Basketball from a fan’s perspective

There is no FOR SALE sign in the window

The NCAA is not going out of business, there is far too much money to be made. Beginning now the sports landscape continues to shift, in this instance it moves away from the antiquated hand of the NCAA. This landmark event says college and universities can begin paying athletes as employees, that is the underlying theme. What I read indicates athletes could earn a minimum of $20,000 year. That sum might not seem like a great deal of money but to an 18–22-year-old athlete it is far different.

Most athletes are not beneficiaries of NIL, with little income, that’s a great deal of money. Making that statement I’m sure there are others earning 10 times or more of that amount from NIL deals. The key difference is this latest change will benefit all athletes not just basketball and football players. This breaking news is just that, its breaking…I don’t have all the details but neither does everyone else including the athletes themselves. This is a continuing developing story as additional detail is provided, I will attempt to cover it as best possible.

Prove it

I can only speak for myself, I read a story recently and this is it’s basis, “UCLA’s John Wooden and other coaches of that era cheated.” If the writer were seated in front of me I’d ask them “how do you know this existed, are you prepared to offer me and others proof of your claim? Opinions are one thing actual proof is a far different matter. You don’t know my co-worker Keenan, he’s only 23-years old but this is generally his response to this account. “If no video exists it didn’t occur.”

In some instances, there is film/video in existence however I continue to question the WHY. Arguments about Jordan v Kobe could be discussed for days, those bother me but not nearly as much. There is a reason, are these cynics ready to provide us proof or is this just loose talk? Someone might claim I’m attempting to inhibit free speech, that is far from the case. Once again, I don’t like arguments like Kareem and Shaq, but they are easier for me to comprehend. How do you determine if someone cheated or conducted themselves in a nefarious manner without offering the reader or listener any proof?

Sorry I missed it

On Friday, a story was published regarding the NBA and its upcoming television package. I’m not a fan but a sizable portion of the viewing audience of TNT is upset. Inside the NBA with host Ernie Johnson has been on the air since 1990, he’s been joined by analyst Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith (1998), Charles Barkley (2000) and Shaquille O’Neal (2011) discussing the NBA game to be viewed before and after. From time-to-time other former NBA and WNBA players have sat on the podium with Ernie however the three former players make up the cast the majority of time. Based on time you can see Inside the NBA has been a long running staple of TNT broadcasts.

The chief description which probably fits most fans is for Inside the NBA to become independent, i.e., not affiliated with any planned future network. In a manner similar to the past the crew would appear before and after the game. That would seem to be a solution but is it workable? I would imagine should the deal transpire NBC and ESPN might desire their own group to operate this type of program. On the other hand realizing the tremendous following generated of Inside the NBA might create an appeal to continue the program in its present manner. In any event the television deal might be announced soon however none of this will take place before the end of the 2024-25 NBA season. I will attempt to provide updates on this and other stories as they occur.

He’s been cleared

Last January I failed to write on Josh Giddey OKC guard, you might remember he’d been accused of an improper relationship with an underage female. The incident occurred in California and after an investigation the Long Beach Police Department declined to pursue the charge. This week the NBA cleared Giddey so all is well I would suppose. That is not quite the case on the court, Giddey’s game regressed this past season. Every one of his numbers registered below the previous year but there is a question in my mind.

Was the prospect of litigation hanging over his head impacting his game or was it something else? It was said by more than one media member this occurred, SGA’s game was on an upward trend and with less playing time caused the decline of Giddey’s on court time. It was the fact Giddey apparently couldn’t play SGA’s game that brought more to the table and the coach decided to go with SGA. This can be partially traced to the improved record the Thunder experienced. With that said what does the future hold for Giddey? Plenty in my view the Australian guard remains a valuable commodity at the age of 21 with three NBA years under his belt. The Thunder could possibly explore a trade and they would be looking toward addressing a need they came up short. I know the Thunder would refuse a trade to my Lakers, but I would take Giddey in a heartbeat.

Let’s fix the Spurs

Here we are a few weeks prior to the draft I have no idea if there are any proposed trades or free agents headed to San Antonio. Let’s fix the Spurs the best way we can with the 2024 NBA Draft, that works for me and I’m sure you as well. As you might be aware the Spurs have the 4th and 8th pick in this draft, with that in mind one of the players on this list might have been selected prior to the Spurs. Based on that fact these are the names who could be available when it’s time to make their selection:

Stephon Castle 6-foot 6-inch 215-pound combo guard UConn

Rob Dillingham 6-foot 3-inch 175-pound point guard UConn

Ron Holland 6-foot 8-inch 205-pound small forward G-League

Nikola Topic 6-foot 6-inch 200-pound point guard Serbia

Cody Williams 6-foot 8-inch 190-pound small forward Colorado 

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

What is going on

I’ve held off covering the NBA television issue because I wasn’t sure of the outcome. It’s still not resolved yet everyone is writing about the dramatic change the NBA is about to undertake with its broadcast. I’m not going to approach the dollars because that too appears fluid at this time. This is my belief, the ABC Network and TNT will no longer have the NBA broadcast. A deal is reported to be in place that will see the NBA aligned with NBC Network, Amazon and ESPN and this is the part I truly don’t understand. Disney owns ESPN and ABC, so they intend to remove one of their broadcast arms if this is indeed the case. Listen friends, I tried to hold off on this as long as possible. I did this with the hope some of the confusion would clear up but that apparently is not the case. Will the NBC portion be over the air or a streaming service? That’s just one of many unanswered questions.

Two years in a row

This is a re-visit of an earlier account, we are weeks ahead of the 2024 NBA draft. Will the nation of France lead the way again having the top pick in the draft class is the question? I mentioned his name previously, as a reminder he is Zaccharie Risacher another French youngster aged 18. Risacher is a 6-foot 9 200-pound small forward who currently plays for JL Bourg in the city of Bourg-en-Bresse. He’s got a 6 foot 10 ½ in wingspan, it should also be of note he turns 19 in April.

Just in case you wish to know the city is reported to be 70 km northeast of Lyon. The only question might be does Risacher believe he’s ready for the stiff competition the NBA will provide him? It would appear the mock draft sites think he’s ready, his name is listed on the three I use for insight especially with international players. Don’t be surprised to hear his name announced in June by commissioner Silver, if drafted all indications he’s a first-round choice. This becomes more evidence of the growth of the game internationally.

Do you want a job…well maybe

I cannot speak to the NHL because I am unfamiliar with how the league operates. As for baseball and the NFL and NBA the job of head coach/manager can be difficult. The first difficulty…the money, you are often called on to lead, cajole athletes earning three or four times the salary you earn. The second most difficult piece, convincing the roster to follow the plan you’ve laid out for them. In high school and college it’s a different manner, generally the teams going to follow the coaches’ lead no matter the circumstances. In the NBA that might not always be the case.

