Basketball from a fans perspective

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Love to hate

That’s a strange title for a story, allow an explanation. On my social media page, the question was posed in this manner. “In 29 NBA arenas across the nation the Warriors Draymond Green is viewed as a dirty player.” I happen to believe that opinion is incorrect for the following reasons. Do you realize where he came from, Green was the 35^th player chosen in the second round of the 2012 draft, stop a moment and take into consideration NBA teams believed there were 34 players better than him that year. Let us keep it real, Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal and Dame Lillard were in that draft.

Those three were picked ahead of Green, no argument from us there but what about the others? A number of these players had “a cup of coffee” in the NBA but departed soon after, what made Green standout? Talent certainly but right team and right time were keys. The guy’s managed to accentuate those things he does well, he doesn’t try to play beyond his God given ability. Green’s been Defensive Player of the Year (2017) and 4 times All NBA Defensive First team and 3 times All NBA Defensive Second team. At 6 foot 6 and 230 pounds he might be undersized as a power forward but don’t tell him that. Green’s has great skill as a passer, lost in the Steph Curry MVP story it was Green who led the team with 8 assists in the championship game.

It’s been said “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and that might be the case here. Is Green a dirty player, from this corner it’s a NO. He does all those things some players fall short of the task; you might have once heard the term “lunch pail” player. Simply stated it’s a player who sacrifices his overall game for the benefit of the team that’s Green. No doubt annually he’s near the top in technical fouls but that fails to state he’s a dirty player. If you remember Dennis Rodman or Bruce Bowen, you might make the same statement about them as well. In today’s NBA you might believe that title fits Marcus Smart or perhaps someone else you can name.     

The shoe deal

In this day of multi-million-dollar shoe deals this is where it all might have begun. In 1976 Julius “Dr. J.” Erving was among the biggest names in the basketball world at the time. Kareem, Wilt and other Big Men were playing but shoe manufactures never looked at them to promote basketball shoes. At the time Dr. J. had worn the Adidas brand throughout his ABA career but was about to make a change. He would leave the Adidas brand signing a shoe deal with rival shoe manufacture Converse. Unlike today in 1976 most NBA players wore Converse basketball shoes. Other shoe manufacturers (Nike included) began making inroads into the shoe market which might have been the basis for the deal.

The most interesting portion of this story Converse paid Dr. J. a grand total of $20,000 to sign with them. That payment certainly represents pennies when compared to the multi-million-dollar shoe contracts of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and others. We must take into consideration this deal was consummated nearly 50 years ago. In time everything changes, the leather Dr. J. Converse shoe was outstanding for its time however the company somehow lost its way in what would become the modern marketplace for basketball shoes. Other shoe companies began to vie for deals and Converse became the loser. Today the company is still operating however it’s now owned by its former competitor Nike. As for Dr. J. despite signing such a small contract he’s managed to do okay financially in retirement.

He doesn’t look his age

Viewers were treated to video of Steph Curry while he was enrolled at Davidson at the conclusion of the NBA championship game. His facial hair provides us evidence he might be 34-years old now, we’d bet large sums of money if he shaved, he’d closely resemble the baby face talent we remember all those years ago. His stats indicate Steph is 6 feet 2 and 187 pounds but what about high school? According to study his first two years inform us he stood 5 foot 6 and weighed 130 pounds. Steph wanted to attend Virginia Tech, but his slender frame betrayed him, the school only offered a walk-on spot. Davidson was heavily recruiting him so instead of his father’s school it was off to Davidson.

Although Steph had an NBA player dad the road from there to here was not one of ease. He would spend a great deal of time working to develop his skill including the long-range shooting his specialty. Besides his family who certainly had confidence in his ability there was one other person who believed in him. His former coach at Davidson Bob McKillop played a key role in developing the player Steph has become. It should also be of note, jersey number 30 will be retired, and Curry will be enshrined in the Davidson Hall of Fame. He completed his course study and graduated in the Class of 2022. Due to playoff basketball, he was unable to attend graduation. For me it’s always a good thing for athletes to graduate, it says despite the financial reward “I attended school to play basketball and complete my education.” 

The story continues

This has nothing to do with the hit tune Rumours by Fleetwood Mac or Rumors by Gucci Mane. I try to avoid discussing these types of reports but just like a vampire sometimes they refuse to die, the reference is the “Bradley Beal to Lakers” rumor. It came up again on my news feed June 18. First of all, Beal is a shooting guard, currently the Lakers depth chart lists Austin Reaves as the starter backed up by Malik Monk, and Talen Horton-Tucker. One (or more) of them must be included in any trade to acquire Beal, who do we think might be traded? In addition, if I’m the Wiz I don’t give up talented Beal for one of the aforementioned players, other pieces must be included to consummate a trade.

A proposal

Are they headed to their own network; in this instance we are discussing Chicago’s sports teams? It’s being reported the NHL Blackhawks baseball White Sox and NBA Bulls are looking toward forming their own network. This is certainly not a new thing, consider the YES Network have been operating for over 20 years. The network was founded as a Yankees/Nets association but has grown to more than baseball and the NBA. Will that be the case for Chicagoland as well, this plan is in the discussion stage if it comes to fruition is at least two years down the road. Jerry Reinsdorf is owner of the Bulls and White Sox, Rocky Wirtz is the principal owner of the Blackhawks.