Basketball from a fans perspective

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Richter Scale

The Richter is a scale allowing us to measure the seismic activity or strength of an earthquake. A quake can be as small as 1.0 but as large as 9.0 which is the greatest possible. The 1906 quake in San Francisco was estimated to be 7.9 while the 1989 quake was 6.9. I know what you are asking, what are earthquakes relationship to basketball, some recent moves may have created a seismic shock. This past Thursday witnessed a considerable number of free agent moves and trades. We can only guess early the players (and management) made the move or series they believed would benefit the team.

The effort made by the Wolves might be the most interesting of all to date. After signing center Karl-Anthony Towns to a 5-year max contract the team acquired center Rudy Gobert (with a huge contract) from the Jazz in a trade. At this point we believe Gobert will arrive as the team’s center and Towns moves to the power forward position. This next portion is a guesstimate on our part, A-Rod and his partner did not take over ownership in this first year of operation. Perhaps the new owners intend to make a huge splash with this move. The Wolves finished 10 games above .500 this past season, perhaps the belief is this step and others will move them into the elite category of NBA teams.  

Explosive news

This was not good news for the remaining members of the Pac-12 on Thursday, two key members USC and UCLA decided in favor of the Big 10. This is strictly a football move however basketball is in the mix too. It appears we are on the road toward two gigantic conferences, the Big 10 and SEC. Both will be vying for the best conference in the nation, who comes in third? This move is one of epic proportions, locally there is speculation (again) regarding a move by Kansas to the Big 10.

Never say never however let’s just say that move might be doubtful at least for now. This powerhouse basketball program at Kansas has not continued onto the gridiron, the school has one of the poorest football records in the nation. This comment is based on now, we have no idea what Kansas football will be in 2-3 years. Just this past season the school finished with a 2-10 record, the last winning season occurred in 2008, Kansas finished 8-5. The dust has barely settled on this move, we are likely years from a move so time will be the determining factor success or lack thereof for Kansas football.

They are younger  

No more bad jokes about the ancient Lakers, we’ve heard them all. A cartoon made the rounds recently with a gray-haired LeBron James along with Russell Westbrook, in the hands of Westbrook was a gigantic brick. As for the present the first day of free agency saw a drastic reduction in the average age of the Lakers. Coming on board are free agent Lonnie Walker, IV a 6-foot 4 shooting guard (age 23) also added to the roster is Damian Jones, 6-foot 11 center (age 27). In addition, Troy Brown Jr., a 6-foot 6 inch forward (age 22) and Juan Toscano-Anderson 6-foot 6 inch forward (age 29). As often stated, there are a large number of moving parts here.

They were added to the roster mid-season but have now signed contracts adding them for the 2022-23 season, Stanley Johnson 6 foot 6 forward (age 26) and 6 foot 9 Wenyen Gabriel (age 25). The Laker roster is not yet complete, but we wanted to give you an idea what’s ahead. Win or lose this Laker team is younger, more athletic and defensive minded. It is now up to new coach Darvin Ham and his staff to mold this team into a cohesive winning combo. In closing this member of Laker Nation is excited about these moves however there is a concern. I continue to read the Lakers are trying to acquire Kyrie Irving…not a good move in my view. The vaccine issue no longer up front however the injury issue looms large. The guard has missed nearly the same number of Anthony Davis over the last four seasons.

Bits n Pieces 

99% of Euro basketball players arriving on these shores are headed for the NBA. A few schools such as Gonzaga, Arizona along with Illinois actually recruit international athletes to add talent to their basketball programs. That is the case here, incoming to the program in Illinois is 17-year-old Zacharie Perrin from France. Perrin is a 6-foot 11-inch 220-pound athlete, he was named MVP of the Adidas Next Generation Tournament held in Greece this past April. He decided on Illinois although Perrin indicates UCLA, Texas, Florida and several others were recruiting him. Perrin might one day be headed to the NBA but at least for now he intends to only face Big 10 opponents of Illinois.

Two offspring of NBA Hall of Fame players are attempting to earn NBA roster spots. Even more interesting both are trying this undertaking for the same team. Shareef O’Neal a 6-foot 10 225-pound power forward and 6-foot 3 185-pound point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. are the names we speak of, and both are on the Lakers roster. This is not the first-time sons of NBA players might be attempting to play in the league. This must be the first time two sons are attempting to earn a spot on the same team. Both signed two-way contracts so it might be a stretch to make the Laker roster.

The NBA is returning to Seattle in October, the 3^rd is the date to be exact. Don’t worry you didn’t miss news of expansion however the report is correct. The Blazers and Clippers will return to the Emerald City on that date to play an exhibition game. The game will be played at Climate Pledge Arena the former home of the Sonics. According to information provided to the media the idea of playing in Seattle came from Clippers coach Tyronn Lue and Blazers coach Chauncey Billups.