A fans perspective 

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

You cannot change history

Reading this blog any length of time you are well aware I delve into the occasional “What if.” I did it with the Wolves with their opportunity to draft Stephen Curry, the same could be said for the Kansas City Kings who passed on Moses Malone. The Kings at the time must have believed guard Ron Boone had more upside than Malone who after his career would be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Whenever an event or player is profiled I’ve attempted to discuss it from the point history might have been different. In the instance of actual events you cannot change the course of history to fit your narrative.

By now you are wondering “Where is he going with this latest rant?” Only one issue, a social media writer decided to compare Dr. J’s career to Kawhi Leonard. It was the number of championships I took offense, he listed two NBA championships for Leonard (correct) and one for Dr. J. (incorrect). This individual was only counting the single championship won in 1983 while Dr. J. was a member of the Sixers. This author failed to list the 1974 and 1976 championships won by Dr. J. while he was a member of the ABA New York Nets. The blogger probably disagrees with me and that’s okay, a championship is just that, we don’t have permission to decide two championships won in the ABA are less important or should not be counted. 

Recruiting news

The top men’s basketball recruit in the Class of 2026 eliminated at least one school in his list however he accomplished this in a strange manner in my estimation. Tyran Stokes a 6-foot 7 245 pound 5-star forward signed a NIL agreement with Nike, that move might have eliminated Kansas although he visited Lawrence which had been recruiting him. It certainly remains possible the Sherman Oaks California prospect could continue interest but that’s unlikely due to Kansas being associated with Adidas. Although no decision has been reached Kansas remains included along with Oregon, Southern Cal and Oregon on Stokes list.

Despite this apparent negative news there were two positives for Bill Self, they received commits from Taylen Kinney a 6-foot 1 point guard from Overtime Elite, he’s a 5-star prospect. 4-star prospect Trent Perry a 6-foot 5 forward from Link Academy also verbally committed. In other recruiting news John Calipari and Arkansas announced 4-star prospect Abdou Toure a 6-foot 5 forward had chosen the Razorbacks. He made his decision over Providence, Alabama, Arizona State and Florida State who also were recruiting him. Toure is rated the number 33rd prospect in the nation by 247Sports and in the 2026 ESPN 100 he’s in the 31 spot.   

Conspiracy theories

Seeing video of Luka Doncic in action is the basis for this account, conspiracy theories exist in other sports but nowhere near the level they do in the NBA. Last February the trade the sent Doncic to the Lakers was monumental and Mavs fans were left in shock. Fast forward to the draft in June and what occurs, the Mavs win the lottery. The NBA “was making up for Doncic by allowing the Mavs to draft Cooper Flagg,” that was the theory. There are others, Game 6 in 2002 the disparity of free throws in favor of the Lakers allowing them to win the series over the Kings and play for the NBA championship…conspiracy. The nearly two years Michael Jordan played baseball before returning to the Bulls.

The theory, Jordan was suspended for illegal conduct (betting on NBA games), not that he was hiding from organized crime elements. The Patrick Ewing 1985 draft and the “frozen card,” this allowed Knicks GM Dave DeBusschere to separate it from the others and thus Ewing becomes a Knick. This was a brand new one for me, the 2012 draft was “fixed” allowing the Pelicans to draft Anthony Davis. There is also the Tim Donagy hangover, this former game official claimed officials controlled the outcome of games due to their and others gambling habits. There are other conspiracy theories surrounding the NBA and it’s players, in conclusion I’m just not sure why. All I can say is this, every time there is an occurrence that might appear unusual someone will come forth with a conspiracy story from it.   

Arizona basketball

Arizona is expected to draw significant attention from the basketball community this fall and winter. The school has long established itself as a prominent program in college basketball. On this season’s roster is Bryce James, who is the younger brother of Bronny James. Bryce, a 6-foot-6, 195-pound shooting guard, is taller than his brother, who weighs 205 pounds. Bryce previously attended Sierra Canyon High School in Los Angeles and received three-star ratings from Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN. Bryce is another basketball-playing child of LeBron and Savannah James. The youngest member of the family, Zhuri James, is 10 years old and participates in activities such as volleyball, dance, and others. We can expect increased television coverage for Arizona basketball and Bryce James this season.

