Wednesday Bolts – 9.21.16
Kevin Love on The Players Tribune: “Russ and I ended up being roommates on the road. I think
we had an immediate bond because we had common goals coming out of high school. We’d lie around our hotel room talking about making it to the NBA. Sometimes Russ could be a stubborn roommate. We butted heads because we were competitive about everything. We competed at video games. We played hundreds of hands of a card game called “13.” (I still maintain that I’m up by one point.) We showed up to the gym early (he was somehow always there before me) to lift, study film and get in some extra shooting. We were even competitive over the temperature of the room. You know the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode where Vivica’s character is sick in bed and Larry keeps adjusting the thermostat? That was me and Russ.”
Erik Horne: “Before arriving at Gonzaga University in 2014, Sabonis was already equipped with two distinct advantages over your typical college freshman entering Division I basketball. First, being the son of Basketball Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis, a 7-foot-3 Lithuanian legend who played seven seasons in the NBA for Portland, doesn’t hurt. But another critical factor in Domantas’ development was Spanish club Unicaja Malaga. When the elder Sabonis retired from the NBA, he moved his family to Malaga, Spain, where Domantas grew up around beaches, warm weather and basketball. It was there where Domantas was exposed to the professional hoops culture, a career path he was on before college hoops crossed his mind.”
The Thunder’s over/under is 45.5.
Ailene Voison of the Sac Bee: “So if the Kings are serious about starting fresh in a beautiful new building in a vibrant downtown, dragging one of your best players through the front doors while he is quietly kicking and screaming is no way to tip off a new era. Entertaining offers for Gay and trading him before the season begins must remain a top priority, even though the team probably will not receive equal value because buyers are invariably nervous about one-year rentals. In many ways, Gay, 30, is the least of the Kings’ problems, yet is emblematic of their major issues. The clash of personalities. The recent history of instability in the front office and coaching staff. The absence of any seemingly coherent plan. The prolonged malaise that still grips the franchise.”
Russell Westbrook reposted something about Terrance Crutcher.
Rohan Nadkarni of SI.com: “How should the NBA handle a potential anthem protest? They should let the players do whatever they want, and if the NBA truly fashions itself as the progressive sports league, the Association should go beyond tacit support, it should actively work to help bring resolutions to the issues players could raise. By the time the season starts, the NBA will have had months to decide how it wants to react to anthem protests. With 82 games on the schedule as opposed to 16 in the NFL, the NBA actually has a chance to normalize these protests, to show that it’s okay to use every single game as a platform for peaceful demonstration.”
