A Fan’s View of Basketball

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The mayor said, “Hold on a moment!”

Below is a story written much earlier regarding the Spurs outlook for the 2025-26 NBA season. What you are about to see is the latest news report from San Antonio. Rather than provide my view we go straight to the source, check out the video below from News 4 (WOAI) San Antonio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVcUAT8SSxg

One more check

The onset of the college basketball season will be here before we realize it. In Kansas City students, administration, alumni and fans of the University of MO-Kansas City await that one good season. UMKC now listed as Kansas City to help identify the basketball program has wallowed in the basement of division one basketball since. Let’s just say once the program was implemented again there were several years of play at the NAIA level prior to moving to division one. I have mentioned this on more than one occasion, the talk at the beginning had me (and maybe others) envisioning an urban program similar to UCLA, St. John’s and other schools located in large cities.

That was then, this is now…on the surface it appears the basketball program is stuck in neutral unable to move the column into drive. Kansas City moved into division one play in the 1994-95 season. Since that time, the most games ever won during a season was 19-12 under Billy Donlon who is no longer the head coach during the 2021-22 season. It seems whenever a coach has the team poised to succeed he’s either fired or like Donlon leaves for another school. The arena is closer to my home than T-Mobile, I could leave my home and be inside and seated in the space of no more than 30 minutes. I don’t attend the games, there is no reason with a team which appears like a rudderless ship. Am I being too harsh, no I don’t think so based on the really bad basketball played by Kansas City since 1994-95.

The look of the Spurs

From what I’ve read Wemby’s health issue has been resolved, in addition to that comes word he’s bulked up. It’s all muscle so he should be just as swift up and down the court at a hefty 245 pounds. Some will claim he’s still a lightweight based on his 7-foot 4 frame but that is not me. This is written early prior to free agency so I’m unsure if the Spurs will be full scale participants. In any event let’s check out portions of the roster, near the middle of last season they made a trade with the Kings receiving point guard DeAaron Fox. In 2024 the Spurs drafted guard Stephon Castle who turned out to be 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year, the 2025 draft saw them select 6-foot 6 shooting guard Dylan Harper with the second pick.

Also in this draft the Spurs added 6-foot 8 Carter Bryant who played his college ball at Arizona. I am unsure how coach Mitch Johnson intends to mold this collection of talent into a cohesive team. As for the subtractions with this youthful backcourt I question whether Chris Paul remains with the Spurs. There are reports he wants to be with his family in Los Angeles, would they…could the Lakers sign him as a backup? As this account was being completed the Spurs added two veteran frontcourt players, Luke Kornet who last played for the Celtics and Kelly Olynyk. Kornet stands 7-foot 1 and Olynyk is 6-foot 11, as you can see along with a healthy Wemby have gained height as a team. With this revised roster the Spurs, with a revamped lineup, should earn a playoff berth in 2026.   

The other Mavs

You are certainly familiar with the Dallas Mavericks generally shorten to Mavs. Unless you are a member of Generation X (born 1965-1980) or earlier these Mavs will be unknown to you, besides the fact their home base was Houston and not Dallas. In 1967 the Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association, they were there at the beginning but not the end. By the time the NBA added 4 ABA teams the Mavericks were just an afterthought. The franchise would only last two seasons, by 1969 they were on the road to another ABA city. That first roster consisted of players from the defunct Eastern Professional League plus a few players from nearby Houston colleges. How did this glue and paste roster come together, according to the history the GM discovered funds required to be a participant in the draft hadn’t arrived.

By the time he was able to acquire the funds from other sources the draft was just about over. Despite the strange and unusual start the Mavericks managed to finish the season with a 29-49 record and earn a playoff berth where they were quickly eliminated. The community was not thrilled with the team with an average attendance of 1,500. Fast forward in the story, the team was sold with plans to move them to North Carolina although they remained in the city until the season was complete. The history indicates 49 fans attended the last game prior to the move, The following season the team was re-born as the Carolina Cougars and Houston would remain without professional basketball until 1971. That season witnessed the Rockets moving from San Diego, as for the team name it would remain in the State of Texas. In 1980 NBA expansion would see an NBA team in Dallas and it would become the Mavericks or Mavs for short.