Basketball from a fans perspective
The lead story
Everything has changed; the fourth story below has now been removed. It was an account involving Carmelo Anthony and his current status. Larry Laker made the statement "When training camp opens he would be in the Knicks training camp." In the middle of the day on Saturday came a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wornjnarowski with the bombshell news. Carmelo had been traded to the Thunder, the Knicks would receive center Enes Kanter, forward Doug McDermott and a 2018 draft pick.
Can this “new” team of Westbrook, Paul George and now Melo mold themselves into a competitive team? My belief is yes however the downside is far how long? George and Melo will become free-agents next year and Westbrook has yet to sign an extension that’s been placed in front of him. I owe an apology to GM Sam Presti; I made some disparaging remarks regarding his effort to build his team. We shall see what 2018 brings about for the Oklahoma City Thunder and their new lineup.
Wouda, Shouda……Coulda
How about this bit of history that might have occurred. Adrian Wojnarowkski of ESPN claims in 2011 several teams wanted Chris Paul however it was only the Lakers or Clippers. Wojnarowski reports Paul wanted the Lakers in order to team with Kobe; the potential of Andrew Bynum would not have been included in the Paul trade so there you have it. We know the eventual outcome; Stern vetoed the Paul trade the key to the trade. Despite showing vast potential Bynum’s career went off the tracks due in part to injury and attitude.
Lamar Odom who would have left in the trade was returned but later traded in another account Odom claims this derailed his time in the NBA he would never again play up to his Sixth Man of the Year level. The Lakers would acquire Steve Nash and Dwight Howard….Nash played parts of two years and retired. Howard left for the Rockets after one season in a Laker uniform. I know what you are saying all this is wouda, shouda…..coulda. Well that’s exactly what it is however the Lakers might not have experienced such a significant drop if a couple of these moves had panned out.
“One of the best in the whole world”
That’s the word from Heat guard Goran Dragic regarding his fellow countryman Luka Doncic. Doncic a 6-8 228 pound small is projected a high first round draft pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. We have no idea if Dragic’s view rings true however it appears the youngster has the tools required to play in the NBA. If we check the mock sites nbadraft.net indicates he could become the number five pick while draftExpress.com has the youngster at four. NBA Insider says Doncic might even move up to become the top choice in the 2018 draft. Whatever position he’s drafted it appears he’s got the skill to play in the NBA. I wonder about the response from Stephen A. Smith should the Knicks draft him.
My fear has subsided
Although I expressed no concern at the time I was anxious. The NBA announced teams would be allowed to place ads on their jerseys. My first thought was a gigantic logo, companies spending millions want their product advertised. My concern proves unfounded at least to this early date. I’ve seen on television or on the net the new jerseys. The ads placed on the left upper portion of the jersey are non disruptive, my early fear has subsided.
