Matthews

Jazz rookie, Wesley Matthews, has flourished in his starting role. Matthews went on to be an un-drafted player, which many teams now regret.

He played at Marquette all 4 years and was always over shadowed by better players. Going unnoticed, Matthews joined the Utah summer league team to fill a vacant spot. CJ Miles and Kyle Korver both had injuries that took them out of the lineup at the beginning of the season. Matthews impressed the coaching staff and he was signed on for a few 10 day contracts and eventually the rest of the season.

Midway through the season, the Jazz execs decided to trade fan favorite starting shooting guard, Ronnie Brewer. Jazz players hated the trade and said that it made their team worse not better. Several teams around the league traded to get guys, not release. The trade has proven to be the right choice. Matthews stepped in right away and filled the starting shooting guard role. He brings what Brewer couldn't, a 3 point shooter. It was embarrassing last year in the playoffs to see Kobe guarding Brewer 10 feet away, daring him to shoot.

Matthews has shot 45% from three land since March 1. That is a staggering percentage! Sloan has trusted the rookie and the team has flourished because of it.

Ronnie Brewer was an excellent player, a tough slasher/defender. He was near the top of the pack in steals and field goal %. Most of his points came around the basket as he had an amazing leap. You don't hear about Brewer much anymore and that is because of Matthews. The rook is tearing it up. He gets little national exposure because he went un drafted and he plays in Utah, one of the smallest markets in the NBA.

I think there are a lot of benefits to playing college ball first. Too many high school rookies come out and struggle for years. CJ Miles was drafted right out of HS for his smooth stroke. He has been in the league for 5 years and is just starting to come around. Matthews, playing all 4 years, has hit the ground running and doesn't seem to skip a beat.

The playoffs start this weekend. I predict we see the same consistency from Matthews we've seen all season long.

Sports Reporting

With my job, I'm on the road quite a it (not as much lately) and I'd rather listen to some form of talk radio than the average music coming out these days. Often my dial is on AM sports talk, bot national and local. I find it interesting how both operate so differently.

For local you have KFAN who is owned by the Miller family and tends to slant in favor for the Jazz. Then you have 1280 the Zone who seems to be the angry middle child to KFAN. I flip back between to two at nearly every commercial break to catch their opinions on the same matter.

KFAN always seems to be upbeat and positive while the Zone is always cynical and depressing. KFAN has a local DJ named Alema Harrington, a BYU grad and the Zone has Kyle Gunther, a U of U grad. It's said to not have a bias in sports broadcasting, but it is very evident that doesn't happen! (I don't understand that whole extreme rivalry thing anyway.)

Afternoons on KFAN you have Divid Locke who hosts his show, Locked on Sports where he covers every sport. His night job is he is the play-by-play announcer for the Jazz. He is extremely slanted and loyal to his employer. He had acknowledged several times on air that he is aware that people call him a "homer."

When the Miller family is your employer for both your talk radio show and your play-by-play gig, it would be nearly impossible to not let your allegiance show.

Is there an ethics issue here? Who cares. If you don't want to listen to him, tune into 1280. They appeal to critics anyway.

Late night host Jimmy Kimmell highlighted two college basketball teammates in his audience. One was the 2009 AP college Player of the Year, Evan Turner. After some talk on considerations for the NBA, Kimmell said, "I'll be praying for you that you don't go to the Clippers!"

The LA Clippers are known for always getting a lottery pick in the draft. Lottery picks are the 1-14 picks of the draft. Yet they never seem to pull it together. With all that talent, they have made the playoffs once this decade! They have blown it nearly every year since 2000. On the flip side, the Jazz seem to find the diamonds in the rough. With Deron Williams and Ronnie Brewer as their only lottery picks in decades, they continue to make the playoffs year after year.

Here is a history of the Clips picks:

2000

Clippers' record: 15-67, worst.
Pick: Darius Miles, F, East Saint Louis (Ill.) High School (3rd).
Pick No. 2: Keyon Dooling, G, Missouri (10th).
Could have had: Hedo Turkoglu, Michael Redd.

What they said then
"He has a great upside. I just can visualize him playing with Lamar for years to come."
--Baylor on Miles

Postscript
He also had a great downside. The Clippers gave up on Miles after two seasons and 27 games started.

2001

Clippers' record: 31-51, eighth-worst.
Pick: Tyson Chandler, C, Dominguez High School, Compton, Calif. (2nd). Traded to Bulls for Elton Brand.
Could have had: Pau Gasol.

