Welcome to the Dunson Files, where you’ll eventually enter a state of mind numbing madness. This is how it’s going to happen. I’ll slowly venture into a single topic, then, gradually delve into an array of random tangents in a more organized form of ADD. Sooner or later though, I’ll arrive back at my topic with a point in hand. The Lord isn’t the only one who works in mysterious ways.
Though I think that
However, the problem with this Lakers team isn’t just mediocre talent but it’s their archaic offensive philosophy. In an age where half court sets are giving way to a faster, smaller league which thrives on scoring on the break, it appears bringing Phil Jackson back for another dance was the wrong choice. Teams which lack dominant big men have begun instituting quicker, more versatile and up tempo offenses. As successful as
Immediately following the Lakers abrupt playoff elimination,
In essence, the Lakers are the anti-Yankees; a franchise building with young, budding talent such as Kwame, Luke Walton and Andrew Bynum, none of these players possesses the potential to become a complementary piece on a championship contender. The dilemma is that with
As for Kobe Bryant, if I could give him a kibitzer, I would advise him to be patient and lay off Bynum, because whether you realize this or not, you’re in a better predicament than most observers believe. As skeptical as I have been at times of Andrew Bynum, he has shown flashes of brilliance from time to time and even though he’ll be entering his third season as a pro Bynum is still only 4 months older than Greg Oden.
Must I remind you of the cautionary tale of another high schooler taken 4 spots after Bryant in the ’96 Draft by the Portland Trailblazers? While
During the 2000 offseason he was traded to the Pacers and hasn’t looked back since becoming a perennial All-Star and Olympian while the Blazers have retreated into a state of complete disarray.
I just pray that Bryant changes his shady disposition in the next 4 months and takes Bynum under his wing this season or he could ruin a career. If the young and impressionable Bynum senses that
Kwame Effect
While there were others before him, Kwame Brown is the ultimate case study. After being drafted Brown’s first and second seasons were marred by the perfect combination of lofty expectations, verbal and psychological abuse from teammate Michael Jordan who often derided the young fella’ until he permanently unnerved the guy.
Mentally after the way,
` In his final days as a Bullet Wizard, Gilbert Arenas was forced to coerce the home crowd into not booing Brown when he entered the game. Brown's response was to threaten to punch Gilbert Arenas.
Another athlete who has suffered from the Kwame Effect is former Detroit Piston, Darko Milicic who’s first two seasons were filled with a bevy of splinters plus constant jabbing by head coach Larry Brown in practice and through the media.
Personally, I just can’t give up on Kwame and I hopelessly wait for the day he just turns that corner. It’s happened for
‘Truth’ be told though, of the NBA’s marquee players, the one who’s situation is most concerning has to be the Celtics’ resident superstar Paul Pierce. For the past 8 seasons Pierce has quietly carved out a legacy as one of the top scoring guards in our modern era behind Bryant and McGrady (Random thought: Am I the only one noticing the declining impact of the small forward in today’s game? But I digress....)
In terms of longevity, Pierce has outperformed Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Gilbert Arenas, Michael Redd and Dwayne Wade without a fraction of the fanfare. And therein lays the problem.
How a player of his caliber has remained under the radar to the casual fan for one of the most storied franchises in professional sports should make Bill Simmons cringe.
When did it get so hopeless for the Celtics that Kevin Garnett, one of the most unpretentious and frustrated players in the NBA expresses disinterest in a sure deal which would land him opposite Pierce in the Celtics lineup? Beside the fact that K.G. seems solely focused on the Phoenix Suns this year or in 2008, Garnett loved the Los Angeles Lakers as a child, and idolized Lakers legend Magic Johnson. However, a franchise whose arena is adorned with a myriad of championship banners and more retired numbers in its hollowed rafters than any franchise in professional sports could not pry Garnett from his frozen coffin in
A short list of the legends who have donned the Celtic green and white include Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, John Havlicek (the Celtics all-time leading scorer not…) and Larry Bird. Should I continue? I’ll do it anyway.
The Celtic HOF studded B-list is littered with names that would put every single team besides the Lakers to shame such as Ed Macauley (MVP of the very 1st NBA All-Star Game played in—Boston Garden), Nate Archibald (the original Answer to Allen Iverson), Tommy “Gun” Heinsohn, JoJo White, K.C. Jones, Bill Sharman, Sam Jones, Dave Cowens, Robert Parish, Bill Walton, D.J. Johnson, Paul Silas, Kevin McHale, Cedric Maxwell and Reggie Lewis. Excuse the excessive namedropping but I needed a reprieve from this travesty but I’m sure somewhere Big Red was just reminded of the good old days.
Auerbach’s Apprentices
That’s right folks! Kevin McHale, one of the worst GM’s in NBA history and one of the best power forwards in NBA history could not sell K.G. on his former team.
It’s painfully obvious, these guys didn't take notes from Auerbach, arguably the best general manager and talent evaluator in the history of sports. It’s ironic that Danny Ainge (see picture below, I didn’t realize it was him at first either) one of the guys he brought in—has torn down the ‘House That Red Built’. Meanwhile, McHale has created one of the worst environments besides the
To me, this McHale & Ainge tragedy is playing out like a sitcom cross between
Just contact Michael J. Fox to audition for the role of Ainge, Paul McCartney as Kevin McHale and this guy from Arrested Development as the younger, wisecracking but demanding father figure, Red Auerbach. Bill Walton would frequently appear as the kooky neighbor who offers up his sage, philosophical advice on Western Civilization, basketball or both(you gotta see his real estate agent crossed with a sexual predator look) whenever Ainge and McHale get in a jam ala Wilson from Home Improvement(Walton once compared the Suns’ acquisition of Boris Diaw to the ushering in of the Age of Romanticism by Beethoven.). Larry Bird could co-star in a few episodes as the overachieving son who the Danny and Kevin are still trying to live up to.