A fans perspective 

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

Remember when

I do, the negative comments regarding the average age of the Lakers team. In 2021-22 they averaged 29.9 years of age as the oldest team in the NBA. As for the 2025-26 season the number averages out at 25-27 years of age. While they remain an older team they are no place near the oldest in the association, that honor belongs to the Clippers. Their 2025-26 roster averages 33.2 years of age making them the most ancient team in NBA history. Kawhi Leonard investigation aside, where does that leave the Clippers as a team, are they contenders or pretenders? Utilizing ESPN’s NBA page depth chart newcomer John Collins and holdover Ivica Zubac both age 28 are the youngest starters for the Clippers.

Kawhi Leonard is 34, Bradley Beal is 32 and James Harden is 36, Harden is backed up by 40 year old Chris Paul. Also standing by in reserve is 36 year old Nicolas Batum and 37 year old Brook Lopez. On paper the Clippers present a veteran starting five along with a group of veteran reserves. The players named and unnamed have certainly been through NBA wars during their careers but that makes for another concern…injuries. Despite his limited availability during his time with the Clippers Leonard remains the key. Paul George is gone so who picks up the gauntlet in his place, is it James Harden or one of the new arrivals. This Clippers team certainly contains the right ingredients to compete for an NBA championship, do they, “I’m from Missouri, you’ve got to Show Me.”

Basketball was the big winner

There is no argument from me, college football rules. It rules except for those colleges and universities that once played the sport and dropped it. From AI; “Colleges eliminate football primarily due to financial issues, such as budget deficits and the high cost of running a program. Other contributing factors include the physical risks of the sport, a desire to reallocate resources to academics or other sports, and recent shifts in the sport’s structure like the transfer portal and revenue sharing. Some schools have seen benefits like increased applications or research funding after cutting football.” There are instances generations of alum who never remember a time football was played at their school. Gonzaga a current basketball powerhouse once played the sport but abandoned it in 1941 (probably due to World War II) and never revived the program.

Creighton, which almost always turns out winning basketball teams eliminated football in 1942, this was probably also done due to the war. As for others it was much later, St. Louis University in 1949 for St. Bonaventure University located in Western New York State it was 1951 while Marquette saw football disappear in 1960. Bill Russell’s University of San Francisco Dons quit the sport in 1971. After the 1973 season Xavier (Ohio) dropped its football program. Wichita State suffered a horrendous tragedy in October 1970, several members of the football team, coaching staff and others perished in a charter aircraft crash. Despite the tragedy Wichita State carried on with its football program until 1986 when it was discontinued. In the 2000’s we saw St. John’s (2002), Hofstra (2009) and Northeastern (2009) eliminate football. There are other “basketball only” schools that were not included in this brief look.

Don’t Worry be Happy 

In my opinion it’s not good practice to worry about the future. For the most part often there are elements at work we have little if any control over. Example, I’m concerned about retirement and BAM I win the lottery with the exception of my health and my family there are no longer any worries. That’s an extreme example, the next portion deals with the Lakers and two separate reports. One report “Luka might want to leave the Lakers when he becomes a free agent.” The next one says; “There is hope LeBron James remains through retirement.” Working backwards LeBron is first, birthday number 41 occurs in December. Although I maintain he remains a valuable commodity as a player he’s still old by NBA standards.

If LeBron should decide to leave in free agency the Lakers should prepare themselves for that eventuality. You don’t simply replace a talent similar to him easily however a committee approach perhaps adding two players to replace one. As for Luka his situation is slightly different because he is much younger however much of what you read about LeBron applies to him as well. In conclusion anytime free agency is at work the athlete has the upper hand, I have no problem with that being the case. At the same time I don’t believe the Lakers or any other professional sports team should be held hostage in the manner of Uncle Dennis. Superstar talent is not easily replaced however if either athlete decides to walk there is not much the Lakers can do about it. Reminds me of that old Bobby McFerrin pop tune; “Don’t Worry be Happy.” That’s the road to take to ensure the best health.

He owes us and especially them

The us is NBA fans especially the Clippers and the ownership of the team. This is presented prior to completion of the investigation into Aspiration and its connection to Kawhi Leonard. There is no doubt Leonard is overpaid in volumes based on the amount of time he spends on the court. If you check his numbers for this past season they are certainly above average, the only drawback is the number of games he played. Leonard only played 37 games, his first game of the season was played January 4, 2025, the NBA season had begun October 22, 2024. This number represented the lowest number of games played since he’d become a Clipper, of course Leonard was returning from injury once again which is commonplace for him. Check this out, in the 5 years Leonard’s played for the Clippers the most games played in any one season is the 68 he played in the 2023-24 season.

