This is the mailbag. Real readers, real questions, real shit. Let's do it.
Origin story (two questions): 1. What made you passionate about basketball? 2. What makes basketball better than other sports/what sets it apart?--Kelly
Alright so we’ll knock out the serious stuff first and put the profanity on hold for later. I am going to take a different route with this question and sort of explain how I came to writing about hoops.
I honestly don’t really remember how I came to love basketball so much, I just always have. If you look at old baby pictures of me--which please don’t because even though I’m drop dead gorgeous right now, I was definitely better looking as a kid. Puberty ruined me, dawg--chances are I either had a little toy basketball in my hand or I was wearing something basketball related. One of my favorite memories as a kid was when I really wanted to play basketball one day and I got tired of doing between the leg dunks on my Fisher Price hoop (I was like the 6 year old equivalent of Vince Carter circa 2000).
This kid didn't have shit on me
I realized I needed to start hooping like the pros. So I basically bugged the shit out of my mom to take me to a park or somewhere so I could play. So my mom decided to take an old laundry basket and cut out the bottom of it and had my dad hang it up for me and my brother. In retrospect, it was a terrible hoop and probably explains why I was never a great shooter, but MAN, it was one of the most exciting days of my life because it meant I could play real basketball whenever I wanted to. Even at a young age, I loved basketball so much that hooping on a laundry basket was more fun than football or baseball combined.
As I got older, I became more of a student of the game. I’ve always been a pretty big reader and I love reading biographies and sports stories more than anything. I also loved writing about basketball. It got to the point where a teacher of mine in high school banned me from writing about basketball because it’s all I ever did for my assignments.
Fast forward to college: I’m playing for the wettest team ever assembled, The Gonzaga Men’s Club Basketball team, I’m also partying my ass off, and really starting to rethink my decision to pursue a business degree. That’s when I decided to take an English course taught by Jessica Maucione. Now, I’ll totally admit that I originally took her class because my friend told me she was really hot, and he was very right about that. But I quickly learned that Dr. Maucione was unique from every other professor I had experienced. She was absolutely brilliant and she really understood how to engage me and get the best out of me.
So one day we’re in class and we are assigned to write a poem, something that I usually did on my free time anyways. I decided to write a poem called “Eye of the Storm”, which was a first person account of someone experiencing Hurricane Katrina. I wrote it in like ten minutes (I haven’t read that poem in years but in retrospect it probably reads like something written in ten minutes) and I decided to show it to my partner in crime, Jamie Jackson (shout out my dude, welcome to Trey Jay’s world!). Trey Jay immediately told me I needed to show it to Dr. Maucione, so I figured why not. I showed her the poem and her initial reaction was...not impressed. Like at all.
As I was leaving class that day, headphones on and eyes glued to the floor, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Dr. Maucione wanted to pull me off to the side and talk more about the poem. As we talked, she asked me what my major was and I told her advertising. She did a quick nod and then said, “Well, it needs to be English.”
I literally laughed in her face. Me? An English major? Get outta hear with that noise. Of course I tried to recover and politely inform her that I’d rather make love to a garbage disposal than be a broke English major for the rest of my life (might've used some different words at the time). She was extremely cool with my response and told me to at least consider a minor. Of course, she knew something that took me years to figure out: She had me that day. Even though I laughed in her face she saw there was a talent and a passion I really wanted to pursue, I was just too stubborn to acknowledge it at the time. She continued to basically recruit me for English and even at times gave me side projects to work on just so I could keep writing. Eventually I did switch my major to English.
Long story short, you can thank my parents, Trey Jay, and Dr. Maucione for their influence on the trillest, most unique and profane basketball blog in the world. Let’s answer some motherfucking questions now!
Top 5 current players you wouldn't wanna fight. Top 5 players from all time you wouldn't wanna fight. Make it epic--Joe
Please, if it’s on the blog then you already know it’s going to be epic! Let’s start with the all-time list, in no particular order.
