The view of a fan

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

He’s going to play football

We have a wide receiver who checks in at 6-foot 8 and 245 pounds, in the NFL that might be average size. In high school it says giant receiver but there is an additional explanation. His name is Tyran Stokes, on most websites he’s listed as the top prospect in the Class of 2026 in basketball and not football. Stokes has not decided where he wants to play basketball but the number of schools with offers totals 24. Among the many schools named are Southern Cal, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisville and Arkansas just to name a few. 

Stokes has entered his senior year at Notre Dame Sherman Oaks High School, last season as a junior he scored 21 points along with 9.3 rebounds and dished out nearly 4 assists a game. That’s the basketball stuff as far as football this is his first attempt to play the sport in high school, the report indicates Stokes has 10 practices remaining to become eligible to play this season. Some might remember LeBron James played football while in high school, without checking I believe James had more than one season wearing football cleats and running pass routes, he was a wide receiver as well.

It’s not just me

On a weekly basis you are liable to read more stories about the Lakers in this blog than the Thunder. Sure the Thunder were the best in the NBA as they moved swiftly through the competition to win it all. Despite being NBA Champions, they ain’t the Lakers, see you thought I was just writing all this stuff because I’m a fan. Sure enough that is indeed the case but there is more there, it’s not just me. Often at the time I am searching the web for a story generally there will be something written about the Lakers for me to read and ponder if I wish to cover it.

The Celtics have one more NBA Championship Trophies (18) in their case but they still come in second place to the Lakers on media coverage. Part of it could be an entertainment thing after all Hollywood is there, the former movie capital of the world. I make that statement because more movies are filmed elsewhere all though we still think of Hollywood and Southern California in that manner. Can you say star quality, yes that enters into the picture as well, over the decades the Lakers certainly have had star quality. This goes back to 1960 their first season in Los Angeles, rookie Jerry West arrived and teamed with Elgin Baylor to formulate a dynamic duo. From their it was names like Magic, Kareem, Worthy and others…. they would be dubbed the Showtime Lakers another nod to entertainment. The Celtics had Bird, McHale and The Chief however the Lakers had Showtime. Jerry West retired and moved into the front office, he saw a skinny Kobe Bryant and decided the Lakers had to draft him at all cost, they would trade Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the draft rights to Kobe.

Later the Lakers would pair Kobe with Shaquille O’ Neal and the two produced several more NBA Championships. The Celtics were winning too, they just weren’t winning like the Lakers. Much later free agent LeBron James looking for a team chose the Lakers, they didn’t choose him, with Anthony Davis they won another championship. Then it occurred again, the northern hemisphere suffer a seismic jolt when Luka Doncic was acquired in a trade last February for that same Anthony Davis. What does the future hold for the Lakers, I have no idea however you can bet money they will continue to be the subject of NBA conversation, that is guaranteed.

Where is he headed

I’m going to introduce to several reading this the name Jongkuch Mach, he’s a youthful 17 years of age who by all accounts is an upcoming prospect although admittedly extremely raw as this is introduction is presented. So what does the future hold for Mach, that is a rather difficult question to answer at this stage? Allow for a further explanation, Mach is a member of the Rio Tinto Perth Wildcats Academy in Australia. Unlike a number of prospects this Sudanese Australian prospect has two choices in front of him to begin his career, he can choose the NBA or college. Because he’s an International player Mach is eligible for the 2026 NBA draft despite his youthful age.

I mentioned the fact he is very green so it remains possible he could head off to a university somewhere in the U.S. As for the question of his weight that is a guesstimate, it’s reported he’s in the neighborhood of 240-250 pounds although this is yet to be confirmed.  I was able to locate YouTube video of Mach in action, in one of the videos’ he is wearing jersey number 18 and in the other he’s wearing number 25. I also might point out we have the “Wemby” factor at work with this youngster, we are unsure of his actual height. There is a website indicating Mach could be a towering 7-foot 6 inches in height however other websites list him as much shorter anywhere from 7-3 to 7-4.  It appears he might be a name to store in your memory bank for the June draft or possible college entry. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LllqbP32S-4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHQ1gE2O6ro

Greed

In the 1987 film Wall Street, Gordon Gekko famously said, “Greed, for lack of another word is good.” This raises the question: at what point does wealth become greed? While I seldom discuss player salaries, it's notable that part of Kawhi Leonard's income goes to community projects, though the exact amount is an unknown. This portion we have detailed information, Leonard’s known earnings include a 3-year, $149 million contract with the Clippers in 2019 and an endorsement deal from New Balance reportedly worth another $22 million, but the length of the latter contract is undisclosed. There is no information I was able to determine the duration of his New Balance contract, it is reasonable to conclude that payment is likely not made in a lump sum manner.

As for the company that was brought to our attention Aspiration, they set up an arrangement to pay Leonard $28 million in April 2022, by all accounts he’s received all of the money with the exception of $7 million due him. In addition to the community effort on the plus side there might have been financial remuneration made to family members. Should an athlete (or anyone) be entitled to earn all the income they can…of course however how this income is derived is the key question. Several individuals with whom I have discussed this matter believe that Leonard should have the opportunity to maximize his earnings. While I can appreciate this perspective, my concern lies with the ethical implications—specifically, the notion of rewarding someone for work not performed due to lack of requirement. Personally, I would find it challenging to accept compensation I consider unearned however this matter is not resolved. Commissioner Silver has stated, “The burden is on the NBA to show violation by the Clippers.” Do you see no ethical problem should it be determined Leonard was paid under the table?