NBA BOARD OF GOVERNORS & etc

 Today's The Athletic's article about the up coming NBA's board of governors laid out a number of unusual problems confronting this fall' meeting, the most sticky of which is the fall out over the Kawhi Leonard's Uncle's fiasco. I won't go into details, but simply stated, the Clippers and Kawhi tried to circumvent the NBA strict cap space rule, which allowed the Clippers more money to pay for mid-level tax players to fill out their roster while at the same time providing Kwahi the kind of contract he and his agents were seeking. Both sides benefited. When this was uncovered, the NBA commissioner Adam Silver was not a happy man, and rightly so. The Clips thought they could pull a fast one. The way I see it the principal villains this attempt to cheat were Kawhi's uncle, Dennis Robertson and the clipper's director of business operations, Gillian Zucker. Of course, all the rest of upper management, Clips GM  and assistant GM, and Kawhi himself, bear some responsibility. But there had to be a brain child, so I'm placing my bet the Uncle Dennis and Zucker. I could be wrong, but if they were characters in a game of CLUE , I'd have guessed they were the ones who committed the murders. The weapon they used was money, the room in which it happened was painted greedy green. 

That said, and villains not withstanding, punishing the team by taking away five consecutive years of first round draft choices will brutalize the Clippers ability to stay competitive in a powerful Western Conference. Awful for the poor Clipper fans. Why should the fans be punished? Okay, take awayu two years of of dirst drast choice. That's reasonable. And, Big time, hit  Ballmer harder in his pocket book. Hit Kawhi in his bocket book. Ban Clippers GM for a year instead of half a year. Bann Zucker for five years as tthey did Uncle Dannis. Don't harm the fans. They had nothinbg to do with this greedy cheaters. And just so I'm not accused of misssing something, the league ought to look into other teams and their players to see if there are other ways teams are finessing or trying to finesse the salary cap. 

As for the Toronto trade, now that the Fed is involved, it appears that''s not going to happen. Personally, I think that's good for the Raptors. Why give up two first round picks for an aging Kawahi. Kawhi may have been injury free last season, but I wouldn't count on two seasons in a row. 

The only "old guard" player I'd go after if I were a GM, would be Steph Curry. Note: LeBron will NOT help Philly. The 76ers are at the mercy of Joel Emids health. In Houston, Durant is not what the Rockets need to advance their young players. He should be on a veteran team, playing short minutes until the playoffs. Just thinking. KD is for good or bad a Rocket for the next to years and then it's probably retirement aft the LA Olympic Games that he recently said he wants to play in. Retirment at that time for most of the "Old Guard" don't you think? 

The new face of the NBA: Bien venue Monsieur Victor Wembanyama! 

I'm puzzled by the NBA's desire to create a European NBA. All the best Euro players come here to play. Will they just be creating a glorified Euro League. It dosen't compute, unless there is some huge financial updise for the NBA that I'm not aware of. 

The subject of expanision will be on the agenda. Yes, to expansion: Seattle and Las Vegas. The NBA owes Seattleafter the con job the OKC owner pulled on the Seattle fans when he purchased the team,, promising not to move the franchis, then doing exactly that. As for Las Vegas, the city is  a solid league marrket. By expanding, the NBA can create a true division of East and West by moving the TWolves and Grizzles to the East. And the timing is right. There arre lots of young players coming up through college and some very good marginal players in the G League to fill in until the expansion teams develop.  In borh Seatt;e amd Las Vegas,, the ownership groups seem to be financially solid. Let's get it done. 

Etc:

The Miami Heat could create some noise in the East with their recent signing of Tim Hardaway Jr. Now they have Klay Thompson and Hardaway as three point threats to spread the floor for Giannis to operate. 

As we approach the start of the NBA training camps, I'm still looking for the Warriors to do more than the have to help Steph Curry next season. So far, all I've seen are moves to improve their bench. Unless Yaxel Londegborg becomes an instant super star, the Warriors will have a difficult time competing this  season. Sigh1 There is, however, a long shot possiblily that Jimmy Butler will be fully ready by the All Star break, in shich case the Warriors could make things scary in the West. I have lots of faith in Coach Steve Kerr, but as good as he is, he needs one more scoring threat or there will be way too much pressure on Curry. And Step has been experiencing injuries the last few years, due in no small part to the fact that the weight of the team is entirely on his shoulders. 

