I’m sure that there will be plenty of takes on this news in the days, weeks and months to come, so I’ll keep this short. Well, sort of short. This news managed to catch even the most astute NBA watchers by surprise, so there really isn’t that much data out there. Sure, it’s also possible that plenty of folks have a whole lot more of an idea what’s going on than we do, but not many of them have spoken yet. But having rapidly ingested the few early news reports on the subject of Baron going all Kenny Rodgers on the Dubs, I’m rapidly coming to a somewhat unlikely understanding. Acceptance even. Apparently, BD wants the ball in his hands. Just as he wants the ball when the clock is winding down in the fourth, he also wants to hold the power to make or miss in the matter of contract negotiations.
Any number of factors could have influenced the decision. Perhaps, there is a deal in place that none of us are aware of yet. And it doesn’t seem like too much of a reach to suggest that the decision by Clipper Elton Brand to opt out of his own deal may have opened a door for the LA-raised Davis that was too hard to ignore as well. But regardless of those two possibilities, it does seem that the main issue at hand is that Davis wants to ink a long-term deal while he still has the benefit of an 82-game healthy streak in his pocket. This streak goes nicely along side his status as the face of the Warriors return to prominence and as the team’s best player. I wouldn’t want to see him go, but I can see the wisdom of the Chronicle’s Gwen Knapp in saluting him for having the presence of mind to see all of this with a degree of clarity, as well as the jumbo onions necessary to pull the trigger on opting out.
Last week, Baron Davis was participating in Steve Nash’s “Showdown in Chinatown” back in the NYC. In the “beautiful game,” that is. That would be futbol. While BD picked up a couple of handball violations, apparently, he was also doing his thing. Video to follow after the jump. Our man on the ground was our hitherto unknown operative Stan Park, who captured BD in this moment of grace on the pitch and forwarded the pic. We’re not sure why BD plays in spectacles and a cap, much less cleat-less OG Reebok pumps, given the insurance considerations, but WTF, it’s summer. Even Lloyd’s of London takes a day off every so often (we hope). But yeah, with $100M on the pitch, including global futbol superstar Thierry Henry (fresh off his Euro-cup “own goal” for France’s Les Blues no doubt necessitating a vacation), summer is in officially in full swing.
Meanwhile, back in Tha Bay, FTB was taking on all comers at Saturday’s Panhandle 3-on-3 in the city. With Baron unavailable, we had to settle for the lefty stylings of stand-in David Singleton. He performed capably, but Meschery and Turman were only adequate in a reputation-damaging loss to a team known only as “Hubris.” At least the $60 went to a good cause, in this case the Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco. Plus, we got to holler at Bay Legend (and card-carrying 50 Greatest member) Nate Thurmond in the process. So, while we are getting back to our grind tonight night at the Berkeley YMCA and BD is doing whatever BD do, FTB encourages you to put on those PF Flyers and get in the game. Summer is for getting outside and making it happen.
“Solitude is dangerous to reason, without being favorable to virtue…Remember that the solitary mortal is certainly luxurious, probably superstitious, and possibly mad.”
- Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784
Chris Cohan has been called the anti-Mark Cuban, not because he isn’t a complete tool like Cuban, but because, unlike Cuban, he’s totally invisible and doesn’t open his wallet with generous abandon for his team. As for Cohan being a tool, I wouldn’t know because I’ve never met him, nor have I ever seen him at a game, and most likely, neither have you (Franklin Mueli is more visible). Cohan’s reclusive nature can’t be a good thing for the Warriors organization and especially not now. Granted, if I was the Warriors owner from 1995-2006 I wouldn’t want to show my face in public either. But last year something happened, and it involved Cohan finally doing something right - not being himself.
There is a particular sense of terror we Warriors fans are feeling this off-season. It’s like when your alcoholic dad got sober for a couple of years, but you still thought that any day could be the day he falls off the wagon again. It’s hard to trust that things are actually going to be different, right? I’m half expecting next week to find out that Mullin and Nellie quit and Baron was traded for Stephon Marbury.
Let’s call it the “Cohan Effect.” The only way to avoid the Cohan Effect is to open up the decision making process a bit, even to the fans. Cohan has finally gained our very tenuous trust. If he wants us fans to keep coming to the games in record numbers and buying his poorly-branded schwag, he must hear us out. In this era, the fans have all the power. There are a zillion other distractions out there and we’re not going to wait three or four years to see if a “project player” becomes a star. This is the season that Cohan proves himself as an owner, as a caretaker of our city’s basketball team and a part of the public trust. He can’t do this in isolation. If he closes his wallet, closes his mind, and closes the gates again, we just might have to storm the castle and take this team for ourselves. Look no further than Green Bay, Wisconsin to see how it’s done. Power to the people!
