JONES ON THE NBA

Nate Jones and Money Players

2008-07-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

I Just want to announce to everyone (all 1.5 readers, that is) that I'll be a part of the blogging tag team at Marc Isenberg's Money Players Blog. As many of you know, Marc's book, Money Players, is the definitive sports business guide for professional athletes. Marc and I both have a passion for educating athletes about the business of sports, so when he asked me if I was up for contributing to the Money Players Blog, I didn't hesitate to accept the offer. By now many of you are probably very familiar with my basketball business rants. From now on, you'll find most of those at the Money Players Blog. I'm still going to keep JONES ON THE NBA going, but its focus will almost exclusively be on player analysis, trades, and team analysis. There will still be some social commentary as well, but if you come here for sports business, the Money Players Blog should be your new destination. Thanks for the support!

Former Cal-State Fullerton Guard, Bobby Brown is Finally Getting the Attention He Deserves

2008-07-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

I hate to say I told you so….

For almost two years I’ve been telling anyone who would listen that former Cal-State Fullerton guard, Bobby Brown could play basketball. I’ve had numerous posts here and at Fanhouse about Bobby’s ability, yet for some reason NBA teams didn’t see what I was seeing as he went undrafted in 2007. Well things have changed a bit since last season. Bobby absolutely put on a show at the Vegas summer league this month, outplaying first round picks Michael Conley Jr., George Hill, and D.J. Augustin in head to head match ups. The funny thing is that he has been outplaying more hyped point guards since college. It's about time, people started noticing what I've been noticing for years!

I see him as a Leandro Barbosa/Monta Ellis combo guard. He’s got more range on his jump shot than Ellis and can finish at the rim better than Barbosa. The one knock on him (just like with Barbosa and Ellis) was that he wasn’t that great of a playmaker coming out of school. Well, that seems to no longer be a concern as observers have commented that he is a very adequate playmaker (See: here, here, and here).

Anyhow, I was lucky enough to get a chance to interview Bobby prior to the 2007 draft. He was just such a good kid, and I’m glad he’s finally getting the attention he deserves. Take a look at the interview when you have a chance.

UPDATE: And now he's officially a member of the Sacramento Kings. Congrats, Bobby!

The Top NBA Player Marketing Figures for 2008

2008-06-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

A few months back I made a call for the creation of an NBA marketing database. Places like Draft Express and Hoopshype have done a wonderful job of putting together NBA player salary databases and agent databases. However, no one has put together a database to let us know what players made in marketing dollars and which agents were negotiating those deals for them. After looking over SI's 2008 Fortunate 50, I realized that I could probably put together a pretty accurate list of who makes what for their clients, as SI breaks down their list in terms of marketing and team contract salary.

There obviously are some players that make enough marketing dollars to make it on to this list that might be missing. The reason for this is that to make the list you needed to make a total of $15,450,000 in salary and endorsements. A guy like Gilbert Arenas-- who has a few marketing deals--might have a few million in endorsements, but isn't on my list because his total in salary and endorsements was under the $15,450,000 of the 50th ranked player on SI's list (Super Bowl MVP, Eli Manning). I could speculate on how much he makes from endorsements, but for accuracy's sake, I'm only placing numbers on here that have been researched and confirmed by the team that puts together SI's fortunate 50. Major marketable players that aren't on my list but are likely making $100K+ per year in endorsement agreements includes Gilbert Arenas, Tony Parker, Brandon Roy, Yi Jianlian, Greg Oden, Chauncey Billups, Steve Nash, Rip Hamilton, Monta Ellis, and Chris Paul.

Also, I'm not sure how accurate SI's numbers are for each player and will note that they say they put together the endorsement figures of everyone on their list through estimates from Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, other sports-marketing executives and analysts, and agents. If they are relying on agents alone for some of these figures, I know that there is a possibility that some of the numbers are inflated. However, knowing the effort that SI puts into this, I highly doubt that they would just rely on the agent of the particular player they are reporting marketing numbers on for accurate information without getting some additional confirmation.

In terms of analysis, it's obvious that the notion that a large agency is more capable of negotiating big time marketing deals than a smaller agency is a farce. In particular, two boutique agencies stand out in their marketing efforts.

With their endorsement deals for Dwight Howard (number five on this list) and Kevin Durant (number two on this list) Aaron and Eric Goodwin of Goodwin Sports have shown that they are pretty darn good at negotiating endorsement deals. I mean, the fact that Dwight Howard is making more than Amare Stoudemire in endorsements, when Amare has just as explosive of a game, and has been playing for one of the top teams in the league for the past four seasons tells you all you need to know. They also negotiated the majority of LeBron's current marketing deals. LeBron still makes $18 million per season from the combined $125 million the Goodwin's negotiated for him with Nike and Coke. I know they also negotiated deals with Juice batteries and Upper Deck for LeBron, but those deals might be up by now.

Bill Duffy's boutique agency, BDA Sports has also done pretty well with global icon, Yao Ming pulling in $18 million in endorsements this year, and Carmelo Anthony pulling $9.5 million. Although it must be noted that Anthony parted ways with BDA Sports (for marketing purposes) in March, so some of the money he currently is making, including a reported extension with Nike, might not have been negotiated by Duffy's office.

Either way, it should be noted that both BDA Sports and Goodwin Sports have done a good job securing marketing deals for their clients. Especially considering that neither is backed by a well capitalized conglomerate like WMG, William Morris, CAA, IMG, Octagon, or CSMG.

Guys that should be making more money: Baron Davis and Paul Pierce. Pierce likely will see an endorsement bump after his MVP performance in this years NBA Finals. Baron Davis plays for one of the most exciting teams in the league, is personable and well spoken, and has a game that is very marketable. Yet he's only making $2.5 million per season in endorsements. But then again, he's still making more than Paul Pierce, who has been the best player on one of the most popular teams in the league his entire career.

As mentioned above, Amare Stoudemire should also be making more money. He's played on a team that was the toast of the league for three straight seasons, and has one of the most explosive, marketable games in the entire league. He pretty much makes Sports Center every night his Suns play during the season, yet he only made $2.5 million in endorsements this season.