Since Leonard’s arrival to the Clippers there have been 410 games on the schedule, of that number Leonard’s been available to play in 266 of them, that’s about 64.9% of the games on the Clippers schedule. How bad is this issue, its serious enough where I’m quoting Stephen A. Smith. “He (Leonard) does absolutely, positively, nothing to promote your franchise…I have said on many, many, and I will say it again, he is the worst superstar I have ever seen in sports history. This is not about his play and it’s not about his character…If you’re averaging over $40.3 million a year in your career with the Clippers, can you do interviews? Can you do promotional appearances?” Professional athletes are in a fishbowl I believe we understand that fact, the only portion of Smith’s statement I disagree is the promotional appearances. If the Clippers management signed off on no promotions that is a non-issue for me. Kawhi Leonard has been an enigma throughout his NBA career so perhaps we expect far too much. It was pointed out Leonard has two years remaining on his contract, unless he leads them to an NBA championship they might consider not renewing it. Of course what is covered here has nothing to do with the Aspiration investigation.

A portion from si.com nba

A fans perspective 

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

Not surprising

Duke announced head men’s basketball coach Jon Scheyer’s contract has been lengthened, he will be working under a 6-year extension which carries him through the 2030-31 season. I once wrote how difficult it is to replace a legend, that being Coach K. Gene Bartow was certainly successful his first two years at UCLA but left the program and out from under the shadow of John Wooden. It was a different transition for Scheyer, he’d played for Coach K., he then took the role of an assistant and later associate head coach. I’ve got to believe that eased his transition to a degree once he took on the role of head coach. Scheyer’s teams have won 89 games in his first three years at the helm and last season they lost in the Final Four although they won 35 games in total. Despite losing Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Kaman Maluach to the NBA the Blue Devils appear to have reloaded and are ready for action in the always tough ACC. 

This is going to be brief

I have seen several YouTube podcasters discussing the Clippers, Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard. While the investigation is yet to be completed I wish to address a portion of this account. We have no idea of the final outcome as this is written, however, a portion of what I’m hearing concerns me. “They are not gonna touch Ballmer, he’s the richest owner in the NBA” was the comment I heard by this podcaster, he made this observation after listening to a statement by one former NBA player. In my view this makes no sense whatsoever.

If the NBA has any integrity at all should Ballmer and the Clippers be found guilty they should punish all connected with Aspiration. For someone to conclude the league will do nothing due to the wealth of an owner is a ridiculous statement to make. All parties should suffer whatever penalties are deemed justifiable by the NBA. Naturally as in all instances these are my opinions, there is no requirement for you to agree with me. On the other hand Mark Cuban former majority owner of the Mavs has gone out his way to defend Ballmer. His opinion is, “Anyone as smart as he (Ballmer) is cannot be easily duped.”

Scouting…It’s just like a box of chocolates

I’ve long held the belief that scouting a prospect is one of the most difficult tasks conceivable. Once upon a time a baseball scout might be responsible for projecting a high school athlete into the major leagues. Does a fuzzy faced 16-year old pitcher forecast himself as a major league possibility? For the NFL and NBA generally the scouting occurs at age 19-22 which can make for a major difference in effectiveness. In the NBA draft there are always “sleepers,” players who were scouted but not as highly thought of as another.

That occurs at times but what about a team having an opportunity twice to choose a hall of fame player? That occurred in the 2009 NBA draft, the Wolves had the 5th and 6th pick in the first round of that year’s draft. At pick 5 they chose Rickey Rubio an international prospect from Spain, he’d been playing professionally since the age of 16. With pick number 6 the Wolves selected Syracuse point guard Johnny Flynn 2009 Big East Tournament MVP. Of course that evening and much later the Wolves were questioned as to why they selected two point guards and back to back no less, to my knowledge no explanation was ever offered. The Warriors, with the 7th pick, selected Steph Curry from Davidson. Check this out, pre-draft thoughts regarding Curry. “Stephen Curry’s early scouting reports focused on his limited athleticism, below-average size, defensive liabilities, with concerns he wouldn’t be a starting point guard or effective NBA player. Key weaknesses identified were his lack of explosiveness, skinny frame, and poor ability to finish at the rim, though his shooting touch, ball-handling skills, and basketball IQ were acknowledged strengths.”

