Trade Talk: Ball vs. Reid

I believe the Hornets got the best of this trade, because at least their strategy is theoretically discernible.  But as for the T-Wolves, I can’t imagine why they would trade Reid for Ball, besides future draft picks, unless the goal is to sell more tickets.

BYE, BYE BALL

I totally understand why Charlotte traded ‘Melo.  Under his leadership, which lasted over half a decade, they haven’t really accomplished shit in terms of actually winning.  That is up until last season when, after the All-Star Break, they unexpectedly became competitive, even one of the best teams in the East (during the regular season).  But logically speaking, that wasn’t as much due to Ball, whose been around for a minute, as it was the newer presence of Kon Knueppel.

Having both of them wasn’t the problem in and of itself.  The more outstanding players you have, the better - if they can all get along.  So the real problem was Ball exposing himself as the chuck he is during the postseason.  There's a lot of chucks in the NBA these days.  But in order to rationalize that kind of behavior, year after year, you have to be a really good one, like Luka or Spider.

I don’t feel like looking up stats right now.  But based on what I observed with my own naked eyes, during this postseason it wasn’t that opponents neutralized Knueppel as much as it was him not getting the ball in positions he could score (if at all).  And that’s hella odd considering that, even as a rookie, he’s the team’s most potent offensive threat.

I don’t think his teammates intentionally phased him out(?).  I think it was more like Ball and co. got caught up in the moment, you know, like their first postseason appearance ever and sorta forgot that Kon was even out there.

Kneuppel’s name sounds foreign, but for all intents and purposes, he’s an American whiteboy.  And with that in mind, note that there hasn’t been a dominant American whiteboy in the NBA since Larry Bird, who retired like 40 years ago.  Or another way of putting it is that, you have to actually play team basketball with an American whiteboy by your side, in the very least during the early stages of his career.

But instead, during the postseason the Hornets reverted back to that freestyle, let’s say Black brand of basketball that defined them before Kon’s arrival, and there were a couple of things wrong with that approach.  First and most disrespectfully was the fact that they likely wouldn’t have made the postseason without him.  It was like biting the hand that fed you, so to speak.

And second is that the streetball approach doesn’t result in rings anyway, unless you have the very best athletes on your roster.  Or let me say that the only time it did work (on a championship level) was when Lebron and Wade teamed up, both in their prime and arguably the two most athletic NBAers at the time.  And that’s the reason you see a lot of teams failing these days, including the likes of the Spurs(?).  You’re not likely to win a freestyle battle if the other team is stronger than you.  And meanwhile, NBAers don’t reach their max strength until they start nearing 30.

With that in mind, maybe it would have been better if they traded Ball for a pass-first PG.  But those types of players, especially on the younger side, don’t really exist anymore.  So the next best thing is to adopt more of a positionless style, which makes Reid a perfect fit, since he can do it all.  And I also think Miller will benefit more from organized basketball.  So I’m totally expecting the Hornets to be better next season, i.e. making the Playoffs instead of Play-Ins.

MILES BRIDGES - THE ODD MAN OUT

I found it interesting that the couple of articles I read about the trade seemed to not even mention Miles Bridges, like he doesn’t even exist anymore.  I’ve seen shoutouts to Knueppel and Miller and White and even Charlotte’s C whose name I can’t remember, but nothing of Bridges.  He may not be a borderline allstar anymore, but at the same time, he isn’t a slouch either (though he takes too many jumpshots imo).

I would speculate that domestic violence incident from a couple of years ago is still haunting his career.  In order to come out of some shit like that with your standing unaffected, you have to be an A+ lister, like Tyson for instance.

But that said, as it currently stands, the Hornets have more depth than they’re being recognized for.  The pundits are insinuating that Reid will supplant Bridges.  But what I’m envisioning is something like the two of them starting together.

ODD MAN OUT NUMBER 2: JULIUS RANDLE

It’s hard being a Julius Randle fan, and believe me, I’ve tried.  But after that series against the Spurs, again, who actually knows what’s going on with these players?

When one of your team’s stars suddenly becomes a nonfactor at the most-pivotal point of the season, you know, these guys are professionals, so that shit seems inexplicable or inexcusable.  So yeah, being banished to the Nets feels like a proper punishment for a borderline allstar lacking postseason potency.  But on the low, Randle + Porter Jr. should be one of the better F combinations in the East.

WHAT IS MINNESOTA TRYING TO ACHIEVE?

