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Basketball from a fans perspective

You can’t go home…or can you?

I don’t have the answer to this one, I can ask the question however, has Trae Young worn out his welcome in Atlanta? It seems every other week I’m reading a negative comment about the speedy point guard. He was made the 5^th pick in the first round of the 2018 draft by the Mavs. The Hawks drafted Luka Doncic and a trade was made whereby Young went to Atlanta and Doncic landed in Dallas. The rest is NBA history, as for this recently completed season the Hawks managed to earn a playoff spot.

There have been a considerable number of rumors circulating around Young involving trades so what occurs? It’s been said the reason Nate McMillan is no longer coaching is partially due to Young. If he is traded it would seem the Thunder would be a good fit for him. Home for Young is Norman, a few miles down the road from Oklahoma City. Young played at the University of Oklahoma also located in Norman. Should this move occur it might be good for all parties involved. Young returns to the area where he first began his basketball journey and Oklahoma fans are able to see their native son in Thunder colors.

Fixing the Clippers

By now you’ve read or seen reports on “how to fix the Clippers.” Despite his injury history Kawhi Leonard remains, for all practical purposes he becomes the keeper. The same statement cannot be made regarding Paul George, in his defense it’s got nothing to do with his talent it’s a whole other thing. Although the belief at one time he would be Robin to Kawhi’s Batman it’s just not worked out. It’s not worked for the same reason; PG is injury prone as well. At age 32 he’s on the downhill side of his NBA career, that’s not to say he can’t play but consider this fact.

We can’t use 38-year-old LeBron James as an example, by the age of 35 or 36 most NBA players are ready to walk away from the game. It’s possible at age 32 PG’s game has ebbed a bit, he might not run as fast or leap as high as he did at age 22. He should be traded and the Clippers should receive in return whatever management believes will aid the roster, that could be a qualified starter or a multitude of quality reserve players. I hope this doesn’t appear to be a “hate PG account” because that is not the intent. The principal reason for the trade is that it’s likely Kawhi Leonard is out for a major portion of the upcoming season. With PG’s injury history the Clippers must find player(s) to fill the void.

Finally let’s check the guy who reinvented himself…Russell Westbrook. I never believed his NBA career was over however others might have. With Paul George and Kawhi Leonard sidelined it was Westbrook alone who drove the bus. I don’t believe there was anyone who believed the Clippers would advance with Westbrook being the offense. Now for the question, he is a free agent this summer and the Clippers must make a decision. Can the Clippers really afford to sign him rather do they want him? The other issue is his age, Westbrook will turn 35-years old in November not really old but it is by NBA standards. It’s my contention that possibly signing Westbrook might be as critical as a Paul George decision.

The international

For a time we have witnessed an increasing number of international players arrive in the NBA. Generally draft night those of us in the U.S. have little knowledge of the athlete or his potential. We are certainly familiar by now with Victor Wembanyama but it’s likely he’s the only international name we might be acquainted with. Currently a number of international players are attending colleges in the U.S., they are not included in this look.

There is another French man, he played in Australia his name is Ryan Rupert. Rupert is a 6-foot 7-inch shooting guard with a 7-foot 3 wingspan. Next up is Bilal Colibaly also from France, his physical numbers are similar to that of fellow countryman Rupert, more on him below. Serbian Nikola Djurisic is our next prospect, he’s a 6-foot 8-inch shooting guard. We also have 6-foot 11 center Tristan Vukcevic from Serbia. Nigeria will send 6 foot 10 James Nnaji, Nnaji plays the post position. From Turkey comes 6-foot 9 power forward Berke Buyuktuncel. Each draft night there are surprises, don’t expect this to be the completed list. Some of these players names might not be called while others unmentioned will.

Bits n Pieces

I didn’t double check but believe them to be correct. Basketball Network claims Zion Williamson has missed 60% of his games since he has been in the NBA. I don’t believe anyone questions the talent Williamson presents, at the same time if you are never on the floor your value becomes questionable. We’ve been reading since the 2019 draft that the 6-foot 6-inch 284-pound Williamson is too hefty. His height plus weight places a tremendous strain on his feet and legs. His size brought comparisons to Charles Barkley but that might not be quite correct, Barkley stood 6 foot 6 (he was actually 6-5) but weighed far less than Williamson. Barkley checked in at 252 pounds, he probably gained weight through his NBA career but he probably never came close to Williamson’s 284 pounds.

Taking care of Familia, you don’t need to have this information and neither do I for that matter. Clipper coach Tyronn Lue reveals he’s sent a monthly check to his mom and grandma for the last 25 years. This goes back to 1998 and the time Lue was drafted and traded to the Lakers. Lue says he owes it all to his family, in addition to molding and providing guidance to him there was another area that led him to his career. Mom and grandma were concerned with negative influences surrounding young Tyronn. They decided to move him from Mexico Missouri to the Kansas City suburb of Raytown. Lue would stay with an uncle and attend Raytown High School where his game grew and here Lue was awarded a scholarship to Nebraska, Tyronn Lue taking care of family.

I’ve stated quite often “I don’t see defense played”. Allow a further explanation, in the NFL unless an opposing lineman is forcing Patrick Mahomes to run for his life my guess the offensive line is performing its job adequately. The same picture exists in basketball, doesn’t matter if we are discussing college basketball or the NBA. It’s far easier for us to attach ourselves to the offensive numbers, they are much easier to distinguish. Even in person we often miss key plays by the defense, we see the intercepted pass or the blocked shot but often not before.