Josh Childress - Hotlanta'ed No More

Like Brandon Jennings, Josh Childress is about to embark on an unprecedented voyage.
In signing with the Greek team Olympiacos Piraeus, he became the first upper-tier American NBA player still in the prime of his career to choose to jettison the League for Europe.
He chose to do this in part b/c

1) he was a restricted free agent over the summer, meaning he essentially was not able to sign with any other NBA team offering more money unless the Hawks allowed him
2) the Hawks did not want him to go to another team for more money this summer and did not want to pay him more money. They thought they had him cornered
3) Being "cornered" does not scream "trusting relationship" and, expectedly, when Childress and his agent discovered a way out - to the Athens' port city - they acted quickly.

Why?
Mainly for more money.

• Childress will make more per year with 20 million dollars over three years - a Euroleague record. Additionally, as the dollar devalues, his euros will become more valuable in his U.S. savings accounts.
• He also gets perks such a car and a nice house paid for by Olympiacos, benefits unknown stateside.
• Finally, he can opt-out and come back to the U.S. after any season. That should soften any regrets if he undergoes severe culture shocks a few months in.

Childress' progress will be as important to mid-tier NBA players looking for a market alternative for their services as Jennings' progress will be for high school players not wanting to undergo a year of collegiate seasoning / familiarization with the American public for future NBA marketing purposes.


It looks like our ex-Hawk hasn't forgotten how to take flight.
Here's footage of Josh Childress' first action in Greece - an intrahellenic preseason game.

Joe close to LeBron?

Mike Kahn of foxsports.com has made an interesting comparison with two members of the U.S. national mens team selection pool - Joe Johnson and LeBron James. He claims that Johnson (in his estimation the NBA's 5th-best shooting guard) has a "combination of size, strength, ballhandling ability and shooting range which make him the closest player to LeBron James."

Although Johnson is no longer a mystery to NBA observers, his performance in the Hawks' first-round playoff series loss to the Celtics cemented his status as one of the top shooting guards in the game today. At 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, his combination of size, strength, ballhandling ability and shooting range make him the closest player to LeBron James. Questioned for his leadership ability and sometimes vanishing act, in his three seasons since coming to the Hawks from the Suns, Johnson has averaged 22.0 points, 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds — frequently rotating between point guard, shooting guard and small forward. With the reconstruction of the team and its success a year ago — plus a training camp with point guard Mike Bibby, who was acquired at midseason — Johnson, 27, should have an even great comfort zone at shooting guard and more productive season.

The LBJ-JJ comparison made me pause.
While I know Kahn is not making a direct comparison, saying Johnson is the closest player to James in physique and skill-set is suprising when I remember the Joe I saw play 10 years ago.
As a student journalist, I reported on Johnson when he played at Little Rock Central High School 1997-1999. At 17, he was a skinny kid, like most kids that age. Physically, he was no where near the freakish "beastliness" King James had attained by the same age. That may make Johnson's ascent all the more impressive, though. For fun, let's compare the two with hard data. Here's a quick side-by-side of the two players from when they were aged 17/18 and last year:

Joe Johnson 1998-1999
L.R. Central senior
Height: 6-6 Weight: 215
18.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and two steals a game.

LeBron James 2002-2003
St. Vincent-St. Mary senior
Height: 6-8, Weight: 235
Averaged 30.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.9 steals a game.

Joe Johnson 2007-2008
Atlanta Hawks All-Star
Height: 6-7 Weight: 235
Averaged 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1 steal a game.

LeBron James 2007-2008
Cleveland Cavaliers All-NBA
Height: 6-8 Weight: 250
Averaged 28.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.8 steals a game.

As you can see, LeBron is superior to Joe in every statistical category. Still, that is not surprising for somebody who was the most hyped prep ball player of all time and may go down as the greatest forward the game has ever seen.

Joe has traveled much farther - and worked every bit as hard as LeBron - to achieve his current stature.

He's done quite well for someone who was rated the 39th best H.S. player in the nation the summer before his senior year.

C'mon, Snapper!

Maybe NBC should start paying its international basketball color commentators to travel to game sites instead of calling them from their New York studios.