Rubio would go on to have a 12 year NBA career although portions were of it were spent time playing for other teams. We could state his was a successful career but nowhere close to Curry’s. Johnny Flynn’s story is quite different, his NBA career lasted a brief four years playing for two other NBA teams. In fairness to the scouts some of the concerns mentioned may have been an indirect cause of Curry missing games over his career. Despite that fact he is still destined to be enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame one day. Finally we could do a “What if,” would the fortunes of the Wolves be any better if they made the choice of Curry over Rubio and Flynn? That question will remain unanswered, after all basketball remains a team sport.

NBA arena capacity

Unlike the NBA recent trends indicate that colleges and universities are adopting different approaches when planning new arenas. In recent years, newly constructed arenas tend to have smaller seating capacities. Large venues such as the JMA Wireless Dome at Syracuse (35,446), Dean Dome at North Carolina (21,750 seats) or Kentucky’s Rupp Arena (23,500 seats) are becoming less common. It should be of note that the JMA Wireless Dome also is home for Syracuse football. Of course smaller arenas offer greater versatility for multiple purposes rather than being designed solely for basketball. For reference, the latest opening occurred last year with the Clippers opening the Intuit Dome. The arena offers a maximum capacity of 18,300. As for the others check out the list below:

Arena                                                      Capacity                  Team

United Center                                          20,917                     Bulls

Wells Fargo Center                                 20,478                     Sixers

Capital One Arena                                   20,356                     Wizards

Little Caesars Arena                                20,332                     Pistons

Madison Square Garden                         19,812                     Knicks

Scotiabank Arena                                    19,800                     Raptors

Kaseya Center                                         19,600                     Heat

TD Garden                                               19,580                     Celtics

Ball Arena                                                19,520                     Nuggets

Moda Center                                            19,441                     Blazers

Rocket Arena                                           19,432                     Cavs

American Airlines Center                          19,200                     Mavs

Spectrum Center                                      19,077                     Hornets

Crypto.com Arena                                    19,060                     Lakers

Amway Center                                         18,846                     Magic

Target Center                                           18,798                     Wolves

Footprint Center                                      18,422                     Sun

Frost Bank Center                                   18,418                     Spurs

Delta Center                                            18,306                     Jazz

Intuit Dome                                              18,300                     Clippers

Paycom Center                                        18,203                     Thunder

FedExForum                                            18,119                     Grizzlies

Chase Center                                           18,064                     Warriors

Toyota Center                                           18,055                     Rocket

Gainbridge Fieldhouse                             17,923                     Pacers

Barclays Center                                        17,732                     Nets

Golden 1 Center                                       17,608                     Kings

Fiserv Forum                                            17,341                     Bucks

Smoothie King Center                              16,867                     Pelicans

State Farm Arena                                     16,600                     Hawks

A fans perspective 

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

A second look 

I saw a YouTube video recently, a person was discussing cities pro sports would never return. One of those he mentioned was Vancouver and the NBA. Before I begin my exercise I am not being compensated by any party associated with this Canadian city. Right off the bat the issue I believed which later cause the crash was the Canadian dollar versus the American dollar. This issue would eventually become the death nil of the franchise in Vancouver. This individual mentioned population which I totally disagree with, fact is the metro population in February 2025 is reported to be 3 million citizens with 556,000-600,000 living in Vancouver. That makes it larger than Oklahoma City and Memphis where the Grizzlies now call home.

This individual also mentioned the nearness of Seattle which the NBA will eventually return, road miles is no greater to Seattle than it is between OKC and Dallas. This is the area I find most confusing all these years later, Toronto and Vancouver both came into the NBA in 1995. The Grizzlies won a coin flip over the Raptors placing them in 6th place in that year’s draft. This is the screwy issue for me with that ’95 draft, the NBA had a rule both teams were restricted from drafting above the Top 5 pick. The draft position had nothing whatsoever to do with the lottery or a poor won-loss record which generally affects positioning. The first three years the Grizzlies picked 6th, 3rd and 4th in each of those drafts, the NBA is not headed back to Vancouver however there are issues I believe that require clarification.

