Basketball from a fans perspective

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Bits n Pieces 

I held a conversation with a friend recently, this member of Mizzou Nation is not pleased with Eli Drinkwitz Mizzou football coach. My friend said, “He (Drinkwitz) is now in year 3,” I agreed with his statement and then thought of new Mizzou basketball coach Dennis Gates. My response “Gates gets a pass in his first season.” Each situation has a separate set of circumstances plus it’s unfair to compare building a football team to basketball or even baseball for that matter. This is not a right-wrong answer, your view is exclusively yours. The only beginning point is just this, what kind of shape is the program or team in with the arrival of the new coach, in this instance it doesn’t matter if it’s a discussion on an NBA team or State University.

Someone has a great deal of disposable income and it sure ain’t me. We have been informed the jersey Michael Jordan wore in the 1998 NBA Finals against the Jazz has been sold by the auction house Sotheby’s. Are you ready for this, an unidentified person paid a record $10.1 million for the jersey. It’s claimed this exceeded the $9.28 million paid for the jersey of soccer star Diego Maradona. What makes this jersey so valuable, a couple of reasons. It’s the last Bulls jersey Jordan would wear as he retired later and this. You might have seen it live or on video, the push off Jordan administered to Byron Russell to take the winning shot in the finals…yes that shot in that jersey!  

I don't know a great deal about number 95. That would be Juan Toscano-Anderson who the Lakers signed in the off-season from the Warriors. He's a 6-foot 6 inch wing and played his college ball at Marquette University. Toscano-Anderson is from Oakland and his jersey number is a salute to 95th Avenue in Oakland where he grew up. He was undrafted in 2015, he spent time in Mexico and Venezuela before signing with the Warriors G-League team. What I remember most about his play, he's a high energy guy off the bench, hopefully he can continue that role for my Lakers. 

It remains unresolved

I guess it ain’t over till it’s over, the narrative of Robert Sarver and his Phoenix Suns team continues to be national and NBA news. There have been additional developments besides LeBron James and Chris Paul voicing their concern with the news. Minority shareholder and chairman Jahm Najafi has made his outrage known by calling for the owner Sarver to resign. Taking this matter one step further PayPal a major sponsor of the Suns claims it will sever its relationship with the Suns if Sarver returns at conclusion of his suspension. On Friday NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio speaking for NBA players called for a lifetime ban be placed on Sarver. The NBA is faced with a dilemma it’s not witnessed since 2014 and former owner Donald Sterling. I briefly covered former Clippers owner Sterling in Friday’s edition.  

I will provide updates as this story continues to unfold. One more bit of information on this subject. At the time reports circulated the NBA intended to remove Sterling as owner of the Clippers several fans wrote the NBA couldn’t do this. Each writer provided a different opinion why the NBA couldn't remove Sterling from ownership. Guess what, every single one of the writers were dead wrong. It’s highly likely there are rules or regulations in place existing for each owner. As fans their opinions are valid but only to a point.  The NBA likely has a Code of Conduct in place, in addition the NBA is unlike a Fortune 500 Company which often has stockholders and a Board of Directors. Donald Sterling did file a suit against the NBA, it lasted 2 ½ years before settlement. Sterling received an undisclosed amount of money from the NBA however he remains on the outside still banned for life.      

What to expect

That might be the case, I don’t know what to expect of my Lakers. Patrick Beverley (who I didn’t want) has been acquired in a trade, Russell Westbrook remains a member of the team. The news indicated Westbrook has placed a For Sale sign in front of his home. Brittle Anthony Davis has been working out all summer we have been informed, the same for LeBron James who continues to defy his age. The draft plus trades and free agency has witnessed the team’s average age being reduced significantly. One might ask do these new Lakers scare anyone especially teams in the Pacific Division?

Since I am a “glass half full rather than half empty” guy I will approach the 2022-23 NBA season full of optimism. The Lakers will be improved barring major injuries to key players. They should earn a playoff berth, is there an NBA championship in their future? If the stars align and a bunch of other stuff occurs the Lakers could become 2023 NBA champions. I will repeat an earlier statement, I’d rather lose with young guys than win with oldsters. It says to me with losing and adjustments a young team can become a better team and that’s always the hope.

A man for all seasons

You’ve read numerous accounts of multi-talented athletes, those players who played more than one sport well. The late Wayman Tisdale was that person, the 6-foot 9 power forward was a three time All American while enrolled at the University of Oklahoma and three time Big 8 (now Big 12) Player of the Year. He was the second pick in the 1985 draft by the Pacers. Tisdale would play for two more teams prior to retiring from the game in 1997. From that point he began his second career, we are familiar with former athletes who move into the business world.

We discovered Tisdale was a jazz musician, in fact he was an incredibly good bass player. He would record 8 outstanding albums prior to early death at the age of 44. Tisdale referred to music as “his first love”, which provides us proof basketball is not always first in the mind of some. In 2008 Tisdale had a portion of his right leg amputated due to bone cancer, he died in May 2009 suffering the effects of a ruptured esophagus due to radiation treatments for cancer. In the fall of the year he was elected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame. This is but a brief look at Wayman Tisdale an outstanding college and NBA player and a great jazz artist.