Postscript
Actually, this trade worked out pretty well, at least until Brand convinced Baron Davis to sign with the Clippers after the 2008 season, only to see Brand jump ship to Philadelphia, Davis shoot a disastrous 37 percent from the field, the team trade for Zach Randolph, give nine starts to Ricky Davis, finish with the worst offensive rating in the league and implode to a 19-63 record that had fans itching for the days of Lancaster Gordon and Kurt Nimphius.

2002

Clippers' record: 39-43, 12th-worst.
Pick: Chris Wilcox, F, Maryland (8th).
Pick No. 2: Melvin Ely, C, Fresno State (12th).
Could have had: Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer.

What they said then
"They either took that pick for someone else or they're stupid."
--Charles Barkley, after the team drafted Wilcox

Postscript
Wilcox ended up having a couple decent seasons -- with Seattle. Ely started nine games with the Clippers. Contrary to what coach Alvin Gentry said after this draft, the team was not good.

2003

Clippers' record: 27-55, fifth-worst
Pick: Chris Kaman, C, Central Michigan (6th).
Could have had: David West.

What they said then
"Any time you get the second pick in the draft, it's crucial that you get a player that's going to be a fixture, a contributor and hopefully a star. I'm pretty confident he's going to be able to fulfill all those things."
--Larry Brown

"When you get a special talent like this, and it comes at that size, it's almost impossible to pass on that. As special as I think Carmelo Anthony is, I do believe there will be other great 6-8 small forwards who will come around.
--Joe Dumars

Postscript
Oops, that's what was said about Darko Milicic, not Chris Kaman. As for the Clippers, typical bad luck for them: They got the sixth pick in a loaded draft in which Dwyane Wade went fifth.

2004

Clippers' record: 28-54, tied for fourth-worst.
Pick: Shaun Livingston, G, Peoria (Ill.) Central High School (3rd).
Could have had: Devin Harris.

What they said then
"And he's the type of player, as you give him a few years to mature, you could see him develop into an All-Star in this league. The thing about him that's so compelling is the fact that he just makes everybody else around him better."
--Coach Mike Dunleavy

Postscript
Have we mentioned the bad luck the Clippers have had with injuries? The Clippers passed on Harris, a college point guard, and made Livingston the first high school point guard ever drafted with a lottery pick. Livingston battled injuries his first two seasons but was finally showing promise in his third season when he suffered a knee injury so severe that ESPN warned of the graphic nature of the video clip.

2005

Clippers' record: 37-45, 12th-worst.
Pick: Yaroslav Korolev, F, Russia (12th).
Could have had: Danny Granger.

What they said then
"His offensive skills are very wide and varied, with a very big upside."
--Dunleavy

Postscript
But not wide enough and definitely not varied enough. The 18-year-old Russian did score 39 points -- in his Clippers career.

2006

Clippers' record: 47-35, made playoffs!
Pick: No picks!

2007

Clippers' record: 40-42, 14th-worst
Pick: Al Thornton, F, Florida State (14th).
Could have had: Actually, you can't argue too much about this pick.

2008

Clippers' record: 23-59, tied for fifth-worst.
Pick: Eric Gordon, G, Indiana (7th).
Could have had: After averaging 16.1 points per game and shooting 39 percent on 3-pointers, do the Clippers make the right pick two years in a row?

2009

Clippers' record: 19-63, tied for second-worst.
Pick: Blake Griffin, F, Oklahoma (1st).
Could have had: Anybody else.

OUCH!

NBA Money

College players are now deciding whether or not to declare for the upcoming Draft.

Last night I saw the movie, Blind Side, for the first time. Becuase it was a true story of an orphans rise to the NFL, it was very intreging. To go from being homeless to a millionaire is quite a shift in reality.

For many college basketball players, the reality of bringing home a high paying salary is all about timing and talent. If you can be talented enough to get picked in the first round, you may just be a millionaire over night. It all depends on the talent around you. Some draft years are heavily loaded with talent so your stock my rise or fall depending.

I couldn't imagine opening up my online banking to see a six figure wad of cash on my screen. I probably never will in my lifetime. But pro sports is a very lucrative business.

It's too bad when money can go to a players head. Some Utah fans accuse Carlos Boozer of being only in it for the money. His speedy flee from Cleveland in 2003 left many NBA fans unsettled of his character. With an injury plagued stint at Utah, Boozer still got his $12 million and change every year. However, with his back to all-star form this year, not many people bring up the past. Come this summer though, Boozer will be a free agent. If history repeats itself, he may follow the money again. Some say New York is interested in Boozer and has lots of cap space to give him an ego-stroking contract.

