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Summer Bummer: Major League Baseball is in a rut

By
J.T. Clifton
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Photo Cred: Kevin Sousa (USATSI)

Major League Baseball has been America’s pastime for as long as many can remember. It’s the all-American sport. The ballpark. A hot dog. A soda. It’s what families used to do for outings. Key words; used to. Attendance has been dropping in baseball for several years now and television ratings are dipping, too. 

In fact, baseball is on its way to its lowest average attendance in 15 years. What are the reasons for this? Some are obvious, some not so much. Additionally, who should capitalize on this trend? 

First of all, today’s society is different. It’s a fact. People are more mobile, agile and busy. They don’t want to devote four hours sitting in blazing heat while watching a team strikeout at a record pace. Seriously, does it sound appealing for a reasonable person to pay approximately $150 bucks for their family to sit in 90-degree weather, buy their kids food that costs another $30 to $50 just to see their team win a meaningless game because there are 161 more?  

It doesn’t for me.  Major League Baseball has a real dilemma. They can’t lower prices because of the salaries

of the players. They can’t let players get back on steroids so there aren’t any compelling home run record chases

anymore. MLB even bragged recently about cutting a full five minutes off the average nine-inning game. Awesome! We went from three hours and ten minutes to three hours and five minutes. That should cut down on one $6 hot dog!  

Now, for the television ratings. Why aren’t people watching pro baseball games on TV? It’s not hot and they have cheap food at home. The three-hour thing is still in play here. People can barely watch a two-minute video on Twitter in its entirety. So, in a 162-game season, the games must be interesting to hold someone’s attention. If it’s not a close, good game, viewers will catch the next one. 

So far, on Sunday Night Baseball, one game, the matchup between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels, has drawn more than two million viewers. The Giants and Cubs game on May 27th barely drew more than a million. 

Who needs to take advantage of this? The NFL and NBA. The NBA is trying with their Summer League since it’s gaining ground and people enjoy watching the rookies play. The NFL could literally televise practices and compete. I would personally love to watch wide receivers and defensive backs go at it in practice over watching Aaron Judge or Joey Gallo strikeout two or three times per game. 

Control Arm: The Top 5 SEC QBs of the last 10 years

By
J.T. Clifton
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Auburn quarterback Cam Newton South Carolina vs Auburn football on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010 in Auburn, Ala. / Photo Courtesy of: Todd Van Emst (Auburn Athletics Photography)

 The Southeastern Conference (SEC) has occasionally struggled with quarterback play over the last few years, but appears to be improving in the signal-caller area with Jake Fromm, Jarrett Stidham and Drew Lock. When Urban Meyer came in, many teams utilized a dual threat model quarterback, but they’re now trending toward pocket passers. Let’s look at the Top 5 quarterbacks in the SEC over the last ten years (with honorable mention to Josh Dobbs (Tennessee) and Chad Kelly (Ole Miss).

5. Matthew Stafford– Georgia: Stafford was an All-American in 2008 and probably the most successful SEC quarterback in the pros in the last ten years, perhaps behind Cam Newton. He amassed 7,731 passing yards to go with 51 touchdowns. He was MVP of the Capital One Bowl in 2009 over Michigan State. The sole thing that hurt him in his career was the fact he was more turnover-prone than other quarterbacks on this list.  Stafford was the No. 1 overall pick to the Detroit Lions in the 2009 NFL Draft. 

4. Dak Prescott– Mississippi State: Prescott was first team All-SEC in 2014 and 2015. He finished with more than 9,000 passing yards and 2,500 rushing yards. Dak also accounted for 114 touchdowns in his career. In 2014, Prescott led the Bulldogs to their first No. 1 ranking in the history of the program. He carried the team on his back throughout his three, full seasons as starter, as the Bulldogs didn’t truly have any other superstars.

3. Johnny Manziel– Texas A&M: It’s hard to look past Manziel’s off-the-field issues and pro career when putting him on this list, but this is solely based on college stats. Manziel won the Heisman Trophy in 2012 and was also numerous entities’ Player of the Year. He only played two full seasons for the Aggies, but racked up 153 touchdowns with 7,500 passing yards and more than 4,000 rushing yards. He was the most electrifying player we’ve seen in many years. He also talked a lot, but ultimately backed it up. Johnny Football also took down No. 1 Alabama, racking up 345 yards of total offense in that memorable game. 