It was said Darvin Ham lost the Laker clubhouse, I don’t know that to be a fact but once players turn a coach or manager off there is no return. Not only must you please your roster members it’s the front office too. The Bucks fired Adrian Griffin despite the fact the team was over .500 in their performance, he was replaced by Doc Rivers. The Bucks finished two games below .500 and were quickly eliminated in the playoffs. The Bucks did face injuries to key players but that becomes an excuse for not succeeding. What’s most interesting, despite the negatives I’ve laid out and others overlook there is a line. There are always those seeking to become a head coach in the NBA so perhaps the financial reward makes up for the other stuff who knows.

No basketball here

Can you believe it, at one time the State of Missouri had two NBA teams. The Hawks arrived in St. Louis and departed prior to the Kings moving to Kansas City. The Hawks moved from Milwaukee to St. Louis in 1955, they were successful even winning the 1958 NBA Championship and then it all came crashing down. The baseball Cardinals had always called the city home, we had teams playing a summer schedule (Cardinals) and one a winter (Hawks). That would change in 1960 with the arrival of the NFL Cardinals from Chicago, it didn’t stop there in 1967 the expansion NHL Blues arrived on the scene the sports dollar shrinking even further.

Ben Kerner owner of the team at that time saw the handwriting on the wall, although the Hawks were a good team their attendance suffered. Kerner later indicated he attempted to find a local owner to sell the team but failed to locate one. He then sold the franchise to an Atlanta group in 1968 and the Hawks left St. Louis for Atlanta. Even more interesting the other sports franchises, since that time, the Cardinals left for Arizona and the NFL Rams arrived from Los Angeles but several years later returned to California. I’ve always maintained hockey fans are not basketball fans and vice versa. Did the arrival of the Blues signal the end for the St. Louis Hawks… perhaps not but the competition for the sports dollar shrunk considerably. The city has lost a sizable portion of its population however the metro contains 2.8 million persons. Could St. Louis support an NBA team today, with the right set of circumstances I believe that to be the case.

From basketball to actor  

It’s common for a few retired athletes to move into the realm of entertainment. This move could cover a wide range in that industry news, television or movies just to name a few. If the names are unfamiliar to you no worry, they long ago left the gridiron or basketball court. The late Jim Brown former running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns heard the call of Hollywood. Ed Marinaro spent his most productive NFL years running the football for the Vikings, after retirement he moved into television becoming an actor. Of course most of you are familiar with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the former wrestling star who is now a movie star. Depending on your age you might be more familiar with the son over the father…more on that later. His name is Mike Warren, he was the point guard on those Lew Alcindor UCLA teams.

Warren was much of a scorer however he led the Bruins from the point guard position as directed by his legendary coach John Wooden. He was a member of two national title teams 1967, 1968. Apparently the NBA was never in his plans although he played at UCLA four years, instead of heading off to an NBA team he began attending casting roles hoping to break into a television role. Warren did just that, he landed the role of a police officer on the television series Hill Street Blues (1987-1981) portraying officer Bobby Hill. Although retired now Warren had several television roles over the years his last was Anderson’s Cross where he played the father of the lead character. Mike Warren never had a professional sports career as the others, apparently there was no desire on his part for an NBA career. The relative is Cash Warren his son who is a film and television producer.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Is there a deal in place

You might remember I wrote former Yankee and prospective Wolves owner A-Rod was captured more than once by the television camera recently. He was shown rooting for the Wolves to advance over the Nuggets in their playoff series. The first part is complete the Wolves beat the Nuggets and have advanced to the next round, the second round will be a slight bit more difficult. The second round is action off the court rather than on it.

 After an agreement was reached Wolves owner Glen Taylor claimed A-Rod and Marc Lore failed to meet the deadline for the final payment about $600 million to acquire the team. Taylor insisted the sale was off but apparently that is not quite the case. There is pending court arbitration to resolve the issue, my guess A-Rod will continue to appear at Wolves games until the “owner” of the team is determined. As you are aware I ain’t no attorney, I took shortcuts on this story in order to publish it for your consumption. I am sure there are media sources that go into far more detail than I did…seek them out for additional elements not covered here.

The "old" man

Kyrie Irving of the Mavs is 32-years old, without checking I’m sure he’s not the oldest player active in the playoffs. This however is a factor, Irving is the only remaining 30+ All Star caliber player remaining active at this stage, as for the others. Irving’s teammate and the clear leader of the team is Luka Doncic, he’s 25-years old. What about the Wolves, there is Ant Man 22 years of age and his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns 28 years old.

In the east we have the Pacers with 24-year-old Tyrese Haliburton at the point, Myles Turner with birthday 28 in March. As for the Celtics Jayson Tatum 26-years and Jaylen Brown 27 years old are the clear leaders of the Beantown crew. All four of the remaining teams have roster members past the age of 30, the exciting portion of this NBA playoff is seeing the youngsters take charge. Have we seen a changing of the guard in the playoffs? No LeBron or Steph sighting nor is there a Kawhi or Draymond to be found except at home.

Say what

I truly hope this is not me at any time, this is an actual headline I read. “The Wolves were built to beat the Nuggets,” my first thought was really, they were built to win. They were able to beat the Nuggets, which certainly was the case, to state the manner of the team’s construction was built for a specific team is ridiculous. The Wolves were built through draft choices and trades in the same vein of any other NBA team. Chris Finch was hired he assembled his staff and they began plans on becoming a winning team.

The intent was always to overcome the team in front of them. Once the playoffs began it became beating the Suns, it then became the Nuggets. There was no magic involved, win the game…win the series. Once again the Wolves were built to win, regardless of what occurs the balance of the playoffs keep that in mind. I don’t wish to “beat up” members of the media but sometimes I understand why coaches and players get upset. There are occasions when dumb statements or questions are asked of the media. The one below remains my all time favorite all these years later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atr60tR7Emo

“What do you want…what do you want?”

The headline is a sample of a conversation between my wife and me. It occurs at those times when deciding what to eat or where. In a similar vein that’s what’s occurred for me with you, I’ve said who I didn’t want as the next Laker coach without providing you names. Before I began naming names allow this brief departure, if we look at Darvin Ham he might have been a good hire initially however his first head coaching job saw him fall a bit short. That’s my reluctance with hiring a JJ Redick (no coaching experience) versus a Sam Cassell (assistant experience).

Redick and Cassell former NBA players come up short in my book, the list of impossible candidates include Pat Riley, Phil Jackson and Tyronn Lue. Any of the three named would be satisfactory however NONE are willing or able to assume the reigns as head coach. Who remains, how about Kenny Atkinson, Terry Stotts, Dave Joerger or James Borrego? Each of those named has spent time as a head coach although there might be questions on their resume they should be able to perform the task. There are other guys out there with extensive time as an NBA head coach. I wouldn’t hire Mike D’Antoni or George Karl, to me neither represents the future. They certainly had past success in the NBA but the game has probably passed them.

