Sasha Vujacic to Europe? The real reasons

It is no surprise that almost-NBA champion Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic has been contacted by several European teams. Kobe Bryant tells us that he would not be surprised if Sasha takes the money and runs, just because he won’t get that much money from the Lakers or any other NBA club.

So once again, money is supposed to be the reason? NO! If Sasha is treated like this by his favorite MVP, his American idol (let’s just call him Sasha’s GOD), he has to leave. Watch this:

Oh well, Sasha, Kobe doesn’t love you like you love him … but it looks like a few more people don’t like you that much, either. Like Manu Ginobili, Andrew Bynum, Carmelo Anthony, Baron Davis and even the entire Cleveland Cavaliers team. He can’t even join the New York Knicks anymore! Would you want to stay in this league when nobody likes you and you get hurt all the time? I don’t know.

Does Europe want a guy like that? I guess not - well, hold on - the Euroleague might need a substitute for that guy who made us all laugh last season, even though he knew what he was saying to make us laugh: Sasha probably doesn’t know.

If everything fails, Sasha, why don’t you look into coaching and teach some people “how to look like a hero on the court” as well as “how to fly like a mosquito bite next to you”? Nope - no typo - watch this:

End-of-week rumors

RONNY TURIAF WOULD LIKE TO BE A LAKER.
Ronny told the press to write that, so there it is. It’s not really a rumor, but Ronny is a free agent now and didn’t play too well in the NBA Finals … wait, did he play? Right now, everybody wants to be a Laker, since everybody, including Sasha Vujacic, is talking how great the team will be once Andrew Bynum returns. Ronny really deserves to be on a great team like the Lakers, but he has not done much to help them in the Finals.

Not that of a big chance for Ronny to get the NBA championship in 2009:

Tiago Splitter to the San Antonio Spurs
Tiago finally got drafted last year by the San Antonio Spurs, but signed a HUGE contract with Tau Ceramica to stay in Europe. It looks like the bad economy in the US is keeping MANY players from going to the NBA for “pocket money.” Seems like just playing on the top level is not the biggest thing anymore.

Tiago in the NBA soon:

Omar Cook to Unicaja Malaga
Last thing we heard from Omar was that he had gotten a European passport: Not a bad thing for an American professional basketball player, right? This probably doubled his salary as well as his chances to land on a big-time team such as Malaga, who needs improvement on Bojan Popovic, a little bit of a disappointment there.

It just makes sense to bring in a “European” for another European, right?

DC Collins to leave Zalgiris
In L.A., I was in a car with some of the greatest US bloggers, like Henry Abbott from truehoop. Of course we talked some basketball, and the only thing they mentioned over and over was “chicken and porn.” I guess the chicken got stuck in everyone’s brain … I’m sure fans would NOT love seeing DC leave, especially those who enjoyed his interviews, but after such a season Collins’ salary might be too big for a Lithuanian team. What do we care? As long as he joins a team with good reporters that put up that great stuff on YouTube, we’re all fine right? The only country that may have the money to make DC happy is probably Russia. Not so many Euroleague teams there, though …

DC Collins leaving Zalgiris:

Andre Barrett to join Maccabi Tel Aviv
Never heard that name? Well, get used to it. Look at his career and you’ll agree that this is a guy who wants to play in Europe. He’s played in the NBA … not much so far. On the other hand, he has experience as a point guard whichmany Euroleague teams will be seeking. As some Israeli newspapers just released, Andre is only in negotiations with Maccabi, but this would be a nice fit.

Too much rumor so far:

Marc Jackson to sign with UNICS Kazan
Insiders may ask, “Why is this a rumor?” Well, it’s just because I can’t read Russian, that’s all. According to UNICS’ official website, where we see a picture of Marc Jackson, he has in fact signed there. Russian, anybody…?

Seems to be very true:

The NBA Finals game 3

So I made it to Los Angeles. After a long! cab ride to the Staples Center, I picked up my media credentials and went into the arena at about 2:30 .. and never left it until about 10.30 local time. Yes, I spent seven hours in a basketball gym. And it was worth it! Read more

An open letter to European Basketball

I’m writing you today on behalf of the Los Angeles Lakers. I have no official capacity with the club, but after watching three games of the NBA Finals, you can’t help but feel sorry for guys like Phil Jackson, Sasha Vujcic, Kobe Bryant and especially Jack Nicholson, who’s about one more fourth-quarter comeback away from open-heart surgery. Something has to be done, and as a fan I appeal to you, the Old World, for assistance.

Simply put, the Lakers are one player short of a championship and European basketball may be uniquely qualified to help: The player I envision would be exactly the sort bred and trained in the European style.

