Basketball from a fans perspective
Published Monday-Friday
Trades and rumors of trades
Technically not a trade however The Celtics and Sixers might have kicked off the trade flurry in the NBA swapping draft positions. The Lakers then send Mozgov and Russell to the Nets for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick. After but a year in his hometown Dwight Howard was traded from Atlanta to Charlotte. The Hornets become Howard’s 5th NBA team which is quite interesting.
Then the rumors begin, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony and Kristap Porzingis all reported on the move somewhere. Once upon a time MLB teams were most active trading players. Overall it’s my belief few NFL players are moved through trades as for the NBA that’s another story. The NBA draft plus free-agency along with the possibility of trades is witness to numbers of players moving. At the conclusion of NBA GameTime on NBA TV former player and analyst Dennis Scott ask host Casey Stern; “We are not getting traded are we?”
Location, location and location
We’ve heard this statement or something similar for years. Simply stated sometimes where you are located in life or area can prove more beneficial than another place. I’m unsure if this scenario applies to this account however you become the decider. Bol Bol was attending high school in the KC Metro as mentioned in several other accounts.
Those of us who believe we know basketball were aware of Bol if nothing else for his late dad Manute who had an NBA career. The question becomes did the rest of the country know the name Bol Bol? I cannot answer the question but pose a question since he moved to So Cal did his game simply mature or was it the location? We cannot answer the question however the
7-1 225 pound forward has become a Rivals and ESPN 5-star prospect.
The Valley
Bet you didn’t realize the Missouri Valley Conference or The Valley is the second oldest conference in the nation. Founded in 1907 only the Big 10 Conference has a longer sports history. It might be surprising former members include Kansas State College (University), Mizzou and Kansas to name a few. Although schools have left the conference The Valley has remained a Midwest based conference. Only one school Drake University in Des Moines (IA) traces its roots to 1907 the founding date of the conference.
The conference has a rich basketball tradition with several outstanding teams at play over the years. The conference also produced its share of outstanding players; in the Hall of Fame are Larry Bird (Indiana State), Chet Walker (Bradley) and Jerry Sloan (Evansville). One of the all-time greats from Kansas City Metro played his college basketball at Wichita State the late Warren Armstrong. In 1969 Armstrong was named ABA Rookie of the Year, ABA Playoffs MVP and was a member of the ABA Championship team that year.
What now?
Hey Laker fans what should we expect now? Our team has three first round picks; will the team add three rookies to an already young lineup? It’s difficult no down right impossible to gain entrance to the Laker brain-trust. You must be bold in order to improve the Lakers and this is what Magic will attempt. The 27th and 28th pick along with one player is likely to be traded for Paul George.
Now for the movement, does Brandon Ingram change positions or George because are small forwards. I haven’t seen George enough however Ingram has demonstrated through his rookie year he can handle the basketball. Would the Lakers move Ingram at 6-9 and 190 pounds to the shooting guard position? This is the proposed lineup I could forsee:
Lonzo Ball-point guard
Brandon Ingram-shooting guard
Brook Lopez-center
Paul George-small forward ?
Julius Randle-power forward