I was also a bit surprised that Dwyane Wade wasn't at the top of this list. I mean, for as much as he's on television endorsing products, you would figure he'd be neck and neck with LeBron in terms of endorsement dollars. But of course, I have to keep in mind that LeBron got the jump of his wave of hype coming out of high school that D-Wade didn't have.

The fact that Tim Duncan makes $3.5 million in endorsements was also very surprising. I can't ever think of any kid in an urban area purchasing a particular product because Tim Duncan endorses it. I just don't see Tim Duncan's neutral/robotic public persona resonating with target consumers.

Shaq's a great example of a guy that understood marketing and business really well before he came into the league. According to SI's 1993 article entitled "Triumph of the Swoosh", Shaq was so sure of his marketing strategy that he yawned during Nike's presentation to him:

"Only six or seven college basketball players are invited to formally tour the World Campus each year and witness a Nike presentation, and only Shaquille O'Neal, who was a star at LSU when he look his tour last year, ever showed up in Reebok gear and yawned during the sports marketing team's elaborate spiel. O'Neal had told various agents and marketing types long before leaving college that he had his own ideas about his image and endorsement future. He had no intention of competing with Jordan, Barkley and the others already at Nike for money and air-time. So he signed a $15 million, five-year deal with the R company and went on to sell the Shaq umbrella marketing concept to other corporations for millions more."

People talk about Kobe Bryant being dead in the marketing world, but he's still number four in total marketing dollars pulled in this year. As I've said before, you can't say that a guy who is first or second in jersey sales every season, whose team is first or second in road attendance every season, and whose team is near the top in league television ratings every season is not marketable. His partnership with Zambezi Ink is also doing wonders for his image, as their viral marketing campaigns have been sensational.

Lastly, I feel sorry for whoever is paying Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury a combine $3.4 million in endorsements per season. That's a ton of money to be paying to two guys that didn't even play last season and likely don't hold a special place in any NBA fan's heart.

If you have any questions or suggestions for making this list more accurate, please email me at natetijion [at] gmail.com.

Let's Make a Deal: How Memphis Should React After the Mayo Trade

2008-06-27T02:52:00.000-07:00

I love this trade for Memphis. They got a guy that is going to be a very good NBA player and will fit in perfectly with their up tempo style of play. The only thing now is that they have to trade one of their point guards. Currently they have three (and if you count Mayo as a point they have four). They are in desperate need of power forward and center help. I think they should call up the Knicks and initiate a trade for David Lee. I would try and move Marco Jaric and Mike Conley to New York for David Lee and the expiring contract of Malik Rose. This would give the Knicks the point guard they covet and allow the Grizzlies to shed more salary and get the power forward they desperately need.

The Grizzlies would then have a starting line up of:

F David Lee

F Rudy Gay

C Darko Milicic

G OJ Mayo

G Javaris Crittenton

The back court of Mayo and Crittenton would be amazing. I know a lot of people don’t know much about Crittenton, but I promise you the dude is a stud. Although it was necessary to move him for Pau Gasol, I was sad to see him get traded from the Lakers because of all the flashes of greatness he would show whenever he was on the floor. Crittenton is 6’5” and quick as hell off of the dribble. He can shoot from all over the floor and finish at the rim in traffic (Video Proof from the pre-season and the regular season). Combine him with the 6’4” Mayo’s ability to shoot the ball, get in the lane, and play pressure defense and you have a scary back court.

Their front court of David Lee and Rudy Gay would be able to run up and down the floor with Mayo and Crittenton. Gay is already on his way to being an all-star, and David Lee might be the perfect complimentary uptempo power forward.

There have been rumblings that David Lee’s reps told the Grizzlies not to even consider making a trade for him because he doesn’t want to play there. But if I’m the Grizzlies, I ignore this and trade for him anyway. A lot of players say they don’t want to go certain places and then end up loving the place once they are traded there. Plus the Grizzlies would hold the chip of having his restricted free agent rights. I’m sure if the Grizzlies traded for Lee and then offered him a lucrative extension, some of his reps concerns about the Grizzlies would go out the window.

If the Grizzlies made this deal, they would still have Kyle Lowry on the bench. Lowry would work out well for them as a back up point guard. Hakim Warrick would also be providing extra punch off of the bench. Add the possibility of Marc Gasol joining the team and their trade for Kansas power forward Darrell Arthur, and you would have the foundation for a very good future. And you’d also have a team that would be more suited for playing Marc Iavaroni’s up tempo style of basketball. Hopefully Chris Wallace reads this.

Wrapping Up the 2008 Draft and Looking Forward to 2009

2008-06-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

Honestly, this was the first draft in years that I wasn't that excited to watch. In fact, I left my house half way through the first round to go play basketball with some friends for a few hours. I love Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, OJ Mayo, Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley. But for some reason, Rose is the only guy that gets me really excited for next season (I mean, if you've seen this video you know what I'm talking about). They'll all be solid basketball players, but I don't know if doubt any of them will end up on that Kobe, LeBron, CP3 Level. The shoe companies usually know what's up, and the fact that no one is getting big shoe money shows that they don't think anyone in this class is going to be that transcendent on the court.

I personally think OJ Mayo will end up being the best out of all of them. He's a great shooter, a feisty defender and can play both guard positions. His work ethic is also supposed to be off the charts. He's also a leader who has been in the spotlight his entire life. I think he's going to be a combination of Brandon Roy and Chauncey Billups in the league (More Chauncey than Roy in my eyes). Don't be surprised if he ends up with Rookie of the Year next year.

Beasley will also be a very good player. But for some reason, I still have my doubts about him. I have a little bit of a concern about his drive. I know he tore up the NCAA, but I just don't get the feeling that he wants to be the best ever. I know Rose and Mayo want to be the best, but am not sold that Beasley does. It's one thing to tear up the NCAA, but in the NBA the Power Forward position with Garnett, Duncan, Boozer, Nowitzki, Gasol, Aldridge, Brand, West, STAT, is not a cake walk. When I look at B-Easy, I usually get a Derek Coleman vibe from him (Check this DC video and tell me you don't see the similarities between the two). I think he'll be a great scorer, a solid rebounder, and entertaining as hell off the court (Just peep his ESPN clips), but just like Riles, I still have my doubts. Maybe he needs to hang out with his boy Kevin Durant a bit more (There's no doubt in my mind that Durant will one day be on the level that Kobe, LeBron and CP3 are currently at. He's got all the tools, plus a drive that is absolutely out of this world).