Maurice Lucas
The original enforcer. I actually got a chance to meet Mo Lucas when I was in like fifth grade, and I’m lucky that I was able to walk away with all of my teeth. Maurice Lucas had elbows made of granite and he was not afraid to unleash said elbows whenever he saw necessary. Lucas’ reputation as the ultimate enforcer became immortalized when in game 2 of the 1977 NBA Finals, Lucas mixed it up with 76ers forward Darryl Dawkins. If you’ve never seen what Dawkins looks like, this gives you an idea.
Basically, these are not small dudes fighting.
People mark this as the turning point of the series and allowed the Blazers to comeback from a two game deficit to defeat the more talented 76ers. If your fighting abilities can change the course of a series, especially in the Finals, then I definitely don’t want fuck with you. Rip City baby.
I remember watching a documentary about Kermit Washington and feeling bad that he’s stuck with the reputation that still follows him to this day. All in all, he seems like a genuinely good dude. But the fact remains, HE NEARLY KILLED SOMEONE ON THE BASKETBALL COURT IN ONE PUNCH!!
AGAIN, ONE PUNCH BRO!
ONE!!!! Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then teammate of Washington, described hearing the impact of the punch as the sound of a watermelon smashing against the concrete. Like, bro. The impact of the punch was so intense that Rudy Tomjonovich, the same Rudy T that coached the Rockets to two NBA championships, had brain fluid leaking out of his freaking head. And not to beat a dead horse, BUT THAT WAS IN ONE PUNCH!!!!!! No, just, no.
Isiah Thomas
A little surprising considering Isiah’s stature, right? Well, don’t let his size fool you because Isiah isn’t the type to back down from a fight. But that’s not my main concern. While Isiah can and has held his own against guys way bigger than him, I’m not fighting Isiah because of the gang warfare factor. What I mean by that is, if you fight Isiah, you have to fight the whole Bad Boys Pistons.
"Oh hey, guys...
Think about it, Isiah drives the lane and you give him a pretty hard foul. He doesn’t like it and decides to get in your face about it. Since you’re in the heat of the moment and playing in the 80‘s, you give him a nice shove. Suddenly, out of no where, here comes Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Mark Aguirre, and James Edwards, all ready to beat the ever-living fuck out of you. Oh and you still got to worry about the tiny Pit Bull in the form of Isiah Thomas giving you a two piece while you’re getting stomped out by the other guys. Thanks, but no thanks, I’m good on that one.
Karl Malone
So the guy I just talked about, Isiah Thomas, well, Karl Malone broke the shit out of his jaw during a game once. Also, Karl Malone is a country boy that loves hunting and is built like a literal Spartan. Don’t let the fact that girls stole his signature Mailman pose for selfies fool you, Karl Malone will kill you and then make a stew out of your heart.
"Like, OMG SMOOOTHHIIEEESS. #Selfie #Noshame"
Also, Karl Malone was trained by fight guru Diamond Dallas Page. I don’t know about you, but I ain’t trying to catch a Diamond Cutter, bruh.
Charles Oakley
As you are reading this Charles Oakley is probably hanging someone upside from a balcony. I mean, he literally (“allegedly”) slapped Jeff McGinnis in the face like a worn out crack hoe once. I heard he once tracked down a bootlegger that was selling fake Jordan’s and broke every finger on both his hands. I might’ve made that last part up but the point is, for a second, you believed me. That’s all the proof you need that he is the real life Shaft and is not to be fucked with.
Thanks for submitting this question Joe, I’m going to be sleeping with the lights on for the foreseeable future. As for the current NBA players, again in no particular order:
Zach Randolph
Z-Bo was the proud ringleader of the JailBlazer era, which if you’re the most troublesome of that bunch, it means you’re taking trill to a whole other level. I mean, he broke his own teammate’s eye socket during practice. His own teammate!!! If you’re breaking your own teammate’s eye socket then you are clearly about that life. Recently, Stephen Jackson commented that Ron Artest and Z-Bo are the only two guys currently in the league that are about that life. If you have Captain Jack’s endorsement, then I clearly don’t want to fight you.