The Guru

Joe Lunardi is considered the source for NCAA Tournament play, which teams are in and which are out. He took an early look at 2026 and it appears Kansas-Missouri will be missing a number of schools. Lunardi’s ranks Kansas a 6 seed in the West while he places Missouri at 8 in the Midwest. The other Kansas-Missouri Division I teams are missing from the Field of 68 according to him. Kansas State finished last season with a 16 win 17 lost record, they were 9-11 in the Big 12. After play in the NCAA tournament in Jerome Tang’s first season they have now missed an invite two consecutive years.

With a larger state population Missouri has a greater number of Division I basketball teams, the first to check is Missouri State in Springfield. The Bears finished the season under Cuonzo Martin with a 9 win 23 lost season, they were a 2 win team in the Missouri Valley Conference. If we head directly east we arrive at Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks won 21 games losing 12, they were 15-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Headed north from there we arrive in St. Louis. The Billikens won 19 games losing 15, they won 11 games in the Atlantic-10 Conference. As you can conclude other than Kansas, Missouri and Southeast MO State there is work to be done by the other coaches.

Their outlook

Sixer fans have no idea what they get this upcoming season, no Joel Embiid and no Paul George at least at the beginning of the season apparently. I checked out the depth chart on ESPN.com NBA page and it left me scratching my head. Adem Bona is listed as the starter in the post, Bona has exactly 58 games played in the NBA. At power forward is Guerschon Yabusele, he’s got 144 games played in his career. Veteran Kelly Oubre Jr. is listed at the small forward position along with Quentin Grimes and Jared Butler at shooting guard and point guard, respectively. They have 243 and 148 games played in the NBA between the two, I hope you see where I am headed.

Behind these starters a number of veteran players are on the roster, do these veterans scare opposing teams? That is doubtful, they are reserves due to a number of reasons. This is why I began this exercise to inform Sixer fans you might be in for a long, long season. Of course all that could change provided Joel Embiid is able to return and remain healthy for the season, the same statement could be made regarding Paul George. The arthroscopic surgery was performed on Embiid’s left knee in April, there is no established timeline for his return as this is written. As for George the news is slightly better, he is expected to return at some point during the 2025-26 season. The outlook doesn’t look promising however there is always hope for play that exceeds expectations.

Naismith Hall

Oftentimes when one is critical of an athlete the question might be is it justified. In this instance I cannot answer the question I can only present to you what has occurred in the past leading to the present. The question is posed, does Kawhi Leonard belong in the Naismith Hall of Fame…my quick answer is no. My opinion is not based on the NBA’s investigation related to Aspiration. Before delving into the why he doesn’t belong I’m going to make this statement. You will not read anything from me claiming his talent lacks justification, far from it. Leonard is one of the most talented offensive and defensive athlete there is currently it’s the other stuff.

I look over his record of play, do you realize since he first set foot on an NBA court he’s never played 82 games. Is that really important based on load management by many of today’s players? Playing for the Spurs who drafted him a single season with the Raptors and his time with the Clippers. 13 years in the NBA and the most Leonard’s played in a single season is 74 games when he was a member of the Spurs. Time spent with the Clippers has seen him in uniform in 68 games two seasons ago, this past season it was 37. I know you are about to mention his injury history, that’s fair but I’ve got a question for you. How valuable are you to your team sitting next to the coach rather than playing the game? I admit there are a few players I question how did they get elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame? Perhaps I will be fooled on this one but I don’t think so.

NAIA basketball

Unless you are associated with a NAIA school in some capacity you don’t know the history. The NAIA Basketball Tournament is older than its NCAA counterpart. The first championship tournament was held in Kansas City MO in 1937, two years later the NCAA was first held. Nowadays NAIA basketball is an afterthought but that didn’t always exist. In the early days of the NBA up through the 1970’s a significant number of players honed their skills at NAIA schools. Have you heard of Scottie Pippen, of course you have?

Robin to MJ’s Batman began his play at Central Arkansas, the school now competes at the NCAA Division II level. At the time Pippen played the schools competed at the NAIA level, but he is only one of a number of Hall of Fame players from NAIA schools. Willis Reed was the heart and soul of the Knicks and key to their championship aspirations. Reed played at Grambling State, they are now NCAA Division I but when Reed was there it was NAIA. Dennis Rodman “The Worm” played at Southeastern Oklahoma and we could add Jack Sikma to the count, he played at Illinois Wesleyan and like Rodman and Pippen is also in the Naismith Hall of Fame. There are other names but I wanted to provide just a few who might be more familiar to you.