Tim Tebow / Photo courtesy of: APSI

 

1B. Tim Tebow – Florida: The top two on this list have to be ranked 1A and 1B. Tebow was a 2x National Champion, 2x SEC Player of the year, and 2x First Team All-American. He changed the way quarterbacks played in college. Tebow also won the Heisman Trophy in 2007. He could run and throw. Tebow racked up more than 9,200 yards passing with 88 touchdowns and more than 2,900 yards rushing with 57 touchdowns. He was practically unstoppable when it came to short distances to go. 

1A. Cam Newton – Auburn: Newton won the Heisman Trophy, the National Championship and the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards all in 2010, his only year at Auburn. He threw for 2,854 yards and 30 TDs and ran for 1,473 and 20 TDs that year. He led Auburn to a comeback victory over Alabama after being down 24-0, in one of the greatest retaliations in SEC history. He played the same year I covered the Vols with Sal Sunseri as defensive coordinator and I believe to this day if the Vols had played him that year, he would have had 1,000 total yards from scrimmage. Newton was the most unstoppable force the SEC has seen in years. 

View to a Thrill: Our 2018 AFC North outlook

By
Stephen Patrick
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Bengals training camp / Aaron Doster (USATSI)

The American Football Conference North Division, or AFC North, is a division of the National Football League’s American Football Conference. SportsRadioAmerica.com previews the AFC North for the 2018 season. 

Baltimore Ravens 

The Ravens are 40-40 since winning Super Bowl XLVII. That is the definition of average. Their roster and main stars from that team remain to age. Joe Flacco, Terrell Suggs and Eric Weddle are all in their mid-30’s. Health always plays a factor in the NFL. Hopefully, the Ravens will benefit from a complete offensive line this season. Reportedly, electric first round draft pick Lamar Jackson will get snaps in a two-quarterback system. If so, it can bring life to an offense that’s lost its identity. The team’s personnel the last two seasons hasn’t seen significant improvements. The Ravens can prove themselves during a week four, Sunday night matchup with heated rival the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Cincinnati Bengals 

The Bengals appeared to be on their way to being Super Bowl contenders. But, after five straight playoff appearances, they’ve missed the contests the last two seasons. Many expected head coach Marvin Lewis to be fired, but he was brought back for another year. The end of the season ends with three road games in four contests. The acquisition of Cordy Glenn will help bolster Cincinnati up front, but the team as a whole has not seen great improvement. The Bengals’ defense is historically mediocre and last season stats reflect their standing. With Andy Dalton and A.J. Green still leading the offense, the team has the potential to outscore anybody. 

Cleveland Browns 

Tyrod Taylor & Baker Mayfield / John Kuntz (cleveland.com)

Under new general manager John Dorsey, the Browns have reworked their roster Last season, the team went 0-16, being only the second team to do so. While the Detroit Lions (0-16) were largely blowouts, Cleveland was competitive in most of their games. The Browns signed Carlos Hyde, Chris Hubbard, Chris Smith, T.J. Carrie and E.J. Gaines in free agency. Then, they traded for Tyrod Taylor, Jarvis Landry and Damarious Randall. With their off season moves, Cleveland is better at QB, running back, wide receiver, cornerback and safety. In the rough and tough AFC North, this team has the potential to surprise many people this season. A primetime game in week three pits them against the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football and the country will see if they bounce back. 

Pittsburgh Steelers 

Like most of the last decade, the Steelers are still the AFC North’s best team, as well as Super Bowl contenders. Last year’s catch ruling against the Patriots now stands and if it were in place last year, the Steelers might possibly have been in the Super Bowl. Todd Haley’s departure as offensive coordinator might be a shining light as he had friction with QB “Big Ben” Roethlisberger regarding questionable play-calling. Pittsburgh’s defense is a work in progress, but still the best in the division. While the defense works out it’s kinks, the Steelers have the league’s best combination of skill-position talent in Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster, few teams will be able to match their scoring output. 

