Oklahoma football: Landry Jones breaks no new ground with ESPN
Landry Jones went on ESPN’s College Football Live last week, and it made me feel good. Jones was no more revealing with the ESPN crew than he is with us back here in Oklahoma. The Sooner quarterback is nothing if not bland.
Which is part of what exasperates OU fans so much. They want their quarterback to be fiery and emotional and a rah-rah leader. The tall, quiet types don’t get people as excited.
But you’ve got to hand it to Jones. He’s not plastic. He’s not a fraud. He is what he is.
You can view Jones video here:
Jones’ decision to return for a fifth year in Norman certainly is great news for the Sooners, even if some are anxious – and idiotic — to see new blood running the OU offense.
I thought it would be 50-50 on Jones returning, but the idea that it’s always about money doesn’t wash with a guy like Jones. He really is different. He has different values, a different mindset.
Remember the old notion that the one thing money can’t buy is your senior in college? That’s true. Some guys don’t belong on a campus, some guys have grown tired of a campus and some guys thrive and enjoy a campus. If you’re in the latter category, I’d think long and hard about leaving early for the NFL. Life gets here soon enough.
Anyway, Jones is not any more fired up or downcast than he ever was when addressing the media last season.
He answered questions about replacing Ryan Broyles, OU’s disappointing finish to the 2011 season, how much the Belldozer helped, his relationship with Blake Bell and where the Sooners fit in the big picture.
No new ground is broken. But it should be comforting that when anyone talks to the Oklahoma quarterback for the next 11 months, they’ll be talking to Landry Jones.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Sefolosha missed
No one can doubt Thabo Sefolosha’s value to the Thunder. Not after the Clipper massacre Monday night. Sefolosha missed the game with a foot injury, and the Clippers waltzed to a 112-100 victory that was notable for the Thunder’s total lack of defense.
The Clippers made 45 of 80 shots (56.2 percent). They made 13 of 25 3-pointers (52 percent). They made eight of 10 dunks (yep, De’Andre Jordan missed two). You let a good-shooting team take 25 mostly-open 3-pointers and 10 dunks, and you’ll get beat every time.
Chris Paul, who took only three of the 3-pointers and none of the dunks, was the chief instigator, running the Clippers with amazing efficiency. CP3 darted in and out of the lane for lobs and kick-outs to open sharpshooters Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups.
When Butler, guarded by Kevin Durant, scored 11 points in the game’s first 6:10, you figured this would be a long night without Thabo and his defense. Switching Sefolosha over to Butler and letting Durant guard Billups wouldn’t have been much better, but at least Sefolosha could have dogged the hot hand.
But as the game wore on, it became clear that Thabo’s real value would have been in trying to guard Paul. That’s tough duty for a 6-foot-5 wingman, trying to stay in front of the NBA’s premeir cat burglar, but Sefolosha offers the best hope for the Thunder. At least Wednesday night. Russell Westbrook’s defense was abysmal, In Westbrook’s, uh, defense, it’s hard for anyone in the league to guard Paul. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and Durant are easier to guard than is Paul.
But Westbrook’s defense was atrocious Wednesday. As bad as Durant’s. Westbrook seemed to be following CP3 as much as he was guarding him. Thabo gives the Thunder another option, at least a different look. Might have made a difference.
And has there ever been a game that more adequately displayed James Harden’s value in coming off the bench? Starting in Thabo’s stead, Harden was a total non-factor. No points until the second quarter. No basket until the fourth quarter, when it was a blowout. It is clear that Harden is much more comfortable coming off the bench, playing a good chunk of the game as the B team’s primary scoring option, rather than playing with Durant and Westbrook as the A team’s third option. In the fourth quarter of games, Harden routinely plays with Westbrook and Durant, and plays well. Maybe he needs to get adjusted to the flow of the game, I don’t know. But he’s clearly lost as a starter.
Not that Thabo’s absence is an excuse for the defeat. Every team is dealing with voids in this densely-scheduled season. You adjust to injuries and move on. But just know Thabo’s defensive versatility is a wonderful asset for the Thunder. OKC was reminded of that against the Clippers, the hard way.
Oklahoma football: Another second-generation player on the way
Sterling Shepard plans to sign a letter of intent on Wednesday to play football for the Sooners. Our gal Jenni Carlson wrote a great column for the Tuesday Oklahoman about Shepard’s legacy. You can read here about Sterling’s heritage. His dad, the late Derrick Shepard, and his uncles, Darrell and Woodie, all played for the Sooners.
