Summer bleeds into fall
The offseason isn't won and lost only on the transactions wire. Left without the protection of PR departments, players and coaches often reveal sides of themselves that will shape the way they -- and their teammates -- approach the coming season. That is, of course, if summer workouts leave them a season ahead at all.
Put aside, for a moment, the innuendos and suspicions that will shadow the league in the wake of the Tim Donaghy betting scandal, and consider five other offseason stories that will have a big impact on the 2007-08 season.
1. Kobe asks out
Until he is traded or publicly rescinds his trade demand, Kobe Bryant's mind-set will hang like a sword of Damocles over every missed shot, every bad pass, every play the Los Angeles Lakers run. Hasn't that already been the case, you might ask? Well, yes, but now that Kobe Bryant has gone public with his dissatisfaction over the team around him, everything the Los Angeles Lakers do will be parsed as to how it will affect Kobe's desire to stay or leave.
Will Kobe pine for Jason Kidd every time Andrew Bynum (whom the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly balked at trading for the Nets' point guard last season) fumbles a pass? Will Kobe Bryant whisper sweet nothings into Bulls coach Scott Skiles' ear when the Los Angeles Lakers visit Chicago if Lamar Odom doesn't please Kobe again? In sum, Kobe's disenchantment is a recipe for the Los Angeles Lakers to play in fear each game, hoping to please No. 24. That may satisfy a marketing department that can't afford to be without Kobe, but it could poison a locker room that may find it can't afford to be with him.
2. Elton Brand makes plans for next year
It's not often that a team can pretty much write off its season before it starts, but with Elton Brand sidelined until at least February (assuming an optimistic timeline) after rupturing his left Achilles tendon in a workout in early August, the Los Angeles Clippers can start planning their draft lottery party now.
Elton Brand isn't flashy and doesn't take over many games, but he provides the type of consistent production that at least makes the Los Angeles Clippers a threat to win each night, a foundation the Corey Maggettes and Sam Cassells and Cuttino Mobleys can then -- in theory -- help translate into a W. Without Elton Brand around to match up with Tim Duncan or Carlos Boozer on the court, or to offer a steady presence in a locker room full of roiling emotions, the Los Angeles Clippers may be a mutiny waiting to happen. That is, unless coach Mike Dunleavy can spur Chris Kaman to be a force and swallows his ego enough to let Corey Maggette loose on the offensive end. Given how poorly those initiatives played out last season, Dunleavy may want to get a life jacket ready -- fast.
3. Nellie's contract standoff
Why, oh why, must the Warriors give a guy whose motivation has sometimes come into question since he left Golden State the first time a reason to mail in his job -- or walk away from it entirely -- by engaging him in a contract showdown? Didn't last season's surprising run to the second round of the playoffs fill owner Chris Cohan's coffers enough to open his checkbook wide enough for the extra $4 million guaranteed over the next two seasons Nelson reportedly is seeking? After all, Nelson is the first coach to take the Warriors to the playoffs since ... Nelson coached the club in 1994.
Nellie not only has turned the Warriors into a playoff team, but he's done so by winning over a locker room filled with players (cough -- Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson -- cough) who have made careers out of tuning out their coaches. That's no easy feat, as most of the eight Warriors coaches between Nelson tenures can attest. Those dark days, filled with an average of 54 losses a season (minus the lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign), aren't that far in the past. And by playing chicken with a coach who has proved willing to walk before, they could be part of Golden State's present.
4. Has Marbury gone off the deep end?
From his surreal responses on a New York sports talk show to his ill-thought-out defense of Michael Vick in a different TV interview to his declaration that he plans to play in Italy after his current contract expires in two years, the Knicks have reason to worry where star point guard Stephon Marbury's head is.
That isn't a promising sign for a player who didn't adjust to his marginalization in the Knicks' offense last year with the best results -- and he'll have to continue do so again this season with Zach Randolph's arrival. Having Isiah Thomas still on the bench will help, although the Knicks' coach may not have his head on the court either, pending the results of the sexual harassment case he will be fighting possibly until the start of training camp. Of course, if Thomas is found guilty, some observers have speculated that Marbury may well lose his biggest supporter to the firing line or league suspension.
If New York hopes to make the jump into the playoffs, it will need Marbury to command a club long on talent but short on motivation at times. Unfortunately, this summer has shown that Marbury has command of little but his ability to confound.
5. The Sonics let the cat out of the bag
The only surprising part of Seattle co-owner Aubrey McClendon's statement to the Oklahoma City Journal that "we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come [to Oklahoma City]" was how someone sharp enough to become chief executive of an energy company could make such a stupid remark. True, only the most wide-eyed observer could think a group from Oklahoma City would purchase the Sonics to keep them in Seattle. But only a fool tells the world that the moving vans are warming up before the team has cut ties with a fan base it may be stuck with for the next three seasons (the Sonics' KeyArena lease runs through 2010). That doesn't make for robust ticket sales, nor does it make for a strong sales pitch to taxpayers from whom you are trying to extract a new arena. Unless ... you don't intend to stay in Seattle ...
Truth be told, the Sonics' move has been all but a done deal ever since the Oklahoma City group agreed to buy the team from Starbucks founder Howard Schultz in July 2006. But why antagonize a city you're about to leave behind? With few notable names to cheer for beyond Kevin Durant, fans may not be shy in demonstrating their disgust for their soon-to-be ex-team, which may lead to a downright ugly atmosphere once the plan to move becomes reality. And for that, the Sonics' ownership -- and the NBA itself -- will have only themselves to blame.
See more at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com
|