The Pitt and the Pendulum: Panthers return to glory

By
Stephen Patrick
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Pitt beats Miami 24-14 / Photo courtesy of: Jeffrey Garza (Pitt Photography)

The University of Pittsburg Panthers missed out on a bowl for the first time since 2007, ending their season 5-7. That record doesn’t tell the whole story, however. Pitt lost three games by six points or less. A bounce-back post season seems obtainable. Quarterback Kenny Pickett is coming off his first, full season as a starter, including a win over Miami. Darrin Hall and Qadree Ollison lead the backfield after this duo combined for 1,026 yards last year. But, can they hold up with a new offensive line? 

The biggest issue for the team is their offensive line. The loss of left tackle Brian O’Neill, guard Alex Officer and Jaryd Jones-Smith will particularly impact the running game. On the defensive side, Pitt has never finished higher than ninth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in defense. But now, head coach Pat Narduzzi’s players are entering their junior and senior years, so the unit should take a step forward in 2018. 

Pitt’s non-conference schedule is among one of the toughest in the nation with games against Penn State, UCF and Notre Dame on tap. After back-to-back 8-5 records in the Steel City, Narduzzi’s third year resulted in a 5-7 mark. Narduzzi is 21-17 overall and 14-10 in ACC play since becoming the leading man of the Pitt Panthers. Narduzzi came in with a wealth of experience. From 2007-2014, he worked under Mark Dantonio at Michigan State and was regarded as one of college football’s top defensive coordinators. 

Turning to the recruiting circuit, Pitt cast their net wide and far on Father’s Day. Landing a couple of commitments on one day is impressive, but somehow, Pittsburgh did the unthinkable by landing nine, 2019 prospects in one day. 

“They slept on us for months,” Narduzzi Tweeted on the accomplishment. “Well I’m going to have trouble sleeping tonight…TOO MANY LIGHTS ON!”  

Pitt’s commitments came from all over the country; Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey and Alabama were all represented. While not four and five stars recruits, the Panthers still landed nine, solid prospects. Defensive end Brandon Mack; safety Brandon Hill; pro-style quarterback Davis Beville; defensive end Bryce Nelms; defensive tackle Calijah Kancey; defensive end DeAndre Jules; safety Khadry Jackson; running back Vincent Davis and outside linebacker Brandon George will all be suiting up for Pitt on Saturdays. Some programs have trouble landing ten to 15 recruits before National Signing Day, but the Panthers have landed 11 since June 10. Pitt has an incredible amount of promise coming into the season. With a win over Miami last year and several games coming down to the wire they could’ve won, it appears Pitt is on track to return to the postseason and fans are ready for game day. 

The Plight of Dwight: Was it Kobe? Harden? The Hawks? The Hornets? Or Howard?

By
J.T. Clifton
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Dwight Howard / (AP Sports Images)

Dwight Howard appeared poised to be the next great phenom in the NBA following the 2010-2011 season. He averaged 22 points per game and 14 rebounds per game. He was one of the most unstoppable players in the league, putting up huge numbers for the Orlando Magic. He was the main man in Orlando and ran the show. He even took the Magic to the finals in 2009.  

Flash Forward to 2012 and Howard teams with Kobe Bryant where he is supposed to bring more championships to Los Angeles. That was an experiment gone terribly wrong. Kobe and Dwight’s personalities could not have conflicted more. Dwight’s playful style was okay when he was the man in Orlando, but it didn’t fly with veteran Bryant. 

It was apparent after Howard left after one year and elbowed Kobe Bryant in a game. He was recorded by the cameras saying, “it wasn’t intentional” and Bryant was recorded responding, “I know it wasn’t, because you’re a B*tch A** N***A”. It was rumored Bryant ran Howard out of Los Angeles and Kobe took some flack for it. Was that really the case, though?  

Kobe Bryant (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dwight Howard (R) of the Houston Rockets clash / ROBYN BECK (Getty)

Howard joined Houston to team with James Harden and form a 1-2 punch that could potentially compete in a strong NBA Western Conference. It’s rumored Howard was asked to play in a pick and roll offense with Harden and was very defiant of the move. So, if that’s true, he had the chance to play in the pick and roll with one of the best of all time yet wouldn’t do it for the sake of his own stats. Add this defiance with missing around 30 games due to injury and it’s clear Houston wasn’t right for Howard. 