Of course, the Zen Master is primarily known for two things in the world of hoops: His nine championship rings and his triangle offense. The two are inextricably linked and when properly executed, the triangle has proven deadly time and again. When the triangle is broken and the double-post offense becomes another variation on big guy-in-the-paint, Phil’s Lakers or (albeit far less frequently) Bulls lost.

During the heyday of Shaquille O’Neal’s time with the Lakers, Jackson once explained that one of the reasons why Wilt Chamberlain was so dominant in his time was because his teams employed the triangle offense. With such a presence in the lane to act as a sort of human lighthouse overseeing ball movement on the court, Wilt’s teammates could set Chamberlain up underneath over and over and over … sometimes up to 100 points’ worth of over.

With Andrew Bynum out, the problem for the Lakers in these playoffs has been a complete lack of inside presence. I can’t quite remember how Los Angeles continued winning after Bynum went down, but that was a long time ago anyway…

Now I know what you’re thinking, Europe: Guys like Shaq are rare anywhere in the world, much less in much of Europe. Hell, the only European O’Neal couldn’t single-handedly destroy in his prime was Arvydas Sabonis and another Sabonis is hardly waiting in the wings. But a force of nature like Shaq is hardly required for Phil & Co. to win a title, however; as evidence, check out the hardly megastar-level centers employed by the 1990s Chicago Bulls: Bill Cartwright and Luc Longley.

All the Lakers need is a center that can find the open man on the pass once in a while, a skill for which Longley was underrated throughout his career and one developed to perfection by Shaq by the time he left L.A.

Plus, the all-around skills the European game teaches the big guys are solely lacking American training. Another guy from the Continent would create just a beautiful passing game with the likes of Vujacic, Bryant and Derek Fisher on the floor at the same time. It seems to me the Lakers had something like that not so long ago…

To tell the truth, the Lakers don’t even need a star in the middle right now. With Lamar Odom capable of producing a double-double on any night even against the tenacious Celtic ‘D’, all Los Angeles needs in a capable big body to put on the hardly huge Kevin Garnett. On offense, a Laker big guy would only need skills enough to get around the hardly quick Kendrick Perkins. In fact, Perkins is just ready to be eaten alive by a quick guy unafraid to take it to the hoop.

Oh yes, fearlessness: That’s another quality I’m looking for in my new Laker player. Perhaps a player with a little high-pressure international play on his CV would be able to handle the high intensity of an NBA best-of-seven series. Like all other fans, Laker fans need to know their center won’t wilt under the heat of the media spotlight.

Finally, a modicum of hustle would be great. Sometimes a little awareness can go a long way. A prospective Laker from Europe would always have the stamina to run the length of the floor, to always know whom he’s playing against on defense, and to constantly put his body between the opposition and the basket. Just look at the energy and smarts displayed by Vujacic and Luke Walton, guys that might never make the Hall of Fame but will have earned it just as much as Michael Jordan if ever immortalized as champions.

Again do I appeal to you, o Europe, great father of the USA. You’ve gotta help the Lakers. In short, what the team appears to need is a Marc Gasol type, but maybe a year or two older, with some NBA experience.

You have anybody like that over there?

Thank you for your help.

Yours,
Os Davis

P.S. Como se dice “Wake up and smell the coffee, Pau, game four’s in two days!” en Español?

Mayors make America-sized bet

It’s true, it’s true: Everything is bigger in America.

Want an example? Check out the huge USA-sized wager taking place between the mayors of Los Angeles and Boston over the NBA Finals.

(Incidentally, this bet accidentally makes for the best argument for an eight-team America/Europe tournament: Just imagine the Cleveland and Moscow heads wagering the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame against 1,000,000 square miles of Siberia on the Cleveland Cavaliers-CSKA Moscow finals in 2015…)

The bet is as follows.

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:

“If the Celtics win, we’ll send you the best professional [American] football team L.A. has to offer: the Arena League’s Los Angeles Avengers.

“If the Lakers win, we get the [New England] Patriots.

“I know what you might be thinking: ‘Villaraigosa must be nuts! Bostonians would make out like bandits in that deal! With an indoor arena team, the fans would not have to risk frostbite to see a mid-September game. And with the smaller field, our coaches wouldn’t even need cameras to steal opponents’ signals.’

“I’m sure my constituents might not be happy with this deal, but I am so confident in the Lakers’ victory that I am willing to put it all on the line.”

“Oh, and to sweeten the pot, in the event of a Lakers victory you can keep the Patriots’ coach.

“We have a pretty good guy down the street who might be interested in the job — and who probably still has the gear.”