Tony Allen
I mean, would you fight Tony Allen? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Jimmy Butler
I don’t know what it is about this guy, but I’m pretty terrified of him.
Maybe because he tried to take on a giant Brazilian once
Russell Westbrook
This guy murders rims on a regular basis. If he punches as hard as he dunks then I’m likely ending up in a coma.
Nikola Pekovic
If you told me that Pek’s offseason workouts involves living in the mountains and fighting grizzly bears, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least. Add the fact that he looks like one of the Kryptonian bad guys from Superman II, and suddenly you have a pretty scary dude. Matt Lyons is going to answer a question later regarding NBA players starring in a movie, but I might have to write a script for a Roadhouse reboot starring Pek.
"That's it, you're 86'd, buddy!"
3 Best and worst trades and free agent signings this year.--Travis
Best: Everything the Celtics are doing, but mostly getting Isaiah Thomas and sneaking into the dumpster fire that is the Eastern Conference playoffs. They’ve also landed a butt load of draft picks that should come in handy in the future. Needless to say, Danny Ainge has mastered the art of tanking to the point where he’s accidently winning games. Superb work.
Worst: Everything the Phoenix Suns are doing. Speaking of Thomas, why on earth did the Suns bring him on board in the first place? They already had two very good point guards on their roster in Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic. So why the fuck would you bring a third scoring point guard in the mix and completely torpedo the good thing you had going last season? The Suns really messed up because they eventually traded away Thomas anyways, but most importantly they managed to piss off Dragic to the point where he demanded to be traded as well. So you lose two of your best guys in exchange for Brandon Knight? Really? Man, they screwed the pooch on that one.
Oh, and they had the Lakers draft pick that they traded away, too. Wow.
Which NBA player needs to be taken out back and dealt with Old Yeller style?
I didn’t even have to think twice on this one. Waiters has been poison pretty much ever since he was drafted by the Cavs. It’s no coincidence that as soon as he was traded, the Cavs took off. Since landing in OKC, Waiters has been a disaster and may have hurt the Thunder’s playoff hopes more than Durant’s injury. Russ has been playing in God mode ever since KD went down and you would assume even a competent season from Waiters would be enough to secure the final playoff spot in the West. But no. Really the only good to come from Waiters this season was his epic tweet declaring Women lie, men lie, but buckets don’t! Dion, your lack of buckets certainly isn’t lying and it’s time for you to go, buddy.
One last thought on Waiters: Like most males in their mid-twenties, I owned the video game NBA 2k14 and started a My Player career on the game. I was drafted by the Cavs which meant having to split minutes with Waiters and Kyrie. My dad was walking by as I was playing one day and made a crack along the lines that he felt bad for me that I had to play with Waiters. Like, think about that for a second. A man in his fifties felt sympathy towards me because I had to put up with Dion on a freaking video game. That’s bad. That’s really bad.
Best: LeBron James parting ways with the headband. Sometimes when you cut a player, the team improves thanks to the whole addition by subtraction phenomenon. Well, the same can be said for LeBron’s headband. Everyone remembers game 6 of the 2013 Finals for Ray Allen’s shot at the end of regulation, as they deservingly should. What gets lost in recalling that epic game was when LeBron had his headband knocked off his head and he transformed into a Greek god. That was the first time we realized that maybe the headband served as a way to curb LeBron and deter him from going full blown Super Saiyan and destroying basketball as we know it. This season it appears that LeBron has ditched the headband for good, and ever since then the Cavs have been the most terrifying team in the NBA. RIP to the trademark headband, however, the departure may have allowed James to fully terrorize the NBA for another decade.
A very solid question that provokes a complicated answer. For example, the Suns looked like the team that would improve the most this season after shocking the league last year. That has worked out about as well leaving Shaq unattended near a buffet table.
There were so many causalities
So while a team could be looking good right now, there’s no promises of improvement. Hell, no one thought the Lakers would be as disastrous this year as they were last season, yet they somehow got worse. Injuries and dipshit front offices can kill the momentum of the team at any moment. Right now, it would appear that the Jazz could be a potential playoff team next year. But really how do we know they aren’t going to be this year’s Phoenix team? If a team is going to drastically improve, it’ll likely be a team in the Eastern Conference for the simple fact they can’t get any worse. Except for Philly, they always manage to find a way to be worse.