As I've mementioned recently, I've found myself obsessed with the Japanese haiku poetry. Here's one about Step Cury and Klay Thompson:

Steph and Klay

Holding hands with a Haiku master

The Splash Brothers are born

Ballmer and Clippers and etc

 It is not surprising that Steve Ballmer, Ms. Zukker and GM Frank tried to circumvent the NBA's cap space rule to create an illegal advantage for their team. The model for our society today is set by a convicted felon president, Donald Trump and his minions that if you can get away with doing illegal stuff to improve your position or make you more money, go for it. All of a student Greed has become a virtue. So, I applaud the NBA for coming down harshly on the Clippers and its ownership. Personally, I would have fined Kawhi more. He's no rookie. He must have known he was involved in something crooked. This is such bad news for Clipper fans, that I can't help feeling sorry for them. Ballmer has been proved he's a cheat and that's not good for the league. Owners will be suspicious of him from now on. If I were the Toronto Raptors, I'd want the league to negate the Kawhi trade and keep their draft choices. Let Kawhi play for the Clippers and suffer the consequences with them. Besides, he's just finished one season injury free, which means he's due for another injury this coming season. Sorry, for the cynicism. 

A few quick: DeMar DeRozan to the Nuggets was a smart pickup. A Hall of Famer as one of the greatest middle distance shooter ever will add a great deal to the Nuggets offense. If Cam Johnson can have a strong year, The Jokic led Nuggets could surprise a lot of teams. 

Klay Thompson to Miami was another smart move. Klay is still a great catch and shoot threat and will help to spread the floor for the Greek Freak to drive the paint. 

Here's a Haiku that might connect to the subject of greed. 

Under the table

slips an envelope of cash

The times we live in

A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT

 Paint me completely nonplussed about GM Donlevy and Joe Lacob are doing. Summary: DeRozen coming; Green going; Steph maybe going if he asks for it. Right now, if I were Steph, I'd be pleading to go to a competitive team, because it looks like the Warriors are going for the future. Or, are they? Why DeRozen? And, more importantly, why all the talk earlier about finding players to support Curry's last two years as a Warrior, allowing him to retire as a Dub??? They sign Porzingis who has a illness that requires him to rest more games than he plays??? They sign Al Horford, one of my all time favorite players, but who's 97 years old. They hang in with Jimmy Buckets even though Jimmy is recovering from an ACL tear on the SAME knee he tore with the Heat. That seem logical to you???? All these question marks truly reflect my state of mind.  I love Yaxel Lendeborg, but can Donlevy actually believe he is a player to build a team around? A stretch Four???? He is NOT a KD. I grant that the Warriors have a couple of fine young players , but not one of them is a player that will give them the scoring and leadership they need to go into the future. Podz, Richards, Santos, Leonis? Not to my way of thinking. Last season, I suggested to to a few Warrior fan friends and to one coach who shall remain nameless that if the Warriors were really serious about building for the future, they should have done what the 49ers did with Alex Smith left to Kansas City in an adult manner and had a heck of a season before his injury. If it was proceeded with some controversy about how he lost his job, controversy is to be expected. But not all this wishy washy stuff that's going on with the Warriors. Is there an unknown reason Warrior management is not revealing that make present behavior less head scratching? I concede the possibility. Let me know what you think the Warriors are up to. Right now, I'm totally sad for Steph Curry. He deserves to retire a Warrior. And, by the way, in closing, I think bringing DeRozen on board is an excellent idea. Curry as a first option, DeRozen a second option and Lendeborg as a third option. Green in place and facilitating and harassing. And help from an improved Podz and a solid bench. Why not give it a try?

HAIKU FOR STEP ON HIS DEPARTURE

Number 30 gone

How do you fill such a hole

There are not enough flowers

So, it's Philly for the Ring Chaser and Etc

 Just as I finished writing this morning's blog, LeBron went and signed a two-year vet's minimum 8 million dollar contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, which made my earlier guess he'd chose the Warriors, unhappily, wrong. Wrong to think, LeBron might want to do something more interesting than chasing another NBA ring. Too bad, it would have been fun to see a bunch of NBA Old Timers put their remain skils together and see what happens, perhaps a Gold Medal performance. But, noooooooo, LeBron wants more glitter for his fingers. Forget it Dude, you'll never surpass Bill Russell. For my part, I get to keep Yaxel Longenborg and Jimmy Butler and Santa Clara Podz. Now the Dubs need to get creative and find one more top-notch player to fill out their roster. One guy I like a lot is DeMar DeRozen,, still a solid midranage point producer who is smart and has always been clutch. But, I wouldn't be surprised if the Knicks don't look at DeMar. Remember, Coach Brown coached DeRozen in Sacramento. And the rumor is that DeMar wants to go back to Toronto, where his career began. Are you listening LeBron?

