As the NBA lockout continues, four months and counting, we get you caught up on how NBA players are spending their time off. Sure, there have been the usual run-ins with the law, retirements, and entertainment cross-overs; but there has also been some great basketball.
One of the biggest stories so far has been the departure of several NBA players from US soil. Five-time NBA champion and two-time Finals MVP Kobe Bryant is in serious talks with Virtus Bologna (Italy), who have already signed Chris Douglas-Roberts and have talked to Manu Ginobili. The other big name, Deron Williams, has already been playing for Besiktas (Turkey) for a while. And, perhaps, the even bigger news is that Williams may soon be joined by NBA superstar Kevin Durant, who is in early negotiations with Besiktas.
The other interesting note is that half of the starters for the Denver Nuggets—Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin, and Ty Lawson—have signed abroad, mostly signing deals with no opt-outs, even if an NBA season can be salvaged.
But, as if a cautionary tale, the Spurs’ Tiago Splitter, the Magic’s Hedo Turkoglu, and Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio have all had underwhelming performances since playing abroad.
Where you can find good basketball in the U.S. right now are at league games. Everyone from Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, John Wall, Brandon Jennings, Michael Beasley, Jeff Teague, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarcus Cousins, Hakim Warrick, and rookie Josh Selby have been driving fans crazy.
Kobe hits game-winner and gets mobbed by crowd
Durant’s legendary Rucker Park game
Jennings v Shelby
Wall v Teague
In perhaps the most bizarre news, two-time MVP LeBron James has returned to his roots in Ohio, playing in a league game with his former high school basketball teammates. James has also shown up at several St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School football games, and James even participated in a recent football practice.
Some NBA players are doing maybe the smartest things players can do during a lockout: get healthy, stay fit, and work out. The New York Knicks’ Chauncey Billups is better. Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz power forward, has been bulking up. And, while he says he is open to playing overseas, Dwight Howard and his Orlando Magic have been working out and preparing for the next season. In Germany, Kobe Bryant had an experimental knee procedure, known as platelet-rich plasma therapy, and Knicks’ star Carmelo Anthony admitted to having knee and elbow surgeries in May. Sadly, Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut admitted that he “will have limitations my whole life,” when referring to his elbow, although he is feeling better than last season.
The Hollywood drama with the Los Angeles Lakers never ends. Apparently retired Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, former Lakers’ Head Coach, ignored a phone call from his former player Shaquille O’Neal, and, in Italy, Kobe Bryant referred once again to O’Neal’s lack of discipline when it came to working out. But, really, who, aside from greats like Michael Jordan, have ever worked out as hard as Bryant?
In entertainment, Stephen Jackson released a rap video, and recent NBA champion Jason Terry (Dallas Mavericks) was in a rap video dissing LeBron James. The Lakers’ Metta World Peace, formerly Ron Artest, has been on “Dancing with the Stars” and is set to star in his own reality T.V. show called “They Call Me Crazy.” Recently, Pacers’ center Roy Hibbert made a cameo on Amy Poehler’s “Parks and Recreation” on NBC. And, Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin is interning for comedian Will Ferrell’s website “Funny or Die.”
In legal news, Darius Miles was arrested for gun possession at Lambert Airport in St. Louis, Missouri. Ex-NBA player Javaris Crittenton has been charged with murdering a woman in a drive-by in Atlanta, but he has been released on bond. Defensive stalwarts Ben Wallace and Marcus Camby were arrested, the former for a DUI, the latter for marijuana.
Aging centers “The Diesel” Shaquille O’Neal, a future member of the Hall of Fame and a four-time NBA champion, and “Big Z” Zydrunas Ilgauskas, fresh off making the NBA Finals with the Miami Heat, have both retired. Since then, O’Neal has joined the illustrious staff at ESPN.
Sources:
nba.com
espn.com
thehoopdoctors.com
Rob S. De France is a College and University instructor of English Composition living in Los Angeles. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing. De France has played, coached, and officiated competitive high school basketball in California for many years. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.
