In what’s been seeming like a rarity lately, no major scandals broke in major North American pro sports.
I don’t think I need to recap what an ugly summer it’s been in the sports world, with Danny Ferry and Adrian Peterson the latest episodes in a series that all started with Donald Sterling.
In today’s relative quiet, then, there was plenty of time to react to the recent news. In the NBA, that means the comments written by an anonymous Hawks scout and paraphrased by Danny Ferry, which I’m sure you’re familiar with by now.
There’s several different takes on this issue, as you might expect. Let’s start with Carmelo Anthony, as reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post:
Carmelo Anthony didn’t mince his words about the ongoing Atlanta Hawks racism controversy Saturday morning, slamming the franchise for the comments that were uncovered this week and saying it will impact the way free agents look at the franchise now and moving forward.
“[There] ain’t nobody [who] would want to go there,” Anthony said at the Citi Carmelo Anthony Basketball ProCamp at Baruch College Saturday morning. “At the end of the day, Atlanta … I think it puts Atlanta back even further now, from that standpoint.”
The Hawks franchise has been under fire after the Hawks and the NBA announced Sunday morning that the team’s majority owner, Bruce Levenson, was selling his controlling interest in the franchise after an internal investigation uncovered a racist email he sent to other team executives in 2012. That investigation began after general manager Danny Ferry said on a conference call with the team’s ownership group in June that potential free agent target Luol Deng, “He’s got some African in him. And I don’t say that in a bad way.”
Ferry took an indefinite leave of absence from the Hawks on Friday, but the damage to the franchise already has been done in the eyes of one of the NBA’s biggest stars.
“Atlanta is a great city, a great market, great people, great atmosphere,” Anthony said. “But as far as the comments were made, I think it was uncalled for. From an owner, from a GM, those are not things you play with.
“As a player, as an athlete, we’re looking for a job, we’re trying to find a place where we can move our family, we can make our family comfortable, where we can be comfortable in a comfortable environment, but those comments right there, we would never look at. I’m speaking on behalf of all athletes. We would never look at a situation like that, I don’t care what it is.”
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com has a really interesting piece about how pro scouting trends have evolved over the last decade:
Think about it: Why do professional sports teams and leagues employ armies of public relations people? If you think it’s to help the media do its job of getting to the truth, I’ve got a basketball team in Atlanta to sell you.
But here is the irony: The gossip-mongering TMZ culture that has begun to bring down sports figures and expose their flaws has actually been incubating inside the NBA culture for years. No one disputes that Ferry’s characterization of Deng’s ethnicity was indefensible. But think about why the team’s basketball staff and owners were having a conversation about Deng’s personality and character traits to begin with.
Much like the pay-by-the-scoop gossip media, NBA executives have been trafficking in rumor and clandestine reporting on players’ private lives and tendencies for years.
According to multiple executives and scouts within the league, the realization occurred to NBA teams roughly in the early 2000s that they were investing millions of dollars in scouting college players and virtually none in scouting NBA players. Every team had advanced scouts who’d dutifully jot down the plays that the next opponent was running, but few, if any, had pro personnel departments dedicated to gathering every last tidbit of information about NBA veterans they might acquire via trade or sign as free agents.
Now, most teams have numerous people doing this dirty but necessary work.
…
Over time, the emphasis shifted from typical information anyone could get by speaking with coaches and agents, who somehow always gave glowing reports, to more aggressive reporting tactics. Scouts and personnel men quickly learned that the real scoop would come from ball boys, equipment guys, teammates, various members of a player’s entourage and even other scouts. (In case you’re wondering, yes, media reporting on the NBA has evolved in much the same way.)
“All the GMs have their guys out there, and their job is to go get information,” said another person who is an executive with a team. “It’s really extreme, but it’s what is going on right now. That is the norm, it has to be done, and every team does it.”
Finally, here’s what Kyle Korver, a current Hawk and a former teammate of Deng’s, had to say, via Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Q. You were teammates with Luol Deng. Would you care to comment about what was said about him? Have you reached out to him?
A. Yeah we did speak. Luol is such a good guy. And he’s been through so much in life that I don’t really think this has really even fazed him. He told me that he didn’t think that Danny or anyone with the Hawks was racist. He said he was shocked when he heard what was said, but that sometimes things just slip out. It was pretty amazing, really. He just wants everything to move on. He wants to get back to basketball.