The right place for Howard could be his hometown Atlanta, right? Howard signed a three-year, $70 million contract with the Hawks in 2016. He was supposed to replace Al Horford who signed with the Boston Celtics. Something just didn’t click in Atlanta for Howard. He averaged 13 points per game and struggled in the first round of the playoffs against the Wizards. If that wasn’t evident enough it wasn’t a good fit, the Hawks dealt Howard to the Charlotte Hornets for Marco Belinelli and Miles Plumlee.  

It was reported by theScore NBA that, “Some Hawks reacted to Howard’s trade by screaming jubilation.” 

Howard did play a little better in Charlotte this past year. He averaged 16 points per game but couldn’t manage to get them to the playoffs alongside Kemba Walker. It seemed like he’d finally found his best fit with Walker and the Hornets since Orlando, until June 20th  

Howard was dealt to the Brooklyn Nets for Timofey Mozgov and two second-round picks. This will clear cap space after next season for the Nets to sign two max free agents. It was reported by Howard Beck that, “The Hornets’ locker room did not like Dwight Howard, guys were just sick and tired of his act.”  

So, was it Kobe? Harden? The Hawks? The Hornets? Or was it Dwight?

When it comes to recruiting for college sports, how young is too young?

By
J.T. Clifton
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Kiyaunta Goodwin & Nick Saban/ Photo Courtesy of: KSR

Kiyaunta Goodwin isn’t even in high school yet, but he’s 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 350 pounds. Schools are already drooling over him, and he was pictured this past weekend with Nick Saban. Goodwin later revealed Saban offered him a scholarship to play at the University of Alabama. 

Saban isn’t the first. He’s been offered by LSU, Cincy, Kentucky, WKU, Wisconsin, Georgia and Syracuse. He has photos on social media from visits to Ohio State and Michigan, but it’s not confirmed if these schools have also offered him scholarships. According to Bleacher Report, Goodwin can leg press 1,000 pounds and bench press 315 pounds. 

Lane Kiffin was the first one to tread these waters when he offered David Sills, a wide receiver who now plays for West Virginia. Sills was 13 at the time and committed to USC. He’s also offered Tee Martin’s son, Kaden Martin, a quarterback scholarship to Florida Atlantic. Kaden is five feet 11 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds. It’s crazy to even talk about that size for a middle school football player, but it’s reality. 

Kaden and Tee Martin / Photo courtesy of TMZ

So, how young is too young? I’m not asking for the purpose of evaluating talent. It’s up to the coaches to do that, and if they feel they can make that call when a kid is 13, then so be it. They can always pull the scholarship anyway and tell the player to look elsewhere, so it’s not a career-altering commitment. I’m asking for the purpose of the child and let me say it again, the child. 

We sometimes forget those 17 or 18-year-olds are kids because of their build. Most of them are much larger than the average human, and most of them look older in the face. But, are we going to start treating 13-year-old’s like adults sooner rather than later? We’ve seen 17-year-olds attacked on twitter for their de-commitments to athletic programs. 

The school exerts absolutely no pressure on them, but suddenly, a 13-year-old kid has enormous pressure on him. He has Nick Saban sitting in the stands at his games. I didn’t want to disappoint my mom when I was 13, so I couldn’t imagine Saban sitting at my games. For the kid’s sake, the NCAA needs to change the rules when it comes to recruiting. 

A coach shouldn’t be able to recruit a middle school player. Let them enjoy being a teenager, it’s hard enough going through awkward adolescent years without additional pressure on them. If I had it my way, schools wouldn’t be able to recruit a high school freshman, either. The sophomore year should be the first one coaches and schools can make contact. Let the kids get a year of high school football under their belts.  

So again, how young is too young? 

Does Major League Baseball really have an attendance problem?

By
Jeremy Evans
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Orioles empty stadium / Rob Carr {Getty Images)

It was recently reported that attendance is down by 6.5 percent this year across all of Major League Baseball (MLB), a little less than 2,000 fans per game. 

