Basketball from a fans perspective

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It's a different world now

If you are a sneaker head you noticed them, we speak of the Lilac Under Armour sneakers worn by Steph Curry in the NBA Finals Game. It wasn’t just Steph; did you happen to notice the vast number of varied colored sneakers worn by NBA players in this game and all season. Today’s players are able to wear whatever color sneaker they desire; they owe a huge debt of gratitude to Michael Jordan. Once upon a time NBA rules deemed teams only had a choice of two-color choices in sneakers, it was either all white or all black.

Up to MJ’s NBA debut it’s believed the Celtics were the only team to sport all black Converse sneakers, the other teams wore white. Along comes Michael Jordan into the NBA who changed the game and the shoe market. In 1985 the first Air Jordan’s were released; the iconic shoe was immediately banned by the NBA for a simple reason. The NBA rule at the time indicated 51% of league basketball shoes had to be white. Eventually the league relented and now we see a rainbow of colors on the court including the Lilac sneakers worn now by Steph.

Another Ted Stepien or Donald Sterling?

The Lakers LeBron James and the Suns Chris Paul both voiced complaints regarding the NBA’s decision. LeBron and Paul were not pleased with the NBA’s punishment regarding Suns owner Robert Sarver. Rather than detail Sarver again we can look back at history, there have been two owners suffering major punishment from the league. Stepien was likely asked to sell the Cavs, but Sterling with the Clippers was forced to sell the franchise. A brief look back, in 1980 Stepien would purchase the Cavs. The owner would soon fall into disfavor for hiring and firing multiple coaches and trading draft picks. It’s written the league passed the “Ted Stepien Rule” which restricted teams in trading draft choices. 

Rather than my spin I’m going to provide you line for line of a Stepien interview in December 1980. “No team should be all white and no team should be all black, either. That’s what bothers me about the NBA: You’ve got a situation here where blacks represent little more than 5 percent of the market, yet most teams are at least 75 percent black and the New York Knicks are 100 percent black.” It wasn’t this comment alone that caused the NBA headaches, the Cavs franchise in two words was a train wreck. For example, in one season alone Stepien fired three head coaches and hired four. Stepien would decide to sell the Cavs to the Gund brothers in 1983, I cannot confirm this be sure he may have been close to being forced out by the NBA. 

As for owner Donald Sterling other than purchasing the Clippers the first significant event might be his move of the Clippers from San Diego to Los Angeles without league permission. That NBA would fine Sterling for the move and he disputed the fine, a settlement was reached between the parties. Sterling did this in 1984, the Clippers would remain cellar dwellers for years despite playing in the larger Los Angeles metro. Fast forward a few years, an ESPN story ranked the Clippers the worst franchise in professional sports however just like Stepien his mouth sealed his fate. A TMZ tape caught Sterling making racist remarks, the NBA began an investigation and determined they were true. In April 2014 Sterling received a lifetime ban and was fined $2.5 million by the NBA. There are probably other instances of NBA owners being fined or suspended by the league besides Sarver the two named have probably been the most egregious.

More than an athlete

There are times we as fans tend to see them as athletes only, sometimes the goals are much higher than simply playing the game. We could say that would be the case for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, he was made the third pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Grizzlies. Later it was the Hawks, Blazers and he concluded his playing career with the Kings. Abdur-Rahim had a successful NBA playing career, but it was the front office which became his destination.

After his playing career concluded with the Kings, he became an assistant coach with the franchise in 2008. He would serve in that role until October of 2010 when he became the team’s assistant general manager. It was onward and upward, in 2013 Abdur-Rahim was named general manager of the Reno G-League franchise. A return to the NBA was next although it was at the executive level, he was named vice-president of basketball operations for the league. In December 2018 it was back to the G-League for Abdur-Rahim this time as president, as you note his desire for excellence was far beyond play on the basketball court. I wouldn’t be surprised if his name might be mentioned one day as Adam Silver’s replacement.

They stole it from me

The headline might be a little strong and at the same time misleading. I don’t own the name and it certainly wasn’t stolen it was just my thought one day. When Kansas City returns to the NBA the team will need a nickname, all are taken except maybe one…Monarchs. I know, the name is associated with Negro Leagues Baseball rather than basketball but allow an explanation. Often, we attempt to name something closely associated with a locale. What is Kansas City known for by its citizens and the general public, well it’s often been called the City of Fountains. The city has a wealth of fountains throughout the three-county area.

That might be appropriate for the Chamber of Commerce but hardly fit for an NBA team…the Kansas City Fountains. How about barbeque, we identify ourselves as the barbeque capital of the nation but that won’t work for a team name either? Charley Parker and his smooth Jazz stylings but that’s the nickname is in use already with the Utah Jazz. The same might be said for the Kansas City Blues…another musical enterprise we might claim but even that presents a problem. We can’t have the same nickname as the St. Louis Blues on the other side of the state. The only problem, the Negro Leagues Museum allowed the baseball team formerly known as the T-Bones use of the name Monarchs. I can only guess the museum must be compensated financially for the name which I certainly couldn’t do. So, I’m stuck with a name for the expansion or relocated team Kansas City will eventually have in place, oh well.

76 Place Arena

We have updated information on the Sixers planned arena to be opened in 2031. The $1.6 billion arena is to be privately financed which certainly is exciting news for the Philadelphia tax base. This follows the lead established by the Chase Center in San Francisco and the Intuit Dome in Inglewood both financed with private equity. This move would allow the Sixers to be the sole tenant of the arena unlike Wells Fargo which the basketball team shares with the NHL Flyers. According to the information provided the new arena will be located in an underused mall area in the Fashion District of Philadelphia.

Apparently, the venture will conflict with Chinatown businesses creating a traffic problem. Merchants representing these businesses have contacted the arena group expressing their concerns. I’ve never visited Philadelphia so we must be led to believe the issues raised by the merchants are valid. It seems even projects with no tax money still run into problems. Some of you might remember there were similar concerns expressed in San Francisco and Inglewood prior to the start of Chase Center and Intuit Dome. Hopefully these concerns can be addressed and rectified by the 76 Place group and those who would be affected by the arena.