Old-School v Mercenaries

[Lipoli390]

The days are long gone when star NBA players would typically spend their entire careers with one team or perhaps simply end their careers with just one other team well after their prime. It's an impressive list that includes Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Hakeem, Patrick Ewing, Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki.

The modern NBA has taken us to the other end of the spectrum where star players leave the team that drafted them as soon as they can or force their way out of contracts while in their prime to combine with other stars of their choosing. We know who those players are -- LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, James Harden --- effectively mercenaries who go out looking to join or form winning teams rather than committing to being a foundation for building a winner where they are. Thankfully, there are exceptions in todays NBA - players who have chosen the old-school path of loyalty and perseverance over the expedient path of a mercenary. The most prominent among these modern day old school players are Giannis and Steph Curry. But there are others as well, including Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker and our own Karl Anthony Towns. The pundits have declared for years that Bradley Beal would be on the move, but he's continued to confound the experts by staying put and being very clear about his strong desire to stay with the Wizards and win there. Damian Lillard has been talked about a lot this past off-season as a guy who might force his way out of Portland, but he has remained steadfast in his desire to stay with Blazers. Damian Lillard was apparently rapping about his decision to stay in Portland. Here's the story with his rap included:

He hinted as much in a recent appearance on "Bars On I-95, in which he rapped his way to share his thoughts on joining a super team. He gave a special shoutout to Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, who both defeated superteams and won the title despite not having the same star-studded squad. Here's how his freestyle went, via Reddit: "Dame Lillard, DeMar DeRozan, Bradley Beal, trill... Me not wanting to join a super team might end up being my Achilles' heel... Hector, I'm on my shield... Trying to get next to Freak and Dirk on that lonely hill... Now my goal's revealed so fuck you, the reporters thinking my homies squealed..." - via Angelo Guinhawa @ Clutch Points

Then there's this comment from a player who remained loyal to Memphis until traded to Utah. I'm talking about Mike Conley, who opted to stay with the Jazz rather than sign elsewhere this past offseason. Not surprisingly, a number of teams including the Knicks, Bull and Mavs pursued Conley in free-agency. Here's what he said when asked why he re-signed with the Jazz: "Just wanted to be a part of that journey with these guys. Trying to bring a championship to a place that, you know, it's not easy to do. I think that seeing Milwaukee win was awesome." - via Sam Amick @ The Athletic.

The good news is that there seems to be a growing counter-culture developing among players who rejects the mercenary approach to the game -- the easier path to winning. It's a group of players who certainly want to win but who prefer to take the harder road or the road less traveled in pursuit of something more fulfilling - something that includes loyalty, putting down roots and taking on a deeper challenge that makes winning more meaningful than the stats or a shiny ring. That's a big reason why I was so thrilled to see the Bucks win it all last season. Yes, I was happy to see a Midwestern, mid-market cold-climate team win as a positive signal for our own team in Minnesota. But mainly I was excited to see Giannis's loyalty and perseverance prevail over those who chose the easy path. Giannis is my favorite NBA player for a lot of reasons, including his sincere humility that he exhibits in the presence of his own greatness. But what I like most is his loyalty and his willingness to take on the challenge that comes with staying put as a foundation to build around.

That takes me to Karl Anthony Towns. He seems to be the prime and easy target for criticism these days by Wolves fans. I'll concede that some of that criticism aimed at his whining and failure to control his emotions is warranted. But he has never once whined about being here or hinted that he wants or might want out. He has even said that he's ready to sign an extension. I know there's this narrative that KAT himself is responsible for the Wolves losing ways since he's been here, but I think that's misplaced. He has consistently put up all-star numbers while getting beat up battling for position in the paint game after game. And until a rash of injuries more recently, he was an iron man as he played all 82 games at 32-37 minutes a game in each of his first 3 seasons and then played in 77 games his 4th season. Unfortunately, incompetence in the team's basketball operations department forced Towns to play with a team of G-League-caliber players around him in all of his past six seasons except the one season when Butler, Gibson and Teague were here. The Wolves made the playoffs that season with a 22-year old Towns, even though the team's best and only other all-star caliber player, Butler, missed 23 games.

Others can certainly disagree, but in my view Wolves fans need to fully appreciate what we have in Karl Anthony Towns. He's certainly an imperfect player and he's not at the level of Giannis right now. But he's a great player who has thus far rejected the modern mercenary culture in favor of the more challenging counter-culture path that Giannis and a few others have recently embraced. We should be thankful Towns is here and not elsewhere and that we had the top pick when he was in the draft rather than the year Anthony Davis was drafted. The Wolves should sign Towns to an extension as soon as they can. And they should then hope that Anthony Edwards follows the same old-school path as Giannis, Beal, Lillard and our own Karl Anthony Towns.

[jake_elwood [enjin:6673175]]

Completely off topic, but your next post is your 11111st. Make a wish.

[Monster]

Lip I'm really disappointed that Kareem didn't make your list of "mercenaries". :)

I'd also like to point out that Kobe's camp used anything they could to get teams to pass on him in the draft and it worked with at least the Nets. He also demanded a trade at one point.

Jordon left his team to go play baseball.

It's awesome to see guys stick with their teams but I also think in some cases guys asking out of their situation makes sense sometimes to the team that drafted them.

I absolutely agree with you Lip I think Giannis is my favorite player in the NBA. His loyalty is part of it but I think it's more about who he is on and off the court. Also the dude is simply a beast. Who thought he would end up being one of the dominate bigs in the game when he was drafted?