The Shepards got me to thinking about father/son combos in OU history. The Sooners have had a ton of brothers, including some great and famous names. Burris. Owens. Andros. Selmon. Bryan. Lashar. Peters. Ray. Phillips. Tabor. There are a bunch more.
But father/son combinations are not as common. Going through the OU letterman list and memory, I found nine Sooner players ever whose father also played for OU. It’s possible I missed some. If I did, let me know. I’ll update the list. But here are the nine I found:
* Kent/Sam Bradford: Kent was a backup offensive lineman who lettered in 1977-78; Sam played a little quarterback a few year ago. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.
* Steve/Mike Owens: Steve won a Heisman Trophy in 1969; Mike never lettered but was a split end on the 1993 and 1994 OU teams.
* John/Brad Reddell: John was a solid end for Bud Wilkinson’s great teams of 1950-52; Brad was Gary Gibbs’ punter in 1989-92.
* Danny/Mark Bradley: Danny was an all-Big Eight quarterback in 1984; Mark was a big-play receiver for Bob Stoops (2003-04) who made the NFL.
* Ron/Patrick Fletcher: Ron was a quarterback in 1964 who threw a 95-yard TD pass in the Gator Bowl, still the longest completion in Sooner history; Patrick was a walkon quarterback who helped produce a stirring comeback against TCU in 1998.
* Jim/Seth Littrell: Jim was the starting fullback on Barry Switzer’s 1974 national title team; Seth was the starting fullback on Stoops’ 2000 national title team.
* Fred/Laenar Nixon: Fred was an exciting receiver/kick returner for Switzer in 1976-79; Laenar was a backup defensive end for Stoops, letting in 2004.
* Charles/Kendal Thompson: Charles was the thrilling optioneer who quarterbacked OU to victory in Game of the Century II in 1987 before finding off-field troubles; Kendal just redshirted as a freshman quarterback in 2011.
* Mike/James Winchester: Mike was OU’s punter in 1984-86; James just finished a three-year run as OU’s deep snapper on punts.
So that’s not a long list. But what’s interesting is, the trend is growing. Six of the nine sons come from the Stoops era, and three of those six have played in the last three seasons.
I would rank the Bradleys No. 1. An all-Big Eight quarterback — Danny was the league’s offensive player of the year — and a playmaking flanker on a team that made the national championship game.
Pro Bowl: How about London?
My brother came up with a good idea. Well, I don’t know if it’s a good idea. But it’s an idea worth considering. Move the Pro Bowl to London.
Here’s the rationale. Looks like we’re stuck with the Pro Bowl. Nobody knows what to do with the NFL’s all-star game. Nobody knows how to turn it into a real game. It’s like an exhibition game, except without young players trying to show someone they can play. For proven players, an exhibition game can only bring the bad news of injury.
So the Pro Bowl becomes a shell of a real football game. Little hard-hitting. Little all-out play. It’s like those three-quarters practices, with players in helmets and shoulder pads, but no football pants.
And it’s a game few want to play. At times Sunday night, the quarterbacks in the game were Andy Dalton and Cam Newton. Nothing against either rookie, who were excellent as first-year quarterbacks. But neither is in the upper half of quarterbacks in their conference. The Super Bowl quarterbacks are ineligible, of course, since they’ve got a game to play and the Pro Bowl futilely was moved to the week before the Super Bowl as a way to increase interest. Then you factor in injuries, which always mount late in the year. And then account for anyone with the good sense to avoid meaningless hits, and the Pro Bowl becomes something less than an all-star game.
Here’s an example of the difference in all-star games. Last year, LaMarcus Aldridge, a thoroughly wonderful player for the Portland TrailBlazers, didn’t make the NBA All-Star Game. Kevin Love didn’t even make it, originally, but was added when Yao Ming was scratched for injury. But there was no room for Aldridge. Meanwhile, Andy Dalton and Cam Newton, thoroughly middle-of-the-road quarterbacks (albeit promising) play in the Pro Bowl.
So what to do with the Pro Bowl?
Well, there’s this London thing. The NFL seems determined to take its game to Merry Old England. The NFL has played regular-season games in London’s Wembley Stadium five straight years: Giants-Dolphins in 2007, Chargers-Saints in 2008, Patriots-Buccaneers in 2009, Broncos-49ers in 2010 and Bears-Buccaneers in 2011. Now, the Rams have agreed to move a home game each of the next three seasons to London.
