It’s official, we’re locked out. The NBA is on hold until a new Collective Bargaining Agreement can be hashed out. Nothing whatsoever can transpire as far as league dealings are concerned. But, of course, they can’t stop us from talking about the Association.
Naturally, this situation reminds us of the lockout-shortened 1999 NBA season, where teams played only 50 games. If you ask me, I’m still not sure that season even really counts due to the circumstances. In addition to altering the landscape of the League, that abbreviated campaign was unique for another reason, aside from missing 32 regular season games plus an All-Star Game. For all intents and purposes, that season marked the end of the careers of a few guys because they failed to keep themselves in shape during the time off. Not knowing when the lockout would be lifted, some players became disinterested in working out just for workout’s sake. The poster-child for this, without a doubt, is Shawn Kemp.
Throughout his career, particularly in Seattle, the Reign Man was a lean, high-flying, alley-oop catching menace. When the NBA resumed operation after the lockout, Kemp was a chubby, below-the-basket playing, pork rind eating member of the Cavs. That was the beginning of the end. He never returned to form and was out of the League a handful of years later. The work stoppage is to blame. So as we endure this lockout, I hope no one shows signs of the Kemp syndrome if we are forced to miss games, but it probably will happen.
In no particular order, here are the top 5 guys that I could see returning out of shape if the lockout forces us to miss game action:
Zach Randolph
Z-Bo had another stellar year for the Memphis Grizzlies and was instrumental in them getting to within one win away from the Western Conference Finals. He’s a very efficient player and was rewarded with a 4-year, $71M contract extension during the playoffs. The fact that he is guaranteed that brand new money, coupled with the notion that he’s not exactly in stellar shape anyway, makes him a viable candidate.
Glen Davis
I’ll give him credit. For a guy his size, Davis is extremely nimble. When he was a collegian at LSU, the knock against him was that he was too heavy. As a testament to his hard work and dedication, he shed alot of weight and has proven to be a very serviceable NBA player. But couldn’t you see his weight ballooning if the lockout persists? He looks to have that body type and appears as if he could potentially be a pulled pork sandwich away from the point of no return.
DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins had a very strong rookie campaign for the young Sacramento Kings. But coming out of Kentucky, teams were reportedly turned off because of maturity and weight issues. He got up to almost 300 pounds at the conclusion of his freshman year at UK and had to really hustle to get in shape for the draft combine. Given he’s only 20 years old, he’ll continue to mature, but will the weight issue rear its head?
Baron Davis
Baron had a very promising career coming out of UCLA, but he has had to deal with a myriad of injuries which has caused his conditioning to suffer. He also has had to live with consistent rumors that he fakes injuries because he’s been uninspired at certain points of his career. If there’s any truth to that, then the addition of Kyrie Irving in Cleveland would be enough for him to tank again.
Andray Blatche
Blatche is 6’11” and has something of a tweener, 3 – 4 game which can make him a tough cover. But he came under some scrutiny by his head coach Flip Saunders last season because of his conditioning and being out of shape, to which Blatche responded “I eat late, that’s how I gain weight.”
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