Basketball from a fans perspective

In Laker news 

This is interesting, SI.com claims the Lakers have a trade offer from the Rockets for Russell Westbrook. That would work for me except with this related story. At the time Phil Jackson coached the Lakers he and owner Jeanie Buss became a dating couple. We cannot provide the timeframe however at some point they were no longer an item. Fast forward to 2022 and it’s being reported PJ is offering Jeanie input on coaching and personnel moves. 

This one is interesting. It’s said, “PJ wants to trade LeBron James and keep Westbrook.” In connection with that comes yet another story, LeBron is due a max contract this off season. How many $$$, that is an unknown number. Jeanie has gone on record indicating “She has no desire to trade LeBron even though he might not sign a max contract. Stay tuned for further develops in the Soap Opera that’s become the Lakers. We continue to hear a variety of names mentioned as coaching candidates, the latest former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson now on the staff of Steve Kerr at Golden State.

Coach of the Year    

Who says you cannot recover from being fired? We are unsure however Suns coach Monty Williams was named Coach of the Year in the association, when was Williams fired? Williams was coaching the Pelicans and in 2015 he was terminated after 5 seasons at the helm. In 2019 he was hired as head coach of the Suns, under his leadership the first year saw the team finish with a 34-39 record and missed the playoffs. Last season the Suns finished 51-21 but lost the NBA championship to the Bucks. The 2022 Suns eclipsed the prior season record finishing 64-18. We have no idea at this point if the Suns win the championship, this we do know, Monty Williams has proven he can coach basketball. Congratulations coach Williams on being named NBA Coach of the Year.

I was reminded

A NY Times account mentioned the fact unlike today's NBA the late Bob Lanier played against some of the the best of the best. Night after night Lanier was matched against Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Willis Reed, Nate Thurmond, Wes Unseld and even Wilt Chamberlain. Back then there was no load management, unless you were injured you played. All the post players mentioned are in the Naismith Hall of Fame including Lanier. 

Signing on the dotted line  

In Mizzou basketball news we’ve mentioned the fast start coach Dennis Gates had recruiting talent. The first two players added to the roster have signed on the dotted line. DeAndre Gholston 6-foot 5 shooting guard who arrives via the transfer portal from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Also signing his letter of intent is 6-foot 10 Mohamed Diarra who arrives from Garden City (KS) Community College. Diarra is penciled in at the center position however at 215 pounds he might be more suited as a power forward.

New awards

With this being the 75^th Anniversary of the NBA the league announced new awards. The Eastern Conference Finals MVP will now receive the Larry Bird MVP award. On the west coast the league will now award the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP. The Eastern Conference Trophy will now be named after Celtic great Bob Cousy, the Western Conference Trophy will be named after Oscar Robertson. The NBA announced the four players named were keys to the growth of the league.  

A question remains

The metro side of the state with St. Louis including Illinois is about 46,000 folks larger than metro Kansas City Missouri. At one time we might have held the belief boys basketball on the east and west side was somewhat evenly matched. That appears to no longer be the case if we check the numbers playing college basketball and in the NBA. If we look at active players Jayson Tatum 3X an NBA All Star and the best basketball player in the state, he’s a St. Louis product. On the Kansas City side, we have Landry Shamet, Alec Burks and perhaps a player or two we might have overlooked. Has the Kansas City metro produced a talent close to that of Tatum or even the late Hall of Fame athlete Jo Jo White? Someone unfamiliar with the geography might toss out Wilt Chamberlain’s name, although KU and Lawrence is nearby the school, nor the city is counted in the metro population. Wyandotte High School’s Larry Drew had a good NBA career so did Anthony Peeler of Paseo just a few past names. The Kansas City metro has produced a number of pro’s we must venture back to the ‘60’s to find the best of the best on this side of the state.

I’m sure this will cause loud screams however based on his impact at the pro level the late Warren Armstrong (Jabali) may have been the best on this side of the state. After play at Central High School, he went on to Wichita State. In 1968 he was drafted by the NBA Knicks and the ABA Oakland Oaks. In the American Basketball Association, he was named Rookie of the Year in 1969 scoring 21.5 points along with 9.7 rebounds a game. Imagine a 6-foot 2 guard averaging nearly 10 rebounds a game, it just details for us his leaping ability. Unfortunately, Jabali’s career was cut short due to injury however he remains likely the best talent produced in the Kansas City metro. If we look at the numbers in 7 years of ABA competition Jabali averaged 17.1 points 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists a game. If not just me, the words of HOF player Rick Barry on Jabali, “He was one of the best I ever played with.” I hope someone reading this can find a comparable player besides Jabali to Tatum on the Missouri side of the state.