St. Louis officials are saying that violates the Rams’ lease in their dome, all the while there’s speculation that the Rams are bucking for a move back to Los Angeles.
Getting teams to move games to London is difficult. Stately and/or successful franchises won’t do it. Ends up being struggling franchises like the Bucs. Wonder of wonders that Jacksonville hasn’t gone for it.
So why not move the Pro Bowl to London? I know that Honolulu, the usual home of the Pro Bowl, is an enticement to get reluctant players to participate, but wouldn’t London hold some allure?
I see two problems with London:
1. The product is so bad, it’s not a great marketing tool for the NFL in Europe. A whole lot of fans wouldn’t know they were getting a bad brand of football. But they also wouldn’t become all that attached to the game. You go to Europe to grow the sport, not to make people shrug.
2. The weather isn’t great. The average high temperature for London in January is 43; the average low is 33. It’s often damp. That would be a tough sell for the ballplayers.
But I don’t like the Pro Bowl, and I don’t like NFL games in London. I believe they upset competitive balance. The Rams the next three seasons will have seven home games; everyone else in the NFL will have eight. How fair is that to the St. Louis Sams?
Big 12 basketball: Weekly rankings
Another Monday, another Big 12 basketball rankings, based on the schedule. Who has done what, and who has what left? Remember, the plus/minus is road wins added, home losses subtracted.
1. Kansas 7-1 (+3): The loss at Iowa State will keep the Jayhawks close to the pack.
2. Missouri 6-2 (+2): If Mizzou hadn’t won at Baylor, the Bears would be in the thick of the Big 12 race, and Missouri would be out of it.
3. Baylor 6-2 (+2): Baylor still has to go to Missouri, but the Bears get KU in Waco.
4. Iowa State 5-3 (+1): No surprise that the Cyclones beat Kansas in Ames; darn near beat the Jayhawks in Lawrence.
5. Kansas State 4-4 (even): Wildcats were swept by OU, but they’ve got a game lead on the Sooners, with very similar schedules the rest of the way.
6. Oklahoma 3-5 (-1): Sooners have some big home games coming up. Iowa State, Missouri, Texas and OSU the next 31/2 weeks.
7. Texas 3-5 (-1): Longhorns have been among the more predictable teams in the league.
8. Texas A&M 3-5 (-1): Goes to Stillwater on the final Saturday of the season; eighth place could be on the line.
9. Oklahoma State 3-5 (-1): OSU and A&M could play back to back. They appear headed for the eighth and ninth seeds in the Big 12 Tournament, which would mean a first-round meeting.
10. Texas 0-8 (-4): Might not win the rest of the way.
NBA coaches: Thumbs up, thumbs down
Two coaches, Sacramento’s Paul Westphal and Washington’s Flip Saunders, already are fired in this NBA season. More to come, surely. Let’s take a look at who is hot and who is not among NBA head coaches.
Hot: Indiana’s Frank Vogel. The Pacers are 12-6 and have won at Boston, at Chicago and at the Lakers. Indiana looks for real.
Not: Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy. It’s one thing to lose. It’s another to lose the way Orlando has been losing: 106-85 at home to Indiana on Sunday, 93-87 at New Orleans on Friday night, 91-83 at home to Boston Thursday night despite a 26-point lead, an historically-bad 87-56 loss at Boston last Monday. A victory at Indiana was the Magic’s only victory last week.
Hot: George Karl. The Nuggets’ experiment — winning not just without a superstar, but without a designated go-to player — is working famously. Denver has itself a team.
Not: Mike Brown. The start of the Brown era in Laker Land is a little dubious. The Lakers are 12-9 with plenty of bickering and more than a little confusion. But hope springs eternal. LA might sign Gilbert Arenas.
Hot: Rick Adelman. There is hope in Minnesota. Yes, some of it is Ricky Rubio. Some of it is Derrick Williams. Some of it is at least 31/2 more years of Kevin Love. But Adelman also has brought the Timberwolves some validity.
Not: Mike D’Antoni. I wouldn’t wish coaching Carmelo Anthony on my mortal enemy, but what we could be learning is that D’Antoni’s offense works wonderfully when Steve Nash runs it, not so much otherwise. The same could be said about most any team’s offense.
