A couple of weeks back, we drafted Donté Greene in a mock draft conducted by our BFFs at WWOD. Somewhat more recently, Donté Greene had his summer-league debut. Donté Greene went for 40. Donté Greene was five for ten from beyond the arc. He also had a nasty alley oop and at least one tasty dime. Pretty much all of it was captured in this grainy footage. We’ve seen or heard some of the other reports. But, feeling smug for tonight at least, let’s conduct a wee poll.
So. Who’s having the best time in Vegas? The best Summer League ever? Well, on the hardwood at least. Now who? King Marco? Eric Gordon? Anthony Randolph? Or, just perhaps. Our would-be 14, Donté Greene? A couple more worthy Western Conference candidates are there too. As always, comments are encouraged.
When Sacramento King Brad Miller was popped by the NBA the other day, presumably for a third positive marijuana test, he was lucky. There’s an old adage in show biz. Save your biggest mistakes for Friday, when everyone stops paying attention for three days. But still, how is it that the one-time cornrow sympathizin’, K-Fed resemblin’ Miller barely managed to raise an eyebrow with his getting suspended for the first five games of the season outside of Sactown? Sure, there was the obligatory press conference, replete with standard-issue forced apology and (presumably) contrite staring at the mic stand. But where was the media outrage that was heaped on Josh Howard just a few short weeks ago just for saying that he likes to smoke during the off season? There are lots of comments on Ziller’s blog, but that’s about it.
Personally, if I was staring down free agency and Sacramento came a-callin’, proximity to Humboldt County is one of the region’s primary positive attributes. Or at least it would be if I was gonna be bored, rich and living in Sacramento. Is it any accident that the ultra-lenient and apparently pretty predictable testing cycle has managed to ensnare three prominent and extremely well compensated Kings in less than a decade? Not a huge secret, but C-Webb and White Chocolate (J-Will) were the others. Miller is the highest paid King on the current roster and if I’m reading the NBAPA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement right, there aren’t many other offenses that would result in this particular suspension. Dude. Who kiped his doobage and zarked him out?
While there doesn’t seem to be much outrage, since apparently that is reserved only for cats that happen to be a bit mo’ browner, outspoken and (ahem) discreet, should Kings fans finally decide that they’ve had enough of the demon weed, I’m sure that they can get Scott Pollard back on the cheap. Riiiggghhhtttt. Otherwise, expect more of same. The aggregated powers will continue to prove to be too great. Relative proximity to the world’s great big bong stoker of a forest, abundantly available medical-MJ cards, and not that much to do? For super-rich 24 year olds? Please.
Just call Josh and learn how to beat the test already,
Turman
PS. Brad, I’m sorry. I don’t care that you got popped. But I still had to put you on cornrow blast. I’ve been waiting. Pollard didn’t even go there. You stepped across the, er, “Feder” line.
PPS. Dude, wait. Explain. Why does the league care about this again? It’s not exactly a performance enhancer. And with some of the chronic injuries these cats deal with, I’m sure that at least one or two could consume legally, right? At least in Cali. Comments?
At 3:45 pm on July 9th, 2008, sports writer and blogger Tim Kawakami died in a classic battle of man versus machine. After 7 straight days of blogging fueled by Sparks Malt Liquor and a lingering contempt for Baron Davis, Tim Kawakami wrote his final post. Leading up to his battle with the NBA Trade Machine, Kawakami was feeling confident practicing his skills in the areas of capalogy, salaryology, and luxury taxology by speculating on various free agent scenarios for the Golden State Warriors. He considered his mid-level exception assesment of unrestricted free agent Gordan Giricek as one of his finest moments.
It was after The Golden State Warriors lost their bid for Elton Brand and committed to sign another former Clipper, Corey Maggette, that Kawakami decided he was ready to take on The Trade Machine. He’s always considered himself an amateur in the world of tradeology, and its more complex cousin, “sign and tradeology,” but the Sparks were kicking in and, in his own words, he was “feeling unstoppable.” Kawakami came out swinging:
“If the Warriors offered Al Harrington and a protected future No. 1 pick, and took back Crawford and the horrible contract of Zach Randolph, would the Knicks bite?”
The Trade Machine, emotionless, responded “This Trade Failed!” Kawakami didn’t give up and he returned with yet another trade, and another, and another. And on it went like this for 37 hours straight. In the end, like a blogging John Henry, Kawakami finally defeated the formidable Machine of NBA Trades with an unexpected trade of Kosta Perovic and C.J. Watson to The Denver Nuggest for Linas Kleiza. Kawakami collapsed, face down on his blood spattered keyboard. His last words were “Now, finally, the Warriors can have the rebounding, defensive-minded forward with a mid-range jumper that they so desperately need.”
Services will be hosted July 15th on blogspot.com. TK RIP
If you’re not hip to Matt Steinmetz’s Warriors blog, consider yourself, well, hipped. I think you’ll appreciate his candor and balanced perspective. Particularly considering he’s a paid broadcast commentator for the Warriors.
