Basketball from a fan perspective

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Billy Tubbs quote--- The late Billy Tubbs who died on Sunday always had a snappy quote and this is just one of many:

“This year we plan to run and shoot.  Next season we hope to run and score.”

 Is it just talk? ---Word on the street, former Memphis center James Wiseman wants no part of the Wolves.  In this instance it’s not a cold weather issue or anything else its location, location.  In this instance the Wolves might resist drafting Wiseman, they have Karl-Anthony Towns in the lineup.  The scouting report indicates Wiseman not an ol skool back to the basket center, but he is that…. a center.  

With center being his best position and All Pro Towns entrenched at center you see the dilemma, not twin tower duo pending here.  That leaves us with Towns at the center position and the Wolves making some sort of move.  Will an arrangement be made with another team; they draft Wiseman and then the picks are exchanged?  It certainly wouldn’t be the first time, in 2018 Luka Doncic was drafted by the Hawks and Trae Young by the Mavs.  The picks were swapped, much earlier in NBA history the Sonics drafted Scottie Pippen and the Bulls Olden Polynice.  Pippen never wore a Sonics jersey, his rights were traded to the Bulls.   

“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate” ---That is the line from Cool Hand Luke the 1967 movie classic, it just might apply to NBA owners and the leagues players.  It appears the owners want a December season start while the players prefer a January date.  Who wins, that is yet to be decided. The two parties are communicating the problem there is no meeting of the minds on a start date.  Owners are looking at losing large sums of money while the players are concerned about the wear and tear on their bodies.    

No decision yet---The start of the 2020-21 NBA season and the decision by the Raptors is yet to be decided.  We mentioned the possibility the Raptors moving to Kansas City for at least one season.  Well another name’s been added to the mix, Newark and the 19,500 seat Prudential Center is mentioned as a possible destination.  Despite the fact Kansas City might lose if Newark is the decision it makes sense on several levels. 

Newark is much closer to Philadelphia, Boston, Knicks, and Nets than Kansas City or Louisville.  Travel time (and cost) would be cut considerably flying from Newark to these other Atlantic Division foes versus flights from Kansas City or Louisville.  Despite my hope for NBA basketball to return to Kansas City it doesn’t look very promising at this point.  The only question, would New Jersey fans support a team they were aware would only be at play one season in the Prudential Center? 

Age is just a number---If you continue a work task while another has long since left it indicates two things, 1. You are good at performance and 2. You really love what you do.  That is the case if we look at many of the OG’s present in today’s basketball world.  First up is Dick Vitale longtime college basketball analyst for ESPN/ABC.  We could claim he is semi-retired because he’s managed to cut down the number of telecast, he is involved in over years past.  Vitale turned 81 years old this past June, if there is a college season expect to see him in some capacity with his classic basketball terminology.  Diaper dandy, Aircraft Carrier and dipsey-doo are just a few we often hear during a telecast featuring Vitale.   

Hubie Brown at 87 must be the dean of all, this former NBA coach is now an analyst for ESPN/ABC and been in that role for several years.  He’s been a coach then a broadcaster and finally a coach again, we have lost track on how long he’s been broadcasting all together.  We didn’t witness typical Spurs basketball this past season, that is no reflection on 71-year old Gregg Popovich.  Pop is just as sharp and full of spunk as he was in 1996 when he took on the reins of head coach of the Spurs.  Look for Pop on the sidelines when the NBA season begins in January 2021.  Marv Albert who turned 79 in June is now working exclusively for TNT he was the long-time voice of the Knicks prior to his association with TNT. 

78-year old Jim Calhoun retired in 2012 after 26 years at UConn and several NCAA Championships.  The coach couldn’t stay away from the game or retired, in 2018 he became head coach at the University of St. Joseph a Division III program in Connecticut.  Jim Boeheim now 75 is preparing to retire at Syracuse after heading the program since 1976.  Anytime we hear booing and hissing it’s because haters don’t like Coach K.  All Mike Krzyzewski does is win and win and win…did I say win?  Carolina’s Roy Williams might be the baby of the bunch at 70 years of age.  Coach Roy is revered in basketball circles excepting for Kansas, many in Jayhawk Nation believe he betrayed them when he left to coach North Carolina basketball.  There are others we probably missed however these guys are saying “Don’t put us out to pasture until we are ready.”