Off Court Issues - 2016 January

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The Lebronfather Calls In The Hit

January 25, 2016 — by Erich Schubert — 0

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Poor David Blatt, he never really had a chance. Hard to believe that a sophomore coach, with the best record in his conference and a likely Finals participant, coming off of a Finals appearance in his rookie season, just got fired before the All Star break. Yet, such is the case. If we are to take Lebron at his word, he was not consulted on the decision and he has never actually vocalized his perceived displeasure with his former head coach. However, the writing was on the wall and it read, “I hate David Blatt!” signed Lebron James, 2016. Body language alone was more than enough of an indicator as to the King of Cleveland’s obvious indignation.

Blatt was the right man for the wrong job. He was originally brought in to shepherd a team of young up=and-comers as they blossomed into an eventual team, chock full of delightful exuberance. Once they learned to understand and love their changing bodies and abilities, they would set out to sow their wild oats. Didn’t happen. In 2014 Lebron realized his then Miami Heat teammates, were not up to the task of taking on powerhouse teams like the Spurs at their advanced ages and declining talents. His return to the Cavaliers as Cleveland’s prodigal son was a convenient facade. The story made sense as it was spun. Lebron had studied overseas and learned what it took to be a champion, having received his education, he was fit to return home and bestow the benefits upon his fellow Ohioans. Force a trade here, a max contract there and Lebron was given his team. But all while this was transpiring, there was another course of events taking place in another conference, on another team. The Warriors were forged in the crucible that is the Western Conference, emerging their greatest combatant. Sadly for Lebron, Cleveland’s championship was not to be. A season later, that hasn’t changed.

Yes the Cavaliers are an almost lock to escape the Eastern Conference relatively unscathed. Likely attempting, yet again, to best their Western foe. Predictions in play, they will also probably lose again. The Spurs and the Warriors are that good and they recently showed it by besting the Cavs, the latter in humiliating fashion. Lebron is unquestionably in win-now mode, he is in his thirteenth season and reaching the point of his career when the downslope is within sight. He is indeed past his prime, but remains the second best player in the league, behind Mr. Curry. That is not to say that he is no longer a devastating basketball weapon, anything but, yet the clock continues to tick, as it has done for so many before him. Unwilling to wait and see if his head coach could put it all together and lead them to the promised land, Lebron assuredly made his feelings known in private. He may not have been consulted, but his gigantic fingerprints are all over this.

All time great though he may be, Lebron James has never been a bastion of loyalty and rarely leaves gracefully. Regret is cast aside as are the decimated corpses of the franchises he has left in the lurch, when he and his talents depart for brighter horizons. Cap space and personnel decisions be damned, Lebron rightfully believes his current team is of championship caliber and this, not an opportunity to waste. David Blatt was but a vilified roadblock in the superstar’s eyes and he paid with his employment. On the court Lebron is a coach’s dream come true, on the sideline and in the locker room, not so much. Undermined and undercut, Blatt was a marked man from day one. Cavlier’s owner Dan GIlbert, both financially and emotionally, is fully invested in his current team. He has shown that he will support Lebron and his demands. One wonders though, there simply must be that evil little spark lurking in the shadows of the billionaire’s brain, he’s done it to me before, would he do it again?

Over the cap, overpaid players with difficult salaries to move via trade, leaves the Cavs with little room for upward change. The team is what it is and it doesn’t appear to be better than the top two, maybe three teams in the west. When Lebron signed his new deal, he opted for a shorter term contract. He did so to allow himself the ability to sign a larger, longer deal when the salary cap rises next year. What that boils down to is, he has a player option for next year and could theoretically leave after this season. What if he did it? Admittedly its difficult to imagine, but when Lebron leaves there is little regard for those left behind. He scorches the earth and salts the land, hopefully for Gilbert and the Cavs, Blatt wasn’t the first of many victims.

Pop Culture Style

The Jordan 30 Is Here

January 18, 2016 — by Erich Schubert — 0

Any worthy sneaker head undoubtedly possesses a closet, room, or separate structure in Nick Young’s case, housing a wide variety of stylish footwear on display and occasionally read for wear. Typically, numerous brands are represented, however, there is one that is unlike the others. Jordan Brand reigns supreme with most sneaker aficionados. Often the release of a new design is anticipated with the most baited of breath and subsequent multi-block lines, leaving parents questioning their children’s life choices. This year is no different, except it is. 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the coveted shoe and following on the heels of a fan favorite, the Jordan XX9 (Which is hot fire, shown two pics down), the unveiling of the this year’s iteration had a little more hype than usual. With much fanfare and celebration, the design has been released.

As usual, we’ll review the shoe on style alone, realistically that’s all that can currently be done, since the sneaker has yet to arrive in stores. At first glance, the similarity between this shoe and the previous version is quite evident. It appears as if the 30 is not the revolutionary change many expected, rather an evolution of the design that so many enjoyed.

Is that a good choice? It’s definitely a safe choice, or at least it was likely perceived to be, but does it neglect the nature of the anniversary and seminal moment in the brand’s existence? To say that fans of the line were expecting a breath of fresh air is an understatement. To mark the third decade of the basketball footwear’s supremacy with a continuation of a previous version could likely be viewed as a misstep. Nonetheless, let’s get to the details.

The colorway is again a safe entry. Black and white rarely offer much in the way of stylistic roadblocks, the shoe will match most uniforms and apparel with relative ease. Surely there will be a later offering featuring a black and red color palette, a Jordan Brand staple. Yet it is surprising to see the color red completely vacant. The eye tends to lean to the back of the shoe, focussing on the hard slashes emerging from the rear. They appear to create the shape of a net, an obvious visual cue to the sport they are associated with. It is when viewed from behind that the intent unfolds.

The hard, slashing lines are the extension of the “XXX” emblazoned on the back of the sneaker, the Roman numeral translation of the shoe’s anniversary. Sure, that’s the intent, but it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing delivery. We can agree that the triple “X” serving as a graphical merging of numbering and the visual of the net, is a neat idea, just not flawlessly executed. It looks like the first sketch, rough, but purposeful, that after months of revisions was reverted back to when no greater option could be created. As this truly is the key design element, the success of the shoe really falls upon it’s shoulders. The rest of the shoe is a serviceable presentation, no major errors or standouts, unfortunately shining the spotlight on the questionable graphical direction. Risky waters to say the least.

Oh but there is one feature not to be overlooked. Did you see it? Take a closer look.

That miniature nebula, that minute window into the vast expanse of cosmic wonderment is an absolute thing of beauty. The Jordan Brand sneaker is not the only relevant anniversary to the greatest basketball player of all time this year. Twenty years ago a little movie titled “Space Jam” hit theaters. A cinematic tour de force though it may not be, we all love it. The subtle design note, simply must be a hat tip to the film, but leaves me wondering what the Jordan 30 could have been, had this been pushed further. Couldn’t that pattern have been implemented more prominently? I’m sure there was a fear of overdoing it, that perhaps a wink is better than a stare, this is often the case in the design process. But this is the Jordan 30. Time to go all out. Hopefully there will be a full on, spaced out version of the 30, there has to be. Until then we are left with a perfectly fine, nice looking, but underwhelming result.