I also am a fan of Russell Westbrook, but worry about how long it is going to take him to develop. At his peak he can be a combination of Gilbert Arenas on offense and Rajon Rondo/Lindsey Hunter on defense. But on the low end, he could end up being a more athletic, slightly bigger Earl Watson.

Kevin Love is going to be a solid NBA player too. But I just never got up about watching him play this past year. Westbrook was the main reason that I watched UCLA games, not Love. I also am concerned about how he is going to fair against NBA power forwards. Can you imagine Love trying to guard Amare Stoudemire?

Like OJ Mayo, I think Rose has a drive to be the best. My main concern with him is the fact that he is playing in Chicago. I know that Scott Skiles is not there any more, but the Bulls have a reputation for playing uninspiring offense. Rose needs to be let loose. Hopefully he'll be allowed to do that. Another concern I have for Rose is the Bulls lack of a front line. Rose needs a great screen and roll partner in order to be great in this league. I mean, outside of Jason Kidd and Magic Johnson, most of the top point guards of the last thirty years have lived and died with the pick and roll and had solid guys to run the play with. Imagine if CP3 didn't have Chandler and David West to run two man game plays with. He'd still be great, but he definitely wouldn't be playing at the level he played last season. I think Rose is a taller, more explosive Rod Strickland/Kevin Johnson hybrid (Peep the Kevin Johnson and Rod Strickland throw back mixes).

Anyhow, I have to admit that I am a bit more excited for next year's draft. Mainly because of these two guys:

Brandon Jennings:

Demar Derozan:

I think both Demar and Brandon will be the most entertaining ball players to come into the league since CP3 in 2005. They'll both be box office, and I guarantee that both of them get at least twice as much endorsement money as any of the kids from this year's draft class. Brandon Jennings is a more explosive, new millennium upgrade of Kenny Anderson (A Kenny Anderson throw back video for your pleasure) and Demar Derozan is the second coming of Vince Carter during his days with the Raptors (Some Vince Carter high school highlights).

What Happens When a Girl Not Named Candace Parker Steps on a Court Full of Guys

2008-06-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

A couple of months back, I showed up at UCLA’s Wooden Center to play basketball with some of my friends at school. Throughout the year we would play pick up games on Fridays, and surprisingly most of the law school guys were pretty good. One of my favorite friend’s to play with from school is this dude named Jamie. He just goes balls out the entire time he’s on the court, running over people, taking charges, getting rebounds, and scoring in traffic. I call him Ginobli (and yell it out the way Charles Barkley does during Inside the NBA) because of how wild he is, but in actuality he plays more like Andres Nocioni and Charles Oakley’s love child.

Anyhow, we completely kill our first few opponents. Mainly because Law School Ginobili is out there completely Bulldozing all of our opponents. If Tommy Heinson was there calling our game, Law School Ginobili would have racked up about 100 Tommy Points by the end of our first few runs. It’s so much fun to play with a player that aggressive…especially when he’s on your team!

The team that steps on the court for the third game has a small tweak. The tweak: One of their players is…gasp…a girl! Immediately I start to get pissed. Not because I know that the girl is playing and I don’t want to play against a girl. It’s because I knew my teammates would go softer because the girl was on the floor. For some reason the girl decides that she wants to guard our most aggressive player. Law School Ginobili’s game is totally predicated on aggression. But I knew there was no way he was going to be aggressive with this young female baller in the same fashion he is against other men. And I just don’t understand it. If a female comes on the court, you should be as aggressive as you normally are. Of course, you don’t want to be the guy that totally takes a girl’s head off, but it’s an insult to the girl you’re playing to give her anything less than your best. The female baller made the choice to come on the court, right? So she obviously wants a good run. So give her one. If she can’t hang, she’ll either figure out ways to get better or move down to lower competition. But when you totally change up your game to accommodate a female baller, you’re doing nothing but hurting them.

Long story short, Law School Ginobili ends up making me look clairvoyant by playing less aggressive than he normally does. Of course we end up losing and I walk off kind of annoyed. I immediately thought to myself “I can’t wait to get home and blog about this”.

While I’m on the sidelines, the female baller walks up to us and says that she’s conducting research for an article she’s trying to prepare for the L.A. Times on how men react when a woman comes on the floor. How Ironic! She asks Law Cchool Ginobili if he played any softer because she was out there. Of course he says no, but it’s obvious he did play softer. Law School Ginobili usually runs over whoever is guarding him about 10 times per game and blocks the shot of whoever he is guarding about 4 times a game. Yet in this game, he probably did neither of those things to our female baller/L.A. Times journalist. I call him out on his lack of aggression, but he rebuffs me and assures our female baller /journalist friend that he played as hard as he usually would have. What a freaking joke.

So you tell me? Male ballers, how do you usually play when you’re matched up against female competition? Do you think you should go balls out or play less aggressive than normal?

Shawn Marion and Dan Fegan's Big Mistake?

2008-06-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

I respect Dan Fegan for his ability to get big time deals for his players (at least on the team contract side…endorsements are another story). He’s been known for squeezing extra funds out of GMs for guys like Erick Dampier ($13 mil per season), Jason Richardson ($11 mil per season), and Troy Murphy (9.2 mil per season) outrageous over market contracts. That’s probably why he turned down Miami’s three year, $30 mil extension offer to Shawn Marion. I’m sure he thinks that he can get the same over market deal for Marion that he’s gotten for previous clients of much less talent in the past. But what Fegan has failed to realize is that there are two things against such a deal at the moment.

