Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Hold on a moment

It was reported Cade Cunningham would remain at Oklahoma State rather than transfer or play in the G-League.  This view was based on the OSU ban from post season play by the NCAA and would Cunningham be willing to remain committed.  

We reported yesterday he intends to remain at OSU however the joy felt by many might be short lived. Cunningham arrives at OSU as the number one prospect in the Class of 2020, is he as good as advertised?  If that turns out to be the case, he is not in for a long stay at OSU?  It is likely he is a one and done athlete and might be headed for the NBA at the end of the 2020-21 season.  This observation could be incorrect, on the other hand.  

On second thought

Yesterday this writer announced Ice Cube would replace Jack Nicholson as the Lakers number one celebrity fan.  Today I checked bleacherreport.com and they must have said, “Whoa, hold on there a minute what about these names?”  In addition to Nicholson and Cube they named Flea and Anthony Kiedis two members of the rock group The Red Hot Chili Peppers.   The Equalizer Denzel Washington was on their list in addition to actress Dyan Cannon.  We could add rapper Snoop Dog to the list as well.  We located several additional names on nba.com but they were mix of names profiled earlier. 

Grumbling

Several NBA players have grumbled about the re-start of the season.  Despite the complaints voiced no one as this is written have signed off saying I ain’t playing.  That was the status until Monday as two players indicate they will not play.  Most interesting neither identified thus far has used the pandemic as an excuse. Veteran Trevor Ariza has a visitation issue with his son and has decided to pass the first month.  

Will Ariza eventually play, that remains a question for now.  For Wizards forward Davis Bertans it becomes a money issue.  The Wizards forward has past injury issues and is about to become a free agent.  Will there be additional players deciding to “sit out” for a variety of reasons?  That is quite possible, wait and see what occurs. As this account was completed the Lakers Avery Bradley also indicated he would not play.  

Kansas City basketball history

Wikipedia contains information we hope is accurate, we speak of material referencing Kansas City’s connection to the American Basketball Association.  It was reported February 2, 1967 Kansas City was a charter member of the new league.  Wikipedia indicates the city had a problem finding an arena, in April 1967 the franchise was sold to Denver interest and the team was located there without playing a single game in Kansas City.  The information relating to arena issues is a little confusing. 

Kemper Arena former home of the Kings was not opened until 1974 however all-purpose and venerable Municipal Auditorium was in use.  Municipal’s capacity is small compared to Kemper or Sprint, but it was in use for NCAA Tournament play.  Again, with NCAA play think 32 total teams nothing like today so even if the building were in use for tournament games it would not be tied up for long.  This is certainly no attempt to re-write history but how Denver managed to land Kansas City’s franchise is interesting.