Basketball from a fans perspective

You might ask to be traded
If the Sixers are considering their top pick in 2019 I’m sure the athlete they might have in mind is praying they pick someone else.  The team has a problem with top draft picks suffering injury and it some instances missing the entire what might be their rookie season in the NBA.  Example, the 2018 draft witnessed the Sixers drafting local guy Mikal Bridges of Villanova.  They would later trade the draft rights to Bridges to obtain Zhaire Smith a 6-foot 6-inch shooting guard from Texas Tech.  On Monday Smith suffered a fractured foot injury which is referred to as a Jones fracture.  Jones fracture, Jones fracture where did we hear that medical term previously? 

That’s right Sixer point guard Ben Simmons also suffered a Jones fracture causing him to miss the 2017-18 season.  In 2017 the Sixers made Markelle Fultz their top choice, you guessed it already he missed the season with an injury too.  Wait there’s more Jahlil Okafor suffered a meniscus tear in March of his rookie season.  No need to discuss the 2014 draft choice Joel Embiid we are aware of his injury status.  It might appear a black cloud hangs over this proud franchise but that is simply not the case, Sixer rookies have experienced unusual occurrences during their NBA debut.

The history
We often talk of history repeating itself, we can see evidence of it in the NBA. The Grizzlies moved from Vancouver British Columbia to Memphis but the move while not popular wasn’t covert by the owner.  There are parallels between the Kings history in Kansas City and the Sonics in Seattle.  In Kansas City Gregg Luckenbill’s group purchased the Kings and almost the first words out of his mouth the Kings would remain in Kansas City.  The sale was finalized in 1983 by 1985 the Kings were on the road to Sacramento.  Did I mention Luckenbill was a resident of Sacramento? 

Meantime in the Pacific Northwest Howard Schultz of CEO of Starbucks sold his Sonics to a group headed by Clay Bennett in 2006.  After rounds of finagling over an arena deal the Sonics were headed out of town.  By 2008 the Sonics were on the road headed to Oklahoma City the team not the name, Sonics would be retained by the city.  Once the team arrived in OKC they would be re-branded the Thunder.  Did I mention Bennett and his group were from Oklahoma?  I indicated this was a condensed version of historical events however much of the events occurred along the line described.           

Utah Ute
Matt Van Komen stands 7 feet 4 inches and 225 pounds.  Komen is entering his senior year at Pleasant Grove High School in Lehi Utah.  Komen’s verbally committed to attend the University of Utah for the 2019-20 season.  Video of him in action indicates he moves well for a big man and has an offensive game.  The issue always with players of his height he all most always is matched against the opposition much shorter in stature. 

Was he correct? 
An apparel firm advertised tee shirts containing the words, Lakers 16 Clippers 0.  For those who might not be clear on the meaning it pointed to 16 NBA championships won by the Lakers to none for the Clippers.  The first letter I read gave us no indication if the writer was he a Clipper fan or just an NBA fan, we know for a fact he’s certainly not a Laker fan.  He wrote, “Why are Laker fans so arrogant?  It’s clear the Lakers have been more successful than the Clippers, many of them are so shallow.” 

You think this writer was correct, does the haughty tag apply to significant numbers of Laker fans?  I might be guilty of arrogance however the reasons are clear for me.  It began at a time former owner Donald Sterling decided to move his Clipper team to Los Angeles.  It’s reported he never asked the NBA for permission, he simply followed a court ruling involving the NFL Raiders believing the league would not fight him.  It turns out Sterling was correct the NBA never challenged him.  Once settled in Los Angeles the Clippers became a revolving door with a succession of coaches, players and front office always being fired or replaced.