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Wednesday Bolts – 7.13.11

From Elias: “Nate Robinson told SLAM Magazine recently: “I might go play football, do something that nobody’s tried to do.” However, should Robinson play in the NFL, he would NOT be the first player to play a game in the NFL and NBA. According to ELIAS, at least 6 players played in both the NFL and NBA (or BAA), including Bud Grant, who played for the Lakers and then played in the NFL before gaining the most fame as head coach of the Vikings.”

Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com on Nate Robinson: “Does Robinson have a chance, or is this idle chatter? An NBA/NFL hybrid career is unprecedented in the modern era, made impossible because of their concurrent schedules. That said, elite athletes in the NBA are likely to be elite athletes in the NFL, given the similar demand for quickness, strength and agility. One would think the outside positions, wide receiver and cornerback, along with special teams would be the easiest places for a basketball-to-football transition to occur. And, at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, Robinson is in the right ballpark to play corner and clearly has superior leaping ability, evidenced by his three NBA Slam Dunk crowns.”

Nazr Mohammed was talking some sense about how far-reaching the lockout can be.

The Thunder sent out a release yesterday saying half season packages were still available. If this lockout thing goes on, everything might be a half season package.

A note on the Thunder’s new practice floor: “The Thunder and Raptors have both chosen to install Robbins’ MVP flooring, which cuts down on muscle vibrations that can affect an athlete’s performance. Twenty-four of the 30 NBA teams compete or practice on Robbins flooring, according to a news release.”

My two favorite shows ever are The Wire and Breaking Bad. Chuck Klosterman put them head-to-head and decided a winner.

Ric Bucher of ESPN.com writes that there are downsides to playing overseas: “Here the stars run the show,” Childress says. “Over there it’s the coach, and the coach only. You really have to buy into the system. The style of play is slower, a lot closer to a college style. It’s a lot less reliant on talent and more on tactics and execution. They definitely have a high opinion of how they play the game and view NBA basketball as street ball. You go over there, you’re playing against everyone — other players, fans, referees, everyone. You don’t get calls because you’re stronger, faster and more athletic, so they think you should be able to take it.”

More interesting thoughts on the NBA’s TV deal from J.A. Sherman of Welcome to Loud City: “A final question that is as much philosophical as operational – is it better to give a team like the Nets the tools they need to succeed against a team like LA, or is it better to force them to figure it out for themselves, in a way that the Thunder have?”

The Bobcats laid off their radio play-by-play announcer for the duration of the lockout. Kelly Dwyer of BDL with great thoughts about that: “Now I know what you’re thinking. When there are no cars to build, there are no jobs to be had. When the crop freezes over, there are no jobs to be had. When the product isn’t there to refine, there are no jobs to be had. Without any games to call, there are no jobs to be had. Why pay the guy throughout that spell? Because that’s what you do, in this gilded area. That’s the good faith you engender amongst your employees in times both good and bad, especially when the owner presiding over these employees has been either up or down chips resembling someone like Lauer’s salary in either particularly good or bad months at the casino in the last year and a half since Michael Jordan has bought the Bobcats.”

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If Nate Robinson leaves to go play football and never comes back, does that void his contract? If so, we could have $4 million more to play with in free agency!

At 2 playoff appearances in 4 seasons, Presti is just a bit below the average for the non-player group though that will rise next season and beyond. On average the player group made the playoffs 67% of the time. Presti's one division title in 4 tries so far is above the non-player group average but just a tiny bit behind the player group average.

The only non-NBA player currently the top basketball guy to win a title is RC Buford with San Antonio. If you were going to take a non-player, that is probably a good place to get him.

The top basketball jobs may have gone more to ex-NBA players in the past (I haven't studied the historical detail to confirm or deny this) but right now only 12 of the 30 top basketball guys are ex-players. In the last 5 years only 2 have been appointed, one by Michael Jordan, one in New Orleans. There are some players who want GM jobs and might have legitimates shots at getting one but it is doesn't seem as easy to get as before.

Results are another dimension that I poked into a bit out of curiosity. Together the 12 ex-players have 6 titles in 94 seasons as the top basketball guy. Together the 18 non-NBA players have 3 titles in 102 seasons. Probably not appropriate to draw real strong conclusions about which group has done better because the quality of opportunity can vary greatly but still the ex-players have a 2-1 lead on total titles. They also have a 16% advantage per season of making the playoffs, are almost twice as likely to win their division and are 3 times as likely to win the conference.

An ex-NBA vs not is an important choice but there are good and bad in both groups. A few ex-players have done well. As have a few non NBA players. The best ex-players have put up better "raw" stats.

Regarding letting your play-by-play staff go during the lockout, I had the pleasure to meet Brian Davis at the NBA Draft watch party at Toby Keith's and wondered if that would be something that could happen with the lockout. I agree that it wouldn't be the smartest thing to do as a business.

@ doof

Don't really like the court, either. But I can't complain much, at least the team is here. I dislike it so much that when I play 2K with the Thunder, I always opt to be away so I don't have to look at the hardwood. It's so bright on the game.

doof :Since there is nothing to talk about, can we take a moment to discuss how bland our court looks? Anyone else with me on this? Needs some different shades of hardwood or something. The baseline is ok.

We should go Thunder blue on the court. Like Boise.

Since there is nothing to talk about, can we take a moment to discuss how bland our court looks? Anyone else with me on this? Needs some different shades of hardwood or something. The baseline is ok.

@james1
The OKC model involves 2 important elements that some teams are unwilling to do.

1) Hire an incredibly smart, incredibly driven, well-prepared GM, with a solid grounding in scouting, statistical analysis, and psychological issues. Too many GM jobs go to former NBA players, aging re-treads and time-servers who have failed before. OKC hired a 31-year-old with no professional playing or lead executive experience. How many teams are willing to take a chance like that?

2) Let this GM do what he thinks best, always. Bad owners tend to interfere (see Heisley and the drafting of Hasheem Thabeet).

If a college basketball player, with minimal football experience, can convert to NFL tight end then it may be possible for Robinson to become an NFL cornerback/safety. Athleticism rules in the NFL. Also consider the college quarterbacks who are able to convert to other positions in the NFL relatively easily.

Robinson should probably stick to basketball, even if his NBA career is floundering. He'd be a very well-paid and productive player in Europe. Who over there is quick enough to stop him?

I think it's funny when writers say so and so team hasn't figured it out "like the Thunder has" like what the Thunder has done is an easy thing to do. There is a model the Thunder use but there is some luck involved as well. There isn't a KD at number 2 in every draft, Westbrook has turned out MUCH better than anyone could have imagined and Ibaka was a great pick but he's not sitting around out there at the bottom of every drafts first round either. You have to have a plan in place and the stars also have to align. It's not as simple as "why don't they just do what the Thunder have done."

LOVE teh Wire, havent seen Braking Bad. About to start Archer

btw I have Insider and I recommend to anyone who does to read the Ric Bucher's article in the links above. It's pretty interesting what Josh Childress has to say and he did play for one of the best clubs in Europe.

I'm just going to let it be known, I hate the lockout.

I'm totally shocked that MJ is an A-hole... wait, hasn't he always been an A-hole?