National Basketball Freelancers

As fans, we are naïve; sometimes plain dumb. We paint our chest, buying hundred dollar tickets to sick on wet seats in -10 degree weather and we truly believe that NBA players want to win a championship.

It’s not that they don’t want to win; most of them would do anything to win one. Brian ‘The Custodian” Cardinal (Ever wonder how he got that nickname?) can viably attest to that fact.

This day-in-age they are programmed, like the new NBA Jam, to know that the only true measure of success is how many wins you can get.  But we are only now becoming aware that this is only the case IF there is an NBA season.

Unlike football, David Stern cannot keep them off the court. There are no Coach Carter chains on the doors, and definitely no soliloquies that pronounce the players and owners greed and the calling for a agreement to be made. The players are content to go play in select venues with their buddies.

It’s Bagger Vance meets Space Jam.

And why would they want to stop doing it? The players get to go out and play in games they want to play in. They get paid as much money as people are willing to pay to see them (which is turning out to be lumps of money). There is no pressure on the players to take over an exhibition game. They don’t have to go to towns like Milwaukee and Oklahoma City. Some fans, outside competitors may get the opportunity to get some playing time against their favorite pro. And they get the freedom that most of them probably haven’t felt since they were in elementary school.

Players play to win the game; but that NBA game is becoming more and more overrated. 

NBAing Abroad

Every single person that I’ve known to go abroad to some European hillside bourgeoisie town wants to make their gallant return back as soon as possible. Their experiences were so undeniably unbelievable that dreaming about their time there only startles them awake at night.

NBA players aren’t this way.

Many of them want to sign these huge, million dollar European contract to go play while the American league is in lockout. They want to continue to earn money, and play basketball.

Brandon Jennings was so happy to come back to the NBA after a year overseas that his hair started growing straight up. Manute Bol came to America and actually shrank a whole inch, because he was going to play in the league. And James Naismith originally wanted to pronounce his game “basketball” [bas-kit-by-YA) like his European counterparts. (ALL are jokes.)

Once the NBA lockout ends (if that be in 2011 or 2012, the latter is more likely) the east coast airports are going to look like a mix ‘Coming to America’ and ‘Snakes on a Plane’.

There will be euphoria by the NBA players.

The talent overseas is widely overrated. The money abroad teams are rumored offering an American superstar is illogical. The European franchises checkbooks may have more hopz than the athletes themselves; expect a bounced check or two.

NBA players will venture across the Atlantic looking for games. But when, and if, the NBA lockout is lifted these players will be hurrying back home.  

Nene No Longer a Nugget

Experts think a do-it-yourself napkin centerpiece would be an improvement for the Denver Nuggets. They are the softest team in the league, according to some experts. They lack the inside presence that, experts say, it takes to win a NBA Championship. 

These ‘experts’ can only be described as the greater population of Nuggets Nation.  

Nene leaving only makes for one large hole to fill. The big Brazilian opted out of his nearly $12 million contract earlier this week; Nene departs any semblance of a productive center in Denver.

Nuggets fans found a way to dislike the most proficient scorer in the league. He Big Bad Wolfed (blew) the top off the rest of the league in field goal percentage this year. He has the 11^th best percentage of All-Time. He is more proficient around the basket than a paper shredder. He’s not flashy, he doesn’t make the wrong play, he rebounds and Denver fans don’t like him one bit.

Nuggets fans, like a sad country love song, won’t know what they had until he’s gone. 

Nene may not be the best center in the league, he’s not in the ‘Elite Centers’ category. He may not even be in the top 5, but Nene looks great compared to many others. Zaza Pachulia or Joel Anthony? Or how about Omer Asik or Chuck Hayes?

The Nuggets do have the Russian Timofey Mozgov waiting in the wings. They will have cap room (pending the decision of higher management, and more likely the departure of Kenyon Martin and JR Smith) to go out and get a “quality” big man. 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1107/nba-top-free-agents/content.1.html

Nene will most likely go get a new, more welcoming home.