Some of Steve "Snapper" Jones' less-than-enlightened comments during the Lithuania-Spain Olympic semifinal (I had DVR'ed it), left me shaking my head.

3-time ABA all-star "Snapper" is an amiable enough guy, with merriment dancing in his eyes and all that good stuff, but he has a thing or two to learn about the role of language in international basketball. Par example -

1) In the first quarter, "Snapper" discussed how Juan Carlos Navarro wasn't playing because of a minor injury. He decided to impersonate Navarro - who'd just finished playing an NBA season - discussing the issue with his Spanish coach. İn halting English, he said "Coach... I... play... in... NBA... now. I play."

C'mon, Steve "Snapper!" Snap out of it!
As a pro player, did you speak broken-ass Spanish with your English-speaking coaches, just for fun? I'm sure Navarro does the same with English with his Spanish coach.

2) Later, the "Snapper" exposited on how quickly the Olympic officials were calling "unsportsmanlike" fouls. He said: "The good thing about international refs is that most aren't multilingual. So the player can complain to him all he wants in his native language and the ref will just shrug his shoulders and call the foul."

Most international refs aren't multilingual? These are European professionals. They eat multilingualism flakes for breakfast every morning. Most of the refs are native, Spanish, Greek or a Slavic-language speaking but they all have to know English to call games.. It's the lingua franca of the basketball world.


I don't want to spill too much Haterade down the Snapper's gullet, though.

He did make a good observation: The older players on the Spanish team have their last names on the back of their jerseys, which is traditional, while the young players have their first names on the backs.

I wonder if it's all the rage on Spanish youth teams?

What is the ACB and why is it "Ballerific"?

ACB means Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto or Associaton of Basketball Clubs. Pardon my French, but this Spanish league is considered the creme de la creme of all domestic basketball league outside of the NBA. Spanish fans are rabid about their basketball and club owners are willing to pay top dollar to attract talent to the peninsula. This league is a lot less cookie-cutter than its logo would have you believe!

For one, the color of the Spanish people absolutely pops off the league's English-language website. Go here and look at the graphic in the middle of the page by the words "El Crack." Hardly niño friendly, eh?

For two, this audaciously fun league also happens to be home to Ricky Rubio, the best young talent in Europe.

His team - DKV Joventut - is a based in Badolona, Spain, a suburb of Barcelona in the northeast of Spain.


View Larger Map

The 78-year old team is one of only three in the ACB to have never been demoted to a lesser domestic league and will this year place its chances for success in the hands of young Rubio.

Star Rudy Fernandez, Rubio's backcourt mate from last year, and the man who almost buried America's chances for Olympic gold in a torrent of threes, has left for the Portland Trailblazers.

Jennings: TrailBlazer; More Smoke than Fire? Part 2

In my last post, I discussed potential roadblocks on 18-year old Brandon Jennings' path to success in Rome.

His new team's coach, Jasmin Repesa, is one.

I saw the sideline-stomping, crew-cut sporting Repesa in action last fall and wrote after the game:

Lottomatica Roma head coach Jasmin Repesa is the single most intimidating coach I have ever witnessed. Our group sat just a couple of rows behind the visitors' bench and watched, slack-jawed, as Repesa tore into his players with a ferocity and laser-eyed intensity that simply had to be experienced to be understand. As I looked into Repesa's cold, black, beady pupils, I can only liken my impression to him as a combination of Dennis Hopper and Jaws. I do not think that his players made eye contact with him one time the entire game. I once read that there are two types of coaches - the kind that teaches through fear and intimidation (the "Bobby Knight" type) and the kind that teache primarily through patience and positive reinforcement (the "Mike Kryzewski" type). Well, in Europe, clearly the master of the "Bobby Knight" style of coaching is the Croatian Jasmin Repesa.

Chances are this won't be the best coach for a young, albeit talented, player just learning to play with grown men, learning the new FIBA rules and experiencing a trans-Atlantic cultural transition.

Then again, as easily as for a jumper, Jennings may rise to the occasion.

Jennings: TrailBlazer; More Smoke than Fire? Part 1

Nobody has ever done what Brandon Jennings is about to do.