Who are the sleeper picks in this years draft?--Alex
Also while we’re here, what the hell is going to happen with Emmanuel Mudiay? If you don’t know who he is, trust me, you do. But like the rest of us you forgot he was at one time considered the best prospect of the draft, only he bailed on playing at SMU and decided to play overseas. While I have no thoughts on that whole fiasco, I also have no thoughts on him at all considering no one has gotten a chance to see him play. So maybe he’ll be good? Who knows.
What team will have the biggest controversy causing their coaches, players and fans the greatest headache/heartache this season?--Traci
I combined these questions because if Rose gets hurt one more time under Thibs watch, then the city of Chicago might literally riot. And who can blame them? They have to suffer through watching Jay Culter throw picks, their historically unlucky baseball teams, and Tom Thibodeau repeatedly running his best players into the ground. When will enough be enough, Thibs?!
"Rest?! You just got a break like 3 games ago, NOW GET BACK ON DEFENSE!"
This really does feel like the beginning of the end for Thibs in Chicago, which seems kind of unfair since the team hasn’t enjoyed this much success since the days of number 23. So if he wants to stay in Chicago, which it does feel like he’s not entirely sold on that idea, then he’s going to need to make a Conference Finals run without killing anyone, especially Rose.
The thing about the Bulls this year is that they don’t have to actually ride Rose in order to succeed.
For starters, the East is a disaster and has plenty of teams that might do Chicago a favor and just shoot themselves in the foot. The Bulls are also more loaded offensively than they’ve been since Thibs took the reins, which means they won’t have to rely on Rose for all their scoring. Factor in Thibs ability to turn back up point guards into superstars during the playoffs, and suddenly there’s the option to rest Rose as much as possible.
But that’s where it gets tricky because Rose needs reps. Despite playing in the FIBA World Championships, Rose still needed a good chunk of the season to regain his rhythm after basically missing two straight years with knee troubles. Face it, the Bulls need an adequate version of Rose in order to win a championship. But you can’t get him to that point without risking another injury. In other words, Thibs might be fucked. Unless he pulls a Dr. Krieger from Archer and turns Rose into a cyborg.
Since Matt Lyons is the king of hypothetical movies starring NBA players, I had him take this question while I sit on my couch and huff paint--I mean do research for other questions.
Next NBA player to star in a movie?
I pondered this one for a while and my list was quite extensive, but then I found the perfect man
And then, it hit me
JOEL EMBIID, no minutes on the court obviously, but several minutes on Twitter to be a perfect personality
Embiid would star. He’s big, he’s funny, Jalen Rose said he’s going to be very good, and he’ll need something to lighten the mood after playing with the 76ers.
Now, what will the movie be about?
So Joel will star with Rihanna, naturally. Because all you asked is what will this movie be about, you do not get a synopsis. Instead your mind can wander with these 10 descriptors: Barbados, surfing, starships (the Nicki Minaj song), a first date turned into an affair, a worldwide charity concert turned bad, slam-dunks and superb footwork, @PFTcommenter, John Calipari, Paul McCartney, nude Rihanna… with Paul McCartney
With so many All Star/Super Star players being injured within the last year or two like PG13, D Rose, Durant and struggling to make long run returns, is the NBA moving into the next era of basketball? If so, what will be remembered in this past era?--Indy
The NBA has been in a new era for the past couple of seasons thanks to the pace-and-space-analytics-heavy offenses we are starting to see more and more. The thing about NBA eras, is that they are defined by a certain player or players that represented the time. There’s the Magic-Bird era, the Jordan era, the post Jordan era, and our current era, the LeBron era. The era we have been transitioning from is the Kobe-Duncan era. Now, you could make the argument that there should be a Shaq-Kobe era or post Malice in the Palace era, or hell, that the LeBron era started a long time ago. But Bryant and Duncan dominated for over a decade. Since 1999, either the Lakers or the Spurs represented the Western Conference in the Finals every year except in 2006, 2011, and 2012. That’s insane! During that run, both players racked up a combined ten rings and only lost three series in the Finals.
