Basketball from a fan’s perspective

What do I do

Sometimes in an attempt to report all the “news” I often find myself in a quandary. Does a news item or court filing constitute anything? On the surface we could say it represents something but that is not always the case when we don’t have all the details of the account. This is a recent example, I reported on the hailstorm erupting around Thunder guard Josh Giddey a few weeks back. He was “reported” to have had an improper relationship with an underage female. The NBA began an investigation the young woman’s family hired a noted criminal attorney and then POOF, the story disappeared from our view.

Finally the Giddey story ends with a whimper, apparently not enough evidence was the report read. Was there something else to the story…we just don’t know. This story broke on Tuesday, a woman filed a lawsuit against James Dolan and another party. Dolan is the chairman of Madison Square Garden and governor of the Knicks and Rangers. In her suit the woman made allegations of an improper relationship between Dolan and the other party. Dolan has denied the charges but that’s where this matter stands, its yet to be resolved. At this point commissioner Silver indicates he is aware of the story however no more was mentioned. If there is basketball news good or bad I feel an obligation to report it however there are limits I believe. I don’t have the ability to determine a legitimate story versus one of fictional nature.  

Worst hires

There was another tough loss on Tuesday, on the road Mizzou lost to Alabama 86-71. So my fear has been well founded, the Tigers begin SEC play in far worse shape than I hoped. To compound the problem injuries have impacted Mizzou but that’s another story. I remain in the Gates corner despite some in Mizzou Nation being displeased with the coach. This is not the worst coaching hire YET, Jeff Goodman veteran basketball insider provides us his list of the Top 20 worst college basketball hires. This was actually the worst time because a tragic mistake was made in the hire.

As for the present I still believe Dennis Gates is okay until he proves to me he’s not. As for the Goodman list several well-known coaches made his list, unfortunately one of them is close to home Kim Anderson a coach it was believed had the ability to lead the program. Anderson I believe was a quick-safe hire by AD Mike Alden at the time, boy did this backfire. He began in 2014 and by 2017 new AD Jim Sterk decided a 27-68 record plus 8-46 in the SEC was far too much for all parties concerned. Anderson has tasted success at Division II University of Central Missouri so that might have been a factor in his hire and being on the staff of longtime coach Norm Stewart.    

$$$$

I’m watching a Knick game from MSG, although there’s been no shot of number one fan Spike Lee I wondered. How much does a courtside ticket cost him, I decided to Goggle the question. This is what I discovered, nearly 3 years ago according to Darren Rovell business sports analyst. “Spike Lee’s bill for two courtside sides for Knick games comes to $300,000 this year.” Rest assured ticket prices have gone up in price since then, how much is unknown. Brooklyn guy Lee indicates he could never root for the Nets, at the time they began play in Brooklyn he sent out this tweet (now X).

“I WILL NEVER DUMP DA KNICKS, come on Spike tell us what you really think. Out west in Los Angeles Jack Nicholson has routinely been absent from Laker games the last few years. How about his seats in Crypto.com arena, what do you suppose is the cost for them? Once again how current is this information is an unknown. At one point in time Nicholson was paying $5,350.00 a game for his ticket. I can make this statement in earnest, Spike and Jack have a substantial amount of discretionary income to afford them to spend in this manner. Before one gets the wrong impression there is no jealousy or envy intended with this post. A camera shot of those seated on the sideline included Tracy Morgan, John Stewart, Chris Rock but no Spike Lee.

Was this it?

Free agency has impacted the NBA over the last several years. However in an earlier time other than drafting that quality player trading for him was the only other method to move up in the standings and to that championship level. Over time the NBA has witnessed a number of blockbuster trades. As for the most lopsided trade in history I submit for your perusal the one that sent Kareem Abdul Jabbar to the Lakers the most beneficial in NBA history. Keep in mind one player fails to make a team however a super talented athlete can help place a team on the championship road. The Lakers had won a championship however during the time Kareem played for them there were 5 won in total.

June 16, 1975, the Milwaukee Bucks traded Kareem Abdul Jabbar and journey man Walt Wesley to the Lakers. In return the Bucks received Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Junior Bridgeman and Dave Meyers. Don’t worry if you are unfamiliar with the names all were talented players but understand this part. After the trade Smith played but 5 additional seasons, Winters, Bridgeman and Meyers all were in the NBA 3 years after the trade. In addition to the 5 NBA championships Kareem was in the Laker lineup for 14 seasons. It should be of note Bridgeman went on to a successful business career after retirement. Today his accumulated wealth far exceeds what he earned while playing in the NBA. Kareem forced the trade indicating he no longer wanted to play in Milwaukee. So there you have it the most lopsided trade in NBA history in my view.

Taps

Just in case some of you are unfamiliar with Taps it’s the instrumental piece played at the funeral of a military individual. This has nothing to do with a person’s funeral although it certainly represents death. The death is the Pac-12 Conference, this was once one of the best basketball conferences in the nation and football wasn’t too bad either but that’s for someone else to cover. The basis for the Pac-12 going out of business are too numerous to detail here, let’s take a look at where member schools are headed:

 

Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will depart for the Big XII

Washington, Oregon, Southern Cal and UCLA are headed to the Big 10

Cal and Stanford will join the ACC

Washington State and Oregon State will align with the West Coast Conference

Looking at this realignment and looking ahead we might come to this conclusion. The play of basketball in the Big XII and Big 10 should improve exponentially. I wish to reserve judgement on the ACC and West Coast Conference moves.