If you look at Minnesota’s history over the last 10+ years, this hasn’t been a team lacking talent.  They’ve had combinations such as KAT + Wiggins + LaVine, KAT + Wiggins + Butler and KAT + Edwards + Gobert, which are all more or less superteams on paper.

Looking at that sentence, it may seem like KAT was the problem, but keep in mind that he’s moved on to a championship, while the Wolves, this past season, have digressed.  In fact, I would say these last couple of years is the most-balanced roster they’ve had since the early-aughts, and maybe that injury to DiVincenzo was more significant than most of us realize(?).

In any event, if we were to single out an individual opponent who cost the Wolves their season, that of course would be Wemby.  So if he’s your biggest problem, why would you trade Naz Reid - the one player on your roster closest to Victor’s height/weight(?) - for a PG?

Granted, San Antonio’s Gs also outplayed those of Minnesota.  But even if Ball + Edwards + Dosunmu are able to outplay Castle + Fox + Harper, who’s going to guard Wemby?  Gobert may have had his moments but obviously is too old to hang with Victor for an entire series.  And that’s not an insult, because who can defend him one-on-one anyway?

So I would imagine, I mean I don’t know.  Minnesota is one of those organizations that you always hear about having an (overly-)expensive roster.  But I would imagine, since they got rid of both Reid and Randle, that they’re in the market for a 4, someone who could actually help against Victor.  And that would most logically be Mitchell Robinson, a free agent who, in the Wemby Era, I would imagine is the hottest commodity this offseason, even moreso than the likes of Lebron or whoever else is available.

All of that considered, I would speculate that this move on the part of Minnesota is more about selling tickets than winning a championship.  You know, if you can’t bring home the ring, at least be popular.  And now the T-wolves are definitely must watch - that is until Ball and/or Edwards inevitably gets hurt.

CONCLUSION

I wouldn’t call this past season a failure for Minnesota because, even at full strength, there’s no guarantee they would have beat the Spurs.  So I think with this trade(s), unless they have solid plan to acquire a quality 4, the braintrust sorta panicked.  And what may have compelled them to do so is fear of Edwards demanding out, you know, when you look at the way he behaved in Game 6 vs. the Spurs.

But as for Charlotte, their vision is clearer.  The decision came down to popularity vs. winning, and they chose the latter.  Or maybe, they’re able to perceive that as a team, nothing makes you more popular than actually winning.  The second half of last season must’ve felt really refreshing, finally winning for a change, and they want to build on that instead of once again fizzling out.  Sometimes, it isn’t losing as much as it is the way you lose.

Quitting NBA Cold Turkey

I think after this season, I'm finally going to quit watching the NBA and subsequently working on this blog.  I pride myself on being a guru.  But I can't be a guru when (#1) I don't watch full games; (#2) there is widespread rigging going on, or (#3) the public is under the perception that there's widespread rigging going on.

When I first started beefing about funny sh*t happening in NBA games, I felt like I was the only one.  But now, I see that to the contrary, those kinda conspiracy theories are common on YouTube.

The reason I inserted the above clip is because, in my last post, I praised De'Aaron Fox.  I made those praises based on highlights.  The highlights from Game 4, the way I interpreted them, depicts Fox as like the best Spurs' player down the stretch.

But the clip above clearly proves otherwise, that his inner Shemp rather came out.  And it just gets to a point where it's like, damn.

The caveat though?  That was a damn good show, one that has already been cemented as one of the top five sports' plays in New York history(!).  And we've already spoken about this at NBA Inception, that in the world of entertainment, nothing beats a well-written script - that you can't have a movie for instance where Tom Cruise loses at the end.

There we are, watching the WWF, knowing that it's fake AF but still, solid family fun.  And maybe it'll all balance in the end anyway.

After initially watching (the highlights from) Game 3, I was under the impression that it was rigged in San Antonio's favor.  Also, the way the Knicks came out totally flat in Game 4, like Brunson not even shooting in the first quarter and shit like that, I thought that was pretty weird also.

And it's like, I just can't take it anymore.  I'm not condemning the NBA for putting on a good show.  The show better be good when the average ticket price is $5k(!).  But I can't embrace this shit like, you know what I mean?  If this is what's truly going down, then it's only a matter of time before scripts reach Harlem Globetrotters' proportions.

CONCLUSION

The NBA couldn't let down all those celebrities at MSG.  But it's like 'which way did he go, which way did he go?'  It's starting to feel like, if one game is rigged for the Spurs and the other for the Knicks, then doesn't all the rigging just eventually balance?  But still it's like, yeah, I hope I can go cold turkey this time.

