Can’t Get On My Level

by with No Comment Sports

My business mentor once said, “leverage is the most important thing anyone can have.” He would go onto to explain that leverage, or influence, is the only element that makes things happen. 

He wasn’t lying. Think about it… 

Leverage or influence is power over another, and this isn’t necessarily right or wrong; but it’s simply needed to make things happen. 

There was no better display of leverage than this past weekend when NBA free agent Kawhi Leonard, and reigning NBA Finals MVP, after much-anticipated wait and speculation, informed the Los Angeles Clippers that he would be there uniform for the next 4 seasons… but… not before bringing along five-time All-NBA team power forward Paul George. 

PG13, Playoff P, or just Paul George, prior to Kahwi’s demands was still a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the midst of a recently signed four-year 137 million dollar contract. 

So how on Earth did this happen then? 

Leverage. 

Something not even a top NFL QB like Tom Brady or Russell Wilson could demand. A demand that requires leverage, and frankly only possible in the NBA. Kawhi, a free agent who had NEVER been on a particular team and still NOT signed to said team, tells the team he will sign, but only if his boy comes along???? Yeah, that’s exactly what Kawhi did… and it worked. 

Brady or Wilson making that demand and seeing it come to fruition… not happening. 

And, that’s why NBA players, particularly top-end players like Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Kawhi Leonard, are the face of their league and the reason why the NBA brand continues to grow… because their players have leverage. The owners must split 50% of profits with their players, making NBA players and owners true partners, unlike the other major sports which have no such arrangement. 

Kawhi knew he had both the star power and leverage needed to make his demands, and more importantly, make sure his demands were met. 

You have to tip your hat to Kawhi and take note. When you have leverage, make sure you take advantage.  

A Tale of Two Titles

by with No Comment Sports

The two time defending NBA champions Golden State Warriors will have the chance to defend their title against either the Milwaukee Bucks or Toronto Raptors. The good money is on the Bucks, and for the sake of a competitive series against the Warriors, let’s hope it’s the Bucks. The champs managed to beat both the Houston Rockets and Portland Trailblazers… without four-time scoring champ and back to back NBA finals MVP Kevin Durant. Durant is questionable… at best… to play at all during the entire finals. Yes, the Warriors won a title without Kevin Durant, back in 2015. Those Warriors did win; however, they did so by needing six games to beat a Cleveland Cavaliers team who had just LeBron James, some guy named Matthew Dellavedova, and me. Both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were injured during the playoffs with Irving being injured during game one of the finals.

That one Kevin Durant-less title does beg the question, how good are the Warriors when all their title runs were against injured depleted teams or only with the current unbeatable version with Kevin Durant?

Well… there are two different truths to that answer.

The first truth. The Warriors built their main core via the draft. How a team drafts is the most honest and telling of true basketball knowledge in a front office. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green were all drafted. The Warriors can’t help who they face. They can’t help the fact Chris Paul and Blake Griffin never stayed healthy when the Clippers were the team most equal to them. They can’t the help James Harden and his Houston Rockets simply don’t translate their regular season into the playoffs. They can’t even help the fact they got Durant. He was a free agent in the summer of 2016, who could have gone anywhere and any team could have gotten him.

The second truth. The Warriors in 2015 lost against the Cavs. LeBron and the Cav’s loaded up in 2016 and beat the 73 win Warriors in a classic seven-game Finals. In 2017 and 2018 the Warriors had KD. And simply put, when you add a four-time scoring champion like Durant to a team with a perennial defensive player of the year candidate in Draymond Green, a two time NBA MVP in Steph Curry, and one of the greatest shooters in the game in Klay Thompson… no one is beating that team. No one. Not Russell’s Celtics, Bird’s Celtics, Magic’s Lakers, Mike’s Bulls, or Lebron’s Cavs… no one.

Which makes this title run the true test.

The Warriors without Kevin Durant going against a fully healthy squad in the Finals is something we haven’t seen since 2016 (when they lost).

Look, the Warriors ruined title competition the past two years with KD. The basketball Gods have balanced the playing field again. Which truth will unfold this time in June? If the Warriors win, their title run goes without question. If they lose, the true mightiness of the Warriors and their place in history will definitely be questioned, and deservingly so.