I’m so sad the season is officially over.
I’m still amped from the Finals. KD, Steph, Lebron, and Kyrie all balled the F out.
As I’m writing this….
It’s been reported that the Celtics will be trading the No. 1 pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for the rights to Markelle Fultz. Wow.
I love Fultz. The consensus has him in a tier by himself for this year’s draft. 6′ 4″ 195 pounds. Can shoot. Can finish. Can break a defender down with his handles. Condor-like wingspan with the hops of a flea. Just go watch the tape.
Man, the Sixers are going to be the new videogame team, like Run TMC. Markelle Fultz is 19 years old. Ben Simmons 20 years old. Dario Saric 23 years old. The Process 23 years old. Robert Covington 26 years old. I think it’s only appropriate to link this tweet…
Sam Hinkie goes into the rafters. Thank you Sam. pic.twitter.com/O2zMTxyj9F
— Jake Pavorsky (@JakePavorsky) May 16, 2017
As for Boston, it’s tough trading away the rights to Fultz. He truly does have the potential to be a superstar. Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer broke down the percentages of picks that eventually were named to at least two All-Star teams. From 1980-2012:
- 23 of 33 (69.7%) of No. 1 picks
- 41 of 132 (31.1%) of picks in the No. 2 to No. 5 range
- 26 of 165 (15.8%) of picks in the No. 6 to No. 10 range
- 35 of 660 (5.3%) from the rest of the first round
It’s been mentioned the past few weeks that Danny Ainge is in love with Josh Jackson. If that’s the case, then the trade is a brilliant one. He gets his guy and acquires more picks.
Boston now has
2017 PHI 1st
2018 BOS 1st
2018 LAL 1st
2018 BKN 1st
2019 BOS 1st
2019 LAC 1st
2019 SAC 1st
2019 MEM 1st— Jacob Rude (@JacobRude) June 18, 2017
Dayam!!! If you’re a Celtics fan, that’s gotta look lovely. Now, if Fultz becomes a perennial All-Star and the player that Ainge picks at No. 3 busts, then that’d be a tough pill to swallow. I think Ainge has proven himself to be a shrewd general manager. BUT…what if he uses some of that ammo to also trade for an established star? Hmmm.
Whatever happens, Ainge has done a fabulous job as general manager for the Celtics. Which segues perfectly into who I wanted to talk about before I was so rudely interrupted.
Watching the Warriors dominate and hearing all the old schoolers chime in led me to think about the true GOAT of the NBA.
Jerry West.
As a player:
- 14 time All-Star
- NBA champion
- Finals MVP
- 2 time scoring champ
- Most career points scored in the playoffs
- Most 40-point games in the playoffs (10)
- Most 30-point games in the playoffs (33)
- Most 20-point games in the playoffs (49)
As an executive:
- 8 time NBA champion
- 2 time Executive of the Year
As the logo of the NBA:
- Literally, as his silhouette is part of the NBA emblem.
West became GM of the Lakers in 1982. He maintained the excellence that was already established. After the Showtime Lakers succumbed to Father Time, he engineered another Laker dynasty by trading for Kobe Bryant and acquiring Shaq. In hindsight it’s easy to look at the Kobe trade as a no-brainer, but at the time, it was a questionable move. West knew right away.
In 2002, West became GM of the Grizzlies. Why he left the Lakers is still up for debate, but I’d suspect it had something to do with Jeannie Buss and Phil Jackson. Anyways, I’ll expound on that a little later. When he took over the Grizzlies, the team was a 23-win team. Two years later, 50 wins and a playoff berth.
In 2011, West joined the Warriors, a team that won 23 games. 47 wins in 2012. 51 wins in 2013. Then 67, 73, and 67 wins. Things would be a lot different if West did not threaten to resign if the Warriors had traded Klay Thompson for Kevin Love back in 2014.
Now, West is with the Clippers. Back to the whole Jeannie Buss and Phil Jackson thing. West has publicly said that he would love to come back to the Lakers, but they did not reciprocate. Jeannie Buss is the person in charge of the Lakers. She used to date Phil Jackson. When Phil was with the Lakers, he did not have a strong relationship with Jerry West. I’m just speculating, but something had to have happened behind closed doors. How could the Lakers not want to bring back Jerry West to lead their team?
Anyways, buy whatever shares you can of the Clippers.