It's not rare to see a pro athlete who made millions in their career to blow it all. If any of us have seen an episode of MTV Cribs, you'd know just how lavish they live! Sure, if I had the money, I'd have a sweet house too. On the other hand, some take it too far. Stephon Marbury struck gold with the Knicks and decided that he needed his own private jet. Antoine Walker, who played for the Celtics and Timberwolves, has huge gambling debts. As one of the famous raps states, "Mo money, mo problems."

Financial advisors can really help and many players hire them to manage all their "bling." Because hey, it's easier for an athletes advisor to tell their 2nd cousin "no" to a hand out than themselves.

Allen Iverson, of the Philadelphia 76ers, has decided to hang it up for the season to be with his sick 4-year-old daughter. A week later, his wife of 8 years, filed for a divorce. The former NBA MVP who led his Sixers to the NBA finals in 1997 has been on the down turn of his career as of late. He left the team this season to care for his daughters undisclosed illness.

You could imagine the amount of stress that he must have been in. I think sometimes we think that athletes are the property of sports fans and need to perform night in and night out. In all reality, though they make millions of dollars, athletes have complicated lives in so many ways.

He's obviously on the tail end of his career and retiring seems practical at this point, but I think he still has the desire to be out on the court. Or maybe he just wanted to stay out on the floor to stay away from his wife. 76ers general manager Ed Stefanski said that the situation was hurting the team. “It has been very difficult for Allen and the team to maintain any consistency as he tries to balance his career with his personal life,” he said.

At the end of the day, the NBA is a business just like working for your boss. It's unfortunate that an athlete of his caliber can't go out on top. Like the person who likes to leave people laughing when he leaves the room, Iverson needs an exit!

The Law of Accumulation of Wealth

"We are to consider all surplus revenues which come to us simply as trust funds which we are called upon to administer in the manner in which our judgement is best calculated to produce the most beneficial results to the community. Thus a man of wealth becomes a mere agent and trustee for his poorer brethren."

-Andrew Carnegie

Jon Hunstman Sr., a world famous chemicals company owner, has this quote on the wall in his office to remind himself to always consider the less fortunate. After quoting it, Hunstman then listed was his company administers its surplus. (Hunstman Cancer Institute, scholarships, homeless, or to reach out to failing countries).

After my last post, I came across this and though it tied in well with my opinion on professional athletes and how they can contribute. I am not a socialist liberal. I oppose spreading wealth for the sake of spreading wealth. I am a conservative, and believe in responsibility.

NBA Players with Haiti Relief

The country of Haiti was leveled nearly two weeks ago, killing hundreds of thousands and leaving millions homeless and in need of medical attention. Haiti is a poor country that had no building codes. With no reinforced concrete walls and floors, all came down within a matter of minutes. A cry for help has been answered by several nations, including the United States.

NBA players have had much to do with the relief effort. Haiti born player, Samuel Dalembert, from the 76ers, donated $100,000 of his paycheck. Dwayne Wade and former Heat center Alonzo Mourning raised over $800,000 toward the relief. Wade's donation was a one-game salary, about $175,000, while Mourning, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul each pledged $100,000, fund officials said.

Among the other NBA players announced as donors: Gilbert Arenas, Al Horford, Anthony Parker, Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony, Ben Gordon, Mike Dunleavy, Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, Quentin Richardson, Devin Harris, Michael Finley, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer and Caron Butler.

Athletes are paid an enormous amount of money ($175k a game!) and to see them step up and contribute in this way goes to show that they, and humans alike, are generally good-hearted. I'm sure there are many more that gave that are not listed here. To those who can give, I think it is their duty.

Reaction to the All-Star Game Starters

Fans should not be able to have full authority on who starts in the All Star Game. I believe that fans vote for the marquis players every year when players with breakout seasons should be having a shot. Some argue that the All Star Game has lost its glamour anyway, so should we even care? Ray Allen, Boston Celtics guard, cares, but with some regulation.

"I like the fact that the fans get the opportunity to vote and pick who they'd like to see in the All-Star Game, but I don't think it should be 100 percent," Allen said.

The NBA doesn't see any reason to change the voting process however. It just seems a bit unfair that every player on the Houston Rockets ballot got substantial votes. Obviously, China has a huge population fan base for Yao Ming and his team mates. I mean, Aaron Brooks got more votes that Deron Williams!

I guess at the end of the day, who cares, right? Who really watches the All-Star game hoping for a real contest? We'll see if the Jazz can represent in the playoffs.