First, Marion is over 30 and coming off his worst season in years. As well, the free agent market has changed. It’s not like in the past where he always had the threat of his clients leaving to another location for more money. This is because there are pretty much no teams in the league with the ability to pay Marion anything more than the mid-level exception of about $5.5 mil per season. No one except the Grizzlies (where Marion is not going to play) and Sixers (Who don’t want a 30+ Marion) have cap room right now. And next year’s market isn’t getting much better.

The only way Fegan could possibly get a deal for more than what Miami was offering is if he was able to force Marion to be traded to another team and then negotiated an extension with his new team. But again, given the fact that Marion is a 30 plus non go to guy it’s going to be hard to get a team to pay him more than $10 Mil per year. Especially when he’s coming off his worst season in years.

However, there is one situation where Shawn Marion would be a perfect fit and might be able to get more than Miami is offering. I’m talking about none other than the Golden State Warriors. Shawn Marion is the perfect four man for the Golden State system. Heck, he would just be reprising the role he played in Phoenix during the D’Antoni years. Plus, Fegan has a history of fleecing Chris Mullin on player extensions (see: Murphy and Richardson). But then again, Chris Mullin has been a much more fiscally responsible GM since his first few years in charger. You’re probably not going to get much more out of him than what Miami was offering. And still, to get Marion to Golden State Fegan would have to convince Miami to trade him there. And I’m not sure Golden State has anything that Miami would really want (other than Monta Ellis…who is not getting traded for anything), so Marion’s best bet might be to take Miami’s $30 mil and call it a day.

Swoosh Dominance: A Quick Quiz About Team USA

2008-06-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

So the Team USA 2008 Men's Olympic Roster has been announced. Can you guess how many non-Nike brand players are on the team?

*"Nike Brand" includes shoe companies that Nike owns.

Sean Combs Gets It!

2008-06-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

The "it" in this case being "Branding". Here's a quote from him in a NY Times article about celebrity product endorsements:

“My brand is rocket fuel. It would take this brand (Ciroc Vodka) 10 years to get to where I can take it in one year,” he says. “I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t want to do just endorsements. I want ownership."

Last fall, Combs created a 50-50 joint venture with Diageo, the spirits giant, for Mr. Combs to be the brand manager of the Ciroc vodka line. He says he made the profit-sharing deal only after refusing to work solely as a pitchman. This is what I meant in my post about athletes trying to take ownership of the profit they generate. Professional athletes that have built strong brands should take notice. Actually, it should be a well branded professional athlete's mentality for everything from investments to endorsement deals. Remember: Take ownership of the revenue that you generate!

It's Still Really Good to Be a Lakers Fan

2008-06-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

Being a Lakers fan means cheering for a team with 14 Championships, appearances in 14 of the last 29 NBA Finals, 8 NBA Championships since 1980, and five Finals apperances since 2000. It's still real good to be a Lakers fan! Especially when you have one of the youngest teams in the league, and are expecting to have possibly the best young big man in the league return to your team next year.

So PJ is Overrated Now?

2008-06-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

After the Lakers defeat at the hands of the Celtics, tons of fans are placing the blame on Phil Jackson. They are calling him things like disinterested and overrated. How in the world do you call Jackson the most overrated coach when he got a Lakers team with basically no playoff experience and no veterans outside of Fisher and Kobe to the NBA Finals when at the start of the year most people thought they wouldn't even make the playoffs at the start of the season? Other than when you get two sure fire All-Stars in the same summer when you already have a great player on your roster (See the Celtics), it usually takes years to build a championship contender. Jackson has developed and built a championship caliber team with inexperienced players that lesser coaches likely wouldn't have been able to get anything out of.

When Jackson came back to the Lakers they were terrible, and he's developed guys like Bynum, Vujacic, Farmar, Turiaf, etc. He also was able to get something out of Odom, who before the Celtics series had a sensational year. After Bynum went down, the Lakers got Gasol at the break, and Jackson was able to integrate him seamlessly. The Lakers finished first in the West and went 12-3 in the Western Conference, with Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and Vladmir Radmanovic playing big time minutes. But after all that good work, people now want to be critical of him for not jumping up and down like a maniac on the sidelines? His style worked for them the entire year, and has worked for him his entire career, but yet he's supposed to just change up in the middle of the Finals? Sports fans today are crazy.

The Lakers failures had more to do with the Lakers youth and inexperience than anything else. But this Lakers whoopin was good for the Lakers young bucks, just like it was good for the Bulls young ones in 88, 89, and 90. So don't blame Jackson for his teams lack of inexperience. Especially when he got them to a place no one expected.

The Curse of #17

2008-06-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

Celtics win number 17 on the 17th of June with their MVP, #34 (Two times 17) going strong and with the Lakers missing their young stud Andrew Bynum (#17). I should have seen it coming. And by the way, this is Phil Jackson’s 17th year as an NBA head coach.

Staples Center is Not a House For Real Lakers Fans

2008-06-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Los Angeles watching the Lakers. There was something about Magic Johnson and Chick Hearn that captured my attention at a very young age. Chick Hearn got you excited about the team as early as the start of training camp. And then Magic Johnson did the job of backing up Chick Hearn’s words of hype with his on the court brilliance. That’s what captured me as a fan. I started watching and listening to basketball broadcasts a ton in the late 80s. By the 1990-91 season, I was to the point where I NEVER missed a Lakers game on KCAL or KLAC (back then my family didn’t have cable, so I had to listen to home games on the radio). This was the best basketball education I could ever receive. Chick Hearn taught me how to analyze the game as a Lakers fan in a balanced way, and Magic Johnson taught me how to play the game the right way. So I know what a true Lakers fan is like. As I wrote before, Magic still gets this. But for the most part, as the games get more important and the tickets get more expensive, less and less of those fans are in the lower bowl of the arena.

L.A. is a town of transplants and people that don’t really have a strong connection to L.A. or its teams. And there’s no better example of this than the people sitting in the lower bowl during these NBA Finals. They expect the Lakers to make every shot and only stand by the team when the Lakers are going well. They have to be urged by scoreboard to cheer at certain points in the game. They get more excited for shots of Will Smith on the scoreboard or the kiss cam than they do for a great Lakers defensive play. They don’t know the game or the players well. And they make statements throughout the game that makes me wish I had chosen to watch the game at home instead of having to put up with such basketball ignorance.