Expect Riots

The NBA and NFL are in sports jail. 

The neighborhood sports bars are putting up particle board to cover the windows. Coors Light is running ‘Sports are for Pansys” commercials. Nike is entering the board game industry. And David Stern and Roger Goodell were seen writing a dramatic romantic comedy screen play at Starbucks.

Expect riots.

People live for sports. They don’t play fantasy football to stimulate their brains. They don’t crop their best friend out of their wedding photos just because he wouldn’t trade Lamar Odom for JJ Redick and beer at next weekend’s BBQ. They don’t go to the YMCA and ride the elliptical to look cool. They don’t buy the same pare of Adidas sneakers to go with their tube socks. They don’t watch football on Sundays or basketball in March to get together with their pals. They most definitely don’t yell at their spouses to ‘Keep it down!’ during the most crucial of moments because they love the game more than them. 

Expect riots!!!

They do it because one day they may get THAT call from Jerry Jones or Jerry Bus asking them to be the interim general manager, backup point guard or assistant to the head coach. And IF, nay, WHEN, they get that call, they better be ready to go. 

EXPECT RIOTS!!!!!!

International Game? Not quite.

If you can pronounce the names of the first 7 picks in the 2011 NBA Draft you either (a) cheated or (b) should take up something more productive, like croqueting or Frisbee golf, to do with your time.

The first heptad went a little like this:

#1- Kyrie Irving (DUKE)

#2- Derrick Williams (ARIZONA)

#3- Enes Kanter (TURKEY)

#4- Tristan Thompson (TEXAS)

#5- Jonas Valanciunas (LITHUANIA)

#6- Jan Vesley (CZECH RUPUBLIC)

#7- Bismack Biyombo (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO)

This is a whose-who of who knows. And the fact that 4 of these top 7 are from outside the continent is rather disturbing.

Is American college basketball down as a whole? Not really; Harrison Barnes, Jared Sullinger will be bidding to hit the #1 spot in 2012. Or are NBA General Managers losing it upstairs?

I point heavily toward the latter.

Lottery teams don’t pick player to fill holes. They don’t find the long term athletes that can mesh with a well-defined team. They pick the best athletes, All-Star hopefuls; the ones that the people in the front office think can turn the franchise around.

In the last 4 All-Star games, only 5 different International players have made the team. Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and Mehmet Okur make up the grisly handful. And on the other side there have been a strong contingent of notable International busts.

We see the difference in numerous Worldwide competitions; the American basketballer is far the superior.

The NBA just won’t buy American made. They should.

Alec Burks a 'Potential' Top Five Pick

The 2011 NBA Draft could force Mock Boards to become supervised, it could make numerous Executives explain their pick reasoning via team website and, ultimately, it could be a historically unusual one. 

This Draft is not deep, it’s not a new format, and there will be plenty of David Stern jokes. 

But teams may have to be drafting for the future, and not the imminent future, some could be drafting for 2012 NBA season. And that looks to be mighty promising for the Colorado standout Alec Burks. 

An NBA lockout is no sure thing, but it’s also slightly more likely than the NFL Lockout. 

So as teams look for players to build around, for the 2012 season, they will be looking at upside. (Even more than usual.) The frightening word ‘potential’ will be used more frequently than ‘like’ at a sorority house. Players will be judged based on work ethic and what they should be able to contribute in only the somewhat near future.

For the 6’ 6” long armed, penetrating, athletic, raw talent Alec Burks this could go better than he dreamed it. His upside is practically limitless in the eyes of some. 

Burks averaged 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in one of the best conferences in America. As a sophomore he almost carried a team to the NCAA Tournament. He did this all the while being too skinny, not a good enough shooter, and limited talent around him. Two or three years down the road Burks could ‘potentially’ be a reigning Rookie of the Year and All-Pro.

Most analysts have the CU guard going #11 to Golden State, but it be wouldn’t be surprising to see him go as high at #5 to Toronto.

Coverage of the 2011 NBA Draft Starts at 5 PM Mountain Time.