What does this mean? Analysts have pointed to a dip in attendance for larger-market teams that do not perform well. Others have pointed to the economy. Basically, when a large- market team or teams (New York, Los Angeles, Boston, etc.) do well in the standings and the economy is strong, attendance numbers are strong. 

However, in 2018, the economy is strong and all three large-market teams are in first or second place. However, the Los Angeles Dodgers did start their season by proceeding to populate the disabled list on a daily basis, but more recently, the team is playing some of the best baseball and mashing home runs at a record clip. Los Angeles also just broke attendance records with the San Francisco Giants in town for Father’s Day weekend. 

Several teams this year have also dipped in attendance that were in the playoffs or had better records last season than they have this season. As of Monday, the 2018 Miami Marlins are considerably worse this season having traded away their entire starting outfield. They ended 2017 in second place and eight games under .500 versus being 16 games under .500 currently and in last place. The 2017 American League Wild Card Game-winning Minnesota Twins are currently six games under .500 but ended the 2017 season ten games over .500. The 2017 National League Wild Card Game-winning Colorado Rockies were 12 games over .500 but have been slipping and currently sit at three games under .500 in fourth place. 

On the other hand, some good teams this year were bad or not as good last season (i.e., the Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners and the Detroit Tigers). Other analysts have pointed to the weather and the use of defensive shift driving down offensive production. All in all, we can agree there are likely many factors driving down attendance. 

Nonetheless, the one factor that may trounce of all of them is streaming. Yes, streaming from home or any place other than the stadium decreases in-person attendance, which should have been no surprise. By the way, increased streaming does not mean decreased revenues. Quite the opposite, actually, as streaming requires purchasing copyrighted broadcasts through a license and is paid for by the streamers, broadcasters, etc. 

Case in point, Facebook Live is streaming 25 MLB games in 2018 for $30-35 million. That is 25 more game

s than last year, exclusive to Facebook Live, and with 1.45 billion active daily users on Faceboo

k, you can imagine a decrease in attendance to a live event where someone can watch for free from home. Moreover, over-the-top (OTT) distributio

n through social media giants like Facebook Live, Twitter and Snap Chat, plus streamers like YouTube, Amazon Prime and Hulu, are increasingly preferred by fans and expected to increase in revenue and availability over the next five years. 

Per Deloitte, an industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory service regarding sports trends: 

“By moving ad spend to digital and social channels, teams can more effectively target fans who are already interested in their content. One team leading this trend is the Miami Dolphins, who over the past year has used much of its marketing budget on content development, using social engagement as a mechanism to identify and grow its fan base. This method is particularly important for organizations hoping to capture the loyalty of millennials, whose preferred media mediums are smartphones and mobile applications. By reaching fans where they are and with targeted content, teams will likely grow revenue in ways not possible just a decade ago.” 

Deloitte also predicts that by 2022, 25 percent of all digital navigation (up from 5% in 2017), which includes sports content, will be consumed indoors.  This means less in person attendance at sport events unless the teams do something to drive consumers back to the ballpark.   

Nielsen, a leading global information and measurement company that provides market research, insights and data about what people watch, listen to and buy, says consumer sports trends in 2018 will lead the technological innovation (e.g., streamers) to change consumer habits, which may be an opportunity or uncertainty for traditional sports media companies and teams. 

Teams stand to benefit greatly from this change financially. The issue is, will future stadiums become smaller as people prefer to stay at home and watch live sports from their phone while doing something else?  Will teams make efforts to get people into the ballpark by reaching them where they are at on social media and while streaming? Financially, does it matter whether a person is in the ballpark or not? 

Vendors lose by lack of attendance and of course, lower attendance is a publicity issue. However, if a team executive is faced with lower attendance numbers, that same team might be better off accepting and working with the change versus fighting it. Whether society is better off staying at home is another issue entirely, but not all is bad for baseball when the sport still cashes in from its new distribution partners.  