ETC

I'm curious to see what the Sacramento Kings finally do with Domantas Sabonis. They claim they're not going to trade hiem, but I'm not sure he wants to stay in Sacramento. If that is the case, things culd get awkard as they did with DeAron Fox. I'm pretty sure that Sabonis has a high trade value. He could bring the Kings a high caliber young player plus draft choices. After this draft, with the addition of Darius Aykuff Jr and Emmanuael Sharp, the Kings have started on their way to a solid rebuild. Reynoud at Center, and Cardswell, etc. Not perfect, but keep it going rathr than patching a team of vets and youngsters. Let the youngsters grow together the way OKC did. 

In keeping with my recent obsession with Haiku:

Chasing another ring

LeBron offers his hand to be kissed

Who cares

MY TWO CENTS WORTH ABOUT LEBRON & ETC

 My wife's grandson, John Clark, a knowledgeable NBA fan has a theory that the reason LeBron will not divulge the team he'll play for is that he's waiting to see if the Warriors can pull off acquiring Anthony Davis. Davis can earn a max contract from his present team the Washington Wizards. Hard to turn something like that down, right. However, as John states, a possibility if he can get a similar contract with the Warriors and play with his friends and generational stars: LeBron, Dryamond Green, Steph Curry, and Al Horford. How does this happen? I quiz the whiz kid of basketball. With a very large question mark. John, who has lots of ideas about sports, responded with the following: The Warriors are going to trade their first round draft choice, Yaxel Longenborg, Jimmy Butler, and three-year point guard, Brandin Podzienski for AD. I almost fainted. I'm a huge fan of Yaxel, and feel he is a future NBA power-forward superstar. Butler,, when healthy is a glue-guy force and the Podz is finally showing his promise. Gad, I think. John may be right. 

On the other hand. (There always is, isn't there?) My feeling is LeBron will go to the team that will provide him the best chance to win one more championship ring, which means either the Heat or the 76ers, Why not Clevland? Ok, there's the unbroken circle theory, the notion he'd like to end his career where he started. However, I'm reasonably sure LeBRon know his addition to the Cavs will not guarantee an NBA championship. So, I'm guessing the Cavs are out of the running. 

Back to the Warroprs. If the Warriors could make such a trade with the Wiz to get AD, would that be the best chance LeBron has of going out as an NBA Champ? Let's consider the two more obvious choices first, the Heat  and the 76ers. I'm don't believe the Heat, even with the acquistion of Giannis Antetacoupo is a considerationn. The Heat do not have the bench strengh, having given up too much to get Giannis. The 76ers renaubm and with the addition of Jalen Brown they look mighty tough. Yet, how healthy can Joel Embid be? If he goes down, the 76ers can not defeat the Knichs. There goes Lebrons's next ring. There are always IFs, Right? 

Even so, the 76ers are the best choice for LeBron if he's ring chasing. The Warriors come in second. But if, and it's a big, IF AD joins the Dubs, LeBron can go out with his Olympic Gold-Winning friends, and that could be a huge moviivating factor. 

John, you may be right, but, oh, boy, will I hate giving up Yaxel.

ETC: 

Absolutely loved hearing how the crowd at the World Cup Finals booed our evil president. What a total shumck he is and his fatnesss is such an awful model for our youngsters. MacDonalds and fries indeed. He should be ashamed. But he has no shame. 

As for the Cup, Spain dominated. I was pulling for Messi to retire a winner, but not unhappy with the Spanish victory. My daughter Megan and family were in Granada, Spain where they have freinds whenn the game was played. It was tapas until dawn, Megan said of the city that went crazy with the vitory. Ole! 

I'm writing a book of Haiku called Haiku From Rehab about my recovering from Congestive Heart Failure, so Haiku are on my mind. Her's one about the World Cup Finals.

The Argentine goalie

Stretches for his last save

Weep for him 

I'm