Basketball from a fans perspective

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday

A change

This morning begins a new chapter…a Saturday edition of Off the Dribble. With the advent of basketball beginning again there is additional news and notes to cover and it becomes difficult publishing 4 days. A Saturday edition should allow coverage, thus Tuesday and Thursday’s will be the only non-publishing dates. Hopefully this new schedule will meet with your approval and enjoyment. Once again I wish to thank you for continuing to read this blog morning, afternoon or evening. 

Bits n Pieces of information

Las Vegas in the NBA continues to be a topic of conversation. One more person has been added to the mix wanting to become owner of the franchise once expansion talks becomes serious. Shaq has been mentioned so has LeBron James and now there is one more name. The majority owner of the baseball Red Sox John Henry and Fenway Park Sports group are shifting their efforts from purchasing the Celtics to vying for the NBA Las Vegas expansion team. As for the partnership according to what I read LeBron would be part of the Henry group, this is developing news so don’t expect any immediate movement.

This is no precursor of future success, Laker rookie Dalton Knecht displayed a bit of his potential against the Suns in the last exhibition game. In an OT victory Knecht came off the bench scoring 35 points, seven rebounds along with two steals and two blocked shots. He was 10 for 18 from the floor including 8 of 13 from three, Knecht accomplished this in but 32 minutes. The Knicks have Spike Lee, as for the Lakers its Snoop Dogg. Guess what, Snoop is sold on JJ Redick and this version of the Lakers…we shall wait and see what eventually develops.

Duke might not be number one in the Top 25 pre-season poll however they are in recruiting talent. If you check most recruiting sites all place the Duke Blue Devils in the top slot, will Shelton Henderson be added to the list? Henderson is a 6 foot 6 210 pound forward, he’s rated a 5-star prospect on recruiting sites which should be no surprise. The youngster hails from Bellaire Texas a city located in the Houston metroplex. Committed earlier to Duke is Nikolas Khamenia a 6 foot 8 forward from Studio City California and the Boozer twins sons of former Duke player Carlos. As I always claim these prospects and others is no barometer of future success on the basketball court just information sharing.

ESPN NBA scribe Shams Charania was the first I heard report the news, the Lakers will send Bronny James to the G-League after their 5-game road trip. In this instance we are discussing a depth issue over ability or talent, we could debate this till the cows come home but Bronny has a number of veterans in front of him on the depth chart. He should head for the G-League, gain his bearings and come back ready to compete against NBA talent.

A deal’s been consummated

I was aware an architectural firm would soon be selected for the new arena in Oklahoma City replacing Paycom. The mayor’s office announced that Manica Architects has been chosen to design the arena. Some might have forgotten this bit of information however this is a reminder for all. The Kansas City (MO) metro is home to a number of sports architect groups. In this instance Manica Architects have been selected to design the new Oklahoma City basketball arena.

The site occupied by the former Cox Convention Center will be demolished next year and the arena will be constructed on the property presently owned by the City of Oklahoma City. The arena will be completed in time for the 2028-29 NBA season. Manica has a distinguished history having designed a number of basketball arenas and football stadiums across the nation. As an example we could look at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and Nissan Stadium under construction in Nashville to name just a few.