Battling back from injuries are a major
part of playing the game of football, especially in the NFL. There comes a
point when constantly battling injuries just to get an opportunity to play
again becomes too much. That was the case for the star quarterback of the
Indianapolis Colts, whose latest injury hurdle became just to big in his mind
to overcome and decided that he had enough.
On Saturday night after the Colts 27-17
loss in their preseason tilt versus the Chicago Bears, perennial Pro Bowl
quarterback Andrew Luck announced his retirement from the NFL just seven
seasons of action, saying constantly battling back from one injury after
another took away his love for playing football.
Luck, who will turn 30 years old on Sept.
12 had a meeting with team owner Jim Irsay, and presumably head coach Frank
Reich and General Manager Chris Ballard earlier on Saturday to inform him of
his decision right before the Colts third preseason game versus the Bears,
where he left three years on his $140 million contract, with $58 million
guaranteed.
“This certainly is not isn’t how I
envisioned this or planned this. But I am going to retire,” Luck, the No. 1
overall pick out of Stanford by the Colts in 2012 said after the game. “This is
not an easy decision. Honestly, this is the hardest decision of my life. But it
is the right decision for me.”
“For the last four years or so, I’ve been
in the cycle of injury, pain, rehab, injury, pain, rehab, and it’s been
unceasing, unrelenting, both in-season and offseason, and I felt stuck in it,
and the only way I see out is to no longer play football. It’s taken my joy out
of this game away.”
Luck was ruled out of the contest due to a
lingering left calf/ankle injury that has kept out of all but three training
camp practices.
He was walking the Colts’ sidelines during
the game though looking nothing like a guy that was done with football, joking,
and conversed with his teammates.
Then at around 9:30 p.m. eastern standard
time on Saturday night, ESPN’s NFL Insider Adam Schefter tweeted
(@AdamSchefter) the shocking news, “Filed to ESPN: Andrew Luck has informed the
Colts he is retiring from the NFL, per source.
Not even four minutes after Schefter broke
the news that a fan wearing a Luck’s No. 12 jersey in the stands of Lucas Oil Stadium
jersey visibly upset just sat in his seat and puts his head into his left
forearm.
Another fan at 10:01 p.m. eastern, another
fan wearing a jersey with Luck’s number just simply took it off.
Then in perhaps in his final time at Lucas
Oil Stadium as a member of the Colts, Luck walked off to the dressing room
surrounded by security guards at game’s end to a chorus of boos from the fans
left in attendance at 10:02 p.m.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I heard the
reaction,” Luck said of being booed as he walked off the field adding, “Yeah,
it hurt. I’ll be honest. It hurt.”
“Unacceptable,” is how WPIX 11’s weekend
sports anchor Andy Adler said of the Colts’ fans reaction to the sudden
retirement of Luck.
WABC 7 Eyewitness anchor Sade Baderinwa
concurred by saying of the fans reaction “I just don’t agree with the booing.
This was a medical decision.”
Luck had planned to make the announcement
of his retirement on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. to tell his teammates that he
was retiring. But once the news broke during the game, he changed course and
gave an impromptu 25-minute conference with the press to announce his
retirement at the tender age of 29.
To bring into context the kind of injuries
that Luck has battled through the past four years, in 2015 it was an injury to
his throwing shoulder that shelved him for two games and then a kidney injury
that had him out for seven games that same season. He only missed one game the
next year because of a concussion. Luck missed all of 2017 because of
continuing issues with his right shoulder, that required surgery.
When Luck did play, he battled through a
torn abdomen, lacerated kidney, and torn cartilage in his ribs.
Luck in total has missed 26 games of a
possible 112 regular season games since 2015 with those aforementioned injuries
and had yet to play in the preseason because of a left calf/ankle issue that he
felt was too big of a hurdle for him to be at the level that he expects to play
at.
“It had essentially sucked the passion,
joy, the fun out of football,” is how Coach Reich described the kind of toll
the pain and rehab Luck endured dealing with said injuries the past four years
on Monday. “And so, Andrew did the right thing.”
The four-time Pro Bowler came back from
shoulder surgery last season in a big way throwing for a career-highs of 67.3
completion percentage and 4,593 yards passing, with 39 passing touchdowns to
just 15 interceptions, on route to be named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the
Year for that season. The Colts went 10-6 that season making it to the AFC
Divisional Round where they lost at the Kansas City Chiefs.
This latest injury to his ankle and calf
however did not even allow him to even play in the preseason and it got to a
point where he just had enough, and to make a tough decision.
“It’s very difficult. I love this team. I
love my teammates. The folks in our building. The fans, the game of football,”
Luck, who played in all 16 games in his first three seasons with the Colts also
said during his retirement presser. “And it’s—as a part of this team, as a
member of this team, and because of how I feel I know I’m unable to pour my
heart and soul into this position, which would not only sell myself short, but
the team in the end as well.”
He added, “I’m in pain. I’m still in pain.
I’ve been in this cycle, which feels like—I mean its been four years of this
injury, pain, rehab cycle and for me to move forward in my life the way I want
to doesn’t involve football.”
This is about as tough and heartbreaking a
way for a player with such talent, humbleness, and work ethic.
When the Colts drafted Luck out of
Stanford as mentioned No. 1 overall in 2012, they felt they found the right man
to replace the best quarterback next to the late great Johnny Unitas in Peyton
Manning, who was going to lead them to more Super Bowl wins.
Luck got them close to that goal in 2014,
when the Colts made it to the AFC Championship Game but lost at the eventual
Super Bowl XLIX champion New England Patriots 45-7.
It was the first of four playoff
appearances that Luck would lead the Colts to in his first six seasons under
center. The Colts in Luck’s eight playoff starts went 4-4.
Individually, Luck ends his career ranking
third on the Colts all-time list in completions (2,000), passing yards (23,
671), passing touchdowns (171) and quarterback wins with 55, compiling a 53-33
record in his 86 starts.
Only Hall of Famer Dan Marino (196) and
signal caller of the Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers (174) have more touchdown
passes through their first 86 career games than the 171 of Luck, who is in
front of Hall of Famer Brett Favre (157), Manning (150) and Unitas (148).
He did all of that while playing through
those injuries, a bad offensive line and not having the complimentary parts in
terms of a strong wide receiver core and a great running back, which led to him
taking hit, after hit, after hit at times and that led to those said injuries.
It is those injuries that not only took as
Luck said the joy out of playing football, but his fight to get back on the
field as evidenced by his Saturday night presser.
When you saw Luck on the field, he had
that fire and desire when he talked with his teammates. How he made offensive
play calls with determined vibrato and confidence. How he slapped defenders on
their head when they sacked him.
This news was not only shocking as
evidenced by the Colts fans in Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night, so were
many in the NFL circle like 13-year safety of the NFL with the New York Giants,
Washington Redskins, and Pittsburgh Steelers, now ESPN analyst Ryan Clark.
He thought it was a bad joke when he first
heard the news as he, John Anderson and Kenny Mayne were getting ready to tape
the Sunday morning, 12 a.m. edition of ESPN’s “Sportscenter.”
“And that’s how you feel. You know he has
so much talent, so much left,” Clark said. “Came into this league with so much
promise and was actually living up to it. For Andrew Luck to be retiring you
have to understand what it takes to make that decision.”
