There’s a new King of Brooklyn folks, and his name is Sean Marks. Free agency honestly could not have gone better for the Brooklyn Nets as everything came together in perfect harmony, all those seeds that they began to plant in February 2016 when Sean Marks was announced as the new GM of the franchise have sprouted and grown and blossomed and now born fruit.
Back in the day, trading James Harden had a lot to do with avoiding paying him and going into the luxury tax. The haul they got back for Harden was a bit mud but one piece did turn out to be something useful: the 12th overall pick in 2013 that soon became Steven Adams. So it’d be ironic if they then traded Adams for luxury tax reasons but that’s basketball for ya.
Everything until now has led up to this point. All the cheeky little trades, the massive ones too, all the salary dumps they took upon themselves, all the restricted free agent tricks, all the G-League reclamation projects and the draft picks, all the extra hours spent in the gym from the coaches and the players, all the late nights from Sean Marks and his crew in the front office.
So, in celebration of what we’ve got, here’s the tale of the season that was, as told in delightful, insightful, self-deprecating, and hilarious Steven Adams quotes, for the fourth year in a row. Onwards, dear squires.
This has been a… weird offseason for the New Zealand Breakers. The second year under new ownership is bringing about some serious changes as Matty Walsh and mates begin to properly stamp their mark after a transitional year last time out.
In an age where personalities seem to be more and more dominant, Kawhi Leonard doesn’t have one. In an age where over-exposure is just personal branding and privacy is a forgotten relic, Kawhi Leonard keeps to himself.
It is with a heavy heart and a conflicted mind that I say to you now something that you pretty much already knew: Steven Adams will not be playing for the Tall Blacks at the 2019 World Cup. He was named in the 25-man longlist last week but that was just to cover all bases, it’s since been confirmed via a statement released by his agency that the dream is on hold until some other time in the hypothetical future.
A few days ago, Breakers owner/CEO Matt Walsh teased that there was a “global” announcement coming up from the club. Not just national, not just continental… but global. This at a time where Breakers trust amongst fans is at a pretty low ebb following a disappointing season, a lack of connection with new ownership, and some weird free agency vibes.
The NBA draft lottery is a weird phenomenon. In order to figure out the arrangement of picks in the upcoming draft, the NBA gets a bunch of lawyers in to oversee a bunch of ping pong balls popping out of a machine (all undertaken away from prying eyes) and everybody freaks out about it.
The Breakers made their first major signing for the upcoming NBL season early this week and it wasn’t a massively crazy one. Rob Loe is returning after playing a year for Cairns, the big fella already rumoured to want to return to Aotearoa for family reasons so it only made sense that he’d end up back with the Breakers sooner or later.
It might not be a fair question to ask but it was an unavoidable one those last two games of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s season while watching Adams sit quietly on the bench as his team failed to close out games in the fourth quarter, losing in five to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Perspectives are a funny thing. While we’re all out here dissecting the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first round exit from the NBA playoffs, the Brooklyn Nets are getting widely praised for… a first round exit from the NBA playoffs.
Last play of the fourth quarter, scores are tied 113-113, and Damian Lillard has the ball in his hands following a miss from Russell Westbrook. Paul George steps up to guard him as he takes it into the halfcourt. Dame stands there. Time ticks down.
As the fourth quarter in Oklahoma went on, the telly cameras made a point of focussing in on Steven Adams a few times as the Big Kiwi sat quietly on the bench. Towel draped over his lap, rising to applaud his mates a few times but to be fair there wasn’t often a lot to applaud.
Playoff Steve turned up, that much was true. With the Blazers copping a massive blow to their chances in the playoffs a few weeks back when Jusuf Nurkic was hurt, that meant a Stache Bros reunion as starting centres opposing each other in the playoffs
When Sean Marks left the warm and nurturing bosom of the San Antonio Spurs, there was talk. Of course an NBA GM’s gig is one that would be almost impossible to turn down. But not every GM’s gig is like the rest and the job he inherited at the Nets provided a team left reeling from one of the worst trades the NBA has ever seen.
Ask anyone at UVA and they’ll absolutely rave about Jack Salt. Sometimes he’d have a prominent role in games - setting screens, guarding the rim, and grabbing rebounds – other times he’d only play a few minutes.
Keep it quiet, don’t want get ahead of ourselves here or anything… but the last few games have seen a big boost in the statties for a certain Steven Adams. The Thunder overall… not as much… but let’s bookmark that one for now.
Last time it was a full on look at how Steven Adams has been tracking against the criticism that’s come back his way in recent times. Mostly from frustrated fans, to be fair. This time it’s all about why those fans are frustrated. Because you may recall a moment in history not completely forgotten in which the Thunder were hanging in there for the third seed in the west.
All them trips throughout Asia and back as the Tall Blacks sought qualification for the 2019 FIBA World Cup came to their conclusion in late February with a dramatic 69-67 win away in Jordan followed by a bit of a disappointing 86-80 defeat in Jordan.