What is it about these particular L.A. “fans” that makes them think they are entitled to seeing a winning team, when most of them probably watched a handful of Lakers games during the NBA season? Also, what makes them think they are above standing and cheering for their team, through thick and thin when their supposed favorite team needs them the most?

I hate the Staples Center. I really do. Too many people are concerned with what is going on in the crowd instead of what is happening on the court. The lights out movement helped move the attention away from who is at the game, but it hasn’t done enough. It’s obvious that many people attending these Finals games in L.A. come to be part of the scene, not to cheer for the Lakers. They are vapid, narcissistic, individuals that see NBA Finals games as means of flexing their muscles and showing their status as a real player in a town composed of transplants that mistake status for substance. Most of them are clueless about basketball and what it means to be a real fan. They are more concerned with making sure they have V.I.P passes from Tim Harris and that they are going to get rub elbows with the proper people, than they are with the Lakers winning or losing. These "fans" really need to watch a Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, or Boston Celtics home game and get a clue of how you are supposed to stand behind your home team.

The sad part about it is that there are people in L.A. that are real fans. There are people that grew up learning from Magic and Chick the same way that I did. But in a city full of transplants chasing the Hollywood dream, the real spirit of Angelinos often get pushed to the side by ‘Hollywood”. Make no mistake, those are not real Angelinos and they certainly are not real Lakers fans.

THE NBA IS NOT FIXED!!!!!!!

2008-06-12T00:19:00.000-07:00

I'm so tired of hearing about this. People are beating this to death. I could go over a thousand reasons why the league is not fixed, but Mark Heisler already beat me to it. I'm so sick of this tabloid media culture, I can't even tell you. Do me a favor and read Heisler's piece before you jump to anymore conspiracy theories.

Roundball Rock Bringing Alive the NBA on ABC Finals Intro

2008-06-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

I had a little fun with iMovie today. I wish ABC/ESPN could understand how much utilizing the Roundball Rock theme could spice up their broadcasts. Don't believe me? Well here's proof:

What Happened the Last Time the Lakers and Celtics Played in the Finals, Part II

2008-06-05T08:59:00.001-07:00

Hopefully, the Lakers will be doing this same thing at the beginning of next season.

P.S. Did Chick Hearn have class or what? NBA Announcers should take notes.

Update: T.J. Simers with an excellent piece on Hearn in the this Sunday's L.A. Times

A Financial Wake Up Call For Professional Athletes

2008-06-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

It’s time for professional athletes to wake up. It’s time for them to come together and recognize the power and influence that they wield as a collective entity. Professional athletes are the key component of an industry that with $213 billion in business is collectively twice the size of the U.S. auto industry and seven times the size of the move industry (According to the Sports Business Journal). And the crazy thing is that it’s continuing to grow. Yet professional athletes are only seeing about $8 Billion out of that pot (Salaries of athletes plus endorsements given to athletes).

Professional athletes should be pooling their money together in some sort of fund and investing in the various businesses that are growing all throughout the sports industry. Instead of just getting paid endorsement deals, athletes should be looking to gain stock or some sort of equity stake in the companies that they align themselves with. They should be investing in firms that sell sports based advertising.

Professional athletes should be investing in firms that construct and manage the stadiums that they cause millions of people to congregate to each year. I’ve mentioned this before, but Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’neal are probably the main reasons that AEG has been able to re-develop downtown L.A. with the Staples Center, L.A. Live, and the Nokia Theatre. Those two should have been allowed to invest their money in such a project.

Professional athletes should be investing in or creating their own firms that produce multimedia sports content. I believe that Kobe Bryant is already following this with his investment in Zambezi, but other than him, I can’t really recall any athletes stepping in that direction. The internet, is the area for the most room for growth in the sports industry. Ad spending, subscriber fees, content production fees, etc. have no where to go but up, and athletes need to jump on board before it’s too late by investing in firms that are carving a niche for themselves in the online sports sector.

Athletes should also be trying to take ownership of the firms that represent them in financial, marketing, and legal transactions.

I know how much economic waste is out there within the professional athlete community. I worked for a business that sold high-end automobiles to professional athletes. I used to have clients that would have fleets of anywhere from 10 to 20 cars, just because they could. I would have clients that were rookies making $500K to $1M that would have two $100K cars. A lot of these guys spend their money before it has a chance to work for them. And as I’ve outlined above, just within the sports industry, there are plenty of opportunities for athletes invest in and get a nice return on investment.

I didn’t grow up in a wealthy home or come from a family of professionals for that matter. But I did get an opportunity to go to middle school and high school in Beverly Hills and college at USC. At these schools, I had a few friends that came from wealthy backgrounds (not rich, but wealthy). Despite having more money than the average athlete, most of these families didn’t spend at the level that some of my athlete clients did. Most of them would own luxury cars, but not more than two or three (one for the husband, one for the wife, and maybe a spare car that they only drove once in a while). For the most part these people invested their money in businesses with good returns and in prime real estate around Los Angeles. I personally watched one of my best friends parents take their profits from a business with decent returns and invest them in better businesses and in Los Angeles real estate and become very wealthy because of it. That’s the blue print that athletes should be following. Yet for some reason, we have to deal with statistics like this. Seriously guys, sixty percent of the guys in the NBA are broke five years after they finish playing? That’s just ridiculous. And that’s why I say it’s time for a wake up call.

It’s time to stop wasting money on excess luxury items. You can have your Mercedes-Benz, or even you Bentley, but you don’t need 14 of them. You can have your Cartier or Rolex, but you only need one, not ten! If you’ve ever hung out in an arena after a basketball game (at least in L.A.), you know that there are all kind of hangers on that get access to the games just because the players give them access. I’m talking about guys that are all constantly trying to sell the players stuff. Stop giving access to these people! You don’t constantly need to be surrounded by jewelers, auto brokers, club promoters, and tailors every time you step out of the locker room. These guys are only trying to get your money. So keep them as far away as possible.