“For this guy to be 29, so much life ahead
of him. So much football life ahead of him, and have to give it up, you knew
what type of wrestle and battle he was having with those injuries.”
Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson
said of Luck’s sudden retirement, “mind-blowing.”
Super Bowl winning quarterback of the New
Orleans Saints Drew Brees said he was “surprised and stunned.”
“I’m praying for him, praying that he
stays encouraged,” were the thoughts by fellow Super Bowl winning signal caller
of the Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson for Luck.
Clark added that he remembers making that
decision with his wife and family back in 2015. That decision came nearly eight
years earlier when after a game in 2007 with the Steelers at the Denver Broncos
when he suffered a splenic infarction due to a sickle cell trait that he has
suffered since his childhood. That led to his spleen and gall bladder being
removed and ending his season.
“Your fighting each and every day to get
back to that point,” Clark said. “And eventually it comes a point where the
fight, the battle to get an opportunity to play is not worth the reward.”
Luck reached that point and decided that
the risk of battling back from this latest injury was not worth the reward.
You would think that most people would be
congratulating him on making the choice to step away if his heart was not into
playing the game of football anymore.
But instead the possibly last memory Luck
will have of the stadium he authored many great moments for fans to take in
booed him as he walked into the locker room.
“Chasing News” anchor Bill Spadea on the
Monday edition of his show chastised Luck for retiring at age 29 with north of
$80 million in the bank, while a lot of cops, firefighters, and military
veterans who took a lot of pain and injury into their careers and their not
retiring.
Like Luck and those first responders chose
their profession, and in both situations the risk that came with it. Luck knew
when it became too much to handle he made the choice to retire, and unlike a
lot of professional athletes whose careers conclude suddenly is financially
secure and can live a life where he can still function and not struggle to do
the simplest of things like bend over to tie his own shoe or play with his kids
pain free.
The job of leading the Colts offensive
attack now lands on understudy Jacoby Brissett, who was acquired from the
Patriots in 2017.
The 26-year-old started 15 games for the
Colts in 2017 threw for 3,098 yards, 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions in
place of Luck. The Colts were just 4-11 in those starts by Brissett, where his
completion percentage was ranked 30th of the 32 qualified signal
callers at 58.8 percent and was ranked 27th out of the 30 starting
quarterbacks in the NFL that season in total quarterback rating at 43.3.
The silver lining in that is that was a
incomplete football team where the talent is not to the level it is now and the
hope is things will work out better this time around as the Colts move on from
Luck with Brissett as the lead and Chad Kelly as his backup for now.
“I just wish he could have done it his
way. So, that sucked as a teammate, to see that and feel the reaction that we
got from the fans for him” Brissett said on Monday.
One of the best reactions came from the
likes of from Jeopardy champion James Holzhauer, who tweeted @James_Holzhauer,
“I hoped to be as brave as Andrew Luck one day. Imaging reaching the pinnacle
of the only job you’ve ever trained for, finding no joy in it, and having the
guts to do the right thing for yourself even though millions of fans will hate
you for it.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the
reigning NFL MVP echoed those same thoughts by saying, “Knowing Andrew, he’s a
great football player, but he’s also a great human being. I haven’t seen the
full [scope] of the news, but I know he’s going to make the right decision for
himself and his family.”
Wilson said that Luck, “demonstrated class
the whole time through everything. Being the No. 1 overall pick and everything
else, there’s a lot of pressure on him, and I think that he handled it with
grace, and he handled it really well and had a tremendous career for how long
he played.
Brees, who said that he exchanges text
messages with Luck from time to time said that he will reach out to check on
him soon.
On Saturday night, the Indianapolis Colts’
quarterback Andrew Luck said goodbye to the NFL way too soon as no longer could
grind through another injury to have a chance to play a game that he has loved
since childhood.
His last moment on the field in front of fans
that he gave so many great memories booed him as he left for the locker room.
Some people, like his NFL peers praised
Luck for how he walked away from the game that he literally and figuratively gave
his heart, soul, and body to.
There were also others who like the fans
in Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night and like Mr. Spadea who saw how Andrew Luck
just walked out on his team and millions of dollars.
At the end of the day Andrew Luck made this
decision himself. He made a choice where he felt it was not worth the risk to
get back on the field and have a great season now and risk not being able to
walk years from now.
This was his decision and his alone, and
no matter how we all feel about his choice, he made it and he will be missed,
but the game will go on, and you can guarantee we will all be watching,
especially when the 2019 NFL season kicks off in a couple of weeks.
Information,
statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 8/24/19 https://www.espn.com story, “Luck Retires,
Calls Decision ‘Hardest of My Life,’” by Mike Wells 8/25/19 12 a.m. edition of
ESPN’s “Sportscenter” with Kenny Mayne and John Anderson, with reports from NFL
Insider Adam Schefter and NFL studio analyst Ryan Clark; 8/25/19 10:45 p.m.
edition of WPIX’s “One on One” with Andy Adler, presented by Spectrum; 8/26/19
5 p.m. edition of WABC 7 “Eyewitness News at 5,” with David Navarro and Sade Baderinwa,
with report from sports anchor Ryan Field; 8/26/19 11 p.m. edition of “Chasing
News” on WWOR-TV My 9 with Bill Spadea; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Luck;
and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Clark_(American_football).
Back in 2015 after screening a documentary
about a tragedy that has become a part of our daily norm of late by students of
Howard University. One of the students, a then junior hung back trying to speak
to the film’s executive producer, a two-time Kia NBA MVP, and an avid golfer.
The young man had hoped to hit the links with the NBA star, and while that did
not happen, they engaged in a brief conversation about their mutual love for
golf. That chat made an impression that set into motion said player making a
major donation that brought back competitive golf to “The Real HU” for the
first time in many years.
On Monday, three-time NBA champion and
two-time Kia MVP Stephen Curry of the five-time defending Western Conference
champion Golden State Warriors and Howard University President Dr. Wayne A.I.
Frederick announced plans for the institution’s first Division I Men’s and
Women’s Golf Program at that news conference.
That announcement, which took place at the
Langston Golf Course in Northeast Washington D.C. consisted of Curry making a
six-year commitment to help fund the program, beginning with the 2020-21
season.
While the amount of money Curry will give
to the program was not disclosed, The Washington Post, who first
reported about the golf program being resurrected at Howard, did report that
the commitment would be in the range of seven figures.
“Today is obviously a historic opportunity
for not just Howard but I think historically black colleges and universities,”
Dr. Frederick said at Monday’s news conference.
Dr. Frederick added by saying at the
course named after John Mercer Langston, the first African-American elected to
Congress in Virginia and the first dean of Howard’s Law School, “This is an
avenue for students who otherwise wouldn’t have an opportunity to attend Howard
University to use the game of golf to participate in that.”
Howard for nearly five decades had a
Division II Golf team and an intramural golf program. It was discontinued
during the late 1970s according to the school’s officials. The new program is
believed to be the first time Howard will have a Division I golf program in the
152-year history of the university.
Dr. Frederick said at Monday’s news
conference that Curry’s financial commitment to the program for its first six
years will give Howard the ability to do the proper assessment of its
competitive standing in D-I. The men will play in Mid-Eastern Athletic
Conference (MEAC), while the women will be independent since there is no women’s
golf programs in the conference.
