The 10 Strangest NBA Moments of July

The month of July is typically an awkward one for NBA fans.

We’re fresh off the NBA Finals and the NBA Draft, but suddenly realizing that there won’t be any legitimate competition played for the next three months.

Of course, as with any NBA summer vacation, there are plenty of things happening with player movement and free agency, but also incidents of the more peculiar variety.

Deals are made, teams are transformed, and players find themselves with a bit too much free time on their hands. And in this age of the never-ending 24/7 news cycle, the explosion of social media and the public’s insatiable thirst for a sip of something different, the month that just ended did not disappoint.

Which brings us to our list of the “10 Strangest NBA Things That Happened In July,” because basketball doesn’t stop –and neither do any of the shenanigans that often come with it.

1. Brad Stevens hired as the Head Coach of the Boston Celtics.

This was more of a surprise than it was strange, but in a digital age where deals are spoiled days before they transpire, Danny Ainge certainly pulled a rabbit out of the hat with this one. Brad Stevens was a fine choice who many expected to make the leap from Butler at some point, though it was doubtful that leap would be to the NBA.

His success at Butler is a testament to his high basketball IQ that was expected to carry over onto another collegiate squad, but instead he’ll be taking his talents to one of the most storied franchises in NBA history.

Kudos to the Celtics organization for sneaking this on everybody, and though time will tell if Brad Stevens will have any success at this next level, its safe to say that no one saw this coming at the end of last season.

2. Baron Davis “abducted by aliens”.

For those that have been wondering where Baron Davis has been since he missed out on all of the 2012-13 season, he’s been having some extraterrestrial trips in his downtime. During a podcast earlier last month, Davis claimed that he was “abducted” by aliens while he was driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.

“They were poking me on the nose, looking at my eyes, they had my hands tied, and the next thing you know I was in Montabello dude, burning rubber on the way back to L.A. at 4 o’clock in the morning.”

Well, there really isn’t anything one can say to that other than, glad to see you’re doing OK, Baron.

3. Mike D’Antoni “mind boggled” that Dwight Howard signed with the Houston Rockets.

OK, now that the “Dwecision” has come and gone, the reactions from many of those in the Lakers organization is pretty strange. Such as coach Mike D’Antoni telling ESPN radio that he couldn’t understand why Dwight Howard would leave a city like L.A.

All jokes aside, the fact that D’Antoni is truly confused by this is exactly why Dwight Howard isn’t there right now, and why Lakers fans should be wary of him. Money, marketing, and the history of the Lakers aside, it should be almost obvious that one of Dwight Howard’s determining factors for leaving was ultimately who they’ve put all faith in as their coach. Perhaps D’Antoni may have forgotten that Dwight wasn’t exactly his biggest fan. Seriously, is there anyone that listened to D’Antoni and didn’t immediately point to him as the primary factor of Dwight no longer being there?

4. Kurt Rambis hired as a Lakers’ Assistant Coach.

It’s not strange that Kurt Rambis was hired by the Lakers organization; we all know his history with the franchise.

But it’s strange that he was hired by this current regime running the Lakers organization. Rambis has been very vocal over the way the Lakers have conducted business over the past year, and putting him under Mike D’Antoni just sounds like an awkward matchup.

Of course one could easily speculate that if D’Antoni falters at any point beyond redemption, Rambis will be the first to take the reins, but we’re not here to speculate.

Or maybe we are.

4. Terrence Jones arrested for allegedly stomping on a homeless man’s leg.

This is a case of an NBA player having too much free time on his hands during the off-season.

According to KATU-TV in Portland, Terrence Jones of the Houston Rockets was arrested for assaulting a homeless man outside a bar. Strange, and dumb, and completely unnecessary, especially when professional athletes already get a bad rap for incidents that include going to bars and finding trouble after they leave those establishments.

Jones will have his day in court come September, but there doesn’t seem to be a reasonable explanation in the world that could justify this incident.

5. Sacramento Kings pull their offer to Andre Iguodala.

In a move that came quite unexpectedly, the Sacramento Kings started their new reign of ownership by effectively putting players on notice that they’re a team that might be considered somewhat fickle.

Andre Iguodala was all set to sign a four-year, $52 million dollar deal with the Kings when they decided at the last minute to say “Thanks, but no thanks” in so many ways. While one can understand the Kings’ decision not to wait on a player that was still considering offers from other teams, it wasn’t like they compensated for not signing him by landing another big fish. Some would say it was foolhardy to allow Tyreke Evans to join the New Orleans Pelicans, and their already weak roster is now weaker than it already was.

Other might argue that tying up that much money in a player on the wrong side of 30 was a bad idea to begin with, and adding value players who make reasonable money, including Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Carl Landry and Greivis Vazquez makes much more sense.

Time will tell.