Basketball from a fans perspective

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75^th Anniversary team

This is the second notification the NBA will have its 75^th Anniversary in the 2021-22 season. There are events planned all season beginning with a anniversary team being selected. The team will be announced later this month however its unknown at this point who will be included in the number. There will likely be surprises as there was with the 50th Anniversary Team in 1996. Many questioned how Shaquille O'Neal could be selected a member of the team after such a brief time (1992) in the NBA. His response was classic, "I didn't vote for myself."

His number will soon be retired

Pau Gasol a.k.a. “The Spaniard” is officially retired from basketball, you don’t remember this and it’s not that critical. Larry Laker once wrote a while ago, “Pau Gasol’s jersey should be retired by the Lakers”, well that is about to occur. There is no set date for this event to take place, the number 16-jersey worn by Gasol while a member of the Lakers will be hoisted near the top of Staples Center. Gasol will be placed beside Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and other retired Lakers.

Gasol was acquired in trade with the Grizzlies in 2008, the 7-foot power forward moved into the Laker lineup smoothly with no clear issue. The Bryant-Gasol combo would be key to the Lakers back-to-back championships in 2009-2010. Although he would leave the Lakers and play for the Bulls, Spurs and Bucks he will remain a Laker forever in my heart. It is clear management must feel the same way because they chose to honor “The Spaniard” by retiring his jersey. Clearly, he made a tremendous impression on the Lakers and this member of Laker Nation. 

Why did the Sonics leave?

The Seattle Sonics still exist, oh you thought they moved to Oklahoma City in 2008? The franchise moved however there was a condition made about the sale. The city allowed the owner to move earlier than end of the lease. The provisions, all team records and the name Sonics would remain in the City of Seattle. Since the 2008 move, chatter has continued saying the NBA should return to the Pacific Northwest. On at least one instance it almost did, the Kings franchise was placed on the market. The Maloofs owners of the Kings were about to sell the team to a Seattle ownership group, at the last minute the late David Stern then NBA commissioner swooped in he delayed the sale for a brief period until an owner could be found.

A group consisting of principle owner Vivek Ranadive’ purchased the Kings in 2013 and the rest is history. It’s been said at times the NBA is not interested in expansion however that might not be set in stone. NBA expansion could supply the present group of owners a financial windfall. If expansion should come it will be more than one team for balance. We could say the talent might be watered down but NBA owners could see a greater financial reward in adding two teams over a single entry. The Sonics are at the top of everyone’s list but what about the second team? Potential candidates for the second franchise might read like a map of the United States. Richmond, Las Vegas, Louisville, St. Louis, Virginia Beach and Kansas City. It will be 2025 or beyond before we see the NBA adding new teams. Expansion will occur, exactly when is an unknown.

In the best interest of the fans

You might remember an earlier report on groundbreaking for Steve Ballmer’s Intuit Dome. Once the arena is completed this $1.8 billion building will have innovations unlike any existing arena. We found this next part of the arena story quite interesting; it seems Ballmer has an aversion to standing in line to use the toilet. Based on the owners trepidation the upper part of the arena will have a larger than usual number of toilets. There is no indication the number of seats planned for the upper part of this 18,000-seat arena. 

We are informed a computer calculated a toilet for every 27 seats in the upper part of the arena. To come up with a number I consulted a younger and better math mind than yours truly. My math skills are only average, so I asked a friend to do the math for me. I said, “Let’s suppose the upper portion of the dome has 10,000 seats how many toilets would be available?” Keenan was quick in his calculations and informed me “There would be 370+ toilets in the upper portion.” Once the arena is complete, we can say boldly Ballmer is building this arena with fans in mind, owner enthusiasm is certainly clear in the amenities planned for the Intuit Dome.

Can you spare a bit of extra cash?

Have you an extra $380K you can spare the Nets Kyrie Irving? Just kidding although the issue is certainly one of a serious nature. That’s the figure ESPN is reporting Irving will give up for every missed game or practice he does not attend. The NBA has guidelines in place regarding covid but it’s not the league office its New York City which becomes the culprit.

The Health Department for the city has in place one of the strictest plans in the nation thus far, the remaining questions. Will the Nets move their practices outside the city (New Jersey as an example)? Better yet, will Irving remain un-vaccinated? We now have less than two weeks until the start of the NBA season so he or the Nets must reach a decision and soon. In related news NBA GM’s have picked the Nets to win the NBA Championship, Kevin Durant is projected as the league MVP.