Hot: Kevin McHale. I didn’t like the Rockets’ hiring of McHale. Still don’t. But I can’t argue with the results. McHale has Houston 12-8 and playing well, despite a rebuilding mode and the disappointment of not getting Pau Gasol when the NBA voided a December trade.
Not: Mark Jackson. The Warriors still don’t know a good shot from a bad shot. Maybe Golden State hired the wrong member of the ABC broadcast crew.
Hot: Byron Scott. Believe it or not, the Cavaliers don’t stink, thanks in large part to rookie point guard Kyrie Irving, but give Scott credit for helping lift a sunken ship.
Hot: Doug Collins. The 76ers are 14-6, and while the schedule has been soft, that’s still a salty record for a team that’s been outside the elite level since the Iverson heyday.
The coaches of the league’s so-far elite teams — the Thunder’s Scotty Brooks, the Bulls’ Tom Thibodeau, the Heat’s Erik Spoelstra — have been fine, but their teams are performing to expectations. Some old war horses — San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, Dallas’ Rick Carlisle, Boston’s Doc Rivers — have had their moments with aging rosters, but they’ve also got vintage talent that can help win a tough game.
Oklahoma football: Good-bye Insight Bowl
The Insight Bowl is no more — at least the name. The Fiesta Bowl’s little brother has lost its title sponsor. Insight Enterprises Inc., based in Tempe, Ariz., has sponsored the bowl game since 1997. The game began in 1989 as the Copper Bowl.
Thus OU figures to have played in the final bowl game with the Insight name. The Sooners beat Iowa 31-14 on Dec. 30 in Tempe.
The Fiesta Bowl owns and runs the Insight Bowl and now will seek a replacement sponsor. A well-heeled sponsor is important; the Insight Bowl increased its payout to participating teams to $6.65 million (combined) two years ago, passing the Holiday Bowl in the Big 12′s pecking order.
But finding a sponsor might be difficult, for this reason. Did Insight Enterprises Inc. gets its money’s worth? Here’s one way to answer the question. Do you know what Insight Enterprises is? I don’t. And I’ve covered two Insight Bowls, plus made four trips to the Fiesta Bowl, with an Insight Bowl being run alongside even if there wasn’t an Oklahoma team involved.
I know the original Insight Bowls were called Insight.com Bowl. But I don’t know what Insight Enterprises is. So I looked it up. Insight Enterprises is an information technology outsourcing business. It’s listed among the Fortune 500 companies.
I don’t know if I know much more than I knew before I looked it up. I don’t know exactly what information technology outsourcing is, but people who need to know probably know.
But why would a company spend sponsorship dollars on putting its name on a bowl game, if the company message doesn’t get delivered any better than what Insight encountered? Maybe it was a community outreach expenditure for Insight. Giving back to the city of Tempe, which hosts the Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium.
I ran a quick check to see how many bowl sponsors were suffering from an identity crisis. Most of the bowls I either knew the company or you could figure it out. Like R&L Carriers (New Orleans Bowl), which obviously is some sort of trucking company, and AdvoCare V100 (Independence Bowl), some kind of health care. Some are self-explanatory — San Diego County Credit Union (Poinsettia Bowl) and Franklin American Mortgage (Music City Bowl).
Here are the bowls I didn’t know.
Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Gildan is an apparel company.
Belk Bowl: Belk is a department store chain in the Southeast.
BBVA Compass Bowl: BBVA Compass is a banking subsidiary of BBVA, a global financial services group.
So really, there wasn’t a bunch of no-name sponsors. Insight was in the minority.
Oklahoma football: Why not play Missouri?
The Kansas City Star reports that Missouri will play at Central Florida on Sept. 29. That fills out the UCF 2012 football schedule; the Golden Knights had been mentioned as a possible opponent for OU, which is still seeking two non-conference games.
But the Star also reported that Mizzou needs two more games to fill out its non-conference schedule. The Tigers are moving to the Southeastern Conference in 2012 and play just eight SEC games. They’ve got non-conference games with Arizona State and Central Florida, but need two more.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking?
Why not an Oklahoma-Missouri series? OU apparently is talking about playing Rutgers in the Meadowlands, and if that came to pass, OU surely would want a home game. Missouri, naturally, wants a home game, too, but Mizzou athletic director Mike Alden recently said the Tigers need six home games. They’ve got five now. So one of Mizzou’s two others could be a road game.