In sum, athletes need to put themselves on a budget, pool their collective resources and start investing in some of the businesses that are created directly and indirectly through their own talents. That’s the only way those horrible financial statistics like the one I mentioned above will ever become a thing of the past.

A Flashback to the Last Time the Celtics and Lakers Played in the FInals

2008-06-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

Today, I re-watched (for about the 100th time) game 4 of the 1987 Finals and tried to compare and contrast that game with how the NBA is today. Here are some random, useless, bullet-points:

The Lakers started a 40 Year old Kareem at Center. Could you imagine Shaq or Duncan playing until 40? I think it would be a pretty pitiful site.
The biggest difference in the games from the 80s and the games today is that no one really took outside shots. Most shots were taken in the paint and no one really attempted three-pointers. The first three-point attempt didn’t come until 4 minutes into the game. The first make didn’t come until about thirty seconds later (both by Ainge). I want to say there weren’t any other three-point attempts by either team until the fourth quarter (one by Cooper, a couple by Bird).
Outside of Kareem, by this time the Lakers were just the younger, more explosive team.
Both Danny Ainge and Byron Scott were 6-4 shooting guards. 6-4 shooting guards are now seen as somewhat undersized.
Jake O’Donnell officiated this game. If you’re not familiar with Jake, he’s the guy that kicked Clyde Drexler out for no reason in game two of the 1995 Western Conference Finals and got banned from the league. I remember watching that game and seeing the entire Rocket team have to hold Drexler back from killing O’Donnell. It was obvious that the two really didn’t like each other. Jake was both an NBA ref and AL umpire from 1967-1971. In 1971 he dropped baseball and focused strictly on baseball.
How the hell did they let Tommy Heinson--an unabashed Boston homer--become the color commentator for the Finals. That would be like having Bill Simmons call this year’s Finals. Although, I must say he really didn’t show much Boston hommerism during his time as the color man for CBS. I guess it’s no worst than having Lakers lover Magic Johnson on Inside the NBA during the Western Conference Finals.
Larry Bird threw a dead on left-handed outlet pass off the dribble down the length of the floor that was absolutely amazing.
Gotta give Magic props for going from a guy with no outside shot, to a guy that could hit from the outside pretty consistently. Although pretty ugly, he turned a shotput like set shot into a pretty effective shot.
It’s safe to say that by 1987, Magic was better at the Skyhook than Kareem. He was pretty money shooting that shot from the low block. Remember when he came back in 1996? That was pretty much his go to move that season.
Could you imagine guarding A.C. Green with that Jeri Curl? On another note, I’m pretty sure some black hipster somewhere is conjuring up thoughts of hanging out at McCarren pool this summer sporting such a greased up look. Just let your soul glow, baby.
Above the rim play was pretty much non-existent in 1987. No wonder MJ was able to come in and steal the spotlight the way he did.
Every big man that gets a defensive rebound keeps the ball above their head held tight with both hands looking for a teammate to outlet the ball to.
Trevor Ariza should study tapes of Michael Cooper. I think he’s got the potential to turn into the new millennium version of Coop for these Lakers. Actually he should watch video of both Worthy and Cooper and try to combine the games of both of them.
Did every player over 6-7 in the NBA in 1987 have a low post game? Seriously, even Rambis new how to seal his man, jump to the ball, and drop step to the basket.
If Kevin Garnett ever would have picked up the post moves and footwork of Kevin McHale, we might be talking about Garnett being the greatest player of all time. I mean, I think he might have the best low post footwork in the history of basketball. While Baby Bynum is studying tapes of Kareem, he should also pick up a few of McHale.
In the second quarter, Celtics back up Greg Kite took down James Worthy with a hard foul that would have gotten him kicked out of the game this day in age. Worthy, Kareem and several Lakers got up and surrounded Kite, with Worthy tagging Kite with a few good jabs. Of course, this was the 80s, so no one was thrown out, and no one was suspended for the next game. If that were today, they would have suspended key players on each team and absolutely ruined a classic series. Worthy would have been vilified as a thug, and pompous columnists would have called the NBA a league of overpaid thugs in need of serious reform.
On another note, why would you ever start anything with a teammate of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Ask Kent Benson what happens when you get Kareem angry.
The Celtics pretty much had no bench in 87. That was the big difference maker between their teams in 86 and 87. In 86, they had the 6th man of the year Bill Walton coming in and contributing 18 solid minutes per night during the playoffs. In 87, the Celtics had to settle for Greg Kite as their 6th man. The Lakers on the other hand came with Mychal Thompson, Michael Cooper, and Kurt Rambis off of the bench. Although the Celtics do have more of a bench now than they did in 87, the Lakers bench is probably the best in the league. That might be the difference maker in this year’s series.
Speaking of Thompson, did you know that the 87 Lakers had four number one overall draft picks on their squad? Kareem (1969), Mychal Thompson (1978), Magic Johnson (1979), and James Worthy (1982). They also had Byron Scott, who was the fourth pick overall in 1983. No wonder they were so good.
James Worthy's footwork was a thing of beauty. The way he split defenders with spin moves is very similar to the way Paul Pierce currently splits defenders. Except when Pierce does it, it’s more of a lumbering forceful thing, while when Worthy did it, it was like watching some sort of graceful Gazelle at work.
In the third quarter, 6-4 Byron Scott steps up to and pushes a 6-10 Kevin McHale after a cheap shot. Did McHale forget B-Scott was from the Wood? You know, the thing I like about the 80s is that there was no b.s. posturing. Guys didn’t act like they wanted to fight, just to seem tough. They really would knock you on your ass if you came at them the wrong way.
The Boston Garden just didn’t look like a comfortable place to watch a basketball game. It was more like a hot muggy high school gymnasium than a home for a professional team. I’m sure it probably smelled like one too. My high school gym smelled like a combination of processed nacho cheese, old shoes, and chlorine (we had a pool under our basketball court). What did yours smell like?
There’s no doubt in my mind that Kevin McHale would own the league today if he played today. I can’t say enough about how good that guy was with the basketball on the low block.
Dick Stockton: “And Pat Riley is not a happy coach right now…even though he’s well dressed” What?
Larry Bird played pretty miserable in this game (Outside of his big time corner three pointer late in the fourth). This is not the game you want to watch if you want to see the greatness of Larry Bird at work. Unless of course you like watching great outlet passes. People talk about how great guys like Bill Walton were at outlet passes. But Bird might be right up there with Walton as the greatest outlet passer of all time. Rambis was pretty good at the outlet when he started for the Lakers earlier in his career. It’s a skill that is highly valuable for fast breaking teams. Shaq should watch some video of Rambis, Bird, Walton, and Kevin Love throwing outlet passes so that he can become more of an asset to the Suns.
Of course the game ends with Magic’s classic baby skyhook. People think Len Bias’s untimely death and Larry Bird’s bad back ended the Celtics dynasty. But that Magic Johnson skyhook is what officially ended the Celtics dynasty.