The Oak Hill Academy superstar, a flat-top sporting wizard with the ball, will play in Rome this fall as the first recent high school graduate to attempt using European basketball as a springboard to NBA riches.

Other Americans have played in Europe before, but generally after college or a fruitful NBA career (think: Dominique Wilkins). One, Kobe Bryant, played in Italy from age 7-14, but only because his father was already playing there.

But by signing with Pallacanestro Virtus, aka Lottomatica Roma, this summer, Jennings has bucked the standard thinking about what a 18-year old star should do when NBA don't permit draft entry until age 19.

Instead of waiting around this summer to see if he could play in the desert sands of Arizona, he decided to bolt for the cultural riches of Italy. Watching his progress abroad will prove fascinating, and there are a number of threads to follow. DX Draft Express International Scouting Director Luis Fernandez examined one:

1. Is the Italian domestic league the best fit for Jennings?

Jenning's new team is in the Italian domestic league A1, which is - no surprise - better than the other domestic league - A2. It rates only behind the Spanish ACB league as Europe's top domestic league, so it's no place for daisy-pushers, nor a place where teenagers can easily make a mark.

Why?

Fernandez breaks it down:

This is a very physical league where strength and mental toughness is at a premium, two things a player like Jennings cannot be expected to bring to the table at this point in his career.
Roma enjoys a deep roster and a very structured game on both ends of the court. There are no one-man shows here, the ball needs to flow and the team works united for a purpose. A player like Jennings, who loves to jack up shots and to dribble looking for the final definitive pass, probably doesn’t enjoy the experience and maturity to adjust quickly enough. Playing in a top league, you need to be extremely mature and consistently effective in order to enjoy significant freedom within the system, certainly not the easiest task for such a young kid playing the point guard position.

I watched Lottomatica Roma play in person, and in my next post I will discuss why meshing with its stentorian coach Jasmin Repesa may prove a difficult task for our young wunderkind...

New Spanish Kids on the Block

Just how good will the silver medallist Spanish team be when it (probably) takes on the U.S.A. in 2010? That's a question my boys at ballineurope.com have asked lately and they have essentially said that it looks like the Spaniards will address their biggest weakness (and every other nations' for that matter) against the Americans: on the wing (where swingmen - tall, versatile shooting guards and small forwards - play).

Every time the United States took the floor this summer, it had an automatic advantage in both the size and athleticism departments at the swing positions. While some teams could hang with the US on the perimeter (see the medal-round Australia game for the 1st half and Argentina for the 2nd) and others could overpower them inside (e.g. Spain in the gold-medal game), it seemed nobody could matchup with Carmelo, Tayshaun, LeBron, and Kobe in sheer swingman sizzle.

In 2012, the Spanish national team will largely look the same with these changes:

Likely OUTs

• Jorge Garbajosa - the gritty, oft-injured 6-9, 245-pounder will be 34 and likely have long since stepped out of the picture.
• Carlos Jimenze - the even grittier 6-8, 225-pound gritmeister will be 36. He too will likely have given up his spot.

Potential INs

• Victor Claver - from the photo below, it should be very clear is that lack of athleticism in not a problem for this 6-10, 220-lb. Euro. What is less clear is if this 24-year-old-to-be will have improved his perimeter defense enough by 2012 to garner a spot on the team.

• Fernando San Emeterio - I could get all fancy and throw out biographical information about this 6-6, 210-pound 28-year-old-to-be. But let's get real, folks. Look at this face:

That is the dead-eye look of a go-getter.
Do you really think that this guy is not gonna make the team?

• Albert Moncasi - Another big body at 6-10, 220 pounds, it's not clear whether this 26-year-old-to-be is ready for the big-time yet. He's not as athletic as Claver and his intensity isn't yet up to par. Still, big guys do tend to develop a little later.

All in all, it looks like Spain's 2012 swingmen will be a little bigger and possibly more athletic, but the team will miss the experience and uber-grit of Garbajosa and Jimenez. Beating the US will more contingent on Rubio, R. Fernandez, and Marc Gasol's continued development than picking up any kind advantage on the wings - which. it will not.

"God saved me for a reason."

