Off Court Issues - 2015 November

main

NBA News NBA Opinions NBA Rumors

Brooklyn Nets – The Darkest Timeline

November 25, 2015 — by Erich Schubert — 0

Brooklyn_Nets_Boston_Celtics_Danny_Ainge_Draft_Picks_Barclays_Center_Billy_King-960x600.png

Most basketball fans already know the story, in 2013 the Brooklyn Nets traded five players and three first round draft picks, plus the right to swap first round picks in 2017, for Celtics veterans Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry. Mikhail Prokhorov, owner of the Brooklyn Nets and relative newcomer to the NBA scene, was looking to make a splash and push deeper into the Playoffs, maybe even enter into the realm of contention. It was never to be. The Nets roster on paper had all the appearance of a legit squad, but sporting fiends age and injury soon lurched into play. Brooklyn was beleaguered back to reality as the second and subsequent first round of the Playoffs were all to be experienced during Pierce and Garnett’s tenure in Kings County. The trade was a bitter pill for Celtics fans as well, losing two legendary players, who had at long last brought a banner back to Boston, at the time of the trade could not be recognized as anything other than a dismal announcement.

But that’s the past. Looking back with the eagle like vision of hindsight, there is zero debate as to which franchise got the better of the deal, The Nets are now a clear lottery team and the Celtics are a young team on the rise with an excellent coach. These are the details, we all know them. The question is, has there even been a sports franchise with more of a bleak horizon than the current Brooklyn Nets?

I’m unsure the optical device required to properly perceive the Nets plight. Is there a microscope or some futuristic night vision goggle that can locate and observe futility? For clarity purposes, lets bullet point some of the line items of particular importance in regards to the near Shakespearian tragedy that is the Nets.

1. The Nets are a really bad team: Sure, Brooklyn just came off a home win against the villainous Celtics, but a change in trajectory that does not make. The Nets are a bottom three team in the NBA with the Lakers and the scattered shards of basketball souls making up the 76ers. The silver lining of the woeful season Brooklyn is about to undergo, is typically the high quality draft pick at the end of the season. As we’ve discussed, that’s not coming… Not for a long time.

2. The Nets wont have their first round draft pick until 2019: Boston, a likely Playoff team, will undoubtedly exercise the right to swap picks next year, meaning the Nets will be selecting later in the first round than their record reflects. It will be four years before the Nets will be capable of drafting a player indicative of their quality of play, which with no young, incoming talent, should be quite poor.

3. The Nets are currently over the salary limit: At least this debacle is costing them quite a bit of money! With the rising cap coming, Brooklyn should have some money to spend. Bad news, so does everyone else and a team with no hope of winning doesn’t usually draw free agency interest.

4. The Cetlcis are a division rival with the luxury of making the Playoffs while someone else does the tanking for them: <– That.

Analogies, I love analogies, there is no better way to assess and relate to a scenario than to equate it to another. With this appreciation in hand, I quested to find the perfect comparison for the Nets dire fate. When the Nets hand over their likely lottery draft pick to Boston this year, its as if you’re building a house (A Mansion if it ends up being Ben Simmons), then after all your hard work, questioning of self and acceptance of defeat, some guy you hate is gonna move in and live there. There will be no gratitude, no graciousness, any semblance of a thank you will be in jest, at your expense. When its finally over and you gear up to start building again, you get to build an equally large extension on the house for that same guy. Then you do it again.

With an itchy trigger finger and a lust for winning, the Brooklyn Nets did what so many talk radio fans of any sport have warned against for decades; they mortgaged their future for a shortened window at success. The Nets didn’t strike out when they swung for the fences, they came to the plate with no bat and a took a 90 mph fastball to the nuts. But we can’t just kick ’em while there down… For four years. We need to offer a solution. Sadly, there is no positive result from this basketball ice age in New York City’s largest borough, the only option, barring a superstar free agent’s questionable interest in the franchsie, is to get even worse. The Nets must go the Hinkie route, a horrible, sloppily paved roadway littered with the corpses of a forgotten fanbase, saddled upon a barren, desolate landscape. Brooklyn must shed off any player capable of returning a first round pick, they can not go four years asking their fans to play the waiting game in a new market and arena. Brooke Lopez could do it, Thad Young might, but there is a further downside (This is when the creepy fortune teller alerts you to the perils of your newfound powers), to do so only makes the Celtics stronger. Boston wants nothing more than for the Nets to be bad, but the reality is Brooklyn is already going to have to suck it up for the next four years, they might as well suck a little more.