What the new Hollywood Park means for the business of sports and entertainment

By
Jeremy Evans
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The Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., part of the L.A. Stadium Entertainment and Sports District, is set to open in 2021 and will host Super Bowl LVI (February 2022), the 2023 College Football National Championship and the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, not to mention serving as the home field for the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers of the National Football League. We have some time before the grand opening, but let us check in on what the stadium and development means for the future of sports.

Cost

Like many things in life, the cost always goes up. Stadium-building is no exception. The architect for the Hollywood Park project, HKS, Inc. founded in 1939 by Harwood K. Smith, has built some of the most recognizable sports stadiums in modern times, including: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn.; AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas; American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas; Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas; Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind.; Miller Park, Milwaukee, Wis.; Liverpool Football Club, Stanley Park, Liverpool, England (Stanley Park Stadium); Club Santos Laguna, Nuevo Estadio Corona, Torreón, Coahuila; U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Ill. (2001–2007 renovations); not to mention The Palazzo, Las Vegas, Nev. and Venetian Macau, Macau, China, among others.

Along with seat licenses hovering at $100,000 USD, the total stadium cost is nearing, if not more than, $5 billion. It is the most expensive sports stadium in history and nearly double the cost of the next closest. Its total cost is double the price of the Oakland Raiders’ stadium in Las Vegas. Moreover, it is the 5th most expensive building in the world, ranking above Apple’s second campus. The best part: the entire project is privately funded without using taxpayer dollars. It is possible there will be tax breaks and discounted land, but not direct tax dollars, Angelinos.

Opening 

2021, which will host home games for the Rams and Chargers along with entertainment and sports programming.

Crossover between Entertainment and Sports

Per Forbes, “Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park is expected to be among the grandest of sports structures we’ve ever seen erected. It sits on 60 acres of land and already includes a casino. Needless to say, the venue is about much more than sports Essentially, this is a real estate project that just so happens to include an NFL stadium. Hence, the ridiculously high cost to erect. We’re looking at 900,000 square feet of retail space, 800,000 square feet of office space and 2,500 new residential units. Yeah, it’s a monster of a site.”

The Hollywood Park venue will literally take after its namesake and be a destination, a tourist attraction and an entertainment and sports venue all rolled into one. Making a sports stadium about entertainment and the entertainment for fans and patrons is nothing new, but on this scale, it is something new. It is the combination of Las Vegas lights with deep history of Los Angeles sports and entertainment.

Will the Clippers follow? 

On October 17, 2019, the Staples Center will be 20 years old and is still considered one of the premiere venues and destinations in sports and entertainment. L.A. Live, surrounding the Staples Center, is easily recognizable to locals, across America and the world. However, Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer likely wants to get out from under the shadow of the Lakers and start his own team history on the land next to the Forum where the Lakers once played and made history. The Forum is across the street from the Ram’s Hollywood Park project and if the Clippers move to the area, the combined projects would be one of the most sought-after entertainment and sports destinations in the world. Of course, any stadium comes with legal troubles and disputes. However, if Ballmer wants to move the Clippers further west from Downtown Los Angeles, his arena would challenge the Forum for events and would add another $1 to $3 billion to the ongoing price tag in Inglewood. Knowing Ballmer’s history, he is likely to privately fund a new arena like the Ram’s Stan Kroenke, while looking to get some real estate tax breaks on land.

The development of the Inglewood area will be fascinating to watch.

Mighty Casey: The Motor City gets a new engine

By
Stephen Patrick
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Dwayne Casey / Gregory Shamus (Getty)

The Detroit Pistons get a much-needed engine transplant by selecting Dwane Casey to put their beleaguered franchise in gear. Casey, who agreed to a five-year Deal with the Pistons, is known for being a players’ coach, and has a proven track record of success. 

“I am excited and honored to join the Detroit Pistons, a franchise with a championship history and a roster that is ready to win now,” Casey said in the team release.  “I’m confident that this team has the pieces in place to compete at a very high level. There is a lot of talent, a solid core and some exciting young players eager to get better. We’re getting to work right away on the things that will make us all successful.” 

Casey spent the last seven seasons as the Toronto Raptors’ head coach, building a conference powerhouse. He lifted the club to new heights even Chris Bosh, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady (all Hall of Fame talent) couldn’t reach. Casey led the Raptors to a record 320-238. This past season, he guided Toronto to a franchise-record 59 wins and the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed. 

