Basketball from a fans perspective

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Bits n Pieces of information

The question regarding 76 Place the Sixers planned arena is neither good nor bad, the Philadelphia City Council was scheduled to discuss the matter this past Thursday. That meeting has been postponed and will be held on Wednesday December 11. As an outside observer the question of a Sixers arena appears to have sharply divided the city. The mayor plus labor unions and other interested parties are speaking on a new arena in the affirmative. Neighborhood groups and other interested parties have voiced opposition to the planned construction. I will continue to follow the developments and provide additional updates as soon as possible.

Who’s to blame, the Lakers are in a very dark place currently. They are not a terrible team but they are not really good despite having LeBron and AD on the roster. The supporting cast or rather lack of one appears to be largely the culprit. Someone suffers an injury and the next man steps up, the only problem that scenario has been lacking for a time. I will inform you where I’m going, I am looking at the 2025 NBA draft. It appears the Lakers have two second round picks but then I thought. What good is this going to do if the youngsters are never infused into the lineup…see where I’m going?

Recently I discovered the Bally Sports Midwest/ FanDuel channel contains a program titled FIBA World Basketball. It’s my understanding the presentation is a weekly report on FIBA basketball, this should aid my effort to provide additional basketball content. I ought to also be able to discover the names of those players NBA scouts consider to have the ability to play in the association. In the future I should be able to come across a name or two worth noting.

Nothings change…yet

Some of you might remember I wrote of an unidentified NBA official questioned whether Duke’s Cooper Flagg was the top pick in the 2025 NBA draft. It wasn’t a talent issue as I read it rather his potential ceiling as an NBA player. This particular official questioned whether Flagg would be a C, B or an A talented NBA player. In other words is there superstar capability for him in the near future? If the question is valid as the media member wrote it I’m unsure if it can be answered immediately in my view. Based on this issue I decided to consult the sources I utilize for information.

That would be the 2024 NBA mock draft unless these guys are copying off one another all place Flagg at the top of their mock draft. An early indication there are “holes” in his game. As a 17-year old freshman adjusting to play at this level should be expected. In addition his notoriety will certainly precede him, imagine the guy who claims, “I shut down Cooper Flagg.” As for me I am willing to wait on the anointing, the anointing that says Superstar…then again it might never occur. As for the mock draft with him as number one check them out below for yourself:

bleacherreport.com 2025 mock

bleacher.com 2025 mock

tankathon.com/mock%20draft

nbadraftroom 2025 mock draft

nbadraft.net/nba-mock-drafts/?year-mock=2025

Standing in line

Please tell me if NBA ownership is such a losing proposition why buyers are always about. We could use the Wolves as this example, the perspective new owners are fighting with the present owner because he refuses to sell the team to them. Alex Rodriguez and partner Marc Lore, after paying huge sums of money, are offering Glen Taylor even more money. Let’s go back in history, in 1979 Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers, NHL Kings and the Forum paying Jack Kent Cook $67.5 million, in 2023 that would be equivalent to $280 million.

As this is written if for example Jeanie Buss decided to sell the team today the value of the Lakers alone is a reported $7.1 billion…yes with a B. Even more interesting, the Lakers are not the most valuable NBA franchise, that honor goes to the Warriors at $8.8 billion. Right behind them are the Knicks, $7.5 billion and then the Lakers. Landing in the 4th spot are the Celtics at $6 billion and the Clippers round out our top 5 with an assessed value of $5.5 billion. I was curious are there any NBA teams valued under $1 billion? There ain’t any, according to the figures provided the Grizzlies are in last place but worth a kool $3 billion. Next time someone walks up to you and claim “nobody is watching the NBA” you have a choice. You can be blunt and inform them they have no clue what’s really going on or you can be nice and say okay thank you.