And Daniels? I can understand why a team like the Pacers would decide not to pick up his $7.5 million option. Not in this economy, not with the team sometimes struggling to pull in five-figure crowds. But to pull Marquis Daniels for either a $1.8 million contract, or a sign-and-trade with Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine?
This is huge.
Honestly, 25 teams could use a Marquis Daniels, and a team that is 13 months removed from a championship just picked him up. You have to appreciate that. And while Daniels hasn't built upon what was a very promising rookie campaign in 2003-04, the guy can play. He has all sorts of little tricks defensively, he can work from two positions, he can shoot, he can shoot on the break, and he can really get into the lane. He's essentially a mini-version of another rookie on the 2003-04 Dallas Mavericks - Josh Howard(notes). At, what, one-sixth the price?
--YAHOO
Speaking of love, Red's Army has a good piece about how the league is flabbergasted over the Rasheed Wallace signing. I must admit, if KG's knee is healthy, there is no way to fully gauge the impact Sheed will have. Did Bill Russell have another Bill Russell coming off the bench behind him? How about Wilt? Kareem? You could say the best example would be Parish and Walton, but even that comparison is a bit off-center, as Walton's health usually limited his number of minutes to less than 20, and old Mountain Man couldn't hoist a shot from more than 15-feet, and even those shots (and it kills me to criticize my dog) were butt ugly.
Showing posts with label Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Show all posts
7.20.2009
7.04.2009
Celtics' Cachet Being Tested Again
CACHET (ca·chet)
Pronunciation: \ka-shā\ Function: noun Etymology: French, from cacher Date: circa 1639
(1)an indication of approval carrying great prestige; (2) a characteristic feature or quality conferring prestige. PRESTIGE
Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, after they had retired for the game, both confessed that early during their playing careers they held a deep admiration for the Boston Celtics organization, Red Auerbach, and Bill Russell. The measure of the Celtics’ cachet was not limited to the two greatest big men of their era. Respect for the green was widespread among most, if not all, NBA players.
Celtics' fans figured that the Celtics' brand carried great weight well into the 1980s. After all, every where Larry Bird and company went they played to a full house and were treated like rock stars. But something happened to the Celtics' brand along the way. It lost some of its luster. In 1989, the Celtics' first round pick from the previous season, Brian Shaw, bolted the team to play for a then-unknown European team in
The Barry nose-snubbing is often forgotten by those claiming that the Celtics had not lost their appeal in general, but only their appeal to black players, since Barry is white. No, something more was going on than a simple matter of race. Perhaps it was the elevation of agents into a more influential decision-making role or perhaps players were becoming more selfish. Whatever, the number of professional basketball players expressing reluctance to play for the Celtics has only grown over the last 17 years.
So it should come as no surprise that 35-year-old Rasheed Wallace, presented by the Celtics with a two-year (and, according to some reports, a three-year) contract for the full MLE, has asked for a week to make a decision. And like KG, Sheed's initial reaction to playing for Boston was a knee-jerk NOOOO!
Still, I struggle with Celtics' star having fallen this far.
The Celtics are less than thirteen months removed from a winning a championship in dominating fashion, and currently boast three of the biggest names in the business, not to mention one of the best point guards in the league. They are coached by a man whom players love to play for. The roster includes one of Sheed’s best friends. No other team is likely to offer more money or a longer contract than the Celtics have offered (if you believe the reports of the three-year offer), and, anyway, no one in the Wallace entourage is claiming that money or contract-length will dictate his decision.
So color me frustrated with Wallace’s lack of excitement over the Celtics’ interest. Or maybe I should just chill. After all, even Bill Walton called Jerry West right before he called Red Auerbach after Walton first became a free agent in 1985.
4.05.2008
Speaking of Wizards, What about the One from Westwood...
The Wizard's Wisdom
John Wooden was known as the "Wizard of Westwood," and he conducted himself much differently from many of today's coaches. He didn't pace the sideline in an expensive suit, eager to bend a ref's ear. He didn't give motivational speeches before a big game. Instead, Wooden sat stoically on the bench, with his trademark rolled program in hand.
Wooden's team played in the Final Four for the first time in 1962. In the succeeding years, his UCLA Bruins would reach the Final Four nearly a dozen more times, winning 10 national titles in the process. Nobody in today's game has come close to that standard.
Much of Wooden's genius happened on the practice court, away from the cameras and large crowds. Bill Walton, one of his star players, remembered UCLA practices as high-paced sessions peppered with such maxims from Wooden as:
*"Never mistake activity for achievement."
*"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."
*"Discipline yourself and others won't need to."
Years later, Walton found himself writing those same lines on his kids' lunch bags before sending them off to school.
A soft-spoken man with deep religious beliefs, Wooden believed that he had a responsibility to teach his players more than the pick-and-roll or how to solve a full-court press. In his Pyramid of Success, he lists such attributes as poise, team spirit, self-control, friendship, loyalty and enthusiasm.
He was intent on passing along those to his players as well.
"Coach taught us self-discipline," wrote Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, another UCLA star and Hall of Famer. "To this day I can see my coach, calm and confident, twisting a game program between his hands, showing that he shared the players' excitement."
Wooden once told National Public Radio: "I seldom was ever off my seat on the bench during the game. I'd tell them, 'Don't look over at me. I prepared you during the week. Now, do your job.'"
John Wooden was known as the "Wizard of Westwood," and he conducted himself much differently from many of today's coaches. He didn't pace the sideline in an expensive suit, eager to bend a ref's ear. He didn't give motivational speeches before a big game. Instead, Wooden sat stoically on the bench, with his trademark rolled program in hand.
Wooden's team played in the Final Four for the first time in 1962. In the succeeding years, his UCLA Bruins would reach the Final Four nearly a dozen more times, winning 10 national titles in the process. Nobody in today's game has come close to that standard.
Much of Wooden's genius happened on the practice court, away from the cameras and large crowds. Bill Walton, one of his star players, remembered UCLA practices as high-paced sessions peppered with such maxims from Wooden as:
*"Never mistake activity for achievement."
*"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."
*"Discipline yourself and others won't need to."
Years later, Walton found himself writing those same lines on his kids' lunch bags before sending them off to school.
A soft-spoken man with deep religious beliefs, Wooden believed that he had a responsibility to teach his players more than the pick-and-roll or how to solve a full-court press. In his Pyramid of Success, he lists such attributes as poise, team spirit, self-control, friendship, loyalty and enthusiasm.
He was intent on passing along those to his players as well.
"Coach taught us self-discipline," wrote Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, another UCLA star and Hall of Famer. "To this day I can see my coach, calm and confident, twisting a game program between his hands, showing that he shared the players' excitement."
Wooden once told National Public Radio: "I seldom was ever off my seat on the bench during the game. I'd tell them, 'Don't look over at me. I prepared you during the week. Now, do your job.'"
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