When the program begins next year, it will
have a coach and three scholarship athletes, with two of the slots going to
women. The team will be outfitted by the shoe company that sponsors Curry,
Under Armour and Callaway Golf will provide the equipment.
While the golf course Howard will practice
and compete on has yet to be determined, the hope the school’s officials have
is the location where they had their press conference to announce this new
team, Langston Golf Course.
“It’s a big opportunity for us to expose
students to a game that oftentimes is played as business deals are decided and
a game that generations of families can play together,” Frederick said.
The aforementioned rebirth of the program
at Howard was set into motion after a chance meeting between Curry and a then
junior student Otis Ferguson in January 2015 after a screening of “Emanuel,” a
documentary film on the 2015 mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Church
in Charleston, S.C., which Curry executive produced.
After the screening, Ferguson talked to
Curry about efforts to possibly make golf more mainstream on HU’s campus.
“You know, Otis talked about wanting to
start a golf club here, and he had sent out flyers trying to have people come
to a room on Howard’s campus, and just get people interested in game,”
Curry
said about his conversation with Ferguson on Monday. “But he wanted to take it
to another level. And the idea around turning it into a Division I program for
men and women was born on that specific night. And 7 ½-eight months later we
are here now announcing the first Division golf program for Howard University
all because of this guy right here.”
To put into perspective how big of a
moment this is for not just Howard but all Historically Black
Colleges/Universities (HBCUs), about roughly six percent of golfers that
compete collegiately are African American, Latino or Native American, according
to the N.C.A.A. That is despite the influence of Tiger Woods, who more than two
decades ago burst onto the scene as the first African American golfer to win
the Masters.
While the number of people playing golf
has increased, it has not moved the needle in terms of the numbers of
minorities who play. In fact, they have gotten worse.
According to the National Golf Foundation,
of 2.6 million people who played golf for the first time in 2018, an increase
for the fourth consecutive year for those that were in the beginners phase,
just 26 percent were identified as “non-Caucasian,” with that number being
partially attributed amongst participants that were Asian. The number of
African American players has dropped from 1.5 million to 800,000 between the
years 2007 and 2018.
The representation of participants on the
PGA Tour continues to be Caucasian Americans, just as it was in the 1980s.
Observers and historians of golf have also
noted while there have always been African American golfers and caddies, the
sport is very expensive and requires a great deal of space for access to many
African American kids.
This decrease has also been the result of
the major hurdle that has stood between African Americans and their
opportunities to excel in golf and that is simply access.
These long-standing barriers range from
the hardline practices of racism at members club that have been in existence
for many years to the systemic issues from course locations to the cost of
equipment, from golf clubs to shoes.
It has not helped that a lot of historic
African American golf courses like Freeway Golf Course in Sicklerville, NJ, the
first African American-owned 18-hole golf course in the U.S. are closing or
have been closed.
“It’s not a sport that is cheap for people
to play, you have to travel long distances to get to golf courses, and golfers
don’t get all the ballyhoo that basketball and football players get,” Calvin
Sinnette, author of “Forbidden Fairways: African Americans and the Game of
Golf” and a retired professor of Howard’s medical school said. “As a result, the
game doesn’t attract many young black people.”
Golf is also a sport that very often is
passed down from parents to their kids, which is how Ferguson picked up the
game as he spent his early years in Bloomfield Hills, MI swinging plastic golf
clubs as a way to spend time with his father on the links.
That is how Curry picked up the game, from
his father and legendary shooter of the Charlotte Hornets Wardell Stephen “Dell”
Curry, who now does color commentary for them on FOX Sports Southeast. He first
joined his dad on the golf course at about age 10, which led him to playing the
game for three years on the high school team.
“I was blessed at a young age that we
could afford to play,” Curry, a frequent golf partner of the 44th
President of our nation Barack Obama said. “I just think about how many kids,
especially from underserved communities, have the talent to play but just don’t
have the funds or the resources.”
By middle school, Ferguson was playing
competitively and made the varsity squad in his freshmen year of high school.
That same year he took a trip to Howard,
where his dad and uncle attended college, as well as his three older sisters
and several cousins. After attending HU’s famed Homecoming, it was then that at
age 14 Ferguson decided this was the institution that he would enroll in.
That choice also meant him giving up
playing competitive golf because very few HBCU’s had competitive golf programs
and make having them as part of their school a priority, putting the focus of
the bulk of their resources and scholarships for athletics on sports that
generate major revenue like football and basketball.
To bring this into context, out of the
over 100 HBCUs in the nation, only about 30 of them have golf programs, with
none of them with their own golf course on campus, according to Sinnette.
It is that grim reality that led former
Jackson State University golf coach Eddie Payton, who coached that program to
be one of the best in the nation, for 30 years said African American golf will
cease to exist unless “another Tiger Woods” comes along.
Just one year after the retirement of
Payton in 2017, Jackson State announced it was disbanding their golf program.
“It broke my heart,” Payton said. “It’s a
damn shame that our university leaders don’t see the value.”
As mentioned earlier by Curry on Monday,
Ferguson posted flyers that suggested the formation of a campus golf group in
the spring of his sophomore year.
With no expectations of who would be
interested in taking part in this, nearly 40 people showed up.
It took him until the following fall to
put this program together, but when Curry arrived in January, the club figured
out where it would hold practice. That led to Curry offering help, providing
Ferguson with his e-mail address.
Even though they touched basis once, the
e-mails from Curry stopped because the Warriors season was in full swing. That
did not stop Ferguson from sending consistent updates about finding sponsors
for the team and the covering of cost for the tees. He also sent e-mails about
the club’s results of the two tournaments the club competed in, and that he had
a short conversation with Dr. Frederick, who was receptive to the idea of
turning the golf club into an official team.
Ferguson sent Curry a fifth and final
e-mail in May congratulating him on the Warriors reaching The NBA Finals for
the fifth consecutive season, but he still had not responded back.
Curry though was reading each of Fergusons
e-mails and was determined to figure out how he could make a golf program at
“The Mecca” a reality.
After the Warriors season concluded in the
middle of June with a six-game loss in The Finals to the Toronto Raptors, Curry
reached out to Howard’s officials to ask what it would take to restart their
golf program.
Admits all the of calls to gets things in
order from sponsoring the team and how to get things into place before the
start of the fall semester, both parties realized they forget to let Ferguson
know.
He found out from a message on Instagram,
that was sent by former HU basketball player, who now runs Curry’s media
business.
That long-awaited phone call from Curry to
Ferguson came the next day and that dream of him finally playing competitive
golf again was on the horizon.
On Monday, Ferguson finally got to have
that round of golf with Curry, and he was joined by Dr. Frederick and several
others on a scorching 90-plus degrees.
Four years ago, a chance encounter between
a then Howard University junior named Otis Ferguson and perennial All-Star after
a screening of his documentary turned into a conversation of a sport that they
grew to love through time with their dads. That encounter turned into bringing
a sport back that has been cold to African Americans for many years.
This encounter also serve as a great lesson in
having an idea, having the determination and focus to bring it to reality and
never losing the essence of why you love something.
We have come to know Stephen Curry as a
great basketball player, father, scratch golfer, and now executive producer. He
turned his love and passion for golf, and with creator Chris Culvenor, and
fellow executive producers of Eureka Productions and Unanimous Media Paul
Franklin, Wesley Dening, Jeron Smith, Erick Peyton Charles Wachter, and Michael
O’Sullivan and created the miniature golf reality competition “Holey Moley,”
commentated by ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” play-by-play analyst Joe
Tessitore, with color commentary coming from actor, comedian and retired U.S.