That's some pretty legendary shit, especially considering their run coincided with the primes of Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Dirk, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash’s Suns, Miami’s Big Three, the Boston Big Three, Detroit's Renaissance, and the rise of LeBron, Melo, Wade, Bosh, Curry, Westbrook, and Durant. Now, it’s a different era in the NBA as young stars are looking to become the face of the league. In the meantime, the league firmly belongs to the King, until someone knocks him off his throne.
As for the injuries? Man, who knows. Injuries have always been a part of the game, but never quite like this before. It could have something to do with the fact that the game is becoming even faster as teams look to push the ball and the pace. But I don’t think injuries are going to define the era more than a LeBron or a Steph Curry would.
I was watching Tom Brady playing some pick-up with MJ and it helped inspire this question. Create a starting 5 of non-basketball athletes (so NFL, Soccer, MLB, etc...)--Matt Scott
Point Guard--Lionel Messi.
I’ll be honest, Messi mostly got this nod because he’s really short. But make no mistake, I feel like Messi going coast to coast on a basketball court is absolutely terrifying especially since he routinely does that on a freaking soccer pitch. Messi is a wizard with the ball and that’s definitely the guy you want running your offense on the basketball court, especially when he’s running fast breaks with...
Shooting Guard-Usain Bolt
THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE! Oh man, just imagining Bolt racing up and down the court with Messi sounds like a dream come true. Factor in the fact that Bolt is perfect height for a shooting guard (a lanky 6‘5“) and looks like he’d be a pretty good jumper, he’s the perfect guy to have running the wings.
His nickname is fucking Megatron because this dude does stuff that doesn’t even look human half the time. Because of an injury plagued year, many of us forgot that Johnson is one of the most athletic people alive. When you think about it, he’s basically LeBron James when it comes to size, speed, quickness, agility, and leaping ability. Add the fact that he has a wingspan that would make Jay Bilas cream his pants, and you got the makings of a prototypical wing.
Power Forward--Jimmy Graham
Seriously, just throw alley-oops to this guy all day!
Now, I had a lot of trouble trying to think of who was going to play center for this squad considering the average height of an NBA center is like 6‘10“ or taller. Turns out, there are not that many seven footers walking around in professional sports. So I had to take a different route on this one. Today’s NBA game usually features a center whose sole purpose is to protect the rim. And there’s only one man alive that I trust with that responsibility:
Tim
Fucking
Howard
USA!!!
Top 5 point guards in the NBA and why!!!!--Marcus
Honorable mention: Fourth Quarter Damian Lillard. Seriously, fourth quarter Dame might be the best player in the world. When the game is on the line, there’s no one I want to have the ball more than Lillard. The reason he doesn’t crack the list for top five overall, though? He’s atrocious on defense. I mean, part of me dies inside every time I watch him try to stay in front of someone. You can’t be a top five player when you’re that bad on defense.
Chris Paul
So is it me or are people finally figuring out that Chris Paul is kind of a dick? I think that’s why a lot of people have changed their stance on Paul. There was a point in time where Chris was considered the point guard of this generation. Some were even putting him in a category of one of the all time greats. Now people have noticed that he has never made it out of the second round of the playoffs, he rubs a lot of his teammates the wrong way, he is constantly bitching to the refs, his team is incredibly unlikeable, and he also had one of the worst on the court meltdowns during their playoff series with the Thunder last year. But dickishness and choking aside, Chris Paul is still really, really, really good. Like still MVP worthy good. Without him, the Clippers are straight up unwatchable.