NBA Opinions Pop Culture

Tales from AAU

November 5, 2015 — by Erich Schubert — 3

Perspiration pools on the hardwood, a scattered seascape generated from every effort of the court inhabitants. Miles of wind sprints, fingertips worn bare from countless free throws, a near ambidextrousness acquired from on and off hand dribbling drills, and a razor sharpened will to to win ingrained into the spirit of the athlete himself. The work required to take your skills to the next level is not to be taken lightly, this is not a game for the casual participant. A nigh insurmountable workload must be approached with enthusiasm and fortitude, to do otherwise is to shortchange the game. So often we perceive the peak athletic displays of the NBA and neglect to acknowledge or imagine, that the very basketball greatness we lay witness to, once started as raw young men looking to excel at the sport they loved.

The paths leading to basketball’s summit are entirely unique, as are the hurdles to be dispatched along the way, however, there is no bypassing struggle, adversity and unending training as you proceed. The NBA is a league that is becoming increasingly populated with the finest overseas talent, basketball has no bias, if you can ball, you can ball. In the United States the road to the league, though still nebulous, can appear slightly less murky. For decades the tradition has been clearly defined, succeed in high school, then college, then enter the league as a drafted player. Now more than ever there is a side route that, if to be considered a serious prospect, must be undertaken. Enter the world of AAU athletics. To the uninformed, AAU basketball is a tryout league that coexists with high school athletics. Long story short, the best high school players are placed together on a team to travel and play other teams made up of the best of the best in that region. Recently, former and current NBA players have voiced their dislike and also come to the defense of the AAU system. As with most situations, the greatest perspective is often provided by an individual within the confines of the organization itself.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Christopher Noah Weaver, a fourteen year old, 6’4 center who plays varsity at Woodbridge Senior High School in Northern Virginia. Chris is keen on utilizing his hook shot while always maintaining a focus on defensive responsibilities and rebounding, earning him the nickname the “Janitor,” for his penchant for cleaning up the boards. With these attributes, coupled with a positive attitude and a willingness to work hard and carry himself with the maturity of someone far beyond his actual years, its no wonder, after a long suiting by his current team, Chris was invited to play AAU without trying out. Take a look below as Chris steals the ball and finishes in transition.

Chris tells me that this year he is expected to play a primarily interior role and that as the years progress he will move away from the basket and truly find his range, a similar trend to the one we are seeing at the pro level. There is also a great talent increase when Chris transitions to his AAU team, he is now playing with the best players in his age group and at times some of the top prospects in the country, unsurprisingly their skill level is inspiring. As Chris says, “The way they play is just amazing, its like the game seems so easy for them.”

Christopher Noah Weaver dunks with his left hand for his AAU team. — Chris Weaver finishing with his left hand.

The “Janitor” does say that initially there was some difficulty in finding a balance between his high school and AAU careers, but quality of coaching in both systems has aided him in steadying the ship. Since the seasons do not overlap, Chris is able to entirely divide his attention and properly train for both leagues and receive coaching from multiple sources, a new experience for him, which he assures me is now a benefit. Chris’ all around game should flourish as he develops, he tells me there is a tendency to fill up the stat sheet as young players try to get noticed and potentially earn further playing time. Chris also states that he owes much of his athletic evolution and high value of defense to his high school coach, Coach Porcha. In his own words, “Coach Porcha has taught me so much about basketball and he will get me to be a successful young man on the court and off the court.”

Its not challenging to fathom that one of the hardships placed upon young athletes is the necessity of travel to engage their rivals. Chris gathers great joy from these experiences, he capitalizes on this downtime and uses it as an opportunity to gel as a unit and to create the chemistry that every successful team so desperately requires. As he says, “With the team having each others back we will be unstoppable.” Despite all this, these are young men playing their sport at their highest level, the beckoning of the NBA can be heard at any level. As Chris says, “There is always talk about making it to the big league, but most of it is just talk, people think/want it to just happen overnight but are not willing to put the work in.” This is where Chris stays grounded. His best critic, he tells me, “I need to be a versatile player, slow the game down to my pace.” Keeping his nose to the grindstone, Chris hits the weights daily, and tirelessly works on his game, ignoring the noise and placing a scholarship as his highest current goal. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have lofty aspirations, and so he should, with a solid game and a solid head on his shoulders remember his words, “My goal is to make it to the NBA and just make people smile, and the biggest thing is to give back to my family, my community,and the people that got me where i need to be.”

Good luck Janitor. Off Court Issues will be sure to keep you updated on Chris Weaver’s progress.