Bits n Pieces

Allow me to inform you of something that will not occur at least in the next few years. We have experienced a number of college teams changing conference affiliation over the last two years or so. Recently it was reported there was consideration for the Kansas Jayhawks to move into the SEC. Allow me to call that strictly a rumor for a key reason…football. SEC teams similar to others across the nation sometimes experience down years for their football programs. This is a basketball driven blog however the focus regarding this story involves football which pays for everything. Kansas finished with a 9-win season in 2023, prior to that it was 2008 the last time the school experienced a winning season. This story reminds me of a Big 10 one, it was rumored at one time the Big 10 also wanted Kansas too but passed due to their football program.

You are going to find this difficult to believe but it was true, if you’ve read this blog any length of time you are aware of bits of NBA history. Back then the NBA was a major league in name only, part of this was based on drug and racial issues in existence at the time. Between 1979-1981 the CBS Network the broadcast partner decided in favor of no weeknight playoff games in prime time. If a game were played at 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. it would be broadcast on a tape delay basis. Weekend games were a different matter, they were broadcast Saturday or Sunday afternoons. As for the weeknight games they were broadcast tape delayed after the nightly news and be shown 11:30 Eastern 10:30 p.m. Central Time.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Celtic green

ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler is correct in my view too. Legs indicates this is the year of the Celtics, the only team they had issues with during the regular season was the Nuggets. The Nuggets are in Cancun so there is no worry there, I realize the Celtics are missing Kristaps Porzingis but he alone will not be responsible for an NBA Championship eluding them. The Celtics must demonstrate their ability on the court whether it’s the Mavs, Wolves or Pacers no team is going to simply allow them to pass without a fight. The Pacers look really good, can they get by the Celtics perhaps?

In a series with or without Porzingis the Celtics have got to be favored. The Western Conference foe is a little more difficult to predict, because of their defense I’ve got to believe the Wolves have an advantage over the Mavs. Now we have the matchup on paper projected by yours truly. If the Celtics win they will break the tie, currently the Celtics and Lakers are tied with 17 NBA championships apiece. I favor the Wolves if it comes down between the two teams, as a Laker fan I cannot in my right mind root for a team from Boston. Who knows, this Finals round might not turn out as I have projected, we could have a Pacers-Mavs championship series. Last season I watched the championship with little connection, this time it’s a little different.

The Big Man arrives

Mizzou Nation continued to read and hear reports coach Gates wanted to add a Big Man through the transfer portal. It appeared that might not occur as prospect after prospect chose a school other than Mizzou to attend. On Monday came this announcement, arriving on campus from South Carolina comes 6-foot 11 255-pound Josh Gray. He played at SC four years so one season of eligibility remains for Gray at Mizzou.

I must be honest other than his one remaining season this is a headscratcher for me. Gray was a reserve player during his tenure at SC so I’m going to go with the coach on this move. It is clear Gates sees a role with Mizzou he believes is missing in his team and believes Gray can fill that role. With the addition of the former SC Big Man Mizzou has managed to add 5 players in the transfer portal…a starting team. It’s probably hoped the incoming freshman will bid their time while adjusting to Division I play.

He continues to make history

I’ve got to come up with another nickname besides Wemby, I don’t have any desire to use the term alien. That was the tag given him by LeBron James on seeing him play for the first time. I realize Victor Wembanyama has done some amazing feats in his first year in the NBA. Prepare yourself for one more thing that’s never occurred previously for a rookie in the NBA. Briefly we travel back in time to the 1968-69 season, that was the first year the NBA disclosed its first All-Defensive Team honors.

In all this time 55 years to be exact a rookie had never earned NBA All Defensive honors until now. Allow me to introduce you to Victor Wembanyama the first rookie accorded this honor in the history of the NBA. By now you are probably asking what he does for his sophomore season, in truth I have no idea. This I believe will occur, barring injury we’ll see the 7-foot 4 youngster go to a level no other NBA players ever reached. Part of this is based on Wemby’s adjustment to the NBA and an improved Spurs team, both will allow us to see Wemby astound us even more.

The gift that keeps on giving

I had to check, it seemed like forever since the Lakers had a first-round draft pick. I’d forgotten that quickly about Jalen Hood-Schifino taken with pick 17 in 2023, prior to that it was 2018 when they chose Moe Wagner with pick 28. We must return to 2017 and Lonzo Ball to discover a draft choice who managed to impact the Lakers won-loss record appreciably. The primary reason for the headline is Anthony Davis, in addition to the bodies traded the Lakers gave up a number of draft choices to acquire the Big Man from the Pelicans. Unless there is a trade (which is possible) the Lakers must once again look toward the second round to add talent to the roster. Just because a player is drafted in the second round can sometimes appear talentless but that is not always the case.

A team must be able to do extensive scouting and be able to assess a player at the college, G-League or Euro level. Let’s check a few 2nd round picks to see who would become outstanding, history first. Manu Ginobili is now in the Naismith Hall of Fame that certainly provides us an idea of his basketball prowess. How about Dennis ‘The Worm’ Rodman also in the Naismith Hall of Fame. More recently we could name Nikola ‘The Joker’ Jokic who owns the NBA MVP Trophy, I would say Draymond Green has been one of the keys to Warrior success the last few years. Khris Middleton has been just as valuable to the success of the Bucks as Giannis Antetokounmpo. There are others omitted from this account but simply stated there are gems in the 2nd round a Laker team must find them and groom them for inclusion to the roster.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

15

Never give up the fight, that certainly could be the cry of the Wolves. They were down 15 points at the half, with 10:45 in the 3rd quarter the score read Nuggets 58 Wolves 38. Ant Man didn’t have a good shooting game (6 for 24) with his 16 points however his play was a contributing factor to the Wolves victory. Interesting the Nuggets outshot the Wolves from the floor 41% to 39.2% neither team shot particularly well from three.

A portion of the poor shooting by both teams can be directly attributed to the lockdown defense by both teams. The Wolves win the series 4 games to 3, they now face the Mavs for the Western Conference championship. Jamal Murray with 35 points and The Joker with 34 led the way in scoring, not a single player scored in double figures. Contrast that with the Wolves having all 5 starters in double figures and Naz Reid off the bench with 11 points. Beginning Wednesday at the Target Center will see the Mavs in action against the Wolves. This will be an interesting match on several levels, who guards Luka? The teams appear to be about the same height however the Wolves might have a slight advantage.

The outcome of this series will be determined by which team plays the best defense. Prior to the first game of the conference championship being played I would rate the Wolves a slight favorite in that area. The Wolves Karl-Anthony Towns with his 23 points and 12 rebounds was vital in the victory. 6 foot 36-year-old Mike Conley had 8 rebounds for the Wolves while 6 foot 10 Michael Porter Jr. had 9 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Stop reading if you heard this!

Have you ever wondered where the basketball shoe trend first began? Although Nike was in the shoe business already it was a bold move they decided to make which changed the basketball landscape. Nike’s gamble on the first Air Jordan’s was quite successful, at the time the original Air Jordan’s were introduced the NBA had a rule in effect. Basketball shoes had to be all black or at least 51% white, of course the white, black and red Air Jordan’s violated the rule so what ensued? The NBA fined Michael Jordan $5,000 a game which totaled $410,000 for the season.