Russell Westbrook
If you have been following this blog for a while, you already know that I have a basketball hard on for Westbrook. If I could vote for him for president, I would. Russ is probably the most entertaining player to watch if you don’t know anything about basketball. Granted, if you’re a puritan of the game and enjoy pass-first point guards, then Russ probably drives you crazy. With that said, Russ has put the Thunder on his back this season, which has resulted in some of the craziest performances the league has ever seen. I mean, when you’re dropping triple-doubles while scoring 40 points multiple games in a row, you’ve suddenly entered Jordan territory. That sentence is in no way trying to say Russ is better or as good as MJ, but the fact that the comparison isn’t too crazy let’s you know what type of player he is.
Steph Curry
How on God’s green earth is Steph Curry so damn wet all the damn time?--Zach Haveman
To borrow from Will Ferrell, nobody knows but it’s provocative. Steph has been having a historically great shooting season and recently broke his own record for most three pointers made in a season. This is even more impressive once you realize that he shares the floor with position-less bombers that also shoot a high number of threes.
What makes Steph’s shooting ability more impressive is the fact that he can heat up real quick. This has to do with the much belabored fact that Steph can shoot from anywhere, at any time, from any angle. He’s just as good shooting off the dribble as he is from a catch and shoot or flying off a screen. My theory for why Curry is so good? No one on the planet has more fun playing basketball than the Baby Faced Assassin. If you ever watch the Warriors, Steph looks like he’s having the time of his life every single possession. And it can be assumed that when you really love something and enjoy doing that thing, you’re probably going to be better at it than everyone else.
Someone call McDonalds cuz this dude is loving it
Kyrie Irving
So remember at the beginning of the season when everyone was like, man Kyrie isn’t a real point guard? Or if the Cavs struggle this year it’s going to be Kyrie’s fault? Then Kyrie dropped multiple 50 point games and learned how to play off of LeBron and everyone was like, oh yeah nevermind, Kyrie is actually hella good?
Oh yeah...
Like most people, I was ready to bail from the Uncle Drew bandwagon. I wasn’t entirely impressed with his tournament MVP run during the FIBA world championships and last season I didn’t hide my disappointments in him during my 10 players to watch posts. Well, Kyrie has definitely proven me wrong and the idea of him playing in his prime with LeBron is terrifying. All the things we’re starting to see with Kyrie resembles Westbrook’s growth as he was learning to play with Durant. The thing that has really helped Kryie this season, though, is the fact that he managed to avoid injury for once in his career. Turns out when he can actually stay on the court, the kid is pretty good.
John Wall
This last spot was a tough one. If I was going to say the top 5 point guards come playoff time, I would’ve chosen Tony Parker. But Parker struggled for most of the season and hasn’t started looking like himself until recently. So I’m going to go with the uber-athletic John Wall. Now, Wall is a tough dude to gauge. His team went through a hell of a slump but is that because of Wall or because of the injuries to Bradley Beal and the ever hilarious incompetence of Randy Wittman?
No caption required
John Wall is underrated and he’s the guy that is going to be perfect for the pace and space direction the league is heading in. First off, no one can stay in front of this guy. Arguably the fastest player in the league, Wall has the unique ability to get in the teeth of the defense pretty much at will. This is where Wall’s game thrives because he is one of the best in the league at finding open shooters once he does penetrate the defense. Just imagine if you took Wall and switched him with Curry. You would have John Wall flying up and down the court at a 100 mph and finding Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, and Iggy for open threes. Now, Golden State’s uniqueness is largely in part because no one knows how the fuck to guard Curry. But it’s not crazy to think they would still be an offensive juggernaut if you had Wall running the point instead of Steph.
Chef Wall with the pot, boi?
Where does mike Conley rank amongst top point guards in the league?--Alex Liggins
Poor Mike, he was the latest victim of the “He’s so underrated we should constantly talk about him and oh shit I think we accidently just made him overrated”. This is not Mike’s fault at all. He was the leader of one of the best teams in the Western Conference before injuries began to catch up to him and his teammates. Also factor in a midseason trade that was a misfire and the dream season for Conley suddenly got put on hold. But there’s still a chance he can regain his status in the playoffs.