I think this perspective is well demonstrated in his latest post. A post in which he spells out the Warriors poor management of the Baron situation and then their lame desperate moves. In no uncertain terms mind you. So, thanks “Steinmeezy” for having the onions to call ‘em how you see ‘em.
On another note, his previous post on the Warriors Summer League roster caught my eye. Given the circumstances, it was a welcome distraction from the swirl around BD. But mainly because of the two invitees noted in the post.
DeMarcus Nelson and Mykal Riley, both guards averaging 14-15 ppg and coming off very solid senior years at well respected programs (Duke and Alabama, respectively).
A few things stood out.
First, DeMarcus is from Oakland. He plays great defense and is an exceptional rebounder for his size. Not to mention holding the all-time scoring record for a California High Schooler (with 3,462 points).
Mykal hits 3-pointers at a furious rate (over 43%) and played for Alabama’s Crimson Tide, name-checked in one of my favorite Steely Dan tracks, “Deacon Blues.”
Finally, after his observation (weakness be damned), Matt Steinmetz declared, “Riley will make the team.”
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.
A couple of days ago I got an email blast from Yelp.com that featured an interview with Baron Davis. Other then the prerequisite “what are you doing these days” line of questioning, BD also ran down some of his favorite spots for eats and threads.
The man is most certainly loyal to his neighborhood. In fact, most all of his picks are a stones throw from his own SOMA headquarters. And yes, Yelp’s corporate HQ too. Which might explain the “surprise visit”.
For those interested in following in the steps of our whiskered Warrior, his short list includes; Umbria, Ozumo, Boulevard, Nieman and Barneys. Oh, and don’t forget to try Boom Dizzle’s favorite pregame meal at Zebulon. You shouldn’t have much trouble finding the selection, as it has been aptly named the #5.
Gd.
PS. Most of the FTB crew work in a few block radius too, so you may recognize the Zebulon interior from a previous post.
FTB’s own Michael Marshall, aka Mike Meezy, is a name you might not know. What you do know is his voice. With his voice gracing both the seminal hip-hop soul progenitor, “Rumors,” and the smoketastic “I Got 5 on It,” Mike is a true Bay Area original.
Ordinarily, this is where I’d drop his full bio, but the song pretty much speaks for itself. What I can do is let you know that it’s available on iTunes for those who’ve got a (very reasonable) $9.99 on it. I can also speak to the breadth and depth of the effort, which as a whole seems to create a sort of new genre. I’m at a loss to name it, but it certainly seems to be a natural extension of his career to date. Hip-hop soul is growing up. And as he has been doing since day one, Michael Marshall is helping to chart the course.
Beginning this Thursday, June 19th (Juneteenth) the LA Film Fest kicks off. For 10 days, the LA area will play host to a plethora of fine films from across the globe. If you happen to be anywhere near the California Plaza on Friday, June 27th, you can check out the Baron Davis production, “Made in America.” And for free no less. That’s some good karma right there.
The evening that the FTB crew filmed “Contract Karma,” Matthew, DT and I rolled by Baron’s fundraiser for his non-profit TeamPlay. There, Baron previewed scenes from the documentary. While the the film puts a spotlight on the harsh realities of gang life, he asked the attendees to look beyond the forlorn stories and see opportunities. Opportunities to provide mentorship, guidance and hope. To reach back, and break the cycle of despair.
BD was quick to remind the crowd that it was these type of opportunities that opened the door for his many achievements. In fact, Baron established both TeamPlay and his basketball camps (Rising Stars of America) for just this purpose.
If you can’t make the Film Fest in LaLa, no need to fret. Matthew will be following up with details on when the film will be showing on a screen near you.
A couple weeks ago, the FTB crew was musing aloud about the status of Baron Davis’ contract negotiations. And by musing aloud, I mean arguing. As with most of our staff meetings, adult beverages were involved and opinions were flowing like wine.
An unnamed New York tabloid had reported on the possibility—however, improbable—of Baron Davis becoming a New York Knick. In turn, this was parroted onward and upward in the local media. As we considered some of the possibilities out there for our avatar and namesake, one additional possibility dawned on me.
Why not just ask him for an interview? Baron’s pretty public facing as athlebrities go. What could it hurt to ask? Of course, if he said “yes” some diplomacy would have to be exercised. Nothing too specific numerically, of course. But, Boom willing, we could at least confirm that he’s digging the Bay Area and wants to stick around.
And so it was. We asked. And we got our interview. And then we made a bigger ask. A challenge, actually. We figured that the whole deal-making process needed an infusion of karma. Contract talks are a natural pain point for GM, athlete and agent alike, so why not go out and try to tip the great karmic scales in the sky a bit. Be the change, as it were.
Boom was with it.
The results are above, in convenient, linkable YouTube format. Hopefully, this is our little karmic gift to the process as well. Good luck to all at the table. Breathe deeply and work together in good faith. And as for us, we’ll be releasing segments from the sit-down interview over the coming weeks.
In victory,
Daniel Turman, on behalf of all of us at www.fearthebeard.org
PS. The long list of shout outs and credits to follow. Read More »
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