(Note to Europeans: Villaraigosa was not referring to famous Californian and the most well-known American football player abroad, O.J. Simpson.)

From Thomas Menino, mayor of Boston:

“Tonight is indeed an historic evening – the great competition begins once more between two of the NBA’s fiercest rivals. I remember well the last time we BEAT L.A. – there certainly have been a lot of changes in those 20-plus years. …

“But you’ve come up with an interesting bet. I know you don’t have much to offer so I appreciate your creativity. I would love to accept the arena (minus the team), but only because we could use the extra space for all of our banners – the rafters at the Garden are getting a little too crowded and we’re having trouble finding room for the 17th. …

“While I understand you won’t have the chance to come out and see a game in Boston, I hope you will have the opportunity to attend a game in Los Angeles. This series is bound to be a memorable one, so I suggest you consider breaking the L.A. custom of missing most of the first quarter and leaving early to beat the traffic.

“Your city is renowned for its great storytellers including yourself, Mr. Mayor, but I am sorry to say that this time there won’t be a fairytale ending. Best of luck, and Go Celtics!”

Now, anybody wanna bet on the Olympics? Germany…? Spain, maybe?

BallinEurope goes to Hollywood

BIEGTH - RELAX don’t do it! Everybody knows this hit from the 80s. We’re not from the UK and the UK is not part of the European Union but well - BallinEurope goes to Hollywood, too!

Thanks to FIBA (yes, you Nic!) and the NBA (Rachel Walsh) I will fly to Los Angeles and watch the Euro-Lakers battling the Boston Celtcs in this year’s NBA Finals.

I just booked my flight (and a hotel) from Philadelphia to Los Angeles on June 10th to watch game three and game four on the 12th. learned a few lessons already, as I was at the NBA Finals last year in Cleveland, and even from the Euroleague Final Four. I will not book a flight that arrives three hours before the game starts: You might not get your bags. Second thing: I booked a room in a hotel RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from the Staples Center.

Of course we will try to cover the Euro-Lakers and the NBA Finals 2008 as much as we did the Euroleague Final Four in Madrid this May - from our very own European prospective.

You might think, “What does a European basketball blog do in the US, especially at the NBA finals? Take a look at our BallinEurope Guy - doesn’t he look a little bit like Pau Gasol? We never tried to make him look like that but people told us so. I will try to get a hold of Pau and see what he thinks of our guy.

Another reason: To follow the Euro-Lakers! Starting with Italian superstar Kobe Bryant (please get the joke) to Spanish superstar Pau Gasol to all these other European sharp shooters.

Last but not least - We have to follow the enemy: Big, bad American basketball that is all about show and nothing else! (Once again, I am just kidding - I like entertainment :)).

The best thing about this US trip? I get to meet many cool people such as Lang Whitaker from SLAM and Henry Abbott from ESPN. I even planned to visit Henry Abbott at his office in New Jersey later this summer.

10 days to go! Yaaaay!

By the way is anyone else who reads this blog going? I would LOVE to meet up with anyody who reads, likes or hates BallinEurope. Please post a comment if you are!

Adande on the Euro Lakers

Now i don’t like to give free advertising to that all too well-known Worldwide Leader in [American] Sports, a.k.a. ESPN, but Euroball fans must check out J.A. Adande’s piece entitled Euro Lakers two wins from NBA Finals.

At the beginning of this season (in those already now seemingly long-ago days of the just pre-Gasol Era), one couldn’t help but look at the Laker boxscores and notice the Euroflavour of this team: deadshots Radmanovic and Vujacic, plus Turiaf le Grand. Throw in Mbenga and you’ve got quite the international team even before the gift from Memphis arrived.

Plus there was Kobe; when Americans scoffed at his lack of college education, it could always be pointed out that Jellybean’s kid was educated in proper European grade schools and how many languages do you speak fluently, by the way?

When Gasol came along and particularly when Andrew Bynum went down, there was a look about the guys on the floor, the perimeter game, that was different from all Lakers teams that had come before, that looked different from any other team in the league.

Adande — or rather, the Zenmaster — got it scoped and into words: “Phil Jackson has said that the Lakers have taken on another European basketball characteristic and aren’t as physical as other teams. But this style is working for them.”

That’s it exactly: The Lakers are the best Euroleague team not in the Euroleague.

J.A. excellently touches upon all the other aspects social and humourous about these Lakers: Difficulties with the insane English language (including a hilarious “lol”-type story about Radmanovic introducing himself to the Seattle Supersonics), Kobe’s polyglot talents, the futball influence, and the rounded skill set the top European players are generally trained in.

Well worth a look, BallinEuropeans. Not all American sports journalism is this engaging, well-written and fun.

Cheers.