Now, here’s the rest of the NBA’s latest news:
MELO LOOKING FORWARD TO THE TRIANGLE
Part of me is excited to see what he can do in the system that Kobe Bryant had his best years in, but part of me also wonders why, if the Triangle is so good, does nobody else use it. The Triangle should be a better system for the Knicks than whatever they were trying to do last season, but it also won’t be a magic cure-all for an offense still lacking in many areas.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com:
The star forward has been working out at the team’s facility in Westchester recently, along with “six or seven” other Knicks, to get a head start on the new triangle offense.
“I haven’t been broadcasting it, man. But I’ve been at the facility for the last couple of weeks with the young guys, with the coaches, trying to figure out that triangle offense,” Anthony said.
The Knicks and new head coach Derek Fisher are expected to install the triangle offense this season.
Anthony says that he “can’t wait” to learn the offense that helped Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant win championships under Phil Jackson-coached teams.
“Without a doubt, without a doubt. When people say spots, I’m going to be all over the floor in the triangle,” Anthony said. “It makes it hard to guard, it keeps all eyes off of you. I’m looking forward to it, I’ve been saying it all summer. I can’t wait.” Anthony has said that he expects the Knicks to make the playoffs but doesn’t see them winning a title this summer.
STEVE CLIFFORD TALKS HORNETS’ ROSTER, WHY HE LIKES PLAYERS WITH EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE
Before we get to this article, I just want to point out one more time how everything feels right with the world now that the Hornets are back, wearing teal and purple, and playing in Charlotte? Good. Also, could you have ever imagined someone like Lance Stephenson, a talented, young, two-way player, going to that Bobcats? I sure can’t.
And now they’re a genuine mid-tier contender in the East, and it doesn’t feel weird at all. The power of teal, I guess.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer:
Q. How much or little will missing the preseason affect Noah Vonleh’s rookie season?
A. It will definitely affect how quickly he can reach the chance to be in the playing group because a lot of the teaching comes at training camp. But he made good strides during summer league.
If you look at the early schedule (18 games before the end of November) we just don’t have many days to practice. In the preseason you can have double sessions and can do a lot of teaching. Camp is so geared to your game – both team and individual games. In the season you spend more time preparing for opponents.
Q. Clearly there was a focus this off-season on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s jump shot. How has he done?
A. Really, really well. He’s done a good job, and Mark (Price) has done a good job working with him. He’s transformed as far as shooting mechanics.
In general, he looks more confident. He’s just had a phenomenal summer as far as (improving) physically and in conditioning. He, Kemba (Walker) and Gary (Neal) have been here all summer. They’re all in high-quality shape and ready to get started.
Q. Do you see any holes on your roster heading into training camp?
A. Noah going down (to injury) means we need to add another big guy. Right now we have four (big) guys who are healthy – Marvin (Williams), Cody (Zeller), Al (Jefferson) and Biz (Bismack Biyombo).
Some things you can overcome for a few games. But you never want to come up short on size in this league. Very hard to win like that.
Q. You said in May how important this offseason would be for Zeller. How does he look?
A. Very good, improved in all areas. He’s worked hard at his shooting, and he’s a lot stronger. And he worked on all his post moves.
Q. Any concerns about Al Jefferson’s foot after the plantar fascia injury in the playoffs?
A. He’s here doing all the (voluntary) workouts. He’s had no pain, no restrictions.
Q. How will Brian Roberts work out as your backup point guard?
A. I had a better feel for him (from coaching him in Orlando summer league years ago). He can really shoot, he knows how to run a team and he’s a good pick-and-roll guy. And he’s a gym rat. Gary (Neal) is the same way. They were both right on the fringes (of having pro careers coming out of college). They had to go to Europe and play well.
Q. You’ve talked about admiring players like that, who had to prove themselves outside the NBA. What makes them distinct?
A. I feel confident they’ll play well. In Europe, you have four bad games and you’re gone. They know how difficult it is (to reach the NBA), and you see it in their habits.
TEODOSIC COULD PLAY IN NBA; DOESN’T BECAUSE OF MONEY
With Nikola Mirotic headed to the Bulls, the unofficial title of “best player outside the NBA” is once again up for grabs. If you watch the World Cup final tomorrow, you’ll see one of the top contenders: Serbia’s 6’5 guard Milos Teodosic, who plays his club hoops for CSKA Moscow. Spoiler alert: he’s really good.
You’ll see for yourselves Sunday: Mr. Teodosic could play in the NBA if he chose to. But word is he wants $3-plus mil annually to make jump
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) September 13, 2014
ESPN sources say Grizz, LAST summer, were latest NBA team to lobby him hard. But Teodosic, like legendary Bodiroga before him, won’t budge
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) September 13, 2014