Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

Who do they sign?

Reports have continued to circulate of the Lakers desire to sign a Big Man. Several names have been circulated among them Mo Bamba who the team had acquired at the trade deadline and then released. It was said they would attempt to sign him for a lesser amount, well that didn’t occur. Bamba would sign with the Sixers so that plan never materialized. Who are the remainder of the names banded about the Lakers are reported to be interested in. Bismack Biyombo veteran center who is only 30 years old, it seems as if Biyombo’s been around much longer. Although he stands only 6 foot 8 he tops the scales at 255 pounds which is an indication why he can play center in the NBA. Next up 6-foot 10 Christian Wood who only packs 214 pounds on his thin frame.

Despite this fact Wood has he’s a 7-foot 3-inch wingspan, he’s got an offensive and defensive game   however there are questions surrounding his attitude. Next up as this is written is Bol Bol who was released by the Magic. Bol is young, tall (7-2) and has had limited playing time since he arrived in the NBA in 2019. He’s got a 7-foot 8-inch wingspan but is still somewhat raw. The Lakers are hardly likely to pencil in Colin Castleton for the slot for a simple reason. Although the 6-foot 11-inch Castleton has played well in summer league he is a rookie out of the University of Florida. What does Larry Laker desire the Lakers do with this remaining roster position? I read another report indicating the team might revert back to 2020 at the center position. Remember they had JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard sharing the role, I’d like the minutes divided between Biyombo and Castleton. The reasoning is simple Biyombo for his defense and spelled by Castleton’s offensive skill. NOTE: This was written prior to the Suns signing Bol Bol on Sunday.

Bits n Pieces

Former Mizzou Tiger D’Moi Hodge is a longshot to earn a spot on the Laker roster. Afterall Hodge was not drafted however he along with Colin Castleton signed 2-way contracts. The easiest explanation for me is these contracts are similar to AAA baseball. It’s likely Hodge, Castleton or both will spend time with the South Bay Lakers although a spot on the Laker roster is possible as well. Wednesday’s game might prove quite helpful for Hodge, although it was a loss 90-95 to the Celtics check this out. Hodge scored 22 points along with 4 rebounds, he shot 6-13 from the 3-point line (.461). Shooting from beyond the arc is something vitally needed by the Lakers. It’s interesting Hodge stated he looks at former Laker Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for inspiration, KCP was vital to the success of the Lakers prior to the trade.

This is funny to me, you remember the Dennis Rodman story regarding Larry Bird. While at my usual occupation conducting research a video popped up on my feed I wasn’t seeking. This YouTube video was Bird’s Celtics matched against Rodman at the time a member of the Pistons. What I say in the video certainly offers no proof that in 2023 Bird would be playing in Europe as stated by Rodman. There were a several good plays by Rodman however my overall impression…Bird shot lights out in the three minutes of video. I will repeat this again, I’m really unsure of the basis for the Rodman statement. This I can state with conviction Rodman was way off base on this one. I have a question for him and other believers, why do you think a 1986 Larry Bird wouldn’t have been unable to adjust to play in 2023? I’ve never been able to locate anyone willing to respond to the question.

Have you ever wondered how Hakeem Olajuwon became such a dominate Big Man? Part of it was his skilled footwork, he played soccer as a youth which certainly aided him. As for the other part he claims it was Moses Malone. For those unfamiliar with his story Olajuwon arrived on these shores from Nigeria as a raw talent, basketball was new to him although the sport would reward him greatly in life. This basketball novice attended a summer camp run by Moses Malone prior to Olajuwon’s sophomore year at the University of Houston. During his freshman year he played 18.2 minutes and 8.3 points a game, after Malone tutoring it became 27.4 minutes along with 13.9 points and nearly 12 rebounds a game. Olajuwon indicates Malone was one of the nicest people he met until it came time to latch of his basketball shoes to play. Unaccustomed to playing basketball at any level Olajuwon says Malone introduced him to how Big Man basketball was played in the U.S. 

Never in the discussion

Doesn’t matter who is leading the discussion, practically every time NBA expansion is mentioned two cities are missing. The cities are St. Louis and Pittsburg, the Hawks now in Atlanta once called St. Louis home. As for Pittsburg it’s been so long only the history is able to detail the events. In 1946 the Basketball Association of America (forerunner of today’s NBA) began play with 11 teams. The Pittsburg Ironmen were charter members of the BAA but it wouldn’t last very long. The Ironmen finished the 1946-47 season with a 15-win 45 loss season, last place in the Western Division and worst overall in the league. This is the portion of the story lost to history, the record indicates the Ironmen not only finished the season

Finishing in last place allowed the Ironmen to receive the first draft pick in the 1947. That pick would be Clifton McNeely who never played for the Ironmen, they closed operations prior to the start of the 1947-48 season. In a strange bit of irony although McNeely was made the top pick he never played professionally for any team. McNeely said at the time “I’m not interested in playing professional basketball.” Can you imagine Victor Wembanyama or any top prospect claiming they didn’t want to play in the NBA? The Ironmen were awful but other teams with nearly similar records continued to survive. I was unable to uncover any information why the Ironmen disbanded so in conclusion my research remains clouded. The passage of time and with no one to provide the WHY the story is lost to time.