Basketball from a fans perspective

No pick

I am stunned, after expecting the Lakers to consider two prospects they decided on neither one. Instead, they pulled off a blockbuster trade which caught Laker Nation off guard until late Thursday afternoon. The Lakers will receive mercurial point guard Russell Westbrook. Leaving the Lakers in exchange are Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the Lakers 2021 draft pick. Saturday’s edition will contain more detail on this shocker of a trade.  

The draft

This is written about an hour prior to the start of the 2021 NBA draft, we have no idea how this will be viewed in the future. We had to wait several years to assess the 1984, 1996 and 2003 NBA drafts. We approach each draft as good however a number have fallen short, these certainly didn’t. In 1984 we saw Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, John Stockton and Charles Barkley being selected all in the Naismith Hall of Fame. In 1996 drafted that year was Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Steve Nash, all are now in the Naismith Hall of Fame.  In 2003 the NBA added LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and D. Wade to its list of 2003 talent. There are others while not quite All-Star talent in the 1996 and 2003 draft managed to have respectable careers. 

As for 2021 prospects Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs and others stand out because they have received great coverage in various forms of media. This is almost a guarantee, we cannot name him at this point there will be one perhaps two prospects who fly beneath the radar. Murray State a mid-major school produced 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year Jae Morant. We can also insert the name Dwayne Wade here; Wade wasn’t an unknown having played at Marquette. It’s the level of talent he exhibited that amazed and surprised many. After an NBA championship career spent for the most part with the Heat Wade will be inducted in the Naismith Hall of Fame one day, that certainly might not have been projected in June 2003. There is a sleeper somewhere in this draft we are just yet to discover his name.

Mizzou in the NBA

Around these parts the local media always reminds us of the number of Kansas players in the NBA. Although Mizzou is not close to the Jayhawks in volume the number is not what you might believe. I’m talking drafted or free agent in the NBA even if but a few months. Currently we have the Porter brothers, Jontay with the Grizzlies and Michael Jr. with the Nuggets. We must also include NBA 6^th Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson.

The trio are the only active Tigers but there have been others who are now retired, if the names are not familiar that’s okay, they did play at Mizzou and once upon a time in the NBA. We begin with Larry Drew whose been a player and coach plus Anthony Peeler. Injuries curtailed what might have been an All-Pro career for Pacer Steve Stipanovich, we also include Keyon Dooling and Jon Sundvold in the count along with Kareem Rush and DeMarre Carroll. Those named and additional athletes total 33 in all, more players than might be first believed.  

The Empire Strikes Back

Okay now that I have your attention let us explore the latest development with the Big XII Conference. Let’s speculate a bit on the latest news, commissioner Bob Bowlsby has declared war on the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network or ESPN. The commish has accused the network of being responsible for Texas and Oklahoma divorcing themselves from the Big XII. How serious is this matter you ask; they believe in their position so much they sent a cease-and-desist letter to ESPN? I ain’t no attorney, Business Law 101 and 102 is the depth of my legal expertise. One guy says one thing and the other says the opposite. One person with a legal background claims the conference might be indicating the next step is legal, as for the other guy. He claims a cease-and-desist letter is just a piece of paper with little power, we shall see how this case plays out. We shall see if “marriage counseling” is required for these two partners.  

Piston moves in time 

New York’s had several buildings with the name “Madison Square Garden” on the front of the arena. We might find a similar situation existed in Detroit as well although not under the same name. The Pistons franchise was founded in Fort Wayne Indiana but later moved to Detroit. In 1957 the Pistons would share Olympic Stadium with the NHL Red Wings, Olympic would serve as home from 1957 to 1961 and then it was Cobo Arena. On the banks of the Detroit River Cobo was the site of play until 1978.

The history is unclear as to why the change was made because unlike many of the others Cobo remains in use today. The Pistons moved to Pontiac and the Silverdome a football stadium which they shared with the NFL Lions. In 1988 the Palace at Auburn Hills would become the location of three Piston NBA championships (1988, 1989 & 2004). New owner and change occurred once again; the team moved into Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit in 2016. How about the sites of former arenas, in 1987 the wrecking ball found Olympic, and it was demolished? The same story held true for the Silverdome in 2018 and The Palace in 2020.