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:

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

National team announcements

These days, a few countries announced their first selections for the National teams for their upcoming competitions. We took a closer look at Spain, Serbia and France today.

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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?

Monday’s cigarettes

The rumors in Europe are in heavy rotation these days when it comes to transfers. But we also found some other nice stories that are worth mentioning.

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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.