So, um, okay. Let me see. A tall, skinny (sorry DT, “long”), athletic lefty with a wide array of skills. An inside-out threat who can effectively post up on the block or take his defender out on the perimeter. Runs the floor extremely well.
And the hits keep on coming. As most of you know, a couple of weeks ago we had a chance to sit down with Baron Davis for an interview. We also somewhat famously challenged him to take his love for Tha Bay out onto the street with us in the name of Contract Karma. While we rushed that segment through the editing room, during the course of our time he also graciously answered a fairly wide range of questions.
This installment pertains to his upcoming Oakland-based youth basketball camp, Rising Stars of America, as well as his personal history and ambitions with regard to organized ball. I even managed to shoehorn in a question about the 70s sitcom “The White Shadow,” but you’ll have to make it to the end for that chestnut. With the camp slated to begin in only a couple of short weeks, visit the RSOA site for additional details and registration information if you’ve got a teenager longing to wear “dribble goggles” and run agility drills.
And with the 14th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors select forward Donté Greene from Syracuse. This was our choice in the NBA blogger mock draft being conducted by the fine folks over at What Would Oakley Do? They got bloggers representing each team in the NBA to draft according to their team’s presumed interest. Full results can be seen over there sometime soon. Theirs is a New York Knickerbockers-centric organization, so stop by with some sympathy. Now that we got our guy, and we all actually really do hope this is who we get, I can confess another secret. We passed on a deal that would have sent a 26-year-old Zach Randolph to the Dubs. I will not reveal any more about the deal than that. Here’s the info that I passed along to WWOD?
Our Pick. Donté Greene
Why? The Dubs need somebody who can get the job done in the paint on both ends of the floor. Greene is a tremendous athlete with nice upside, especially given the peculiar demands of Nellieball. He’s developing a tough inside game and he has the athleticism and length to be a difference maker on defense. He’s only 6′9″, but he’s got a standing reach of 9′0″; that helps a lot in a league where leaving your feet means a foul and some of Nelson’s well-charted rookie pine. Plus, he can run. And he’s got a nice stroke.
Who we don’t want? The other reason we want Greene is because we don’t want to draft another guy named Kosta to play for the Bakersfield Jam next season. Although we would love to hear Jim Barnett’s first “Kosta to Kosta” joke sometime in the middle of the third quarter of the first pre-season game, having two dudes named Kosta on the squad would feel kinda strange. Like bathing in borscht.
Who am I? I am Daniel Turman. I wrote this on the subway. Guthrie Dolin and Matthew Meschery also contributed to this logic and our decision.
Since opening in 1925, Kezar Stadium has been home field for a plethora of local schools, including Santa Clara, USF and, St. Mary’s. It was also home to BOTH the 49ers (from 1946 to 1970) and, yes, the Raiders (for their inaugural season in 1960).
It’s been a featured location in Dirty Harry films and a concert pavilion for musical legends, such as Led Zeppelin, Tower of Power and the Grateful Dead. To name a few.
Recently, the Kez has served home to the Dragons, our very own MML team (Major League Lacrosse), the Golden Gate Women’s Soccer League and the beloved “Turkey Bowl” (the high school football city championship).
Now, this rich and storied venue, on the edge of Golden Gate Park, will play host to The Professor, Escalade, Go Get It, and the rest of the AND1’s Mixtape tour posse.
When: Friday, June 27th at 7:00 PM
Where: Kezar Pavilion, 755 Stanyan St
Tickets: $10 at the door or at and1.com.
Some of the Key-Czar Players:
Fig. A. The 1956 East-West Shrine Game
Fig. B. The Robert Planet, sportin’ extra tight jeans.
Fig. C. The Street-Ballers, fool.
Gd.
PS. Thanks to Wikipedia for historic facts assist.
5. RZA, “Digi Snacks”: Alright, the RZA isn’t really rocking the full beard these days (though he has in the past), but, c’mon, it’s The RZA. The album drops on June 26th, NBA draft day. I take that as an omen that this draft will be good for the Warriors. If only the Warriors had the branding sensibilities of the Wu Tang Clan. Imagine instead of “Thunder” and those weak-ass pizza hurling dudes, we had some kind of elite fighting force of Shaolin monks? And our logo? Look no further than The Wu for a far superior use of the letter W in logo form. They have their own wu-shaped “Wucontroller” for the Playstation for Chrissakes!
