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Basketball from a fans perspective

They have a history

Daryl Morey is president of the Sixers, prior to assuming that role he once served as GM of the Rockets. James Harden and Morey have a working relationship from their days when both spent time with the Rockets. That relationship appears to have died now with Harden calling Morey “A liar.” This kerfuffle deals with Harden’s desire to be traded…his choice of a destination is the Clippers (he’s originally from L.A.).

I have no idea what the issue(s) are with Harden after all he talked his way out of Brooklyn after he apparently wasn’t happy there either. It seems one of the issues upsetting to Harden is no attempt by the Sixers and Morey to offer him a long-term max contract. The indication at least for now the Sixers plan on opening trading camp with Harden scheduled to be there. All this becomes null and void should the parties come to an agreement by early October. In this instance I believe we all must wait and see how this story plays out.

Naismith Hall of Fame

All who were enshrined over this past weekend are to be congratulated. I’m going to repeat what I heard an NBA TV reporter state. “The late David Stern wanted the NBA to become an international game.” That is certainly true based on those honored on Saturday, without checking the history the 2023 Class might be the most international in Naismith history. We had Dirk Nowitzki, formerly of the Mavs and Tony Parker who spent the majority of his NBA career with the Spurs, he’s from France. Finally we should note Pau Gasol of Spain, Gasol’s career would witness him playing for several NBA teams

He might be most strongly associated with the Lakers, Gasol and Kobe Bryant combined to lead the Lakers to back-to-back NBA Championships in 2009 and 2010. Each of these honorees proved their value to their teams and the NBA but broke new ground. Nowitzki was the first Euro player to win the NBA MVP award, as for Parker he too broke fresh ground. In 2007 Parker won the NBA Finals MVP also a first for a Euro. We conclude with Gasol a vital key to back-to-back NBA Championships won by the Lakers in 2009 and 2010. It should also be of note Gasol was the first international player selected rookie of the year.

I know for me it’s been back and forth

This has been an issue for me in the past, I’ve gone back and forth on this matter. Does it signify anything where a team’s prospects might be rated in comparison to others across the nation? On the one hand you can state with conviction that until these prospects play we really have no idea of their skill. On the other hand a highly rated number of prospects attracted to a program leads one to believe that coach and his staff are beating the bushes in an attempt to add talent. That is the case for my Mizzou Tigers, the recruiting has faltered over the last few seasons. As for the Class of 2024 the prospects look really good according to several scouting sites.

As for yours truly it’s probably a little pride mixed in with this glowing report as well, realizing its early in the cycle but check this out for the Class of 2024. As I indicated earlier and you certainly are aware good recruiting is certainly a key to success for any basketball program. Mizzou has gotten off to a great start regarding Class of 2024 prospects. The Tigers are ranked number 3 in the nation by 247Sports while they are number 6 by Rivals. Another site, on3.com places Mizzou at number 8 on their poll. In all three instances this is likely the highest positioning ever for the Tigers. Of course this is all propaganda unless it translates into success on the basketball court, naturally this is the hope for Mizzou Nation. Hopefully Columbia Missouri becomes a choice destination for basketball talent.

Why is it necessary to some

I hope to continue writing hard hitting accounts without resorting to ludicrous making statements, you want to know why? I read another piece recently about Wilt Chamberlain, the writer detailed a number of the amazing feats Chamberlain accomplished during his career. The very first, not the second or third email written by a fan read something similar to this. “The NBA back then only contained 8 teams (partially correct), it was easy for Chamberlain at 7 feet to dominate a smaller NBA.” A fan I would term a defender responded in this manner, “A lesser number of teams means the talent pool was much smaller, opposing teams had the choice of the top college players nothing close to a watered-down share of existing talent which might exist today.

I pose the question to readers once again, why must some individuals attempt to negate efforts of athletes of the past? I’ve mentioned this on several occasions and this time again. Athletes of today in all sports are better conditioned than most in the past. In the 1950’s and 1960’s the off-season meant just that for athletes of that period. Training camps were the time athletes prepared for the season ahead. Despite these apparent negatives I believe in adjustments, who’s to say Chamberlain and other All Stars wouldn’t have made the necessary changes to play at that level. The NBA contained only eight teams, by the time Chamberlain retired there were 16 teams. I continue to ask why…why must some continuously downgrade the efforts of those of the past?