But despite making five, straight trips to the postseason, the last three years have been rough for the Raptors. They went 22-60 in his first season as head coach, then progressed each year following. Additionally, Casey helped develop the skills of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, as both players are now All Stars.  Even so, Toronto lost in the first round twice and second round twice while making a single trip to the Eastern Conference Finals (2016). In each of the last three seasons, the Raptors’ title hopes were dashed by LeBron James. 

Things have been bleak recently on the Detroit side of the house too, even with NBA legend Stan Van Gundy at the helm. Coaching in Miami and Orlando, Van Gundy posted a 523-384 career record. Van Gundy, the man who helped engineer the Blake Griffin trade in January, appeared to be on his way back to the playoffs. Then, the dreaded Injury Bug struck the Pistons, leaving them to play without starting point guard Reggie Jackson and power forward Griffin for much of the final stretch of a 39-43 season. The Pistons missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season after coming in as an eighth seed and losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening round of the 2015-16 Eastern Conference tournament. 

The Pistons appeared poised to restore past glory as they rose, but only went 152-176 with one playoff appearance over four years. Many around the NBA will tell you what a smart, effective basketball coach Van Gundy is and his career resume proves it. The man has 523 NBA wins with more than a 57 percent win rate. But unless you’re one of the great coaches, a singular coaching style doesn’t mix well with every team. Now, with Van Gundy being fired, there’s a new sheriff in town.  

The Pistons need a coach who can develop young talent like Stanley Johnson and Henry Ellenson. If they emerge, the outlook for Detroit changes considerably since they already have All-Stars in Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. Casey has a better chance for early success with his tool cabinet in Detroit. Motor City, start your engines!  

“The Decision” Chapter 3

By
J.T. Clifton
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Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James / Brad Rempel (USATSI)

“I’m taking my talents to south beach.” Those words by LeBron James rocked the NBA in the summer of 2010. James joined forces with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat. On July 11, 2014, LeBron wrote a first-person essay published in Sports Illustrated stating he was returning to Cleveland to win a championship for the city. He did that. Now, it’s time for the third chapter of James’ weighty pronouncements or “Decisions” as they’re known in LeBron’s kingdom. And, it’s seemingly the last one. 

Where will he go? Rumors have been swirling and the Vegas odds have flipped-flopped almost daily. Greg Popovich has already said he’ll force his way into a meeting with LeBron this summer. Maybe he’ll join forces with his friend Chris Paul in Houston. There have been rumors of Russell Westbrook coming to Cleveland with him and even rumors he’ll look to New Orleans. 

The latest rumor though, has some legs to stand on. “Bronny” James, LeBron’s son, committed this week to play for Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles. The Lakers will have the cap room to bring in two superstars and they have a draft pick and young players in Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram they could potentially move. It was also rumored LeBron’s wife, Savannah, transferred her gym membership to a facility in California. 

LeBron James with family / Kevork Djansezian (Getty)

Logically, the Lakers’ move makes the most sense, as it requires the least amount of cap movement. Julius Randall’s contract is expiring and he‘ll likely want a much larger agreement The Lakers could move on from Randall and sign LeBron James and Paul George. They’ve been hinting at teaming up already this summer. If the Lakers sign Paul George and James, they could go all-in on a couple of championship runs. 

The Lakers should also move Ball and draft-pick, then bring in Chris Paul to play with long-time friend James. Many people say the Rockets would’ve beat the Warriors if Chris Paul had played in game six or seven. LeBron told Chris Broussard he wants to play off the ball of whichever team he plays for in the future. This would allow the Lakers to keep Ingram and potentially sign a center who can switch on the Warriors on defense. All five starters could guard the pick and roll. 

LeBron has cemented his legacy. He has nothing else to prove. It’s time for him to chase a ring. The NBA needs him to dismantle the Warriors. It’s easy for superstars to get along when they’re winning. When the losses come, tempers come and the Warriors will break up. LeBron only has a few more years left, and he could finish his years winning championships.  

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