Outside The NBA

Saying goodbye in kind

True landmark moments don’t come around too often. Events that change the course of history or an entire peoples perception or realities simply CAN’T come around too often, we’d be living in a world with constant upheaval if life changed at the drop of a hat. Yesterday’s LeBronathon was one of those moments. No, LeBron announcing he was going to the Heat on ESPN didn’t alter the course of history (as far as we know anyways), but is anyone ever going to look at sports and athletes the same way again? The idea that modern sports fandom is ultimately nothing more than rooting for laundry isn’t a new concept but neither has it ever been so plain to see, dangled mockingly in our faces. What happened? Yesterday LeBron James did his best to murder sports in the state of Ohio. His home state, the state his friends and his family live it. The state he grew up in. (more…)

What a tweet.

A broken hand, a dislocated elbow, and a sprained wrist. A season ended terribly, and terribly prematurely. A group of teammates who must go on without him, possessing heart, hustle, and skill, but now in need of a low post presence and defensive anchor. This is what Andrew Bogut is dealing with. (more…)

Sports is a funny thing. It’s like real life, only it’s not real life. We are drawn to sports because it is a microcosm for life. We get to play voyeur and watch a person develop from a kid to a man to a grown-ass man. We see him learn the ways of the world on his journey from being a wide-eyed rookie to a hardened, smart veteran. The other thing we like about sports is, unlike real life, there are clear winners and losers. (more…)

Pat Sullivan/AP

We know Houston’s trade deadline deal was very, very good. Few would argue that Carl Landry is a better fit than Kevin Martin and it’s not hard to understand the value of a 22-year-old big man with potential and future first-round picks, especially considering the track record of the man who has the power to use them.

It’s important to note, though, that Daryl Morey would have done the Landry-Martin swap even if he had not received all those goodies from the Knicks. If we’re to believe the reports that surfaced late last Tuesday night, the Rockets were prepared to receive Sergio Rodriguez and Kenny Thomas (and their expiring deals) from Sacramento to complete the trade if New York was not going to be involved. (more…)

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July 3, 2009, Adrian Wojnarowski:

“Turkoglu had agreed on a five-year, $50 million deal with the Blazers, but changed his mind and is headed for a five-year, $53 million deal with the Raptors. Toronto would have to renounce three free agents – Shawn Marion, Carlos Delfino and Anthony Parker – to create the cap space for Turkoglu.”

This is a surprise, and I’m not happy. It’s not that Turkoglu is a bad player; it’s that I think this is a bad signing. He’s 30 already, was never really worth $10 million a year, and the thought of renouncing all the free agents and losing the right to use the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions makes me sick. (more…)

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Oh, Gilbert, Gilbert, Gilbert. With the news of what happened on both the team charter on that fateful Dec. 19 or what happened in the locker room on Dec. 21 changing almost hourly at this point, no-one really knows what to make of the whole situation. Least of all James (Ed.: No arguments here). However, since white people everywhere seem to be reacting with revulsion and abject horror to the entire situation, I figured I would weigh in here. (more…)

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Allen Iverson vs. Denver, Dec. 07, 2009: 11 Pts, 5 Reb, 6 Ast.

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FreeDarko: “Pro basketball is not 22 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast.”

See that up there – Iverson kissing the floor? That’s one hell of a moment. It’s a moment I thought I’d never see and I’ll cherish it forever. And I know I’m not alone. (more…)

I tried this weekly recap thing last week, using Twitter as a guide. This week, I’m at it again. Same idea, but I’m going to use video as a guide. These clips are mostly from a few fantastic YouTube uploaders, but there are a couple of NBA.com videos in here too. This won’t be quite as good as actually watching the games as they happen, but it should at least give you an idea of what you’re missing. (more…)

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

If you read my post yesterday, you can see that I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking about Allen Iverson. I’m quite obviously rooting for his career to continue and, eventually, end on a high note. But I see the writing on the wall for one of the worst retirements ever from a Hall Of Fame-caliber player. It’s become increasingly difficult to defend him, but I recently tried to do just that in a conversation with one of my Outside The NBA colleagues. I wasn’t planning to post this anywhere while we were having the debate, but I thought it was an interesting look at two different perspectives on the situation. (more…)

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

Apologies if this is a bit jumbled – I’m not going to pretend I have all the answers (no pun intended, seriously) here. This is me trying to make sense of where Allen Iverson’s career is right now. It’s a bit difficult, as I’ve been watching the guy since I was 10. His draft class is a special one to me – I’m a part of the generation that grew up while these guys were maturing as professionals. For most of my life as a basketball fan, Iverson was a lock to be an All-Star and he was respected as one of the best players in the game. He was polarizing at first, as the old guard wasn’t fond of, um, I don’t know what exactly. The crossovers, the tattoos, the shot attempts? All I know is that my dad didn’t like him. But after a few years, things changed. He won the MVP, he led his team to the finals, and people like my dad changed their minds. My theory: when you watched the man play at his peak, it was downright impossible to hate him. To see a guy that small take that many hits, play through that many injuries, hit that many big shots… You had no choice but to love his game.

Now, though, things have changed. Drastically. (more…)