Jersey Appreciation Friday Vol. 29

It's my last Jersey Appreciation Friday in Europe so I have to go out with something flashy. Well, I actually have 3 jerseys (from the same team) that are all pretty neat. I went with a national squad for the first time ever, and that lucky team would be Spain. Spain has a unique combination of red, yellow and navy that really stands out. Click Here

Jersey Appreciation Friday Vol. 28

I'm going to hold off on appreciating the new NBA Nike uniforms until they are officially released, but I'll let you know now that I'm really excited to see them. Seeing that I'm in Europe for the next two Fridays, I thought I should appreciate an international jersey to give this blog some flavor. I'll give the nod to KK Mega Basket, or Mega Leks, or Mega Bemax, depending on who you ask, from Belgrade, Serbia. I'm going Mega Leks. Anyway, these jerseys are cool because they're different–pink and bright green.  It's the type of jersey that would get mocked in America, even though it doesn't deserve the ridicule. Point is, these jerseys need more attention. Click Here

My Top 5 Favorite College Basketball Players

I'm in Europe until the end of July and I can't really post anything relevant to the current state of basketball, so here's a Top 5 Favorite College Basketball Players List. I might've posted something similar to this earlier, but whatever. 

1. Kemba Walker- UCONN PG, won 2011 NCAA Tournament and won me a bracket pool. Hit one of the most iconic shots in Big East history.  I've always wanted my game to be like his. Lucky to see him play in the NBA in person.

2. Ryan Arcidiacono- Villanova PG, won 2016 NCAA Tournament, played with style but scrappiness. I was fresh off a Villanova visit when he made his tournament run, so he is meaningful to me.

3. Kris Dunn- Providence PG, first saw him in 2015 NCAA Tournament in a loss to Dayton, I've followed him ever since. Finally got to see him play at Hinkle Fieldhouse where he was outstanding. The reason I'm a Timberwolves fan.

4. Ron Baker- Wichita St SG, I wanted to be like Kemba, but as I got older/less athletic I realized that I was like Ron Baker. Admire his story from unknown walk on to March hero. Plays with a grit that I love.

5. JJ Redick- Duke SG, Makes an appearance on this list because my cousin loved him when he played. I never saw him play when he was in college, but I was curious one day so I looked up highlights. He was a pretty cool player. It also helped that I was compared to him at some pickup games.

Jersey Appreciation Friday Vol. 27

This week's Jersey Appreciation Friday goes to the Dallas Mavericks' green alternate jersey. I'm a huge alternate jersey guy, and the Mavs have one of the most unique third colors in sports given their other primary colors. The green and royal blue is refreshing because we really don't see it too often. The Seahawks, Mariners, Canucks and maybe the Timberwolves are the only teams besides Dallas that use that combo, and out of those, the Mavs do it best. Click Here

Podcast #33

-What Am I Wearing?
-Summer League Roundup
-Avery Bradley Trade
-Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to LA
-The Kings Making Moves
-Derrick Rose
-Rajon Rondo
-5 Favorite/Best NBA Players and 3 Least Favorite
Guest: Timmy Johannes Somary
Click Here

NBA Summer League Hodge Podge

Now that free agency and stuff is cooling down, I'm devoting the rest of the summer to writing completely biased, opinionated and probably irrational/irrelevant posts so I can actually talk about basketball things that interest me. I'm a big draft guy, and by law that also means I'm a HUGE summer league guy too. Well, sort of. I watch the top picks, and I watch the Bulls. Even with that limitation, I find myself tuning in to at least five games a day for some period of time. 

I was thinking of articles to write about the summer league, and I came to this idea: I will rank the lottery picks in order of how I think they've done so far. Don't expect stats or "in depth" analysis. I'm embracing the eye test here. 

1. Jayson Tatum

2. Bam Adebayo

3. Donovan Mitchell

4. Dennis Smith Jr

5. De'Aaron Fox

6. Markelle Fultz 

7. Luke Kennard

8. Lonzo Ball

9. Josh Jackson

10. Jonathan Isaac 

11. Lauri Markkanen 

12. Zach Collins

13. Frank Ntilikina

14. Malik Monk

Some notes: 

-Monk and Ntilikina didn't play in the summer league because of injury. Ntilikina is 13th because he was closer to playing than Monk and he was drafted higher.

-I haven't seen Bam Adebayo play all that much, but his highlights and stats were impressive. 

-Donovan Mitchell needs more praise for what he's done with Utah. I was high on him going into the draft, and I'm pumped that he's playing well. 

-Jayson Tatum is kicking major ass in these games. I feel like every night there's a new fadeaway jumper highlight from Tatum. This summer league shows that he is miles ahead of Josh Jackson offensively. 

-Teams (Bulls and Knicks) will regret passing on Dennis Smith Jr. He might end up being the best point guard if the draft. 

-I'm pissed that we didn't get to see Lonzo vs Fox in the summer league, but oh well. Ball has been scorching but frigid and Fox is blowing by people in transition. 

