Hoops

On Friday July 1st the NBA free agent sweepstakes begin.  And of course the prized possession out there this season is none other than the “Slim Reaper” himself.  Most of you know him as KD or Kevin Durant.

After coming within 1-game of making the NBA Finals, many wondered if Durant would stay in OKC or move on to another team to try and enhance his chances at winning his first NBA title.

Many have thought for months that KD would explore opportunities with the L.A. Lakers now that Kobe has retired.  However, it was recently revealed that he may not even meet with representatives from L.A.  Just how far have the once mighty Lakers fallen?

Over the past 3 years the Lakers franchise has been unable to sign any high profile free agents.  The franchise has been in a tail-spin since the nixing of the CP3 trade, and has not been able to stop the bleeding.  Bad trades, coupled with bad coach signings have all caused this once mighty juggernaut to become an afterthought during the free-agent signing period.

So with free agency approaching, who will go where?  Will KD stay in OKC to try another run at the NBA title with “Russ-diculous”, or will he team up with Derrick Rose and Carmelo in New York to create the newest “super team”?  Will Hassan Whiteside leave Miami for L.A., where his opportunities outside basketball will increase and he can become the defensive cornerstone of a franchise in search of its next big thing?  Will DeMar DeRozan leave Toronto and go home to L.A. to help his hometown team get back on top?  These questions and many more will be answered in the coming weeks.

Last night the NBA held its annual draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.  Of the 30 players drafted, 16 of them were international players.  But let’s take a deeper look at the problem with this year’s draft.

This year, as well as many other years, we saw an increasing number of underclassmen being drafted.  But are they ready?

Several years ago the NBA along with the NBAPA came up with a plan to stem the tide of high schoolers entering the league.  You had to be at least 1 year removed from high school to enter the draft which led to players enrolling in college for one year then bolting for the NBA.

This has had a negative impact on both the NBA and the NCAA.  First off, you get guys in the league who aren’t ready to play “grown man” basketball, and it has watered down the quality of the game.  This is why you have so many teams with low shooting percentages, high turnover rates, and guys who throw temper tantrums on and off the court.

Secondly, it’s having a negative effect on the college game.  While March Madness is still an extraordinary phenomenon, fans like myself no longer have players to follow for more than a season at a time.

By no means am I saying that these guys should be banned from making money, but there has to be something done about the influx of “not ready for prime time players” in the NBA.

One solution I propose is to utilize the D-League (DEVELOPMENTAL LEAGUE) similar to how the MLB uses minor league baseball.  Allow these guys to come into the league, but if they’re not ready, sit them in the D-League until they are.

If a guy doesn’t want to go to college let’s use the D-League as a viable alternative.  Let these young guys go to a league where they can actually hone their skills before they make it to the big club.  After all, college is not for everyone.

I would much rather see guys like Buddy Hield, Kris Dunn, and Denzel Valentine get drafted, rather than guys who have only gone through a 1-season audition and may never live up to their “potential”.  Not to say that these upper classmen are sure things, but at least you’ve seen the body of work, and know what you’re getting.

We just witnessed one the most epic NBA Finals in history.  The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers put on one for the ages.

Congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers for pulling off what many are considering one of the biggest upsets in modern sports history.  Not only did they beat the team with the best regular season record in NBA history, but they also beat the first ever unanimous MVP in league history.  At the same time they achieved the first NBA title in franchise history, and the first title of any kind for the city of Cleveland in 52 years.

So how did this happen?  Many conspiracy theorists have pointed to the game 5 suspension of Draymond Green for what was determined to be a flagrant foul on LeBron James.  The Dubs were up 3-1 at the time and headed home to Oracle where they had been 39-2 during the regular season and had only lost 1 game there during the playoffs.  I think that the Dubs were clearly out coached and under-manned.  The Cavs put the ball in the hands of their 2 best players and let them go to work.  The Dubs had no answer for the iso, bully-ball tactics of LeBron and Kyrie.

Was Draymond missed?  Of course, but the rest of the team just didn’t show up.   What’s more is their rim protector, Andrew Bogut, injured a knee and was ruled out for the remainder of the series.

The combination of Green missing game 5 and Bogut getting injured in that same game proved too much for the Dubs to overcome.  Not making excuses, but the Cavs seized the moment and took advantage of the situation.

In game 6 the Dubs were blitzed from the outset going down by 20 in the first quarter.  After fighting back and getting the lead to under 10 in the 4h quarter, the MVP, Steph Curry, picked up his 6th foul on what looked to be a questionable call.  To make matters worse, Steph received a technical foul and ejection for chucking his moth piece and inadvertently hitting a fan.

In the 7th and final game we finally got the close, competitive game that fans craved for.  Both teams wanted to win badly, and it went into the final minutes being a 1 possession game.  It turns out that the Cavs wanted it more, earning the first NBA title in the city’s history.  Congrats again to the Cavs, LeBron James, and the city of Cleveland, OH (The Land), on a great season.