Eastbay.com

Not to say that the newly crowned Detroit Pistons player was not a little bit joyous about having his name called amongst the drones of other athletes biting their fingernails. But, if he was, there was no way of telling.

When Knight’s name was called he stood up just as the other seven prospects before him did. However, the difference was that the smirk on his face paled in comparison to the Chesire Cat grin that Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams showcased across their faces as they walked up on stage and shook hands with David Stern. I understand the hypothesis brought forth that he may have not wanted to fall to the eighth spot when he worked out with numerous teams leading up to the draft and thought that he may have gone higher.

Still, you would think that having your name called after being invited to Draft ceremony would allow at least a spark of happiness to creep onto your face. The night is over and the last name was called. Afterwards, during his official introduction alongside second round picks Vernon Macklin and Kyle Singler he addressed the issue of his stern reaction to being drafted by Detroit.

“I’m definitely happy to be here in Detroit,” Knight said. “It’s great feeling to be picked by Detroit. It’s a great city with a great tradition.

“I think I reacted that way because I’m just a serious guy and that’s always been my nature to be calm and collected. Like I said, there’s a great tradition here. They have won three championships and I’m hoping we can add to that.”

So, what’s next for Brandon Knight? [..]

This draft class does not have the most talented players I have ever seen, but they sure do have some potential if they are willing to put in the work to get to the height that superstars of today’s game have reached. Kyrie Irving, Markieff Morris and Tristan Thompson are only a few highlighted names when the NBA Draft this Thursday comes into mind.

These kids have gone through the gauntlet in the NCAA Tournament and are in for the trial of their lives and we are all bearing witness to their journey thus far. The rounds afterwards are extremely important but the first round is where some of the grandest stars are born. None of these predictions are solid so please do not treat them as such. There are so many tricks and turns draft day that your head will spin. It is just fun to pretend like you can tell a fortune or two. [..]

After watching how LeBron’s image was consistently mutilated in the media throughout last year’s summer, conjoined with this past NBA season, my mind began wandering to places that it never had before when considering the ups and downs of the perception of an athlete.

What were we truly accusing him of?

Did he commit some type of unforgivable heinous crime? Did he spit in the face of his opponent? Did he toss a homophobic slur at a game official on national television? Did he take some type of performance-enhancing drug and had us fooled all this time thinking he was working off of ‘natural ability’?

None of these things are brought to the light in the case of LeBron James v. The Public, so it leads me to believe that there is some type of well pronounced hypocrisy being displayed as some of the athletes who have committed some of the aforementioned grievances are dealt slaps on the back of their hand and a few words of encouragement.

James’ most recent press conference where his words seemed to echo the likes of “I am better than you, richer than you and even though I lost in the Finals, you will still be living your pathetic life,”  has the hammer is falling down directly on his head while others are walking around scot-free with public image and support still intact. [..]

It still makes me go “Hmmmm” when people say that they do not believe LeBron is that great of an athlete but continue to make excuses for him when he plays terribly or even below his own usual standard. As a fan of his game, I refuse to sit back and feed into the drones and drones of rumors used to excuse why he has not been playing like a superstar in this year’s [..]

Well, it is nice to get a look in at LeBron James closet. If anything goes hand in hand in the basketball world we indulge ourselves in today, it is fashion and hoops. A lot of times people spend most of their day reviewing what players were wearing in post game conferences than their responses to a few bad plays and a few great ones. LeBron James, although one of the more criticized athletes in this year’s playoffs, shows off, along with his stylist, his threads for the NBA Finals.

Image Courtesy of GQ

Video Courtesy of LeBronJames.com

There will be plenty of moves made in this year’s offseason in the NBA. With the exception of the absence of a CBA, teams’ main focus will be restructuring their teams to combat some new and old league superstars that are rising in the wake of a new age in basketball. The Western Conference will see more retooling than the Eastern Conference. [..]

If you did not know that Donnie Walsh would be out as the New York Knicks’ General Manager, shame on you. Of course the entrance of Amare Stoudemire assisted the smokescreen and then the arrival of Carmelo Anthony helped paint a pretty picture. But, when you look past the bedazzled outside and look at the beleaguered inside, there was trouble amidst the [..]

Well, Kobe may have one more ring than Shaquille O’Neal, but O’Neal will have one of the most valuable treasures of a league retiree. The Los Angeles Lakers are planning on retiring his jersey along with the other seven great Lakers’ legends. Thankfully, they will not be holding off the dropping of his jersey like they were holding off the erection of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s statue. [..]

Dear Scottie,

I have nothing but respect for you my friend as an athlete and knowledgeable basketball mind. But you are way off in your assessment of who is the greatest player of all time and the greatest scorer of all time. Your comments are off because of your limited perspective. You obviously never saw Wilt Chamberlain play who undoubtedly was the greatest scorer this game has ever known. When did MJ ever average 50.4 points per game plus 25.7 rebounds? (Wilt in the 1962 season when blocked shot statistics were not kept). We will never accurately know how many shots Wilt blocked. Oh, by the way in 1967 and 68, Wilt was a league leader in assists. Did MJ ever score 100 points in a game? How many times did MJ score more than 60 points in a game? MJ led the league in scoring in consecutive seasons for 10 years but he did this in an NBA that eventually expanded into 30 teams vs. when Wilt played and there were only 8 teams.

Every team had the opportunity to amass a solid [..]