Response to a Steve Weinman Article

Steve,


I don't know you and this is the first article I read that was written by you. The particular article was about OJ Mayo and here is the link:

http://mvn.com/nba-source/2007/08/28/nba-in-no-need-of-oj/


Now, as a real NBA basketball fan, I have to take this time to ask you some questions, make a few statements and just give you an overview of what it means to be a person that watches the NBA.

Firstly, you say the NBA has an image problem. That may be true but the NBA still seems to be expanding globally better than any of our big three professional sports. Consequently, the fans the NBA are losing in the United States are being picked up in other countries. However, I am not here to argue the business of the NBA. I am here to talk to you about OJ Mayo. I don't know OJ Mayo at all. I have never met him and I have only seen clips of his high school games and I have seen a lot of his games at USC. THe difference between you and me is that I act like I don't know. You really feel like you know him. The recruiting himself to USC, throwing the ball of the backboard to himself and all of the trouble you mentioned in your article seems to somehow give you a glimpse into OJ Mayo's world.

Now, I know you are not naive enough to believe that high school kids all over the United States don't smoke marijuana, get into fights or get held back in school. With that being said, since you love basketball, please explain to me what that has to do with his skills as a basketball player?My problem with you is that you are letting a philosophical difference in the way you see life determine that the NBA does not need OJ Mayo. Basically, the slang term for what you are doing is "hating".

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird are arguably two of the most like able NBA superstars in NBA history. Michael Jordan and Larry Bird was infamous for "talking trash". However, when those two talk trash, they are mentally strong players and that adds to their competitive fire. Larry Bird made a three pointer on Chuck Person and promptly told him "Merry Fucking Christmas." However, they are two of the greatest players ever and I don't argue with that. I spoke to a guy that worked at the Boston Garden. He told me that when he asked Larry Bird for an autograph, Bird distinctly told him "NO". Additionally, Bird always denied reporters and everyone interviews. Michael Jordan was never ever on a video game once because of business issues. However, Bird is still a fierce competitor and Michael Jordan is still the all-American NBA player.

Let me get to the point. Michael Jordan and Larry Bird are great to me because of what they did on the court. Period. Forget off the court and forget dunking the ball at the end and throwing it to the crowd. Within your whole article, you forgot to mention one thing about OJ Mayo's game. You forgot to say he will be an undersized shooting guard in the NBA or he may struggle at the point guard because he is not a true point guard. Also, he has to take better shots and become a more consistent shooter. I don't see where you said anything about basketball. See, people like you who claim to love basketball wants basketball to be played in the way you desire it to be seen. However, San Antonio is the most fundamental, classy team in the NBA and half of America hates them. So, how does the NBA win? Can the NBA win? Is this a bigger issue than OJ Mayo being able to play better defense? What are we dealing with here? I don't attach myself to the individual NBA person. I attach myself to what they do on the court and that is the level we should use when analyzing players.

I dislike everything about Tim Duncan but I will watch San Antonio because I respect what they do ON THE COURT. I do not let my off the court philosophies affect what I see on the court. If Mayo pounds his chest and does 16 off the backboard dunks and wins the game, I don't care. If Mayo doesn't have any tattoos and was not a basketball prodigy and fed the homeless everyday for the rest of the life and was an advisor to The Pope and loses, I care because I only care about his basketball game.. The moment someone does not get it done on the court is when I take my time to slice them apart with a sharp blade. I don't care if he recruits himself to USC. I was a very good student in high school and I "recruited myself" to the University of my choice. Also, I "recruited myself" to summer interns to prepare myself for graduation. That was my dream though. Who am I or who are you to say that OJ Mayo should not do everything he can to set himself up for his dream? Now, I have an education but as you know everyone will not go the education route so is it fair for us to say "The NBA does not need" him because he wanted to be better prepared for his path and route in life? Is anyone saying that Bill Gates is stupid because he did not finish college? I think you get my point.

In conclusion, if you love basketball like you say, why do you care about the things that have nothing to do with basketball? Tracy McGrady and Dirk Nowitski are classy but they don't get it done when it counts, so I would say the NBA does not need them before I say it does not need OJ Mayo. Imagine how many Rocket and Maverick fans went to work the next day sick to their stomach because 16 million and 19 million dollars were going home in the first round yet again. Again, I don't care if you are the classiest player in the world or the thug that robs a bank after every game (not literally). I only care if you win. I watch the NBA for the competitive passion that is displayed by the players and not who they are cheating on their wives with because as much as that is a moral issue, at the end of the day, the NBA is only a game and it involves me passionately just like a game of chest. When the game is over, I analyze and talk about the game and then I am on to the next game. That's it. If Tim Duncan or Stephen Jackson hits a game winner, I commend them equally. I don't have any bias and you should not either because IF YOU LOVE BASKETBALL LIKE YOU SAY, it does not have to be played with everyone shaking hands and patting each other on the back after the game. It should be played with passion and fire and a competitive spirit and any form of expression is okay with me AS LONG AS YOU WIN. So when you write an article talking about the deficiencies in OJ MAYO's basketball game and not the deficiencies in his personality or decisions of the court, please send me a link because Dirk Nowitski losing in the first round stimulates my NBA passion a lot more than OJ Mayo having marijuana in his car.