4. The Black Keys, “Attack and Release”: Akron Ohio’s The Black Keys are a 1/2 bearded duo, however Danger Mouse produced their new record, and so I’m counting his beard to give them majority beard status. I recommend checking out their video for the song “Strange Times.” It involves Laser Tag. If I was a kid and I saw some freaky bearded man coming at me in one of those black-lit Laser Tag mazes, I’d piss myself. Game over.
3. Fleet Foxes, “Fleet Foxes”: I don’t know much about Fleet Foxes other than that they’re from Seattle and they have beards. I also know I like their name, Fleet Foxes. It makes me realize what a dumb-ass tradition English Fox Hunting is, and how one day I hope foxes everywhere get their revenge. As for the music, it reminds me of the summer I spent with Luke Walton playing bongos to old Joni Mitchell records, and just being free.
2. The Roots, “Rising Down”: I think Rick Rubin and Questlove need to have a “beard-off” for most iconic beard in hip hop. Rick’s beard was way more bad-ass when he was in NY producing hip hop and metal bands. When he moved to LA and became a tofu-eating, meditating, Neil Diamond-producing record executive, it kind of lost it’s power for me. So that’s why I’m voting for Questlove in said beard-off. Plus his afro is as equally iconic. The balding Rubin can’t play on both ends of the court, ya dig?
1. My Morning Jacket, “Evil Urges”: Don’t be deceived by the evolving sound of this band nor shifting hair length of lead singer Jim James. His beard has remained surprisingly consistent over the years. With a boyish face, James looks like a young Civil War soldier before his innocence has been slashed away by the scythe of war. For the full summer experience, go to Thrifty and rent a convertible PT Cruiser and drive to Ukiah listening to the song “I’m Amazed” on repeat. You’ll feel like Luke Walton the first time he took mushrooms with his dad in ‘78.
Late word trumps all, I guess. This just in off the wire: comedian George Denis Patrick Carlin passed away Sunday, at age 71, of heart failure.
No less an authority than Comedy Central named him the second-greatest stand-up comic in history, right behind Richard Pryor. He was the first fricking host of Saturday Night Live, fer Chrissakes. Moreover, his “seven dirty words” routine influenced a Supreme Court decision that ripples on to this day with regard to what constitues the nature of obscenity on the public airwaves. This may seem like a bit of a departure for FTB, but bear with me. There aren’t enough cynics in the world to keep the rest of us in line. Trust me on this. His acerbic wit and cultural currency will be hard to replace.
But in the spirit of the departed, enjoy a classic riff of his from a decade or so back. It’s a typically caustic take on environmentalism, the Earth and our self-aggrandizing proposition for saving it. I hope and believe that he’s wrong, but every so often, when the systems of life seem ready to spit me back into the ether like so many bad atoms, this routine comes back to me and I smile. So, Monday willing, sit back for about seven minutes and savor the cleansing power of comedic genius. Or, just put on some headphones, minimize the screen and rock it background style. Either way, when it’s done, spill some coffee out on the cubicle carpet for the evil genius of George Carlin.
Turman
PS. He got damn near ran off of late-night TV back in the day (when he was a regular on The Tonight Show) for rocking some serious bearditude.
When the Lakers were casting for their “It’s A Small World” international roster, they ineptly left out a representative from the Nation of Thizzlam, and now look who’s ghostriding WW2 amphibious transport vehicles in a victory parade. The Celtics are world champions. The Celtics have a high percentage of East Bay personnel on their team. Therefore, more East Bay means more success. But I challenge any NBA team to take such a syllogism to it’s logical Hyphy conclusion. If you have just one dude on your team with highlighted dreads and a mouth full of gold, I’d say that’s the equivalent of three Leon Powes.
In this year’s draft, any team that wants to get a huge vertical leap on the rest of the league, might want to consider McClymond’s Damon Powell. Sure he’s only a High School junior and should probably stay in Mr. Sneed’s class another year, but damn, this kid’s going to be a beast. I mean, if he can dunk over four teenagers, he can definitely smash on Pau Gasol. Check out the above video of Powell dominating this year’s Sac vs. Bay Dunk Contest. Powell pretty much dumps on all these cats, including UCLA-bound, 408 reppin’ Drew Gordon.
Of course, I would be remiss to not point out the risks in drafting East Bay-centric - you might get J. Kidd, but you might also end up with J.R. Rider. The key with the Oakland intangible is you want to make sure your recruit is doin’ too much on the court and not off. Going 18 Dummy needs to be strictly reserved to the hardwood - Hyphy Basketball 101.