So there’s wiggle room for both OU and MU. If Rutgers falls through, maybe the Sooners could talk Missouri into a home-and-home series, but with the game in Missouri played at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. The Tigers have been playing Kansas there, but KU says the series is over, now that Mizzou is bolting the conference. Missouri wouldn’t want such a scheduling discrepancy, but on the other hand, Sooner fans would help fill up Arrowhead. If nothing else, it would be quite the thumb-nosing at KU.
Play in Norman this year and Columbia in some future season. Play in Columbia this year and Norman in some future season. Play in Kansas City this year and call it even. The options are many.
Of course, Bob Stoops and Gary Pinkel just spit out their morning Maxwell House, at the very thought of playing each other.
Let’s see. OU has Notre Dame and maybe Rutgers in New Jersey non-conference, Texas in Dallas, home games against OSU and Kansas State, and road games at TCU, West Virginia and Texas Tech. Good luck talking Stoops into play Missouri, here, there or yon.
Missouri has home games against Georgia, Arizona State and Alabama, plus road games at South Carolina, Central Florida, Florida, Tennessee and Texas A&M. I don’t see Pinkel getting excited about playing the Sooners on Faurot Field, on Owen Field or in Marshall Field.
But OU needs a game or two. Missouri needs a game or two. Desperate times call for desperate scheduling.
Greg Schiano: Tampa Bay hiring signals return of trend to NFL?
Sure didn’t see the Greg Schiano hiring coming. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week named Schiano their head coach. And it could be a sign that NFL management is again growing fond of hiring college head coaches to run NFL teams.
For the third straight year, a collegiate head coach has left his job to be an NFL head coach: Rutgers’ Schiano, Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh last season (49ers) andSouthern Cal’s Pete Carroll the year before that (Seahawks).
Between 2002 and 2010, only three coaches made a similar jump:Louisville’s Bobby Petrino to the Falcons in 2007, USC assistant coach Lane Kiffin to the Raiders in 2007 and LSU’s Nick Saban to the Dolphins in 2005. And of those three, two (Petrino and Saban) walked off the job after no more than one season, and the other (Kiffin) was fired four games into his second season.
But Carroll gotSeattleto the playoffs in 2010 and won a post-season game. Harbaugh got the 49ers to within a whisker of this Super Bowl. No Schiano gets the chance, though his NFL experience consists of just three years as a Chicago Bears assistant in the 1990s.
According to my research, Schiano becomes the 43rd college head coach hired to be an NFL head coach, with no football jobs in between.
Eight have been hired in this century. Schiano, Harbaugh, Carroll, Petrino, Kiffin, Saban, Steve Spurrier and ButchDavis.
Of those 10, only Harbaugh and possibly Carroll could be labeled successes. Saban went 9-7 his lone year inMiami, before bolting back to a campus,Alabama’s. Spurrier (Floridato the Redskins) andDavis(MiamiU.to the Browns) did not win.
Previous college coaches fared better in the NFL.
In the ‘90s, 10 made the jump. Steve Mariucci (Cal-Berkeley to the 49ers) went 60-43. Tom Coughlin (BostonCollegeto the Jaguars) was very good, 72-64 with an expansion team, including an AFC title game appearance in the franchise’s second season. Barry Switzer won a Super Bowl with the Cowboys. Bobby Ross (Georgia Tech to the Chargers) reached a Super Bowl. Dennis Green (Stanford to the Vikings) was outstanding inMinnesota, going 101-72. Jack Pardee (HoustonU.to the Oilers) was solid, going 44-35. That’s six success stories. That’s a very good rate. The only duds were Mike Riley (OregonStateto the Chargers), Rich Brooks (Oregonto the Rams) and Dick McPherson (Syracuseto the Patriots). Dennis Erickson (MiamiU.to the Seahawks) went 31-33 in four seasons.
Only six coaches made the jump in the ‘80s. One was Jimmy Johnson (MiamiU.to the Cowboys), who won two Super Bowls. Sam Wyche (Indianato the Bengals) reached a Super Bowl. John Robinson (Southern Calto the Rams) and Ron Meyer (SMU to the Patriots) were solid, finishing a little above .500. The only losers were Darryl Rogers (ArizonaStateto the Lions) and Ray Perkins (Alabamato the Buccaneers).