Marine Corps Reserve officer Rob Riggle and sideline correspondent and co-host
on the talk show “The Real” Jeannie Mai that has aired during the summer on
Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC.
On Monday, Curry helped Ferguson make his
dream of playing competitive golf again a reality, while giving future African
Americans who want to do the same as well if they attend Howard University.
This moment more than anything shows how
two people who are worlds a part in terms of where they are in their lives can
connect through something like the sport of golf and the lesson that can be
learned from it.
It also shows how someone like Curry, who
took the time to listen to someone like Ferguson who had a simple dream of just
continuing to do something that he loved and making a commitment to bringing it
to life with the help of some powerful folks, and in spite of the historic
hurdles and naysayers that were right in front.
“We are at a very interesting time in our
country and our nation’s history,” Frederick said on Monday. “There is no doubt
about that. There’s a lot for us to be cynical about. A lot for us to be
disappointed by, especially in terms of the rhetoric. But one of the things
that I think we all must make sure we double down on is investing in the people
that invest in us.”
ESPN.com’s reporter for the NBA’s Oklahoma
City Thunder Royce Young concurred by saying what Curry did is “one of the
coolest stories of the summer for me.”
He added, “Steph is so invested in not
just the game of golf, but for that university that is super cool.”
Information,
statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 8/19/19 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The
Jump” on ESPN with Brian Windhorst, Royce Young, and Tim MacMahon; 8/19/19 www.nytimes.com story, “Stephen
Curry to Bankroll Golf’s Return to Howard University,” by Sopan Deb; 8/19/19 www.washingtonpost.com story “NBA Superstar
Stephen Curry Gives Howard University The Gift of Golf,” by Wesley Lowery and
Candace Bucker; www.africanmaericangolfersdigest.com/african-american-owned-or-operated-managed-golf-courses-in-the-us; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holey_Moley; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Riggle; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Curry#Production_company.
The greatest test for any professional
athlete both a mentally and physically is coming back from a serious injury.
That was the hurdle that four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins was facing first
with a torn Achilles he sustained in 2018 and then from a quad muscle that cost
him much of his first taste of the postseason this past spring with the then
back-to-back defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. He hoped this
upcoming season would be the true start to his resurgence as one of the best
big men in the NBA. Last week though brought another injury hurdle for him to
clear.
Cousins, a four-time All-Star who the Los
Angeles Lakers signed as an unrestricted free agent in July suffered a torn ACL
in his left knee while working out in Las Vegas, NV last week.
The former Sacramento King, New Orleans
Pelican and aforementioned Warrior sustained the injury after he bumped knees
with another player, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Wojnarowski and “The Athletic’s” Shams
Charania also reported that Cousins was scheduled for additional testing on his
knee to diagnose the injury. Those tests revealed that he did tear his ACL,
which will keep Cousins sidelined indefinitely right now and possibly the
entire 2019-20 season.
It is the latest setback for the
29-year-old, which has seen him lose out on two opportunities for that elusive
big-time payday the last two off-seasons.
“It’s no joke when you get injured,”
Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma, who is working out with Team USA in their
preparation for the upcoming World Cup said after Thursday’s practice in Los
Angeles, CA about the injury to Cousins. “This is our livelihood and it’s
something that we love to do. It’s super unfortunate for a guy like DeMarcus
because you can just tell how much he loves basketball through all these
injuries…he’s fought back and tried to get back as early as possible. That’s
kind of how the ball goes sometimes…he was going to be a big part of what we’re
going to do.”
Aside from the physical challenge that
stands in front of Cousins to get back on the hardwood again, there is the
major concern of his mental focus of him having to rehab again.
This was a man who was on the verge of a
$200 million contract in the summer of 2018 before he tore his Achilles in
February 2018 while playing with the Pelicans.
He did receive an offer to re-sign with the Pelicans the previous summer, but he turned it down and signed a
one-year, $5.3 million deal with the Warriors, where he bet on himself that he
get to a point where potential suitors would see that he is fully healthy both
physically, and that he is in better control of his emotions on the hardwood.
While he did come back from the ruptured
Achilles last season, Cousins as mentioned suffered another setback by tearing
his left quadriceps muscle in Game 2 of the First-Round against the Los Angeles
Clippers on Apr. 15.
Cousins did comeback in the 2019 Finals
and helped the Warriors win Game 2 of that series, 109-104 at the Raptors with
11 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two block shots to tie the series at
1-1 on June 2. The Warriors would end up losing The Finals 4-2 and Cousins struggled
the remaining games scoring a total of 10 points and seven boards in Games 3
and 4. He did score 14 and 12 points respectably in Games 5 and 6.
In the craziest summer of free agency, not
a whole lot of suitors were getting in touch with
Cousins about bringing him on
board to join them. It was not until after the Lakers lost out on signing 2019
Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard that the Lakers reached out and signed Cousins on a
one-year deal, $3.5 million deal.
He was expected to be a huge of the
Lakers’ playing rotation that featured four-time Kia MVP LeBron James;
perennial All-Star and former Pelicans’ teammate Anthony Davis; Danny Green,
who was a part of that Raptors team that won the title as mentioned in June and
veteran lead guard Rajon Rondo, who the Lakers re-signed earlier this summer.
What makes this injury Cousins sustained even
worse is the fact that the NBA as a whole is more committed to going with small
lineups, where teams rarely used one big, if not two big men on the court at
all.
Cousins was already fighting an uphill
battle coming into this new situation with the Lakers and with this latest
setback where he got injured in just a workout and he is going into his 30s.
“It’s just scary about it. It’s probably
harder for a center to get a job in the NBA today than it’s been in the last 30
years and now he got injuries, that’s difficult,” ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst
said on Monday’s edition of “NBA: The Jump.”
To put into context of the kind of career,
statistically that Cousins has had, he is just one of 11 players in NBA history
to average 21.2 points and 10.9 rebounds for a career. That list includes All-Stars Karl-Anthony
Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.
This loss also impacts the Lakers roster
that from first glance is talented, but not deep, and there lack height,
especially in the front court.
The only other 7-footer on the roster is
JaVale McGee, who the Lakers also re-signed this off-season. The rest of the
Lakers frontcourt of the aforementioned James and Davis; Kostas Antetokounmpo, who the Lakers claimed off waivers earlier this off-season; Kuzma and Jared Dudley are between 6’7” and 6’10.”
On top of that, they traded away Lonzo
Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram to get Davis from the Pelicans earlier this
off-season.
The loss of Cousins will put a lot of
pressure on James and Davis to not only score, but to rebound and be especially
great at the defensive end of the floor.
For Davis, he will likely be playing more
at the center spot, especially at the end of games, which he has expressed in the
past that he does not want to do when he was a member of the Pelicans.
“I think in terms of the 82-game schedule,
load management, time management, however they want to handle this, it’s a
pretty big loss,” ESPN’s Royce Young said of the Lakers losing Cousins. “I
don’t know how much they would have gotten out of DeMarcus Cousins, but just to
have that type of player that you can conceivably rely upon for 16 [points] and
10 [rebounds] on any given night. To not have that anymore makes them look a
lot thinner than they already were.”
