actually in the back seat.  

Speaking of the draft it should be noted Anthony Bennett the number one pick in the 2013 NBA Draft was playing in Turkey until recently the team has released him.  Number two pick Victor Oladipo now with the Thunder has been a serviceable player but nothing extraordinary.  The draft might have been considered weak but consider who went later that year.  Gianni’s Antetokounmpo a.k.a. The Greek Freak and Rudy Gobert.  Giannis was the 15th pick and Gobert the 27th, sometimes the draft becomes “I hope he can play.”