Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Leadership is an ever-evolving position-Coach K.

What were they thinking?

The muddled sale of the Wolves franchise caused me to reflect to an earlier time. The Wolves had worked for several years attempting to persuade Ricky Rubio to play in the NBA. In the 2009 NBA draft the Wolves managed to secure three picks so it would be possible to pick him, why Rubio? The Spanish phenom’s exploits on the court had been well documented at an early age. In the 2009 NBA draft the Wolves would make Rubio the 5^th pick in the first round of that draft and then it occurred. With the 6^th pick they decided to choose point guard Jonny Flynn of Syracuse, the confusion would continue with the 18^th pick as they chose Ty Lawson of North Carolina. What were they doing, attempting to corner the market on the top point guards in the 2009 draft?

Well, these strange moves didn’t exactly work out for them, Rubio didn’t arrive from Spain until 2011. He would play for the Wolves until 2017 when he was traded to the Jazz, in 2019 Rubio signed a free agent contract with the Suns. In late 2020 we’d witness Rubio being traded to the Thunder who two days later traded him back to his starting point in the NBA, the Wolves. As for Flynn he managed to play two years for the Wolves and then it was Rockets and Blazers. Since then, he’s played in Europe and had a couple of stops in Australia, Europe and the CBA. It appears he’s no longer an active player anywhere. The Wolves would trade Lawson to the Nuggets for a future draft pick, he never donned a jersey for the franchise. Without additional research we cannot determine who the Wolves might have received in exchange for Lawson. 

Charles Barkley Part II

During a discussion on the NBA, a friend made this statement to me “I like Charles Barkley, he’s entertaining.” I certainly wasn’t in agreement although we continue our relationship. I don’t hate Barkley, there is no dislike on my part I expect an analyst to point out stuff for me and others. It seems sometimes that fact is often elusive for me (and maybe others). Barkley’s played the game at the highest level and is in the Naismith Hall of Fame so his background says he should be good at the job. Barkley’s role should be a piece of cake however his message becomes muddled at times.

This is the issue for me, it’s likely a few fans believe as my friend states “he’s entertaining.” I realize I’m different, I don’t want guys like Barkley to entertain I want them to inform. An analyst cannot and will not be correct in all instances and we should take that fact into consideration. This is an example, as we are aware LeBron James suffered a high ankle sprain, from what we’ve been led to believe this is not a quick recovery. On Inside the NBA Barkley must have stated LeBron “didn’t look good in the first half.” This after the game “LeBron “played better in the second half” of Game three. Is this information insightful, you become the judge?

The Nets finally have a home

Rest assured we have no evidence if this is true however it was reported at the time. In 2002 when the New Jersey Nets played for the NBA championship this incident was supposed to have occurred. A media member from Kansas City claimed he was unable to locate any Nets gear inside New York City. All that’s changed now, yesterday at work in Kansas City a youngster came into our workplace with a Nets baseball cap on. That might not have occurred without the Nets moving to Brooklyn in 2012. The problem for this franchise is movement, founded in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans in the ABA team it seemed home was always subject to the next move.

In 1968 they moved to Long Island and were re-branded as the New York Nets. In 1977 they returned to New Jersey becoming the New Jersey Nets. In New Jersey home was the Izod Center and later it became the Prudential Center in Newark. New ownership brought a change in direction which included a planned new arena in Brooklyn. Barclays Center was opened in 2012 in the borough of Brooklyn. Thus, the city claimed two NBA franchises despite one of them was named for a borough and the explanation is interesting. A few generations of Brooklynites remember when a major league baseball team had Brooklyn emblazoned on their jersey. If we fast forward ownership has been bold in its effort to acquire free agency and we might see proof of that effort in 2021 culminating with a championship.

Few know his name     

Amar’e Stoudemire is retired now; he would experience an incredibly good NBA career. Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James are about to close out their NBA careers as well, as for Lenny Cooke that’s a different story. You are asking the question who he is, Cooke is a 6-foot 6 inch forward born in Atlantic City New Jersey, he was supposed to have been better than all of them. What occurred, why did we never see him in a college or NBA jersey? It really depends on who you check with, I located one video that affirmed what was said earlier. There is a second video claiming Cooke despite his talent was lazy, unlike the others he never worked on his game.

In Northern Valley High School in Old Tappan New Jersey Cooke appeared to be surrounded by people who only told him how good he was or how much money he could earn. In any event it was reported at least three NBA teams indicated they would draft him when their turn came in 2002, it didn’t happen. He’s bounced around playing in various leagues here and overseas, but the NBA never called him. Cooke is 39-years old now, he’s an age he should have retired three or four years ago if an NBA career had ever occurred. There are several parties who claim Cooke is at the core for the NBA adopting an age 19 or one year removed from high school. From all indications Cooke was never in trouble however his poor academics and numerous schools might have been a contributing factor in the NBA bypassing him.