Nike embracing the controversy surrounding the shoe eagerly agreed to pay the fine for Jordan. he paid not a penny. Prior to placing the shoe on the market   Nike projected it to earn in the neighborhood of $3 million in its first three years, it grossed an amazing $126 million in its first year. Nowadays it is not unusual to see NBA players decked out in multi-colored shoes. I’ve seen games (and maybe you have too) where a player could have assorted color shoe wear on each foot. Since that initial roll out back in 1985 the Air Jordan brand has separated itself from Nike although it is actually in name only, it remains one company. One player (Michael Jordan) and one company (Nike) are solely responsible for the change in basketball shoe wear.

What could have been

The Claw, that’s the nickname given Clipper forward Kawhi Leonard and here’s the reason. Although he stands 6 foot 7 he’s got a 7-foot 3-inch wingspan, there are players with greater wingspans however they are much taller than Kawhi. In addition its reported he’s got 11-inch hands, imagine as an opposing player trying to shoot over or drive around a defender with those tools. A quick check on my part, I discovered only Dr. J., Wilt Chamberlain and Connie Hawkins were reported to have larger hands than Kawhi. With this, there’s been a key difficulty the last few years, more has been written about Kawhi’s stats than we’ve actually witnessed play on the floor.

I don’t believe there’s ever been an argument on how good a player he is especially defensively. It becomes more and more difficult to defend him as a premier player when he is missing so many key games. I’m am unsure if this is true but I believe it to be so, the term “load management” became part of the NBA’s lingo due to Kawhi. Once I checked the number of missing games especially his time with the Clippers. I will not do that this time, I will say this, I doubt the Clippers are ever going to the promised land they believed when first signing Kawhi. I’ve said this before and will repeat it, Kawhi Leonard might be mentioned in the same breath of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or some other similar player. He will never reach their level and it’s certainly not for lack of talent, it’s his inability to remain healthy during his NBA career.

Three arenas? 

The NHL Las Vegas Golden Knights play their matches exclusively in the T-Mobile Center, the multi-purpose arena opened in 2016 so you can see it’s fairly new. Although the NBA Summer League is played annually in Las Vegas the NBA has never utilized T-Mobile to my knowledge. The Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion are the locations for NBA Summer League play. AAU Tournaments are held at sites throughout the greater Las Vegas metro.

You might remember the other day I wrote of two competing groups attempting to build arenas for a Las Vegas NBA team along with ancillary amenities. Three arenas and one planned NBA team, are we not going a little overboard with this effort? I have no desire to place myself in front of someone or a group spending their own money it just seems strange how we’ve arrived at this place in time. It’s my understanding that no taxpayer funds are to be used by either group however it still remains highly unusual to me, what do you think?

The All-Rookie Team

There are elements of the NBA of today that distress me, I suppose we could make that same comment about football and baseball. They like the NBA are always exploring methods to improve the game, with that out of the way allow me to point toward the future success of the NBA…the associations youngsters. The NBA announced its All-Rookie first and second team, there were no surprises:

NBA All Rookie First Team

Victor Wembanyama Spurs

Chet Holmgren Thunder

Brandon Miller Hornets

Jaime Jaquez Heat

Brandin Podziemski Warriors

NBA All Rookie Second Team

Dereck Lively Mavs

Amen Thompson Rockets

Keyonte George Jazz

Cason Wallace Thunder

CG Jackson Grizzlies 

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

130-109

The headline above represents the final score as the Pacers at MSG smoked the Knicks. My friend was wrong on Thursday, the Knicks definitely needed more than the trio from Villanova. All 5 starters for the Pacers scored in double figures with Miles Turner being the low man with his 17 points. The visitors shot a sizzling 67.1% from the floor and a scorching 68.8% from the three line. The only downside for the Pacers the anemic 68.8% they shot from the free throw line.

The poor shooting from the line is the only negative that can be communicated about the Pacers and their effort in this game. As for the Knicks prepare yourself for the aftermath. New York City being the media capital of the world we’ll hear plenty of wailing and gnashing of teeth for the next 2-3 weeks. He who shall not be named will be the leader of the pack, he will call for everyone associated with the front office be fired, he will have several players traded and will name their replacements. In any event the Pacer organization, the coach and players are to be congratulated for their hard-fought victory over the Knicks. They must now prepare to face Jayson Tatum and the Celtics for the Eastern Conference crown.

They are knocking on the door

Rest assured fans of the Thunder awoke Sunday morning with a playoff “hangover.” They were disappointed their team came up short in the game against the Mavs. On Saturday they lost against the Mavs 117-116 and the series 4 games to 2 just about as close as can be. I certainly cannot guarantee anything however “The Future Looks So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades.” My apologies I had to use the line from the 1986 rock classic by TImbuck 3 but everything looks good in OKC.

They have the 2024 NBA Coach of the Year in Mark Daigneault, the leadership of SGA, Chet Holmgren and a host of other positives Thunder fans can point toward. GM Sam Presti remains in place, he the assembler of talent through the draft or trade. The past problem for the Thunder has been retaining the talent acquired. In addition there is a new arena on the horizon for the team, it will not be completed by next season yet is closer now than it was a short 7-9 months ago. Yes, the future does appear quite bright in OKC if the Thunder can only close the door on the slight draft that exists.

Do they require two arenas?

Once the NBA expands to Las Vegas only one arena will be required. Despite my statement there are now two proposals in the works and both call for a 20,000-seat arena. I’m not going to go into detail however Oak View Group with Tim Leiweke steering the “ship” had the first proposal. At the end of April 2024 LXVP announced it would be offering its “NBA arena” for the citizens of Las Vegas. Even more interesting with the proposed arena construction currently in use is T-Mobile Stadium.

This multi-purpose arena can also seat 20,000 fans for basketball, it presently serves as home for the NHL Las Vegas Golden Knights. It should be of note T-Mobile was opened in April of 2016. This next portion is speculation on my part, why is it necessary to build an arena when there is one in operation the NBA has utilized in the past? Is this an effort simply to define which group becomes the owner or owners of the Las Vegas franchise? The details with the Oak View Group and LXVP is more involved than simply an arena there are casino’s and hotels part of the packages.

Perfect timing

Some might disagree with the headline regarding Chet Holmgren. Drafted by the Thunder, injured during summer league play and forced to sit out the 2022-23 season. He would have been Rookie of the Year with the numbers he displayed in the recently completed NBA season. This was the year of the alien, there was nobody within 100 feet of Wemby to challenge him. 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds on 53% shooting plus the block shots informs all Holmgren had an outstanding rookie year. The principal reason I say this was perfect timing is the team, he arrived on a youthful-veteran team if I can use that term. The Thunder were ascending their play and Holmgren arrived just in time to move into the lineup for them.