The Lakers are Back to the Finals Faster Than Anyone Ever Expected

2008-05-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

Don’t tell me when Shaq was first traded in 2004 you thought this team would be back to the Finals so soon.

This season is a testament to the greatest player of the post Michael Jordan era. No matter how you feel about Kobe Bryant as a person, you can’t deny that this guy is the best in the game today. As Jerry West said, you have to respect a guy that from day one set a goal to be the greatest basketball player of all time and has worked every single day of his adult life to become that. As Doug Collins mentioned earlier, Kobe has a chance to win the MVP, make the All-NBA first team, make the All-Defensive first team, win the NBA Championship and the Finals MVP, and win Olympic Gold in the same season. Only one other NBA player has ever done that (I don’t even need to tell you who I’m talking about). Basically, after he matches that feat, no one can ever (EVER) question the man’s greatness again.

This season is also a testament to the vision and the guts of Jerry Buss. Buss was ridiculed for his decision to trade Shaq in the summer of 2004. But Buss was level headed enough to know that Shaq had maybe two good years left in him, and that it would be a mistake to re-sign Shaq at the amount he was demanding. Getting rid of Shaq allowed the Lakers to go young and grow around their superstar Kobe Bryant. Yes, the Heat got a championship in 2006, but I’m of the opinion that they could have been on their way to building the type of franchise the Lakers currently have if they would have just stayed the course with their core of Dwyane Wade, Caron Butler, and Lamar Odom and kept the first round pick they traded to the Lakers as part of that deal (It turned into Jordan Farmar).

This season is also a testament to the previously maligned, Mitch Kupchak. First of all, just like his predecessor Jerry West, Kupchak is a class act. Give him credit for being the calm during the Lakers storm. Give Mitch credit for drafting great role players that fit the style of the Lakers system (Although selecting Von Wafer over my current favorite player, Monta Ellis is still killing me). Give Mitch, Ronnie Lester, and Jim Buss credit for taking a chance on Bynum, and Mitch credit for not trading him when others called for him to do so. Although Bynum hasn’t had much to do with the Lakers playoff run, he did have a lot to do with elevating the Lakers to the top of the Western Conference during the first half of the season, pacifying and energizing Kobe Bryant. Give credit to Mitch for pursuing and completing the trade for Pau Gasol and for pursing and completing the trade for Trevor Ariza.

You also have to give credit to the Lakers role players that stepped their games up after being challenged by Kobe over the summer and during training camp. With all of the controversy surrounding this team before the season, it would have been easy for these guys to check out this season.

Give credit to Phil Jackson for coming back and taking on the challenge of developing this Lakers team. People have criticized Jackson for not developing players. But Jackson has always developed players. Jackson develops benches better than any coach I’ve ever seen. He builds up confidence in his bench players throughout the season so that they are capable of coming up big when called upon. Phil Jackson (and his coaching staff) developed Vujacic, Turiaf, Farmar, and Walton. Jackson developed Kobe Bryant. He’s taught Bryant how to trust his teammates and how to become a great leader. In sum, the notion that Jackson does not develop teams and young players definitely should be a myth that is put to bed once and for all.

No matter what happens the rest of the way for the Lakers, this season has been a success. With Bynum and Ariza coming back at full strength next season, there’s no doubt that this Lakers team will be in contention for years to come.

My Advice to Sean Williams: Study Film of Tyson Chandler and Marcus Camby

2008-05-29T01:22:00.000-07:00

Most of you might not be that familiar with New Jersey first year center Sean Williams. Williams was the 17th pick of the 2007 draft. He would have been a top ten pick if not for his off the court problems while at Boston College (He liked to Talk to Sampson). Sean Williams is a freak athlete with a knack for catching alley oops, blocking shots, and collecting rebounds. Kind of sounds like Marcus Camby and Tyson Chandler, right? The guy just needs to fine tune his game a bit over the summer and watch some Tyson Chandler and Marcus Camby tapes. If he improves in the manner that he is capable of, he could be New Jersey’s starting center next year. Don’t be surprised if you see this guy leading the league in blocks in one of the upcoming seasons.

Ray Allen's Problem

2008-05-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

Ray Allen’s been catching hell from the media as of late for his low field-goal percentage in these playoffs. So what’s up with Ray? How did a career 40% three-point shooter just all of a sudden start shooting 30% percent from that range? Well, I think it has to do with Ray becoming the third wheel, when he’s been a first option almost his entire career.

The misconception about Ray is that he is just a spot up shooter. But anyone that has watched Ray throughout his career knows that Ray has played with the ball in his hands for much of his career. Many of his three point jump shots came off of pick and rolls or off of the dribble. He also was very adept at getting to the basket off the dribble. Lastly, he was used to putting up a lot more shots than he’s getting on the Celtics. On the Celtics, the Ray has been relegated to a spot up shooter, and is often catching the ball during desperation time, with little time left on the clock. As well, he’s not only getting poor shot opportunities, but also a lot less opportunities than he’s been used to throughout his career. The last time Ray was in the playoffs with the Sonics, he put up 215 shots in just 11 games, hitting on 47% of those shots (38% from three). In 18 games so far in this years playoffs (I’m writing this prior to game 5), Ray has only put up 211 shots. Basically, the guy has had to completely change his game on this team.