In the ‘70s, 11 coaches made the jump, including some big winners. Bill Walsh (Stanford to the 49ers) built a dynasty. John McKay (Southern Calto the Bucs) took over an expansion franchise and had it in the NFC title game in four years. Dick Vermeil (UCLA to the Eagles) reached a Super Bowl. Chuck Fairbanks (OU to the Patriots) built a winner. John Ralston (Stanford to the Broncos) and Tommy Prothro (UCLA to the Rams) also finished above .500. The failures were Bud Wilkinson (OU to the Cardinals, with a 15-year layoff), Lou Holtz (North CarolinaStateto the Jets), Bill Peterson (Rice to the Oilers) and Dan Devine (Missourito the Packers).
The hirings of Devine and Peterson ended a decade-long drought for the NFL hiring a college head coach, and the three hirings in 1960 were only made possible by the formation of the old American Football League. The Raiders hired Navy’s Eddie Erdelatz, the Patriots hired Western Illinois’ Lou Saban and the Jets hired Hardin-Simmons’ Sammy Baugh. All three lasted just two seasons, and none produced a winning record.
Before that, in the 40 years of pro football, only five men went from being college head coaches to NFL head coaches: Hugh Devore (Dayton to the Eagles, 1956); Sid Gillman (Cincinnati to the Rams, 1955); Jim Lee Howell (Wagner to the Giants, 1954, he hired Vince Lombardi as offensive coordinator and Tom Landry as defensive coordinator); Alvin McMillin (Indiana to the Lions, 1948); and Joe Bach (Duquesne to the Steelers, 1935). Only Howell, who went 55-29-4 and won an NFL title, was a success.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Not everyone follows Presti’s lead
There is a general belief that all rebuilding teams in the NBA should use the Thunder’s blueprint. Build through the draft, shed big-money contracts of mediocre veterans, create cap space that can make trades much more advantageous. And of course, hope you get lucky in the lottery.
Some franchises talk about it. But it’s not so easy to do it. The Minnesota Timberwolves, for example.
The T-Wolves have struggled mightily since trading Kevin Garnett to Boston five years ago. But finally, optimism has returned to Minnesota. Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, rookies Derrick Williams and Ricky Rubio. The Timberwolves appear to have a future, and the present isn’t so bad. A fun, entertaining team that probably won’t finish .500 but won’t be far off.
But management still matters, even after you’ve stumbled into some ballplayers.
Take Kevin Love’s contract negotiations. The power forward, in the same draft class as his UCLA roommate, Russell Westbrook, was eligible for a contract extension but had to be signed by Wednesday, else he and the team would have to wait until the summer. Derrick Rose and Westbrook, the other plums in that 2008 draft, already had signed five-year extensions.
Love asked for the same. Let me repeat. One of the NBA’s best players, a power forward who puts up video-game type numbers, told the woebegone franchise in Minneapolis that he would commit for a full five years. And the ‘Wolves said no. The Wolves said, how about four?
The biggest problem in the NBA over the last couple of years is superstars wanting to migrate to 1) rosters decked with other superstars; 2) exotic locales (LA, Miami, New York); 3) or both. And Kevin Love, an elite NBA player, says he will do exactly what his old pal Westbrook did, sign for the maximum length of contract, with a franchise in a cold-weather city, far from the lights of Broadway, even though the Timberwolves aren’t contenders and are in the dream-and-hope mode as we speak.
Shouldn’t the Timberwolf brass sprint to Love’s side? Shouldn’t they hold his hand while he signs? Shouldn’t they get down on their knees and thank the good Lord to be so blessed to have a player willing to commit to a dream?
You’d think. Instead, Minnesota wanted just a four-year deal. Didn’t want to commit to a fifth year, apparently because it worried about signing Williams and Rubio in four years.
Love said fine. But the four-year contract will include an opt-out clause after three years. So Love really is committed to Minnesota only until summer 2015. Two full years before Westbrook’s deal in OKC runs out.
I wonder if the Timberwolves realize that if Love bolts in 2015, signing Williams and Rubio will be a massive problem? Wonder if the Timberwolves realize that they’ve shrunk their window of opportunity?
Sure, a five-year deal at $15 or $16 million is a lot of money. But that’s the going rate in the NBA. Revenue sharing figures to help franchises like Oklahoma City and Minnesota. The Thunder swallowed hard and made the commitment to remain a contender. The T-Wolves hedged their bet that they could get there.
Sometimes, knowing what to do isn’t all of the puzzle. Sometimes, you have to go ahead and do it.