Now there is the question of what move is
available for the Lakers to make to fill the void of the loss of Cousins?
Over the weekend, it was reported by
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that the Memphis Grizzlies have granted permission for
the representatives of All-Star center Dwight Howard, who was acquired by them
from the Washington Wizards over the summer to speak with other squads,
including the Lakers about acquiring him.
Another name floated around about possibly
joining the Lakers is former center for the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks
Joakim Noah, who played last season with the Grizzlies.
The Lakers according to Wojnarowski and
Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times the Laekrs are planning
individual workouts with Howard, Noah, and former Warrior Marreese Speights
this week. Wojnarowski has also reported that the Lakers may also workout
Howard’s former teammate with the Magic from 2007-10 Marcin Gortat.
On the surface, Noah would be a much
better fit for the Lakers because he would come in and accept whatever role he
is given. He has a much better understanding at this point in his career that
he is a role player.
Last season with the Grizzlies, Noah averaged
7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in 16.5 minutes in the 42 games he played for the
Grizzlies this past season after signing in early December 2018.
Noah joined the Grizzlies after he was cut
by the New York Knicks in October 2018. His brief stint with the Knicks
concluded after clashing with then head coach Jeff Hornacek in 2017-18, where
he appeared in just seven games.
Howard, who is under contract with 33,
played in just nine games last season with the Wizards due to a back injury,
that eventually required surgery. He averaged 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds in
those nine games on 62.3 percent from the field.
Also, he has had a reputation of being a
major locker room headache with not just the Lakers, but the other teams he
played for after just one season in L.A., which saw him average 17.1 points,
12.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.
His one season in L.A. though was more
about the times he clashed with future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant, which led to
him signing with the Houston Rockets, which began a run of him changing
teams.
After playing three seasons with the
Rockets from 2013-16, Howard has played for the Atlanta Hawks (2016-17),
Charlotte Hornets (2017-18), the aforementioned Wizards this past season and as
mentioned currently with the Grizzlies.
“You bring in Dwight Howard, and even if
he is a ‘reformed man,’ and he wants to change his career, and everything is
going to be different this time, there’s going to be baggage there,” Young
said. “And I think, this Lakers roster-the last thing they really need is a
more distraction, more baggage because it’s already going to be a circus. It’s
already going to be crazy. What’s going on within there locker room. With
what’s going just in Los Angeles entirely with what the Clippers did. I think
Noah a much better fit both on the floor and off the floor.”
Windhorst concurred by saying the Lakers
would be “insane” if they bring in Dwight Howard, who played for the Lakers
just one season in 2012-13, the last time they made the playoffs.
Speights was a key role player on the
Warriors first of three titles in the past five seasons in 2015. He has played
10 seasons in “The Association,” but opted to play last season for the
Guangzhou Long-Lions in China. When he last played in the NBA in 2017-18 campaign
for the Magic, Speights averaged 7.7 points and 2.6 rebounds.
Gortat prior NBA stop was last season with the Clippers where he averaged five points and 5.6 rebounds
in 47 games before being waived by the team in early February. In his 12
seasons with the Magic, Clippers, Wizards and Phoenix Suns, Gortat has averaged
9.9 points and eight rebounds in 25.7 minutes.
For the Lakers though, it seems more
important for them to bring in a live young big man, who can play minutes and
be productive without all the baggage and possible energy sapper of the locker
room. A player who, unlike Howard and Noah will be available to play in
back-to-backs or three games in five days.
As Windhorst pointed out on Monday, we
have seen this movie before where the prior teams led by James with the
Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Lakers that had the likes of Eric Dampier,
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamal Magloire, Chris “Birdman” Andersen and JaVale McGee
last season. While Andersen and McGee showed they can contribute, the others
better days were behind them.
This was on full display last season when
the Lakers had to go out and sign veteran big man Tyson Chandler, who signed
with the Rockets this summer as their backup center.
“Forget about these old guys. You got to
go out and get a young guy who can get up-and-down the court, and play minutes
there,” Windhorst said. “Even if he struggles, I’d rather have a live athletic
struggle guy than a guy that you have to manage.”
This loss of Cousins also puts more pressure
on the Lakers to possibly go and acquire 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, who
the Grizzlies acquired from the Warriors in early July.
The Lakers were hoping to bring on the
three-time NBA champion with the Warriors to the fill that final roster spot
after he was bought out of his contract by the Grizzlies.
With the loss of Cousins and several other
suitors who also want to bring Iguodala on like the Clippers, the Lakers if
they really want Iguodala are going to either have trade for him, which will be
difficult seeing as previously mentioned they do not have a lot of assets at
their disposal to trade for him or they have to hope the Grizzlies will just
buy Iguodala out of his contract.
Last Monday, the career of DeMarcus
Cousins was put on hold again after another injury that will require at least a
year for him to recover from.
For the Lakers, they lost a major piece in
the hopes of making not just a return to the playoffs in the stacked Western
Conference after a six-year absence but a hopeful run at championship No. 17.
It is too soon to tell whether this injury
will have that major of an effect on the outcome of the upcoming 2019-20
season. It did throw a monkey wrench into not just that but the possibility of
bringing on Andre Iguodala on their terms. It also might have sealed Cousins
chances of getting that huge payday he hoped for this summer.
Information, statistics, and quotations
are courtesy of 8/16/19 www.nba.com
story, “DeMarcus Cousins Out Indefinitely with Torn ACL;” 8/19/19 3 p.m.
edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Brian Windhorst, Royce Young, and Tim
MacMahon; 8/20/19 www.nba.com
story, “Reports: Lakers To Work Out Dwight Howard, Joakim Noah, Marreese
Speights;” https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/4258/demarcus-cousins;
and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_Howard.
It is fitting that the busiest off-season
in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) history would be
followed up by a regular season that will be even more crazy and them some. An
early glance of the most anticipated rookie in nearly two decades; renewed
rivalries; anticipated return games; a stellar Christmas Day and MLK Day slate
of games; a plethora of juicy storylines and all the drama that will surely
come with them are what can be expected for the 74th NBA season.
With the release of the 2019-20 NBA schedule on Monday, fans and all 30 teams
can plot their set their course on the most entertaining season, where fans thanks
to the league working with the teams will have a chance to catch all the action
with earlier starting times.
The league worked very closely with all 30
teams and its domestic partners of Turner Network Television (TNT), ESPN, the
American Broadcasting Company (ABC), NBA TV and ESPN Radio to schedule earlier
starting times for the back end of the four networks doubleheader broadcasts to
be viewed by those watching on the East Coast.
Of the 31 doubleheaders that will be
broadcasted on TNT this upcoming season, 12 of them will tip off at 7:30
p.m./10 p.m. eastern standard time or 7 p.m./9:30 p.m.
ESPN will have 22 of their 36 double dip
games tip off at 7:30 p.m./10 p.m. or 7 p.m./9:30 p.m. eastern standard time,
doing away with the 8 p.m./10:30 p.m. start times.
The 8 p.m./10:30 p.m. starts for the
doubleheaders on both networks have been cut from a combined 42 percent from
2018-19, going from 57 combined doubleheader nights last season to 33 for
2019-20. The NBA on TNT will only have two doubleheader nights for the upcoming
season, which will be down from this last one. The 12 Tuesday double dips for
2019-20, nine of them will tip off at 7:30 p.m./10 p.m., with just one at 7
p.m./9:30 p.m.