Seriously I’m working on a script and treatment right after the draft because I'll have more real life material after that.) In fact what better script for a sports pilot than the NBA Draft? Of course just like LOST, I'd use flashbacks to describe how they ran their respective teams into the ground.
Ainge: "We have to go back Kevin."
McHale: "We Can't"
Ainge: "We gotta get back to the playooofffs!!!"
McHale Theory
In my opinion, I don’t believe McHale is as inept as he pretends to be. As a matter of fact, I have a very simple theory on why he could never provide K.G. with the assistance he needed. It came to me during the NBA Finals when my mind was drifting towards the NBA draft. As Mark Jackson was rounding out his Fave 5(another shameless Nextel promotion), I heard Kevin Garnett’s name mentioned as I wasn’t paying that much attention—it was Game 2 and I was busy watching highlights of the 02-03 Cleveland Cavaliers(Sidenote: the 02-03 Cavs won 17 games, fewer than the Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team at a time when the best basketball team in Ohio was St. Vincent St. Mary's HIGH SCHOOL.) A few moments later I look up and notice he has Kevin McHale at number five on his list of the top power forwards of all time. Ignoring the fact that he left off the immortal Bob Petit, it suddenly hit me like Carlos Zambrano’s right hook.
McHale isn’t a complete dunce, after all it was his decision to draft Garnett, he just wants to preserve his legacy. Somewhere during the development of Garnett he noticed his incredible athleticism, unrivaled intensity and realized K.G. was developing into a player better than he was, which was acceptable as long as he wasn’t leaving the first round of the playoffs.
This way, even though history would recognize K.G. as the better forward, McHale would always be more lionized for his winning mien. How would you feel if you’ve been the best salesman for 10 years, got promoted then heard through the grapevine that the guy who replaced you is even better. As his boss you’d probably be inclined make his life and job even harder. Give him a few extra tasks, projects and pretty much anything to make his job harder than yours was.
It was the perfect plan until he accidentally assembled a sufficient supporting cast which took the Garnett and the T’wolves to the brink of NBA glory. The next season, instead of attempting to appease the T’Wolves components he executed the next phase of his well formulated plan to divide and conquer the team from within. Here's his manifesto:
1) Secretly send Commissioner Stern, a detailed letter describing our illegal secret agreement with Joe Smith under the veil of “an informant”. After all that we'll sign Smith next season as a daily reminder of the three first round picks he’s lost because of one of the biggest draft busts of all time(8.5 ppg, 6.2 rebounds for Joe Smith’s career)
2) Deny Sam Cassell a contract extension and trade him to the Clippers, he won’t win anything there.
3) Get Sprewell's mind off of basketball by forcing him onto welfare to feed his kids ala “Pursuit of Happiness’
4) Acquire a malcontent, preferably a ball hawking showboat to replace Sprewell. Is Ricky Davis available?
5) Retool the roster to resemble the Bad News Bears.
6) Replace one of the best point guards he's every played with a one-dimensional, no defense player, with a propensity for firing off errant shots and whose decision making skills reminds fans of a Turrets Syndrome patient. It'll be like snatching the bike from some kid and replacing it with a four wheeler and a seat that's to small. It'll drive him nuts.
Who would suspect in-house sabotage at the hands of an adored Hall of Famer who moonlights as a former Beatle. I have got to work that into my script.
My other concern is for the future generations in the NBA. In my vastly irrelevant opinion, free agency and expansion did not usher in this era consisting of the top players starring on cellar dweller teams, maximum contracts did. Whenever, a team signs a player to another 100-120 million dollar contract, it restricts their ability to acquire other talent down the line at other positions. Thus, we arrive at this juncture, where a generation of elite players gripe over their team’s woes while simultaneously stuffing their piggy banks.
How has the value of superstars depreciated so drastically since the turn of the millennium? (The argument could be made: Would you send Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and Kirilenko for Kobe Bryant? What would at one time have been considered a boneheaded trade, is now considered a reasonable option.) In this era of dynasties, such as the Patriots, Spurs and Pistons the concept of collecting superstar athletes has taken a back seat to the overall team concept.
If K.G. and
Quote of the Week
In this ESPN article on Barry Bonds' security detail as he approaches 754 Wardlaw, the man who protected Aaron, recalls April 8, 1974, and how he nearly overreacted (that’s an understatement) when Aaron circled the bases after hitting his record-breaking 715th home run and a pair of college-aged kids ran onto the field to join him.
Wardlaw, distracted by a giant hug Aaron's wife, Billye, was giving him at the time, didn't see the two men until they were next to Aaron.
"It was my fault," Wardlaw said. "My gut feeling was that they weren't threatening. But I still wish that had not happened. Over the years, a lot of guys have asked, 'Why didn't you shoot at them?' Well, about the worst thing I could have done is miss them with a .38 and shoot Hank. You're talking about going down in infamy. You're talking about taking one of the greatest moments in our sports history and turning it into a fiasco. And that's the last thing I wanted to do."
Image of the Week
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