A basketball fans perspective

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Sooner rather than later

Lawrence Frank president of basketball operations for the Clippers addressed the issue of Kawhi Leonard’s future with the team, this from ESPN.com. "Our plan is to win with Kawhi," Frank said. "We obviously showed as an organization that we want to continue and we are driven to win." In my view they better get started on that winning thing, Kawhi ain't gettin’ any younger, he'll be 35 near the end of next season. If you remember the Clippers began the season with unbelievably damaging play, that cannot occur again.

The team finished the season two games over .500, on paper they are in my opinion a much better team. I know, don’t remind me….teams don’t play games on paper they play them on hardwood courts. As for the slow Clipper start this past season, in addition there is the Kawhi injury history to consider, we shouldn't expect him to be playing at age 41 in a similar manner to LeBron James. Some might consider this a criticism of Kawhi however that is not the case, with little wiggle room for adding talent Frank, Lue (if he remains) and the scouting staff must figure out a method to demonstrate improved play.

He’s only a sophomore

Dylan Betts is a 7-foot-3-inch, 230-pound high school sophomore who is currently rated as a five-star prospect in the Class of 2028. Home for Betts is Englewood, Colorado, in the Denver metropolitan area, he is now enrolled at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. As he nears the end of his sophomore year, it remains to be seen whether Betts will develop the skills necessary to excel at the next level; only time will provide that answer. Meanwhile, there are additional factors to take into considerations. 

After introducing the prospect of Betts future with a co-worker, I expressed this hope. That he would receive instruction in traditional basketball fundamentals, particularly low post play. While expectations have shifted since the eras of Russell, Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, and Malone, there is no return to the game of the past. Players like Victor Wembanyama demonstrate exceptional versatility—including reliable three-point shooting—not all post players in the NBA share these attributes. Ultimately, Betts must first prove his abilities at the collegiate level. Nevertheless, his name is one to remember for the future.

The Face of the NBA

I’m exploring this subject again based on his recent play, the HIS in this instance is Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs. A member of the media made this statement in the past; “Wemby can’t be the face of the NBA because he’s not an American.” My first thought, what a ridiculous and arrogant statement to make however from this member of the media it wasn’t really surprising. Second, I’m asking the question once again is there a requirement for an athlete to become “The Face of the NBA?” I don’t follow soccer (football) but am familiar with the names of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Until this was written I had no idea one was from  Portugal and the other Argentina. What I do know is they are two of the most famous football players of those who follow the sport.

One or the other is the face of the sport I believe. The nationality of these individuals is not the chief consideration. It’s been mentioned on numerous occasions by me basketball is now a world game, it’s no longer the exclusive property of the United States of America. LeBron James dubbed Wemby The Alien when he first began play in the NBA. Wemby stands 7-foot 4 (or 7-foot 5) and 235 pounds with guard like skills, he’s certainly not the tallest player ever in the game however he’s exhibited the greatest skill for his height. The only player close to him in ability would be Ralph Sampson who also was the same height. Sampson possessed comparable skills, but his abilities failed to approach those of Wemby. I will close with this question, is there a requirement for a face of the NBA? If there is can anyone (besides this media person) provide a valid reason why Wemby couldn’t be that face?

Meanwhile…

The NBA admitted that game officials made a mistake during a Lakers-Nuggets matchup. Such announcements aren’t uncommon; the NFL has also acknowledged errors by its officials. But is it effective to openly admit mistakes? I make that point because in an era filled with conspiracy theories, this becomes a major concern. Looking ahead, will the NFL and NBA continue the policy of reporting to errors—and does this transparency reassure fans? Another question lingers: did the mistake affect the outcome of the game, either directly or indirectly? Fans are likely to keep asking this into the future.

We discussed this issue numerous times over the years, is it a need or talent? If you are GM of a team do you draft to fill a need or is talent more important? For the Spurs its clear the direction they chose, they drafted guard Dylan Harper who played his college basketball at Rutgers. Last season the Spurs had acquired De’Aaron Fox, in addition Stephen Castle was in the middle of his rookie season. How good was Castle, good enough to be named NBA Rookie of the Year. Clearly the Spurs had an up and coming backcourt so what occurred, the objective was talent over need because they already had two quality guards on the roster. Wednesday evening June 25 with the second pick the Spurs selected Harper despite the fact of their existing backcourt.