There will be no games beginning at 8
p.m./10:30 p.m. Wednesday nights on ESPN, where they had 18 such games that
started in those time slots a season ago. The 21 games that “The Worldwide
Leader in Sports” will broadcast a doubleheader on “Hump Day,” 15 of them will
tip off at 7:30 p.m./10 p.m., with one double dip tipping off at 7 p.m./9:30
p.m.
One of the biggest issues the league has
had to deal with the last couple of seasons is the term “Load Management,”
where healthy players, particularly stars sit out games to rest themselves,
especially the star players like four-time Kia MVP and three-time NBA Finals
MVP LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, two-time NBA Finals MVP now of the
Los Angeles Clippers Kawhi Leonard, the now Brooklyn Nets All-Star guard Kyrie
Irving and many more.
To remedy that from consistently happening
for the upcoming season, the league has dropped those dreaded to an all-time
low of for a fifth consecutive season to an average of four each of the 30
teams. The average total of back-to-back to be played for the 2019-20 NBA
campaign will be 12.4. That is down from the 13.3 that teams played on average
in 2018-19.
To put that into context, the amount of
back-to-backs in the NBA has gone down 36 percent since the 2014-15 NBA
campaign, which equates to an average of 19.3 back-to-backs. That number went
down by seven percent from a season ago.
“It’s great that the schedule continues to
be more spread out. Fewer back-to-backs. No four-in-fives. No eight-in-twelves.
Fewer games in seven nights,” former Atlanta Hawks general manager from
2015-17, now NBATV analyst Wes Wilcox said on the NBATV 2019-20 Schedule
Release Show on Monday afternoon.
“And really the NBA has done this by a
shorter preseason, which was a number of years ago and a computerized schedule
process, which ultimately is good for the teams and the players, specifically
as we get to this whole ‘Load Management’ conversation.”
As NBATV’s Jared Greenberg pointed out on
Monday afternoon, up until a couple of years ago, the NBA game schedule was
done by hand.
For the third straight season, none of the
30 teams will playing four-games-in-5 days and for the second straight season
the NBA will not have its teams play eight games in 12 days.
Wilcox, who also served as Director of
Player Personnel for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2008-10 pointed out that we
will still see players be rested strategically this upcoming season. When it
comes to “Load Management,” he pointed out that it is always easier for the “good
teams” to rest players.
“When you’re a young team, and you’re
trying to play your way in, we don’t have to deal with this ‘Load Management’
situation,” Wilcox said. “But ultimately the ‘Load Management’ thing it’s not
just about resting players and managing injury and managing careers. Teams like
to do it, specifically coaches because it’s a good way to manage the roster.
Give, you know everybody-the backup and the third string guy-get a chance to
play one level up as maybe a starter and a backup. And in the player
development process too. Help a young player get a chance to play and show it
on the court, what he’s been working on in practice.”
Also, ESPN, ABC, NBA TV, and TNT will also
present flexible scheduling during the regular season to provide the most
compelling matchups for the national audience to view.
The tip-off of the 74th NBA season,
presented by Kia begins on, Oct. 22, 2019 on TNT, presented by Autotrader with
the Zion Williamson era beginning as the New Orleans Pelicans take on the
defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors, who will get their championship rings
and raise their title banner to the roof of Scotiabank Arena.
Four of the first five games the Pelicans
will play to start this season will be on national television, where the entire
nation will get to see Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft
out of Duke University.
Of the teams that will play at least
20-plus total games on TNT ESPN, and ABC, the Lakers lead with 31 appearances
for this upcoming NBA season, followed by the Warriors with 27; Clippers and
Rockets tied with 26; Celtics with 25; 76ers and Bucks each with 24; and the
Trail Blazers and Pelicans with 20 each.
The teams with less than 20 games on
national television for the 2019-20 season consist of the Denver Nuggets with
17; the Utah Jazz with 16; the Dallas Mavericks with 13; the Brooklyn Nets with
12 and the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors with just 11.
Last season with perennial All-Star
Anthony Davis on the roster, the Pelicans had a total of 11 of their games that
were national televised. That is the impact that Williamson has had on the
Hornets, who played just a few minutes during NBA Summer League last month, who
recently just signed a huge shoe contract with Nike.
“First of all, when you’re the No. 1 pick
there’s automatically gonna be built in pressure,” Hall of Famer and NBA on TNT
studio analyst Charles Barkley said on NBATV’s 2019-20 Schedule Release Show.
“He’s a great kid. I think he’s got great potential. I know Alvin Gentry gonna
do a fantastic job trying to shield him away, to relax and just play. But man,
he looks so exciting. I look forward to seeing him not on television, I wanna
go see him play in person.”
That will be followed by the first of four
battle for bragging rights and more in the battle of L.A. between the Lakers,
led by James and newest addition Anthony Davis taking on the co-tenants of Staples
Center the Los Angeles Clippers, and their new dynamic All-Star duo of Leonard
and perennial All-Star Paul George, who the Clippers acquired from the Oklahoma
City Thunder earlier this summer. George is still a question mark as he is
recovering from surgery on both shoulders earlier this off-season.
“I’m really looking forward to that game,”
Barkley said. “You know what would be even better? If they play each other in
the Western Conference Finals and we just have to stay in L.A. and wouldn’t
have to do any traveling. That would be my perfect scenario for the Western Conference
Finals, since we got that this year.”
ESPN coverage of the 2019-20 NBA regular
season begins one night later when the Boston Celtics and their newest addition
in All-Star Kemba Walker play at the Philadelphia 76ers and their one-two
All-Star punch of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons at 7:30 p.m.
The backend of the doubleheader will
feature a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Semifinals with the
Denver Nuggets at the Western Conference runner-up the Portland Trail Blazers
at 10 p.m.
The NBA on TNT starts its Thursday
schedule with the Eastern Conference runners-up the Milwaukee Bucks, led by
reigning Kia MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo at the Houston Rockets, and their newest
backcourt tandem of James Harden and Russell Westbrook, who they acquired from
the Thunder in the middle of July.
If Westbrook gets a triple-double in Game
1 of the regular season, he will move into second place, all-time in NBA
history, passing Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson for.
The backend of this twin-bill will feature
the anticipated grand opening of the new state of the art Chase Center in San
Francisco, CA as the Clippers visit the Warriors in San Francisco, CA.
ESPN kicks off their Friday night slate
with a doubleheader, beginning with the home debut of Williamson, the No. 1
overall pick in 2019 draft makes his home debut at Smoothie King Center as the
Pelicans host the Dallas Mavericks, with their reigning Kia Rookie of the Year
Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, who will be making his long awaited debut and the Dallas Mavericks on Friday, Oct. 22 at
8 p.m.
That will be followed by the Lakers
hosting back-to-back reigning Kia Defensive Player of the year Rudy Gobert and
new edition Mike Conley and the Utah Jazz, who were one of five NBA squads to
win at least 48 games for three straight seasons. That will be the first of 10
times the Jazz will be seen on ESPN this upcoming season.
“It’s exciting. I think all of us that are
a part of the Jazz organization, the city, we’re all excited,” Conley told ESPN’s
Rachel Nichols at the opening of the NBA Experience at Walt Disney World in
Orlando, FL Monday afternoon. “And we feel like we have a chance to do
something really special.”