How do we eliminate the “tanking” issue in the NBA? Many times, fans complain that teams drop games at the end of the season to improve their chances in the lottery. How do we solve this issue? An idea that I have thought could potentially work would be making all the college players entering the draft become free agents and then depending on your slot in the draft, allocate a certain amount of money that you could spend on that college player to come to your team. By this method any team could get a top college player similar to how colleges recruit high school players. Teams that have the 20th or 25th pick, for example, could get the number one player in the draft but teams will have to convince this player to come to their team but will have to take less money. This could balance the draft playing field and make teams at the very least, reconsider tanking the last month of the season or the entire season. Now the financial specifics are a little more difficult to completely figure out but do you think an idea like this could solve the tanking issue? Is there another way to solve this or is this how the NBA will always be?--Chanse
This is intriguing but I’m going to be honest, this wouldn’t work because it kind of already happened. Hear me out.
One of the main beefs with the lockout in 2011 was the fact that smaller markets felt they couldn’t compete with the New Yorks, Miamis, and LA’s, of the league when it came to recruiting free agents. This led to said owners lobbying for the cap salary we are seeing in today’s NBA. Which has led to some teams like the Lakers and Knicks only leasing players for one year on a minimum salary. Which explains why those teams are loaded with D-Leaguers that are willing to work for whatever. Now, if you allowed rookies to come in and be “recruited” by teams, it almost guarantees that those large market teams are going to walk away with the best players every year. Either that, or championship teams will continually rack up the best players and all but ruin the already little parity in the NBA. If you think they’ll jump for a larger contract over taking less for a contender, then you clearly aren’t noticing that All-Americans are taking cuts in playing time to sit on the bench for Kentucky, albeit those guys are probably actually getting paid.
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So my solution? Take the protection off of draft picks that are traded. Let’s look at the Lakers for example. Thanks to the Steve Nash trade, the Lakers owed Phoenix a pick for this years draft (the pick was later traded to the Sixers). So if you’re the Lakers and you start the year as tragically as they did, why risk losing out on that pick? If you’re going to be shitty all year anyways, why not really suck and make sure you keep that top five pick? By removing the protection on said picks, I think it’ll actually encourage teams to play harder. If you’re guaranteed going to lose the pick, wouldn’t you try harder to move out of the lottery so that other team doesn’t get a good player? If you can’t have them, no one can, right? This idea is really half baked but it could work? Maybe? I don’t know, but our next US president should quit worrying about trivial shit like the economy and terrorism, and get down to business on fixing the NBA draft!
Best teams that have yet to be featured on 2k--Joe
I’ll admit, I haven’t looked at the latest version of NBA 2k so I’m going off of the featured teams listed in 2k14. Based on that list, it still blows my mind that the Shaq-Kobe team featured is the 98 team that lowkey blew. I mean, that might’ve been the greatest year for Kobe’s fro, but wouldn’t it make more sense to have the most dominate playoff team ever, the 01 Lakers? The game has the 01 Sixers, which is awesome because there’s no such thing as too much Iverson in my life. But the 01 Lakers is one of the best teams ever.
Behold its fro'd glory
Pretty much any Spurs team from the 2000‘s would be cool too, like maybe the 2003 squad that featured Stephen Jackson and a prime Tim Duncan. But because of how crucial three point shooting is for any 2k game, how fun would it be to play as Reggie Miller? People forget how good the Indiana Pacers were during Reggie’s tenure there, so there’s some options. There’s the 2004 team that was amazing before the Malice in the Palace nearly eradicated basketball in Indiana. There’s the 1998 team that nearly stole Jordan’s last ring from him. But the 2000 team that made the Finals is probably the best and would be the most fun. I mean, you could be Jalen Rose! Come on 2k,
YOU’VE GOT TO GIVE THE PEEEOOOPPPLLLEEE, GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!!!!!
Best mascot?!! Lol I still vote for Squatch even if there are no sonics :)--Casey
Per usual on the blog, RIP to the Sonics. While Squatch had a pretty good run terrorizing the sidelines in Seattle, the truth remains that he isn’t the best. The honor goes to the iconic Bennie the Bull in Chicago. For one, the mascot actually makes sense unlike that thing the Magic used to roll out.
WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?!?!
Second, he nails the look. He’s not cartoonish to the point of looking ridiculous and he’s not trying too hard to be cool. He just is cool. So Bennie gets my vote for current best mascot in the NBA. All time, though? No contest. The Gorilla from the Phoenix Suns. I mean, it’s a dunking Gorilla, man! I shouldn’t even have to type out an argument after writing that sentence.
ROY, DPOY, who do you want at #1 in this year's draft and why--Zach
If someone has the audacity to vote for anyone other than Andrew Wiggins for Rookie of the Year, they need to be shot on sight. For all the hype surrounding the 2014 draft class, it’s been a colossal disappointment so far. Whether it was due to injury (Parker, Randle, Embiid), staying in Europe (Saric), or playing on a trainwreck of a franchise (pretty much everyone else), the rookies haven’t held up to the hype. Except for Wiggins, who actually managed to exceed expectations.
Really the only other rookie even close to Wiggins was Nikola Mirotic on the Bulls, and if you don’t like Mirotic then there’s a chance you don’t have any joy in your life whatsoever. But let’s be real, Andrew Wiggins was a legit sensation for certain parts of the season. And he managed to get better every single game. He went heads up against James Harden and held his own against the potential MVP. He’s managed to dunk on almost every center in the league already, and he’s only like 20 years old. This season Wigs lived up to the hype and praise I showered him with a year ago and for that, I thank you.
Which leads to me this year’s draft and the very real possibility that the Lakers can snag the overall #1 pick, which is literally the only positive thing about the Lakers this season. If you noticed in the question, this is who I want to be #1 and not necessarily who I think should be the first pick. Now there’s some talk about the two big men, Okafor and Towns, as the favorites to earn the top spot. Then there’s the other super freshmen that could be interesting for the Lakers: D’Angelo Russell and tournament darling, Justise Winslow.
So the question becomes, do you go for the “sure thing” in the bigs Towns and Okafor? It’s enticing considering the Lakers will be getting Julius Randle back next season. But why wouldn’t the Lakers look for a perimeter player that can learn under Kobe for a year and has potential to be a great scorer in the league? Why not Russell? Sure, the league is experiencing a big man renaissance thanks to Anthony Davis and Boogie Cousins, but look at the current MVP race. Curry, Harden, Paul, Westbrook, and LeBron are all perimeter guys. To me, it makes more sense to get a scorer and creator in Russell and groom him under Bryant to be the next franchise player.
As for the Defensive Player of the Year? Draymond Green has been pretty vital to the success of the Warriors this season but they’re entire defensive identity starts and ends with Andrew Bogut. So my vote is going to go to the one guy in the league who can make LeBron look like a normal effing human being.
I don’t care if he’s been injured and missed time this season, Kawhi is the best perimeter defender in the league.
How good do you really think Anthony Davis can be?--Matt Lyons
How good do you think Kevin Garnett was? Because to me, they look almost identical, except I’m thinking of prime KG compared to Davis right now. That’s scary. I think it’s time for some stats, baby!
Year 3 Garnett: Age 21. 18.5 PPG 9.6 RPG 4.2 APG 1.8 Blocks 1.7 Steals 49% Field Goal Percentage 20.4 PER
Year 9 Garnett: Age 27. 24.2 PPG 13.9 RPG 5 APG 2.2 Blocks 1.5 Steals 50% Field Goal Percentage 29.4 PER
Year 3 Davis: Age 21 24.3 PPG 10.2 RPG 2.2 APG 2.9 Blocks 1.5 Steals 54% Field Goal Percentage 31 PER
You know what happened in year 9 for Garnett? He won the fucking MVP. Compared to said MVP season, Davis is already scoring more, blocking more shots, shooting a high percentage, and is currently sporting one of the highest PERs in NBA history. All at age 21. I think my brain just broke.
Stats, photos, and other shit courtesy of:
http://grantland.com/features/the-controversial-life-career-memphis-grizzlies-zach-randolph/
http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/results/top100/_/year/2015
http://www.basketball-reference.com/
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