Boston has to do a better job of getting him involved. They should run more pick and roll sets with Ray handling the ball. If they do this, they might get their wish of seeing him turn back into the Ray Allen we’re all used to seeing.

To NBA GMs: Take this as a lesson. You can’t just take a guy who has been a first option/All-Star type player his entire career and then expect him to fit in nicely as a third wheel. It just doesn’t work that way (See: Payton, Gary).

How the Sausage Gets Made

2008-05-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

Please check out the excellent roundtable discussion on Agents, Runners and Recruiting that Henry Abbott put together over at TrueHoop. It really does a great job of telling the story of the state of sports agent recruiting today, as well as what needs to be done to clean up the industry. The participants are agents Jason Levien and James Tanner, author and athlete advocate, Marc Isenberg, and trainer and ESPN columnist, David Thorpe. Just a great discussion. Take a look when you have a chance.

Magic Johnson: A True Lakers Fan

2008-05-22T12:12:00.002-07:00

I was lucky enough to have a pretty awesome seat at the Lakers game last night. I basically sat in the second row in section 118 (the section right next to the Lakers bench). This also happens to be the section with a direct diagonal view to Magic Johnson’s seats.

Watching Magic agonize over every single play the Lakers made was almost as entertaining as watching the game itself. He literally lives and dies with how the Lakers play. There was point where the game got too much for him and he got up and started pacing back forth near the Lakers tunnel for a little bit. He was especially disgusted when the Lakers bigs would tap the rebounds instead of going up and securing the ball with two hands (Pau did this on way too many occasions last night). There were many points throughout the game that I thought Magic was going to say “enough”, run back to the locker room, throw on his Lakers #32 and come back out and show the Lakers how to grab a rebound with two hands. When the Lakers started mounting their comeback, Magic was up cheering like the rest of the fans in attendance.

It was just amazing to see that this well accomplished multi-millionaire lived and died with every made or missed shot the Lakers made. It made me feel more comfortable in my own fanatic skin.

The T-Shirt of All T-Shirts

2008-05-01T17:12:00.001-07:00

P.S. You can get it at the Fly or Die Gallery in Weyburn (next to the CPK) in Westwood (Near UCLA). These guys are definitely big time Lakers fans, as they had a sale just to celebrate the arrival of Pau. If you do roll through, be sure to tell them Jones on the NBA sent you (I want to be able to get a discount next time I go in there...they have some pretty dope stuff).

The New Lamar Odom

2008-04-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

I really should be completing an outline for my torts class, but I won’t be able to focus until I get this post up.

I don’t know if you guys have noticed, but Lamar Odom has totally transformed himself into a great fit for the Lakers system. Prior to this season, Lamar never really figured out how to fit into the Lakers system. His problem is that he had come up as a guy that always had the ball in his hands, but was then thrust into a situation with the ball dominating Kobe Bryant. This isn’t a knock on Kobe, as I have no problem with a guy with as much talent and skill as Kobe possesses dominating the ball in the fashion he does. However, the problem is that Kobe’s ball dominance left little opportunity for Lamar Odom to do his thing, making Lamar’s first three seasons with the Lakers seem a bit awkward. You see, the Lakers needed a number two scorer next to Kobe, but after they traded Caron Butler away for Kwame Brown, the only guy that had any capability of being a number two scorer was Lamar. With Kobe’s ball dominance, Lamar struggled to find his spots to score within the triangle. You could see him thinking way too much about every little move he made on the offensive side of the ball. He was great on the boards, and always gave maximum effort, but at times he just seemed completely lost out there. According to Roland Lazenby, Tex Winter had been trying to get Lamar Odom to embrace cutting within the Triangle for years. However, the man that tried to pattern himself after Magic Johnson had trouble relinquishing himself from the idea of having the ball in his hands.

Lets be real, Lamar is very talented at grabbing a rebound and leading the break the way Magic Johnson used to do. However, he’s not really a guy that is going to run a half court offense and be the ball handler off of a pick and roll the way that wing player such as Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant often do. So if Lamar wanted to figure out how to be successful on this team, he was going to have to embrace playing off the ball the way Tex Winter envisioned him doing.

Fast forward to the Paul Gasol trade. Pau is the most versatile center the triangle offense has ever seen. One of his best assets is the ability to hit cutters with accurate passes in scoring positions within the offense. He’s also very good at cutting and flashing and making himself available for passes in scoring positions within the offense. Lamar definitely picked up on Pau’s attributes and became inspired. Lamar now embraces the hard cutting off the ball that Tex Winter had been pushing him to embrace for so long. And every time he cuts, Pau rewards him with a nice dish. Lamar’s not just cutting hard when Pau gets the ball. He’s finally learned that if you cut in that system, a player as versatile as he is can be a very dangerous weapon. Many times, Lamar will cut hard receive a pass from one of his teammates and then once defenders come to help on him, he’ll find Pau or another cutter for an easy basket. With Lamar’s passing ability, you don’t want to send help his way when he is on the move, because as soon as you leave your man, Lamar’s going to find him with a pass that puts him in perfect position to score (see: highlights of Pau and Lamar cutting and finding each other against the Nuggets).

As well, with Pau, Lamar doesn’t have to score 20 points anymore for Lakers fans to say he had a good game. I mean 16, 10, and 5 out of Lamar has Lakers fans jumping for joy. But guess what? He’s been doing that for years (not as comfortably, accurately, or consistently as he is now), but before Pau’s arrival, Lakers fans were never happy with those numbers because of his lack of break out scoring ability. Maybe it is that he doesn’t look as sleepy as he used to out there on the floor. Lamar never just stands around and Kobe watches the way he and other Lakers did in the past before the arrival of Pau. He’s in constant motion out there now, and finally realizes that he’s more of an asset to the Lakers running off the ball below fifteen feet than isolated with the ball above the three point line.

The best part about this for Lamar is that he still gets to have his point forward fun. In his new role, he can still get rebounds, push the ball hard, and create fast break scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates.

Maybe shaving those Stars in his head at the beginning of the year did work out for Lamar, because he's finally starting to reach his All-Star potential. Keep it up, L.O.