Unlike his counterpart in San Antonio there was no requirement for him to take the lead, the Thunder just had to infuse him into the existing lineup. A funny thought, Holmgren arrived in the NBA at 195 pounds not bad. If you stand 7 foot 1 as he does a large contingent of people point to you being too thin. By his rookie year Holmgren “bulked up” to 208 pounds still thin however his play negated any talk of his weight. As he matures I’m sure Holmgren, like other players, will acquire poundage. The only negative is to ensure his footspeed remains near the same level. The profile of Chet Holmgren, as I indicated any other season he’d be Rookie of the Year. 

 

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Could they, would they?

After the Pacers 116-103 victory over the Knicks the teams return to MSG for Game 7 today. What occurs in this elimination game, will the home team prevail or will the visitors snatch victory from the Knicks. This has continued to be a back-and-forth series with both teams capable of winning. This is written Saturday morning so again I have no final score for the match. By the time you read this the Mavs will be victorious ending the series over the Thunder. On the other hand the Thunder could prevail setting up another Game 7 collision. I’m unsure which series has been the most entertaining for me personally.

The Nova three (Brunson, Hart & DiVincenzo) have certainly played hard-nosed defense for the Knicks. I have a co-worker from the NYC area, he said to me on Thursday. “The Knicks don’t need (Julius) Randle as long as they have the trio, they play defense.” As for Mavs-Thunder Luka is beat up, does he have enough in his tank to lead the Mavs to victory? On the other hand SGA continues to play outstanding basketball for the Thunder. One of these teams must lose but I certainly make no announcement which one I believe is moving on. Maybe this is a sign of my old age, I cannot remember back to last season. The 2024 playoffs have exceeded the play of last year in my opinion.

They were a few good ones

At the time the Kings franchise called KC home they were pathetic losers (1972-1985). There were a few bright spots for them, I’m unsure without research if it was the draft or trades but the 1975 team was good. They finished in second place in the Midwest Division with a 44-38 record this would be one of the four times the franchise finished above .500 while in KC. They had Tiny Archibald at the point and Scott Wedman at small forward.

Both would later unite on the Celtics aiding them in winning an NBA Championship. Of course you are aware Tiny remains the only NBA player in history to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season. Wedman returned to KC after his playing days, I had an opportunity as a fan to pick his brain. What a great unassuming guy who could play the game. That team, also had Sam Lacey at center, excellent Big Man passer. For unexplained reasons Lacey gave Kareem Abdul Jabbar fits whenever the teams played one another. This should also be of interest to you that 1975 team had two future NBA coaches on the roster. The Kings hired 32-year-old Phil Johnson as head coach, previously he’d served as an assistant to Dick Motta Bulls coach at the time.  

Even more interesting both were reserve players…who were they? One was Mike D’Antoni, over the years he’s had a number of coaching stops in addition he’s a +.500 coach. I could make the same statement regarding Rick Adelman, neither is coaching at the present time however the groundwork for their later pursuit might have come in Kansas City who knows. It should be of note the 1979 and 1980 KC teams compiled a better regular season record however they lost in the playoffs both years.

A voice of reason

The two-night NBA draft will be held Wednesday June 26 and Thursday the 27, it will occur in a short space of time. There are several members of the media I value their opinion, it’s been mentioned in the past but one of those names is Jay Bilas. Bilas is a former Duke player and has worked for ESPN covering college basketball for years. Recently he was interviewed on a program and the subject of Zach Edey being drafted was the topic. You remember the 7-foot 4 300-pound former Purdue post player. The host mentioned reports he read indicating Edey wouldn’t be drafted.

Bilas immediately put that to rest stating what I’ve believed all along, teams are not going to suddenly develop a downlow game for him to strive. Edey must adjust to play in the NBA today, the guy was two times college player of the year…the words of Bilas. The analyst took this one step further indicating Edey will have a long NBA career. Bilas said this and I saw it too, last season mock drafts stated he wouldn’t be drafted at all just check out how far Edey’s come since then. For your information two of the three mocks I follow indicate Edey’s likely drafted in the first round, the other one claims it will be early second round.

This is amazing

I had to look up the term, it’s nonagenarian…the phrase used for a person 90-99 years of age. I came across an account indicating ESPN analyst Hubie Brown is 90-years of age, who works a full-time job at this age? Shouldn’t he be retired, probably so however there are few like Brown. Of course you’ve seen and heard him on ESPN’s NBA telecasts as an analyst but wait there’s more. How about this jewel, Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year twice, 26 years occurred between his first and second selection because he did “retire” at a point and was drafted again to coach an NBA team.

After a brief playing career he became head coach at several high schools and then an assistant at William & Mary and then Duke. From 1972-1974 he was an assistant for the Bucks of the NBA. From there Brown was a head coach in the ABA and NBA from 1971 through 1987. As for the twice awards as coach of the year the first occurred in 1978 and again in 2004. Brown still active has been honored having been enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. Despite the fact Brown is old enough to be the grandfather or great-grandfather of all present-day NBA players he continues to remain relevant in analyzing the game we are seeing broadcast by ESPN. Who says you must retire when you reach a certain age, as long as your health and mental faculties allow do what is important and rewarding to you?

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

What was it

I didn’t bother seeing all of the Nuggets-Wolves game, I changed channels with about 3 minutes or so remaining in the game. The 115-70 beat down experienced by the Nuggets had me shaking my head. What caused it, were the Wolves more comfortable sleeping in their own beds or eating home cooked meals or was it something else? Game 6 had a vastly different outcome, you remember don’t you? The 112-97 victory by the Nuggets was reminiscent of Game 6, the difference of course the home team was the victor in both cases.

If we just check out the box score of Game 6 it’s almost unbelievable, you beat the opposition like a drum (45 points). The box score numbers certainly provide us the why of the victory. Field goal % Nuggets 30.2, Wolves 46.5, three point % 19.4 Nuggets, 37.5 Wolves. It didn’t end there of course, 12 turnovers by the visitors to the 6 by the home team. The rebound totals were astronomical, the Nuggets had 43 compared to the Wolves with 62. Who wins Game 7 on Sunday when the teams return to Denver? I would guess the home team would be slightly favored however if I were a betting person I’d be quite apprehensive. At this point I am divided between which series is the best so far, is it this one or Knicks-Pacers, you decide?

Two jobs

You remember reading on Friday the report of Doug Gottlieb, Green Bay announced the hiring of the Fox Sports radio personality as the school’s head basketball coach. He’d never served as a head coach at any stop but filled the role of assistant previously. Now that’s out of the way how about this caveat of information. Gottlieb indicates his intent to continue his radio program which runs 5 days a week. He maintains the role of head coach and radio host can be performed by him.

I have no idea what it takes to perform either role however it would appear quite difficult based on the time required to perform both roles. I’m not stating Gottlieb cannot hold down both responsibilities I just have my doubts. My view is partially based on my blog, I know the time required to provide this on a 7-day a week basis. Although we are in the off season surely scouting and other assorted duties are going to take time from his hosting duties on radio. This is what I believe eventually develops Gottlieb takes leave from his radio job, just my thoughts perhaps he can perform both roles.

