Basketball from a fans perspective

Sunday, Monday, Wednesday & Friday

For the naysayers

The title should be clear, you know who they are. Since draft night July 29 they have been quite vocal regarding Russell Westbrook and the Lakers. They have provided us 55,000 reasons why the Westbrook trade will not work. How about me giving you a single reason it will work in favor of LeBron and crew…winning. Allow me to pause a moment and state initially I did not buy in on this trade, I foresaw issues prior to the media ringing alarm bells.

There’s been no evidence presented to date providing me proof Westbrook is a keeper except the one issue raised earlier he wants to win. I have no doubt in the athletic ability of the mercurial point guard it’s been my belief he appeared to make little effort to adapt his game. I believe with LeBron and AD as teammates Westbrook will adjust. Let’s pause a moment, Larry Laker is not claiming the 2022 NBA championship will be won by the Lakers. Predictions like that are for other guys who get paid, barring major injuries a very competitive team will be on the court every evening. This Laker team will earn a playoff berth beyond that is an open book. 

Bits n Pieces 

Sly and the Family Stone a funk, soul and rock band recorded a tune in 1971 titled It’s a family affair. We could make that same claim for the McGee family. By now you are aware veteran NBA center JaVale McGee won gold with Team USA in the 2021 Olympics held in Tokyo. JaVale’s mom also is a gold medal winner, she won in 1984 playing for the Women’s Team USA. To date they are the only mother-son combo with gold medals. Now it’s up to daughter Imani Trishawn McGee-Stafford to win gold and the circle will be complete for the McGee family.

I’m old enough to remember a time we sometimes made jokes regarding mental health issues. This issue was brought to our attention I believe by two events. The first, Untold: The Malice in the Palace Netflix documentary. Metta World Peace aka Ron Artest discusses his mental health issues, he’s never attempted to hide the mental health challenges he faced and continues to face. Around the time of the Olympics, we witnessed tennis star Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles discuss their “mental health.” It is time we quit making jokes regarding this serious issue. We have no idea of the percentage, let’s say if 10% of the population suffers mental health issues perhaps 2-3% could be amateur and professional athletes. 

This is written early morning August 24, there’s been no announcement regarding Emoni Bates. High-profile prospects often maintain “secrecy” as to their destination. Bates (intentional or not) has taken a rather unusual route to his choice of a school. It almost appears he is stringing us along on every move he makes, an example. Recently the Memphis Commercial Appeal wrote, “Emoni Bates has a Memphis email address” and then this one. Incoming freshman Dior Johnson posted a photo of Bates at the time he visited Oregon last week. Schools certainly allow late enrollment however this might be the ultimate example of that fact. UPDATE: As this account was completed came this late word, by the time you read this Bates will have likely made his decision known. It will be announced today Wednesday at an unspecified time.  

Technically Mikan wasn’t drafted

The late George Mikan is enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame based on his play at DePaul University and his stellar career at DePaul and time with the Minneapolis Lakers. Mikan is considered one of the pioneers who placed the NBA in the purview of sports fans in the nation. Bet you didn’t realize technically Mikan wasn’t drafted by the Lakers. If you believe he might have signed with them as a free agent that’s not the case either. A fan’s question prompted the bit of research on my part. Here goes, in the fall of 1946 Mikan fresh out of DePaul signed with the Chicago American Gears in the National Basketball League which preceded the NBA.

After a season of play the owner decided to pull his team out of the league with the intention of forming the Professional Basketball League of American. Sidebar, the Kansas City Blues would be one of the PBLA teams, the league never got off the ground. The history says players from the Gears were placed in a dispersal draft (remember the term) among the remaining 11 NBL teams. The Minneapolis Lakers selected George Mikan who would lead them to the 1950 and 1952 through 1954 NBA championships. That’s not the first time a dispersal draft was held. In 1976 a merger with the ABA saw players selected by NBA teams among them another Naismith Hall of Fame player, Moses Malone.