“Have a great group of guys, great
coaching staff and the season for most teams feel like its wide open. And a lot
of teams have a chance to do something big. So, we feel like we’re one of those
teams.”
NBATV closes out Week 1 of the new season
with a triple-header on Oct. 26, beginning with the Miami Heat and their prize
free agent addition in four-time All-Star Jimmy Butler at the Bucks at 5 p.m.
The middle game will feature the Madison
Square Garden debut of No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft, presented by State
Farm RJ Barrett as the New York Knicks host the Celtics at 7:30 p.m.
The night cap will feature the Clippers at
the Phoenix Suns, and their new head coach Monty Williams.
The biggest day for the NBA season will
feature five matchups on Christmas Day, Wednesday Dec. 25, 2019.
The quintet of games will begin at 12 p.m.
on ESPN with the first Christmas Day contest for the Raptors as the defending
NBA champs will host the Celtics.
ABC will take the lead of the schedule
with a doubleheader, that starts with the first 76ers home game on Christmas
Day since 1988 as they host the Milwaukee Bucks at 2:30 p.m.
That will be followed by the only playoff
rematch from last spring between the five-time defending Western Conference
champion Golden State Warriors hosting the Rockets at 5 p.m. on ABC.
The fourth game of St. Nick’s day will
feature the second tilt between the Lakers and Clippers that will be simulcasted
on ESPN and ABC at 8 p.m. The 16-time NBA champion Lakers will be looking to
add to their NBA-record of 23 wins on Christmas Day. They will two more times following
that meeting Jan. 28, 2020 and Mar. 8, 2020.
The Christmas Day quintet concludes with
the first Christmas home game in a quarter century for the Nuggets versus the
Pelicans at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN.
The other marquee day on the NBA calendar
is Martin Luther King Day, Jr., which will begin with a matinee tilt on NBA TV,
followed by a TNT tripleheader on Jan. 20, 2020.
It all begins at 2:30 p.m. with as
five-time All-Star Kyle Lowry leads the defending NBA champions to State Farm
Arena to take on 2018-19 NBA All-Rookie First Team selection Trae Young and the
Atlanta Hawks.
TNT’s triple dip begins with the 17th
Annual MLK, Jr. Celebration Game from Memphis, TN between the Pelicans at the
Grizzlies in the first tilt between the top two draft picks in the 2019 NBA
Draft in Williamson and Ja Morant at 5 p.m.
The NBA’s biggest rivals renew
acquaintances at 7:30 p.m. as the 16-time NBA champion Lakers visit the 17-time
NBA champion Celtics on TNT. In their matchup at TD Garden last season on this
day, former Celtic Rajon Rondo hit a jumper at the buzzer that gave the Lakers
a 129-128 win against his former team.
The concluding game at 10 p.m. will
feature a Western Conference Finals rematch with the Warriors visiting the
Portland Trail Blazers. The Warriors swept the Trail Blazers 4-0 in the
Conference Finals last spring and have won 12 of the 13 times they have met in
the postseason in three of the last four seasons.
For the fifth straight season, the NBA
will take centerstage to close out the week with NBA Saturday Primetime beginning
Jan. 18, 2020 with the Week 13 contest of the Lakers at Rockets. There will be
nine games featured, with each scheduled to air at 8:30 p.m. Eastern, that will
conclude in Week 25 with the Warriors at Clippers on Apr. 11, 2020.
The NBA Sunday Showcase on ABC, where six
Sunday afternoon games will air, beginning on Feb. 2 with the Week 15 clash
between with the Pelicans visiting the Rockets at 2 p.m. and the Bucks versus
the Celtics wrapping up the slate at 3:30 p.m. in Week 24 on Apr. 5, 2020.
While opening night of “The Association;”
the Christmas Day quintet and the quartet of games on MLK, Jr. Day will be
grabbing our attention, the 1,230 scheduled games will also consist of some
notable return games that will feature some serious fireworks.
Leonard as previously mentioned helped
lead the Raptors to their first NBA title in their 24-year history after they
took down the defending champion Warriors 4-2 back in June. However, he left in
free agency to sign with the Clippers. He should receive a hero’s welcome from
Raptors nation when he makes his return to ‘The North’ on Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. on
ESPN.
Perennial All-Star Paul George spent two
seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder before requesting a trade to team up
with Leonard and the Clippers earlier this summer. He will make his first of
two return visits to Chesapeake Arena as an opponent when the Clippers meet up
with the Thunder and nine-time All-Star lead guard Chris Paul on Dec. 22 at 7
p.m. on NBATV.
There is no question that Perhaps the
Westbrook will be given a vociferous ovation when the all-time leading scorer
in Thunder history returns on Jan. 9, 2020 at 9:30 p.m. when the Rockets visit
the Thunder on TNT.
The same can be expected in the “Queen
City” when three-time All-Star Kemba Walker, the all-time leader in points and
three-pointers made in Charlotte Hornets’ history returns to Spectrum Center
when the Hornets host the Celtics on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. on TNT.
Walker went to the Celtics via a
sign-and-trade for reserve guard Terry Rozier on a four-year, $141 million
deal.
Wilcox said of Walker’s career with the
Hornets, “One of the all-time great players for the organization, you know?”
“The expectation was he was going to
re-sign. It did not work out. Tough situation for the Charlotte Hornets with Kemba
making All-NBA. But he certainly ended up in a great spot in Boston.”
The exact opposite ovation will be given
to All-Star Kyrie Irving, who is expected to be booed vociferously when he and
the Brooklyn Nets visit the Celtics at TD Garden on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
“There’s going to be a lot of booing,”
Amin Elhassan said on Monday’s edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN about the reception
Irving will get from Celtics’ nation. “There’s going to be a lot of booing
because of that promise. Because of the chemistry issues that happened through
the year. Then also the Celtics have done a great job of framing him as a villain.”
Fellow perennial All-Star Anthony Davis will
get the same treatment and maybe more plenty of boos from the faithful of “The
Big Easy” for the first time as a visitor when the Lakers visit the Pelicans Lonzo
Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart will be looking for revenge of their own
against their former team at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. Ball, Ingram, and Hart were
what the Pelicans got in return for Davis earlier this summer.
“I can see a situation where they don’t
boo him,” Elhassan said. “If the Pelicans are playing well-this is about a
month or so into the season, I think everybody’s going to feel good like, ‘Hey
man, you moved on. We got better as a result. Everyone’s happy. If they are
struggling, then yeah, the boos are gonna come out.”
Back in 2015, the Knicks selected power
forward/center Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft.
While he earned his first All-Star selection in 2018, injuries have robbed him
of fully displaying his potential as the centerpiece in the “Big Apple,” as he
spent all of last season out due to a torn ACL sustained in his left knee two
seasons back.
He was traded last January to the Dallas
Mavericks along with Tim Hardaway, Jr. last season, and both will make their
returns to Madison Square Garden as visitors when the boys from “Big D” make
their only appearance at the Knicks on Thursday Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. on TNT.
Lead guard Mike Conley makes his return to
Fed EX Forum, also known as the “Grindhouse,” where he spent the first 12 years
of his NBA career, becoming the all-time leader in points, assists, steals and
games played, and the backbone of a team that was a playoff perennial in the
middle of the 2000s. His new team the Utah Jazz visit the Memphis Grizzlies
Friday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
On Dec. 12, Al Horford, who declined the
last year of contract of close to $30 million with the Celtics earlier this
summer and signed with the 76ers will make his return to TD Garden when the
boys from the city of “Brotherly Love” play at the C’s at 8 p.m. on TNT.