Dinner

Our journey takes us to Jersey City NJ and dinner at the home of Bob Hurley Sr. There are guests seated around the table, the Hurley brothers along with their sister. Seated at the head of the table of course is the Father Bob Hurley Sr., seated on one side is eldest brother Bobby Hurley Jr. On the opposite side is his younger brother Dan Hurley. Just imagine the basketball conversation around that table, Hurley Sr. is one of few high school coaches to be enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. From 1972 through 2017 Hurley Sr.’s St. Anthony’s teams won over 1,000 games.

This number includes 4 national and 28 state championships. With basketball being such a key component of the family it’s easy to see why the son’s gravitated to the sport. Bobby Jr. is the head basketball coach at Arizona State and younger brother Dan is head coach for the UConn program. Does sibling rivalry exist between the brothers, probably to a degree? To date Dan might be considered to be the more successful coach having won back-to-back NCAA championships. Their sister is a public-school teacher, I was unable to locate any information if she ever competed on the basketball court. Thus ends the brief introduction to some, the Hurley’s of New Jersey, the father and his two sons and daughter.

“It must be the shoes”

The headline is the line used by Mars Blackmon a.k.a. Spike Lee in all those old Air Jordan commercials. If you’ve never seen any of the commercials you can check out YouTube, I’m sure without checking they are probably available. In any event this account is regarding another Nike product. The signature shoe Air Zoom G.T. Hustle 2 of Victor Wembanyama was released and the $170 shoe sold out 5 minutes after their release. I’m not a sneakerhead but I understand the majority are being sold on eBay for two or three times the Nike price. For me, the shoe appears rather plain, take a look and see what you think. It should be noted that the apple green and black shoe comes with glow-in-the dark soles.

 

  

NAIA

It’s the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics or NAIA. These are colleges and universities that play football and basketball however their budgets are far below that of NCAA Division I schools. Despite what might be considered a negative the schools have sent a number of players into the ranks of NBA teams over time. Truth is probably a few of the all-time greats you probably had no idea they came from the ranks of an NAIA school. 

Just a few names, NBA legend Elgin Baylor who played at College of Idaho before becoming a Laker. How about Earl ‘The Pearl’ Monroe who came to our attention from Winston-Salem, he would make his NBA mark as a member of the Bullets and later Knicks. Then we have Bob ‘Butterbean’ Love, Southern University and the Chicago Bulls along with Dennis ‘The Worm’ Rodman from Southeastern Oklahoma State and several NBA teams. We also have Jack Sikma Illinois Wesleyan who played for the Sonics and Bucks, in addition there is Scottie Pippen Central Arkansas and the Bulls. Our list would be incomplete without mentioning the Captain. Willis Reed was at Grambling State prior to his Hall of Fame career with the Knicks. 

The names mentioned are but a few of the outstanding athletes who once dotted the roster of NBA teams, your question might be what happened? The basketball landscape began to change for a variety of reasons. The last player from an NAIA school to be drafted in the NBA was Robert Whaley chosen in 2005. Since that time there’s been no other although NAIA teams continue play, the NAIA Basketball Championship is held in Kansas City every April.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

He’s headed for the Big XII

A number of you might remember the name Jayden Quaintance. He’s a 6-foot 9 230-pound 5-star prospect in the Class of 2024, at one time it was believed he was headed to Mizzou. That would not be the case, he would commit to Kentucky and John Calipari. But wait there is more to the story, soon after Quaintance made his intent known the coach decided to go in another direction. He resigned from Kentucky and decided to take over at another SEC school the University of Arkansas.

A number of the Kentucky commits followed the coach to Fayetteville. Quaintance opened his recruitment again apparently there was no intention on his part to head for Arkansas. Quaintance made his decision known, he’s committed to Arizona State and coach Bobby Hurley. Arizona State heads into its first season in the Big XII finishing 14-18, its hoped Quaintance will help the Sun Devils improve their won-loss record in their first year in the Big XII conference. They must improve their level of play, the Big XII is one of the strongest basketball conferences in the nation.

I am backing up

This is a retreat from an earlier position I took, some of you might remember this. I stated no more would be written about Bronny James until after the NBA draft, I felt at the time and continue to believe he’s not ready. I make this statement despite the fact he’s been given the green light by the NBA and has looked good in the NBA Draft Combine. The change comes from Bronny himself, most of you are aware at least the last three years all we’ve heard from LeBron is how he wants to play in the NBA with his son.

I cannot fault him for that statement but we never heard from the son. If you’ve not read this previously you are now hearing from the son, Bronny says “It’s more important for him to be drafted and play in the NBA over playing alongside his father.” To me that certainly makes a great deal of sense, in addition I don’t believe he’d turned down an opportunity to play on the same team as his dad but what if it doesn’t occur? I’m not upset with LeBron or Bronny, it is interesting we read and hear his thoughts rather than filtered through his father.

He agrees with me

Stephen Jackson had an NBA career playing for a number of teams, I’ve had an NBA career as a fan, now that you see the difference I will proceed. Shortly after the Clippers were playoff eliminated I questioned if they would be able to compete successfully in the future. Reading the comments of Jackson he is more vocal than me indicating the Clippers should be broken apart immediately. He pointed to the fact this is essential due to the move, the team begins play in the Intuit Dome in the fall. I pointed out the core of this team is 32+ age which is a positive in one sense. That age factor accounts for a veteran presence on the floor for the most part.

On the other hand it also says a veteran team is “prone to injury, also load management” must be taken into consideration. He’s not the only problem but James Harden played much as he’s done in the past. His game is satisfactory during the season but almost completely disappears in the playoffs. Russell Westbrook cannot shoot from distance, his grit says to me his game might add more than Harden. I profiled Paul George earlier so the final assessment is that of Kawhi Leonard. The Claw has been a talented player for the Spurs and Raptors, but not so much for the Clippers. The Clippers have not received the best version due to injury and age. It’s unlikely they trade him so his fit with the team I question. Does Kawhi have enough left to continue as the team leader, that is a gigantic question mark for me?

Who says you need experience

It’s interesting, if you check Wikipedia it describes Doug Gottlieb as “an American basketball analyst and sports talk radio host.” We can now add head basketball coach to the sentence we just read, Gottlieb’s been a media personality for several years, he’s worked for ESPN and more recently Fox Sports. His prior background was that of a basketball player, first at Notre Dame and later Oklahoma State. After college he managed a pro career in Europe for a number of years.

The University of Wisconsin Green Bay announced the hiring of Gottlieb as the 10th head coach in the school’s history. Despite his apparent lack of coaching experience he’s actually served as an assistant coach from time to time in between his media work. It’s evident Gottlieb wanted this opportunity for a time, he interviewed for the head coaching position at the time the school chose Mike Boynton at Oklahoma State. In addition we discover Gottlieb was a finalist last season, Green Bay hired Sundance Wicks who’s since left for the head coaching job at Wyoming.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

You know my take already

I’ve expressed my view regarding JJ Redick as the next Lakers head coach, I am looking at this because Doc Rivers of all people decided to weigh in on a potential hire of Redick. Before I go there take this into consideration, Rivers was hired to lead the Bucks deep into the playoffs, the Bucks were 17-19 under his leadership before succumbing to the Pacers in the first round of the playoffs 4 games to 2. Apparently from a podcast it appears Rivers and Redick had a tempestuous relationship as coach and player. Rivers claims he “rescued” Redick from the Bucks at a time he alleges the players NBA career was only average.

