In this new addition to the series of “Courtside close-ups” we bring you a look at this adidas Revolution 30 Jersey from the 2014-2015 NBA season.
This New Orleans Pelicans Game-Worn Jersey was worn by Pelicans Point Guard Norris Cole. You may remember Cole from his 2 championship winning seasons with the Miami Heat, where he came in as a rookie and was an immediate spark for the team with some notable playoff performances.
After one season with the Miami Heat, Amar’e Stoudemire has decided to retire following a reasonably successful 14 year NBA career. Stoudemire had just recently signed a deal with the Knicks but immediately after decided to hang it up for good.
Amar’e was drafted in 2002 by the Suns however, where he spent 8 of the most exciting years of his career, helping to build the Suns alongside hall of fame point guard Steve Nash to become one of the most exciting teams in Western Conference for years to come. During his time in Pheonix he was a 5-time all-star and won Rookie of the Year honours in 2003.
“Although my career has taken me to other places around the country, my heart had always remained in the Big Apple,” he said in a statement. “Once a Knick, Always a Knick.”
After being knocked out of the 2010 playoffs, Stoudemire decided to follow his fellow head coach Mike D’Antoni to New York, where he would do things in a city that hadn’t seen alot of winning in a long time. In just his first season with the Knicks, Amar’e racked up an average of 25 points and was the first Knick selected for an All-Star game appearance since Patrick Ewing in 1997.
Although he started off great, his constant battle with knee issues was ultimately the detrimental factor to his career and eventually had him in a limited role on the court. Soon after Carmelo Anthony came into the fold, Stoudemire opted to be bought out and moved on to Dallas before ultimately playing his last season in Miami.
The Blazers have locked in their other half of the backcourt tandem in Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum as they offer McCollum as massive 4-year $106 Million contract extension.
The Blazers have done a good job this offseason in retaining most of their core players, which is a stark contrast to the year before when the Trialblazers lost 4 of their starting 5 leaving Lillard and company to pick up the pieces.
Pieces were definitely something Portland scrambeled to get, and they found a gem in McCollum who was voted Most Improved Player this past season averaging 20 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Together both McCollum and Lillard have risen as one of the most lethal tandems in the NBA alongside the Thompson and Curry, Lowry and DeRozan backcourts in the league.
The new look Blazers shocked the league this year by reaching the playoffs after losing so many assets in the offseason prior, as they moved past the first round defeating the Clippers and taking the Warriors to 5 games in the second-round.
The Cavaliers have announced today that they will be bringing back recently appointed head coach Tryonn Lue for a 5-year $35 Million deal with a 5th year option.
It wasn’t too long ago that the rumblings of a rift between Cavs superstar LeBron James and former head coach David Blatt came tot he light and forced the front offices hand in terminating Blatt and quickly promoting then Assistant head coach Tyronn Lue.
After not signing a contract even with the high praise from James regarding his coaching perspective and likeness of the players in the locker room, Lue led the Cavs onto their first championship in 50+ years. This achievement alone along with the franchises superstar endorsement seemed imminent that the Cavs would want to bring Lue back for a few more years.
Now from the highest paid assistant coach to head coach to then helping lead the Cavs to a second finals, Lue was equally praised for inspiring his players to come back from a 3-1 Finals deficit. For the near future at least, it seems clear now that the coaching questions are over in Cleveland.
The NBA All-Star game was set and ready to be hosted in North Carolina, the hometown of Hornets owner Michael Jordan himself. The city of Charlotte hadn’t seen the All-Star game been hosted in the city since the first time it visited in 1991 when the 76ers own Charles Barkley won the All-Star MVP even after Jordan scored 26 points on 10-25 shooting.
Recently however, stretching back as far as the start of this year, the spotlight has been hot on North Carolina in relation to todays climate on social issues that are rapidly changing as society becomes more accepting and including. The state was under close watch as to whether or not they would pass the bill known as HB2 and as the news spread that it had passed, the NBA was quick to announce it’s dissatisfaction.
The announcement was swift in stripping the All-Star game from Charlotte, which may cost the city more than $100 Million in revenue from the event, as the NBA continues it pursuit to tackle social issues and support it’s players in doing so. This was apparent when star players around protested such issues as the Donald Sterling incident to when many players donned the “I Can’t Breathe” t-shirts in support of the Eric Garner case against New York City police.
In light of the All-Star game’s rescinding, a few cities are already being targeted as the relocation begins to move forward as sources around the league suggest that New Orleans could receive the event for the second time in just 3 years.
Introducing a new series we’re calling “Courtside close-ups” we bring you a look at this adidas Revolution 30 Jersey from the recent 2015-2016 NBA season.
In this Courtside close-up we look at a Golden State Warriors Game-Worn Jersey that was worn by Warriors Guard Ian Clark. Clark wore this jersey in 2 games that the Warriors played against the Portland Trailblazers and the Houston Rockets.
With free agency wrapping up this past week, there were two important figures in the NBA that are now apart of different stories solely focused on the formation of what is now termed as the modern day NBA “Super-team”.
Kevin Durant will sign a two-year deal with the Warriors at $54.3 million, league sources say, with a Player Option for Year 2
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 4, 2016
Just like that! In one verbal agreement the Warriors, Thunder, Heat, Boston, Clippers, Spurs, Western Conference, Eastern Conference and the overall NBA landscape has changed.
courtsideconversations.com 