Quite a few NBA fans know that Team USA's only true center, Dwight Howard, was raised in a religious household. Fewer are aware exactly why both he - and his parents - feel so blessed.
After watching a NBA TV biography on Howard, I have learned that the man who now stands 6-11 and weighs 265 lbs. started life as a 21-inch, 2-month pre-mature infant.

More stunningly, his mother miscarried 7 times before his birth.
He was their only (man) child.

Yes, with an upward-looking career, D-Howard has a lot to be thankful for. But, for all his famed quickness and agility, he's still got a ways to go before catching a certain Big Cat on the dance floor.

Holy Guacamole! I am sure glad the Spaniards didn't shoot like this!

Warning: Your eyes are about to be assaulted by some of the most amazing shots man hath ever wrought.

Some factory worker dude from Los Angeles won a game of H-O-R-S-E with LeBron James and proceeded to take him out to pasture.

Empirical evidence here.

Nothing Rickety about this play

Ricky Rubio, Spain's precocious point guard extraordinaire, is hungry to dominate. He shows his undeniable appetite for assists in this clip, courtesy of my good friends at ballineurope.com

US Team Report Card, LeBron v. Kobe, and OMG!-Please-Don't-Let-That-Be-OKC's-New-Logoness

1. Basketball freelance writer extraordinaire David Friedman has written a couple of gems:

a) A detailed report card of each U.S. Olympic Team player's 2008 performance. Not surprisingly, Dwayne Wade (.671 from field, .471 3-pters), LeBron James (led Team USA in steals and blocked shots, ranked second in scoring and assists and shot .602 from the field, including .464 3-pters, but only made .458 FTs), and Kobe Bryant (1st in threes made but made .583 FTs) earned A's.

Chris Bosh's A-grade numbers stirred the pot a bit, though. We knew the 4th pick in the celebrated 2003 NBA draft class was good but who knew he would become the Americans' most effective post weapon in FIBA play?

Chris Bosh (17.3 mpg, 9.1 ppg, .3 apg, 6.1 rpg, two steals, six blocked shots overall)

Bosh led Team USA in rebounding and field goal percentage (.774) and he ranked second in free throw percentage (.862). He was perhaps the most pleasant surprise; Wade's performance was more a matter of him getting healthy than anything else, but Bosh supplanted Howard as Team USA's most effective big. Bosh not only played very well in the paint at both ends of the court but he also did a great job of helping to defend on the perimeter against screen/roll plays. His emergence relegated Boozer to mop up duty and further reinforced a theme that I emphasized all along, namely that Team USA did not need another big on the roster; USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo was right to bolster the team's size and defensive flexibility on the perimeter, fully realizing that Team USA would only play one traditional big at a time.

b) A comparison between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant based not primarily on statistics or vague evocations of "teamwork" and "killer instinct" but an analysis of the two towering talents' skill sets - shooting, passing, defense, footwork/fakes, ballhandling, and rebounding.
Somewhat surprisingly, the comparison is a draw or in Bryant's favor in all skills except passing. Friedman admits that LeBron's hyperathleticism/"beastliness" makes up for current skill deficiencies:

There is not a huge gulf between Bryant and James at this point. It seems that most of the people who believe that James is already better than Bryant fall into two camps: fans who are speaking from the heart more than the mind and stat heads who strictly look at (certain) numbers without considering any context. If you talk to NBA executives, coaches, players and scouts their evaluation will generally resemble the one that was offered above; it may differ in certain specific details but people who look at the game from a technical, objective standpoint realize that Bryant’s skill set is more well rounded than James’ skill set at this point. James’ size and athletic ability mitigate those skill set factors to some extent, so one could make a case that James is better than Bryant in that sense but I’d have to see an improvement in James’ shooting and/or a greater decline in Bryant’s athletic ability to agree with that take.

3. Well, it looks like my home state of Arkansas now has NBA teams in four of its surrounding states (Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, and now Oklahoma). Woo-hoo! Six years ago, this number was one.
Oklahoma City's new team mascot and logo has been kept "under-wraps" until the lid was taken off recently.
Is this possibly the lamest professional mascot/logo of all time? I dare say it was dreamt up by a Stepford Wife on one of her less creative days...