There is no argument there was a vast improvement in Redick’s numbers after he began play for the Clippers. Rivers claims in free agency Redick left because the Clippers wouldn’t pay him his perceived worth. How about this observation, no argument the Clippers did see improved play by Redick. I have no idea if it was coaching or something else but his play did follow. As for Rivers I continue to question his value as a head coach, we need only look at the Bucks record after he took over. I imagine Rivers would be better served by trying to determine why this veteran team lost its way after he took over as head coach. There were injuries to consider however it’s my contention we must give consideration to Rivers being a culprit too.

There is no dependence of my report

A number of you have the opportunity to see the game firsthand, there is no requirement to wait for my view of the match. Despite that fact I do like to critique selected games, but on Tuesday I didn’t have that opportunity. I arrived home and wanted to finish a portion of the blog while waiting for the evening games. A heard a pop outside my home and checked my modem, sure enough the lights were not flashing where they should be.

The shorten version of the story my service was out for 9 hours and unknown minutes, I don’t know the actual time because I went to bed with no opportunity to see either game. I know a few of you are saying “Why didn’t you watch the game on your iPhone,” I could have but that is not my usual habit. I only use my phone for scores and highlight plays. You long sense have the news but it’s Knicks 121 Pacer 91 and the nightcap saw the Nuggets beat the Wolves 112-97. You had an opportunity to see two games I had no prospect to view, oh well hopefully this doesn’t occur again in the future.

You may have read this story

I wonder if Jayson Tatum’s mom negotiates his contracts or acts as his agent, it’s likely she has the credentials as an attorney. This story didn’t begin quite as smoothly as it exists now. Tatum a star player and leader of the Celtics franchise and his mother attorney at law. His mom was a college freshman and 19-years old at the time Tatum was born, he says his mom was determined to return to school despite the obstacles in front of her. On days, his grandmother was unable to babysit Tatum went to class with his mom. He laughs now and says he attended college prior to high school which is technically correct.

By the time Tatum reached the 6th grade his mom had received her bachelor’s and law degrees from St. Louis University. In any event he would grow his game on the basketball court driven to succeed with mom as the example of perseverance. At Chaminade High School he would grow his basketball game to this extent, by his senior year Tatum was named a McDonalds All American. After graduation he attended Duke for his freshman season, in 2017 he would become the 3rd pick in the NBA draft by the Celtics. It shouldn’t surprise anyone regarding Tatum seeing the will to succeed made by his mother all those years ago. I had a professor that would always utter the same phrase in his class. It was “We are striving toward excellence,” that certainly fits Jayson Tatum of the Celtics.

Is it confidence or something else

If you are well versed in the history of the college game you will remember this, Scott Drew took over the Baylor basketball program at its lowest point. 2002-03 his first season as a head coach saw him lead Valparaíso University to a 20-11 record and the NIT. That was enough for the administration of Baylor, the school was facing undoubtedly the most tragic period of the programs existence. Go back and read the history for more detail, Drew took over a program for practical purposes that no longer existed. The school was on self-reported sanctions, the 2003-04 Bears would win 8 games and 21 losses in Drew’s first year.

Due to the limited scholarships and other issues it would be 2006-07 before Baylor would register a double-digit win total (15-16). From that point up to the most recent season Drew’s teams have never experienced a losing season. In 2021 the Bears won it all with an NCAA Championship Trophy to present to the school. The most interesting part of this story is the coach, don’t you imagine back in those early days there must have been a number of sleepless nights? His teams have won 446 games while losing only 244 (.646), whether it was a talent thing or something else a number of Baylor players dot the rosters of NBA teams. As you can tell by the unfolding of this account Scott Drew is one of those college basketball coaches I think highly of in this day and age.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

What do you think

Robert Zeglinski writer for USA Today wrote an article ranking the 11 best NBA point guards of all time. He placed Magic Johnson at the top slot, my disagreement was placing Steph Curry number 2. This is his list but this is my dilemma, I’ve always looked at the Warriors guard as a shooter first and then a point guard. No argument he’s got skill at passing the basketball but more than Oscar Robertson or his teammate Chris Paul.

I don’t agree with his number 3 pick either, Jerry West a.k.a. The Logo was a lights out shooter with point guard skills. The balance of his list, Isiah Thomas at 6, Bob Cousy number 7, Steve Nash number 8, John Stockton 9, Gary Payton 10 and Russell Westbrook number 11. I have no intention to further critique his list after all it does belong to Zeglinski. My only complaint I believe he’s got Curry and West rated far to high for me. What do you think, am I off base with my observation of his list? Would you agree with my take moving some of the players?

I don’t remember

The Lakers hire of Darvin Ham and much earlier Frank Vogel was different from the present. I cannot remember my thoughts at the time both were hired, my hope was management would hire one who would prove successful and indeed that was the case. Vogel led the Lakers to the 2020 NBA Championship, later he too would fall into disfavor and be fired. I trusted Laker management to make the choice for the best candidate available, I thought that was Ham and that turned out to be a bad hire.

This is being written because on Monday the headline read: “Lakers to start talking with candidates.” Phil Jackson is not available that would be the only coach I would say “hire him” with no hesitation, as for the others that’s a different story. Friends this hire must be a slam dunk coaching hire, the Lakers cannot continue to change coaches every 2-3 years. Who is available to be interviewed, I have read a few of the names. Some of the possible coaching names mentioned are familiar to me while others I consider unknown. This hire’s got to be successful because it is my belief the team is a player or two from championship contention.

Who you got?

I dislike being labeled a hater but I guess that’s me. A friend asked me, “Now that the Lakers are out who are you rooting for in the playoffs?” I thought just a minute and then said this; “There are only two teams I refuse to root for and one has already been eliminated…the Clippers. As for the other team it’s the Celtics.” Before I go any further this animosity doesn’t exist for any of the roster members. With that out of the way allow me to explain further. The Celtics are currently tied with my Lakers for the most NBA Championships (17), that is reason enough however I can go further.

All those occasions when they beat my Lakers is enough to say I’d never root for them. As for the Clippers my issues with them are more recent, location…location… location. Two NBA teams one city, not one city and one NBA team. It’s not the Lakers’ fault the teams played in the same arena, it’s former owner Donald Sterling’s fault, the team could have remained in place rather than share the arena with the Lakers. Second to that, Sterling moved the Clippers to Los Angeles without league approval. Were you aware of that fact? Sorry for going off on a tangent, the question was asked who am I rooting for? The problem will be if the Mavs wind up facing the Wolves or vice-versa, those are my two choices.