Horford played three seasons in “Beantown,” where he served as the backbone on
both ends for a Celtics teams that reached the Eastern Conference Finals in the
springs of 2017 and 2018. It will be interesting to see how the Boston faithful
will react to him that night.
While he only played a total of 67
combined regular-season and playoff games for the 76ers this past season after
being acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves in Nov. 2018, he is now with the
Miami Heat after a sign-and-trade earlier this summer.
He will make his return to Philadelphia
when the Heat come to town to take on the 76ers on Saturday night Nov. 23 at
the Wells Fargo Center.
It will be interesting to see how the
crowd on that night reacts to Butler’s return. Will they boo him, as they have
been famous of doing to visiting players as well as their own sometimes or not?
There is one serious under-radar-game on
Jan. 3, 2020 with the Hawks visiting the Celtics on Jan. 3, 2020. If the
recently re-signed Vince Carter has a dunk at any point in the new year, he
will become the first player in NBA history to dunk a basketball in four
different decades.
“He’s incredible,” Wilcox said of Carter,
the 20th all-time leading scorer in NBA history who will play in an
NBA record 22nd season when things tip off in late October. “It’s
great to see him too mentoring the younger kids here in Atlanta.”
The 2019-20 NBA campaign will also feature
three games outside the United States beginning with two contests at the Arena
Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City, which will mark the first time four NBA squads
will play in Mexico in one regular-season, which began in 1992.
The fourth straight season of two
regular-season games being played in Mexico City will begin with a tilt between
the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons on Thursday, Dec. 12, followed by the
San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns on Saturday, Dec. 14.
These will be the 29th and 30th
regular-season games held in Mexico City, the most held in any country outside
the U.S.A. and Canada.
The games will be broadcasted live on ESPN
Deportes, Televisa and Directv’s “NBA League Pass in Mexico, that will reach
fans in over 200 countries and territories.
“NBA Games in Mexico City are a core part
of our efforts to reach and engage basketball fans throughout Mexico and Latin
America,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said back in early June. “With a record
four NBA teams visiting Mexico City next season, we expect an unprecedented
level of interest and excitement around these games and our surrounding
community events.”
Zignia Live Director of Business
Development & Strategic Partnerships Ignacio Saenz added, “We have a great
partnership with the NBA and are proud of everything we have achieved
together.”
“The road has been very satisfying and filled
with many happy moments thanks to the effort of all the teams. Thanks to the
unconditional support of the fans, we can say that the best basketball in the
world will come once again to Mexico on December 12 and 14 as both Zignia and
the NBA will continue their commitment to grow the game in Mexico.”
The NBA will also be in Paris this season
for the NBA Paris Game 2020, presented by beIN SPORTS as the Hornets and Bucks
will square off in the league’s first regular-season contest in France on Jan.
24 at 3 p.m.
The first matchup between the league’s NBA
Finalists from this past June in the Warriors and Raptors will not take place
until March 5 when the two teams meet at the Chase Center on Mar. 5, 2020 on
TNT.
ESPN, TNT, and ABC will have you covered
in what is likely going to be the most anticipated NBA Playoff action starting on
April 18, 2020.
TNT will have exclusive coverage of the
2020 Eastern Conference Finals, while the Western Conference Finals will be
exclusively televised on TNT, which will also air nearly all the events for the
2020 NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago, IL from Feb. 14-16, with the main event
the 69th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020 from the United
Center.
Other important dates to focus on for the
2019-20 NBA season include the free agency trade date of Dec. 15, which means
any player that was signed during free agency would not be trade eligible until
this date, which is nearly 40 percent of “The Association.”
This date will be focused on more than
ever because there are some notable players that are rumored to be on the move
around this date like All-Star and NBA champion Kevin Love of the Cleveland
Cavaliers, who signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension on July 24,
2018.
Two-time All-Star Bradley Beal of the
Washington Wizards, who was offered a three-year, $111 million extension
earlier this summer. Beal has up until the day of the start of this upcoming
regular season to inform the Wizards that he will accept or decline that
extension.
Paul, who was dealt earlier this summer to
the Thunder from the Rockets for Westbrook, who the Thunder tried to move, but
could not because of the three years and nearly $124 million left on his
contract.
Phoenix Suns star guard Devin Booker, who
just signed a five-year, $158 million max contract extension on July 7, 2018.
The underachieving Andrew Wiggins of the
Minnesota Timberwolves, who also signed a contract extension two summers back.
Perhaps the one player who will be the
most sought after is three-time NBA champion with the Warriors is All-Star
Andre Iguodala, who is with the Grizzlies right now and who want to get some
asset(s) in return for him, and not just buy him out of what is left on his
contract.
The trade deadline will be on Feb. 6,
2020, which is eight days prior to the start of All-Star Weekend on Valentine’s
Day-Feb. 14, 2020.
Of those six names, Paul and Iguodala are available
on the trade market after Dec. 15, according to Wilcox. Booker and Wiggins are
more so down the road if the Suns or Timberwolves front office feel a serious
shakeup on their respective teams is necessary.
The two players to watch as the 2019-20
NBA season begins are Love and Beal.
The Cavaliers are clearly in the process
of a rebuild, which makes Love name one to keep a serious eye on, especially if
he starts this season strong right off the bat, and shows he is healthy.
In the case of Beal, it has been reported
as previously mentioned that the Wizards front office, led by Tommy Sheppard
reportedly offered the aforementioned two-time All-Star a three-year contract
extension.
If he says no to that extension, which he
has up until Monday Oct. 21 to inform the Wizards whether he will accept for
decline the extension.
Wilcox pointed out that the good news for the
Wizards is that they have one of the most respected and seasoned executives in “The
Association” running the show in their front office. He will need that and then
some to deal not just with the uncertainty of All-Star lead guard John Wall,
who is likely out for the entire 2019-20 season recovering from an Achilles
injury and that the four-year, $171 million max contract extension he signed in
July 2017 starts this upcoming season.
“If he does not sign the extension, I
would think they would look at it very, very seriously at the trade deadline,”
Wilcox said about the possibly of the Wizards trading Beal.
The 2020 NBA Finals presented by YouTube
TV will be televised exclusively on ABC for the 18th consecutive
season.
It has been a crazy summer of drastic
change in the National Basketball Association, where a number of teams will
come into the 2019-20 season with hopes of winning the Larry O’Brien trophy. With
the schedule out for the upcoming NBA season, the anticipation has been raised
in a major way. It all gets underway on Oct. 22 on TNT.
Information and quotations are courtesy of
7/25/19 https://www.nbcsports.com/washington
story, “John Wall’s New Contract with Wizards, By The Numbers,” by Chase Hughes;
8/12/19 3 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump”
on ESPN with Rachel Nichols and Amin Elhassan; 8/12/19 3 p.m. NBATV’s “2019-20
Schedule Release Show,” with Jared Greenberg and Wes Wilcox; 8/12/19 www.nba.com story, “NBA Unveils
2019-20 Game and National Television Schedules; https://hoopshype.com/player/chris-paul/salary;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Love#2018-19_season;
and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devin_Booker#2018-19_season.