Jersey Appreciation Friday Vol. 26

I bashed the Utah Jazz on my podcast on Tuesday for having the worst jerseys in the current NBA. The green, yellow and blue isn't a good combo. Part of what frustrates me is that their old uniforms were really cool, and then they switched to those crappers. I figured Utah had a tough enough week with losing Gordon Hayward and all, so I'll give Jazz fans a nice trip down memory lane by appreciating their navy blue jerseys from the mid 2000s. I'm a sucker for two-tone blue, and the Jazz were one of the few teams to use that color pattern. I also like the double stripe on the sides. Also, Kyle Korver looks good in anything. Click Here

Podcast #32

What Am I Wearing?
Gordon Hayward
Paul George
Other Free Agency News
Live Reaction to Danilo Gallinari
Jersey Rankings
Guest: John Lichtenstein
Click Here

Gordon Hayward Appreciation Post

Gordon Hayward made waves in this 4th of July holiday when he signed with the Celtics, then reconsidered, then signed with the Celtics again. Despite the obvious reason that the news broke and unbroke several times, the Gordon Hayward signing seemed to have a different vibe than previous free agencies. 

For one thing, Gordon Hayward actually seemed to care for the Utah Jazz. LeBron revealed his "Decision,"  and KD told us about his "Next Chapter" without much acknowledgement of their previous teams, while Hayward clearly made it his top priority to thank Utah ("Thank You, Utah") and almost brace Jazz fans for the impact. Personally, I think it shows the level of class Hayward has, but there's something else that proves it as well.

There was no murderous riot in Utah after Hayward announced his intention to sign with Boston. I saw a few jersey burnings, but those guys were in the minority as many more on Twitter seemed to criticize the jersey arsonists. The Jazz community probably expected this result, and maybe that's why they weren't so harsh on him. They weren't blindsided, and Hayward let them down easy. That can be shown by the Utah Jazz's Twitter account saying, "Thank you, Gordon." There's a stark contrast between the Jazz's reaction when Hayward left and the Cavalier's reaction when LeBron left. 

Maybe people have gotten used to stars leaving their teams for a chance to win titles. Maybe it's just that Gordon Hayward wasn't as big of a star as Durant and LeBron. Maybe it was the way he revealed it. But all I know is that Gordon Hayward is pure class, and I hope he succeeds in Boston. 

Thoughts on 7 Off-season Moves So Far

Yeah I've been lazy over the past week. I'll admit it. Sure, I know about all the free agency deals and trades being cranked out every day, but writing about them is a whole different deal. I wanted to do a major free agency and trade recap, but I as grow tired on this Sunday night I realize that isn't going to happen. So let's see, I'll do 5 deals, actually, 10. Well...7. Fine. I'll give my thoughts on 7 NBA deals that have happened so far. 

1. JJ Trusts the Process

This, importance aside, is my favorite deal that has happened during this free agency period. The 76ers were already on the rise with the FEDS, but adding JJ, one of my favorite college players, just seems perfect. Granted, the 76ers probably overpaid giving him $23 million for one year, but they did fill a major need in shooting. 

2. Chris Paul to the Rockets

Even though the Rockets gave up like half their team, Chris Paul coming to Houston has got to make people excited. I'm not sure how this will work–James Harden and Paul are two of the most ball dominant players in the league. Having them on the same team might derail the Rockets more than the Dwight Howard days. Ultimately, I predict around 48 wins for Houston.

3. Paul George Goes to OKC

While this seriously hurts my 2018 MVP prediction, I think Paul George teaming up with Russell Westbrook will bode well for at least this upcoming season. If Westbrook got the 6 seed in the Western Conference last year with little to no help, I think Westbrook and Paul George should be good for at least a 5 seed. 

4. Jeff Teague Signs with Minnesota

My tiers of NBA fandom, which I will release and explain later this week, just gained a team on the second tier with Minnesota. Signing Teague put this team into legitimate top 4 contention. With Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, Taj Gibson and coach Tom Thibodeau, I'm more excited about being a half-assed Timberwolves fan than I am about being a full-assed Bulls one. 

5. Blake Stays Put

I literally called this one on my latest podcast if you want proof. Blake Griffin apparently had suitors, but LA seemed like the place once they offered 5 yr/$173M. That's probably worth a lot more than a championship ring. Also, the Clippers still aren't in that bad of a spot. They got the mother lode in the Chris Paul deal, the crown jewel being Patrick Beverley. It's always fun seeing stars move teams, but a player showing some #loyalty isn't so bad either. 

6. Steph Curry Gets an Even $201M

Remember when Mike Conley Jr. had the biggest contract in NBA history? Well that contract is worth about 5 cents now that Curry cracked the $200 million barrier. The funniest part about this deal is that the Warriors just threw in an extra million as a safety net in case he blows through the other $200 million. It's like saying a game starts at 7:47 ET, oh wait that actually happens.

7. Paul Millsap Lands in Denver

Being a half-assed Timberwolves fan, I was really hoping for Millsap to go to Minnesota. Unfortunately, Paul went to Denver, the one NBA team of which I have zero knowledge. Maybe this gets them into the Playoffs, maybe it doesn't, I don't care. My biggest takeaway from this is that the Eastern Conference still sucks.