This is hard to believe

An alien landed on planet Earth in 2023, the June draft would provide us proof of that fact. The tag was hung on Victor Wembanyama by LeBron James after seeing him in action. LeBron was stating only someone not of this world could have produced numbers similar to this in their first NBA season.

1,500 points

700 rebounds

250 assists

250 blocked shots

100 3-pointers made

I don’t believe anyone expected Wemby to manufacture numbers similar to those. Keep in mind the NBA has been operating since 1947, block shots were not counted nor did a 3-point basket exist. So if we exclude those two there remains an outstanding number of stats that place Wemby in with some giants of the game. Those are Wilt Chamberlain/Kareem Abdul Jabbar numbers from the post position, don’t misunderstand me. He’s got a long way to go before he equals them but he is certainly on the road

Remember last spring and summer the conversation regarding Wemby being too skinny. Everyone, media members plus past and present age players decided "He's be okay however that was the extent of the conversation. That's okay if you are not as excited as me seeing the future in 2024, there are only two possibilities that could curtail his growth as a player. One he controls and the other is out of his hands, he maintains his level head and continues to grow his game. The issue Wemby has no control is injury, many outstanding players have witnessed their career impacted significantly due to injury. The alien has landed and is about to take over the NBA, he does require help. Next year and into the future the Spurs must do all they can to provide that support. 

Don’t be so sure

We’ve read plenty of complaints regarding the draft lottery, the complaint is not valid in my view. The team with the worst won-loss record is not always guaranteed to win the top pick. I went back to 2019 to identify Hawk picks and uncovered some interesting information. The Hawks had two picks, the Jaxson Hayes selection was conveyed to the Pelicans. Cam Reddish is now a member of the Lakers his 4th team since being drafted by the Hawks. Since that time there are not any standouts selected, keep in mind there are factors working here. The opportunity for these draft picks to play and injury.

In both cases I have no idea how this impacts the Hawks, the point of this exercise is simple. I will be generous and award the Hawks a letter grade of C for their draft picks. There is no Wemby in this draft so that points to a potential reward for the teams following the Hawks. That would be in the following order the Wizards, Rockets, Spurs and Pistons. As I pointed out experts claim the 2024 draft is not as deep nor talented as some in prior years. There have been complaints by cynics since the lottery was instituted, there is likely no scenario that would appear to appease all NBA fans so let’s work with what we have. The lottery is weighted in favor of the team with the worst won-loss record and that’s all that can be done.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

NBA Draft Lottery explained

It seems annually there are complaints regarding the lottery, the team with the worst won-loss record doesn’t always win the number one pick. The 2024 lottery is no different from many in the past. This year it’s “How come the Hawks receive the top pick when they didn’t have the worst regular season won-loss record. Rather than me going into great detail with my interpretation of the event we’ll go straight to the source. Below is a link by the NBA with an explanation how the draft lottery works, take time to read it in detail.

At the same time keep this in your memory bank, the Spurs were tied for the second worst record in the 2022-23 NBA season yet won in the lottery. The Spurs were able to choose Victor Wembanyama despite the fact the Pistons had the worst won-loss record in the association. The 2021-22 NBA season saw the lottery winner near to having the worst record, the Magic won the 2022 lottery and would later chose Paolo Banchero in the draft, the Magic won two more games than the Rockets that season. As I stated in a yet to be published entry I’m really unsure at this point in time whether there is a foolproof method of running a lottery that satisfies all members of the media and fans in general.   

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-lottery-explainer

I guess I’m that guy

Anytime I read or hear complaints about the NBA it causes me to consider this fact. “Don’t problems develop in the NFL or with major league baseball,” of course they do. The main difference at least for me I’m not responding to NFL or baseball sites describing or complaining about the issues I see. My game s basketball which I will continue to monitor as a fan. With that out of the way let’s check a few things, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid all received early vacations.

We are left with youngsters to win an NBA Championship and just who are these young people? There is 25-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the acknowledged leader of the Thunder or his teammate 22-year-old Chet Holmgren. 200+ road miles south of Oklahoma City is 25-year-old Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks. We could include 24-year-old Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers in our discussion or 22-year-old Ant Man, Wolves highflyer Anthony Edwards. The Nuggets have lights out shooter Jamal Murray an “old” 27-year-old, we could also add his teammate Michael Porter Jr., he’s 25-years old. Their teams have been eliminated but keep Jaimie Vaquez Jr. of the Heat, who is 23 and 21-year-old Paolo Banchero of the Magic.

You probably noticed the list only contains those on playoff teams, there are others whose teams were not good enough to earn a playoff berth. At the top of that list of course is Victor Wembanyama, the alien. Expect Wemby to be even better next season as he leads the Spurs to a playoff berth…maybe. 20-year-old Scoot Henderson of the Blazers should also be included. The NBA in my view remains just as viable for the future as any other professional sport, I make this statement despite the negatives often presented to us.

The history  

If you check reference sources they will indicate Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving scored 18,364 points during his brilliant career. What if I informed you the number of points is actually 30,026? I’ve mentioned this previously for unknown reasons the NBA fails to acknowledge the points Dr. J. scored while playing in the ABA. In this instance the focus is on Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Famer Erving, I’m am sure there are likely other former ABA/NBA players with similar history. In all likelihood he is the most visible of former ABA players as to the why the point total issue exists, I have no answer but I can speculate.

This is probably an offshoot of the “merger” between the leagues which occurred more in word over anything else. In 1966 all American Football League teams merged with National Football League teams to form a single league. This come together did not occur in 1976, the NBA decided they wanted the Pacers, Spurs, Nets and Nuggets added to the league. This was done despite the fact there were 9 ABA teams in the 1975-76 season. There was a question if the 5 remaining teams had the financial clout to remain in existence. It’s possible the Kentucky Colonels, San Diego Sails or Spirits of St. Louis might have been able to continue operations as NBA teams, the others would be questionable.

NBA Draft Lottery (and beyond)

This focus is on the San Antonio Spurs, they struck the motherlode in June 2023 being in the position to draft Victor Wembanyama. A look at the 2024 NBA Draft sees the Spurs with two first round lottery picks and two routine picks in the second round. Just as sure as I’m sitting here Coach Pop is not going to add 4 rookies to an already youthful roster. If that is not the case what then might occur, plenty of stuff the first being this. A trade of pick number 35 and 48, then again maybe only one of the 2nd round draft choices. I repeat they will not add 4 rookies that’s almost a guarantee.

On the other hand the Spurs have an important selection with their number 4 and 8 choices, it could occur but I have serious doubts either pick is traded, so where does that leave us? The so call draft experts (whomever they are) claim unlike 2023 the 2024 draft is devoid of potential talent. I’m going to hold off on that because often we cannot make such an assessment until we are down the road a bit. We could speculate on who might be available to assist Wemby in rebuilding the Spurs. There are several choices that could be made to develop this Spurs team. The deciding issue which pick is made ahead of the Spurs, that will dictate who might be chosen.