Shoutout to Wemby

A couple of years ago, I was on the verge of quitting the NBA.  I've now been a fan for over 30 years and, besides the rigging, after awhile you get tired of the redundancy.

But what I've come to realize, via my affinity for Wemby, is that the NBA truly is a fan-driven league.  Who's more important, the players or the organization?  When it comes to filling seats, definitely the players.

I'd venture to say that you'd be hard-pressed to find a fan who can name even one or two NBA owners.  An owner would have to be akin to a reality TV star to be known to the general public.  And no, I'm not talking about those minority celebrity types like Jay-Z or A-Rod.  I mean the big dawgs, like Cuban or Dolan.

In fact, the reason I started watching the NBA to begin with, back in '91, was due to the rise of Micheal Jordan.  You know, you see dude everywhere, selling Gatorade and sneakers and shit, and after awhile wand to see what the hype is about.  Then, it's up to the player to deliver.  And deliver he did, time and time again.

Since then, there's been quite a few must-watch players - Lebron, Kyrie, Luka and so many others I can't mention here but most notably, imo, Shaq and Curry.  Also, let's not forget Vinsanity.  Hard to believe that there was a time when he was more popular, in (American) basketball circles, than even Iverson, Kobe or MJ himself(!).  Granted, that was during Jordan's stint with the Wizards.  But still, Carter is an interesting case study.  I can't think of any other NBA superstar who went from A+ lister to obscurity, you know, like ever.

So anyway, the point I wanted to get at is it being Wemby, more than anyone else, who made me not quit the NBA.  And you know, let's be honest - it isn't only about skill.  There's a lot of skilled players out there who never even made an All-Star Game.

Also, whereas novelty (such as being dumb tall, super athletic, etc.) really helps a player's popularity, with Wemby it isn't all about that either.  As I stated before (and later found out that Shaq said the same thing), Bol Bol was actually like a pre-Wemby.  He's likewise tall AF yet, unlike any 7-footer that came before him, had the agility and skillset of a 2guard.

And that us brings to the third and arguably most important factor ultimately attributing to superstardom, the thing that made MJ an icon while conversely leading to Vince disappearing from the spotlight, why Bol Bol never got the flowers he deserved.  And that, dear reader, is likability or, let's say within the context of professional sports, marketability.  Lebron, Kobe and I would even venture to say Steph, no superstar since MJ has a mug as likable as Wemby.  It looks almost like someone slapped a kid's head on a 7-foot body.

And let me repeat - likability matters.  Let's go back to the Big Diesel for instance, you know, who the powers-that-be helped win two of those first three championships.

There was a time when he was perhaps the most hostile player in the league, which totally isn't fair when you're also the biggest and strongest.  But still, fans loved him.  He was one of the NBA's very first reality TV stars, in a manner of speaking.  And you know, even though he may not have had the top-selling jersey or whatever and only won one MVP(!) in his career, people loving you definitely matters when, you know, it's time to rig games and shit like that.

So now you have Wemby, who's not only dominant but also has the most-marketable face of a superstar since Jordan.  Even if not this year, I think it's safe to say that, barring serious injury, t's only a matter of time before he wins a championship. 

And you know, it's not only about skill, dominance or rigging.  Fixing games isn't the only way superstars receive favor.  There's also the team itself become more popular, being able to finagle its way to a superior roster.

You see how the Spurs landed De'Aaron Fox, who appears to be just about the only player on the team who isn't adversely affected by the Knicks' defense.  And as I pointed out in the last post, San Antonio, win or lose at this point, has some work to do this offseason.  You see that last play of Game 4, when Anunoby was able to crash the boards despite there being three Spurs' players underneath the basket.  Dudes needs somebody to hold down the middle while Wemby is out on the perimeter, trying to block jumpshots(!) and shit like that.

CONCLUSION

Thank you, Victor, for re-piquing my interest in the NBA - not only your height + skill but also making it such that dudes have to respect the post again.  I was also tired of all of that threepoint shit.  But please, San Antonio, get son some backup downlow and, if you lose, don't try to blame it on Castle since, as a 2guard, you shouldn't really expect him to be like your second-best post player.

Yes, it is super exciting that the Knicks appear to be on the verge of winning a championship (and would be even moreso if they won at MSG).  But the biggest draw of this series, honestly, is Wembanyama.