The view of a fan

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They might be the exception

As a general rule I don’t discuss salaries, in this account the salary has led to a successful second career. Scores of players have retired from the NBA and must wait on their pension to kick in around the age of 45, how do you survive while waiting on your pension? Several players laid the groundwork for life after basketball and this is the portion I find most interesting. The two players profiled were certainly outstanding players during their career but far from superstar status, that’s what makes this next bit of information so interesting and informative.

Vinnie Johnson is his name, from 1981 through 1991 he was a member of the Pistons. Johnson was nicknamed “microwave” because his appearance in the game meant instance offense. He was one of the key members of the “Bad Boy Piston” championship teams. After the 1991-92 season he retired from the NBA while on the Spurs roster. Today Vinnie Johnson’s net worth ($500 million est.) far exceeds his NBA earnings although they were key to life in retirement. He founded the Piston Group an automobile supplier to General Motors and the Ford Motor Company. As a supplier Johnson has managed a successful and financially rewarding second career.

In March of this year former NBA player Junior Bridgeman passed away, financial wealth will not fill the void however his family should be financially secure with his net worth estimated to be $600 million. Bridgeman was drafted in 1975 by the Lakers however he never played for them. Three weeks after the draft he was included in a package of players traded to Milwaukee for Kareem Abdul Jabbar. It is interesting Bridgeman spent the bulk of his NBA career as a sixth man as well. The 1986-87 season would be Bridgeman’s last and the first as he began building his business empire. He owned several Wendy’s, Chilli’s and Fazoli’s Restaurants before selling them to become a Coca-Cola bottler. These are but two examples of former NBA players who utilized their NBA salary to build a business domain.

I don’t hate anybody

My belief has always been, “Tell me something I don’t know, I don’t want your opinion.” That might sound as a strong statement but allow me to explain. If you’ve read this blog for a time you might tend to believe there is no one on television I appreciate, that is truly not the case. In the age of social media we have many in the field who make outlandish statements for the express purpose of creating clicks. In college basketball there are a number of analyst I enjoy, they are insightful and informative without hyping themselves. This is not in any order but I begin with Jay Bilas of ESPN, this former Duke basketball player turned analyst is one of the best at his craft.

I enjoy Jay Williams also a Duke guy, he works for ESPN too. Former coach and ESPN guy Seth Greenberg also makes the cut for my team. I continue with Clark Kellogg, Rece Davis and Jon Rothstein of CBS, so far I’ve just mentioned television guys, how about those in print? Some of these folks perform double duty print and television, Gary Parrish and Andy Katz are two names that come to mind, Parrish for CBS while Katz works for the Big 10 network but pops up on television at times. This exercise omits a number of voices of reason (for me at least) who perform their craft at a high skill level. Next time you read of me complaining about a particular media person take into account it’s not all of them. It’s only the ones who wrap themselves up in the story they are reporting.

“I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”

The headline is from a portion of a poem titled Invictus by William Ernest Henley (1849-1903). The line is meant to point to the fact you are in charge of your actions in life and how you respond to the adversities that come about. After reading this I came across Kawhi Leonard stories in Basketball Network and Basketball Analysis. “The Claw” as he’s nicknamed has remained an enigma even in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career. It’s claimed he didn’t sign with the Lakers due to Magic Johnson announcing to the media in 2019 they were in conversation. The account in Baskeball Analysis points out Leonard and his uncle (acting as his agent) didn’t trust the Lakers. We don’t know the full details, however, that seems pathetic to me i.e., his reasoning for not signing.

Michelle Beadle then working at ESPN was more critical of Leonard in 2018. Shortly before Leonard left the Spurs a great deal of turmoil existed within a team fighting to earn a playoff position. A portion of this I’d written earlier with teammate Tony Parkers view of what was occurring with Leonard. This quote from Basketball Network and Beadle about Leonard. “You don’t talk, you don’t defend yourself. You’re coming off as an obnoxious diva.” We know the mystery surrounding Leonard, he says very little and must believe his play speaks for his action. All that is well and good but when you are absent for long periods of time on the court it fails to aid your cause and fans to sympathize with you. In closing notice, in nowhere did I indicate Leonard was not a valued talent, fact he’s Hall of Fame worthy. His NBA career truly reflects that portion of the poem, he is the master of his own fate and the captain of his soul.

UPDATE: This was written prior to the Pablo Torre report of under the table payments made to Leonard. 

Nobody stays in college anymore

As we prepare for the 2025-26 college basketball season to begin I’m actually looking to the June 2026 NBA draft. The truth is after the NCAA Championship is decided the wheels begin to turn, who is headed for the NBA. The annual NBA draft has become more a freshman/international edition through primarily the Top 10 players. If I were a betting person, I would place large sums of money and claim there will be no upper classman pick through the first 7-8 players selected. This past season it was a forgone conclusion Duke’s Cooper Flagg would be the top pick, in 2024 it was not as clear cut but most mock drafts placed the name of Zaccharie Risacher at the top. In the 2023 draft everyone and their brother knew weeks in advance the top pick would be Victor Wembanyama.

With this information taken into consideration who is the top pick for 2026, of course that is yet to be decided although there are three primary contenders for the honor. Ahead of the season most mock sites list AJ Dybansta from BYU at the top, in second or third place depending on the mock site is Darryn Peterson who will play at Kansas or another Duke guy Cameron Boozer. Also under consideration is Nate Ament from Tennessee along with Mikel Brown of Louisville. A possible sleeper add the name of Karim Lopez an International player from New Zealand. All those named are either freshman or international players and none of the names are guarantees. At this time we have no idea if their season will prove rewarding or if the athlete decides they might require additional seasoning prior to making the leap to the NBA.