Some places where owners shouldn't go

We all know the Lamar Odom story, right?

Inactive for the rest of the season, by mutual decision we’re told, after, apparently, he had some kind of confrontation or argument with owner Mark Cuban in the locker room at halftime of a game

At least that’s what the stories are saying and I believe them and I have a huge issue with that.

I don’t care who the owner is or what the team is or what the sport is, there is no way an owner needs to be anywhere near a locker room at halftime of any game.

That’s a coach’s time and a coach’s place and it doesn’t’ matter how “hands-on” an owner may be, there’s a time and place for him to get involved and halftime of a game is not it.

That undercuts the coach, it undercuts the general manager or vice-president or whoever the titular head of basketball operations is and flies in the face of all logic.

You’re an owner and you’ve got a problem with a player? Deal with it in the office, have the GM deal with it, tell the coach to deal with it, do something remotely professional; do not go into a locker room during a game to say anything to a player.

Now, I know there is all kinds of love for Cuban out there, he spends money, is involved in every aspect of the game, cares passionately about his team. Unless, of course, you ignore the fact he gutted a championship team solely for financial reasons last summer by letting Tyson Chandler get away, allowing JJ Barea to leave and only doing the original Odom deal because he knew he’d have him for one year and reap the financial benefits of that – but that’s a part of the story few pay attention to.

Anyway …

Now, Odom is not blameless in the least for this mess. I know he’s had issues and troubles in his personal life and that’s a true shame but he coasted through too many games too many times; he cheated himself, his teammates and the fans with an effort that, at best, was half-hearted. That’s stealing money and he should be called on it.

But he should be called on it in some kind of professional manner; face to face in the sober light of day, not by an overly-emotional owner in the middle of a game.

There are no good guys in this story, only differing levels of bad.

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More

Right, the game.

In a sec.

This guy was born this day and, yes, there are some weird people out there in the world of entertainment today but you’ve got to go a long, long way to top this fellow.

Remember when he married Miss Vicki?

I do.

And I remember the nights when he was on Carson; my first introduction to odd. And there won't ever be much odder than Tiny Tim. And I'm not talking the Dickens character.

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Right, the game.

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THREE POINTERS

Another nice night …

For Ed Davis, that is.

Only guy who really played with energy, another double-double and somehow I missed the fact he led the team in assists with five, which surely is the first time that’s ever happened.

Good to see him finish strong, I know his coaches appreciate it and it was nice that he made three of four free throws.

But …

“We have to break his free throw shot down and start over from scratch.”

That was Dwane, before the game, and he’s right.

But give Davis credit where it’s due; he’s playing hard. And well.

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Head on straight

I think we can all agree that Alan Anderson’s had a somewhat big impact on these guys since he’s been here,, although I warn again about “falling in love with your guys” and especially with guys on teams that aren’t going too well.

Anyway, I think the most impressive thing is that he’s provided a sense of calm and consistency to the small forward spot that James Johnson hasn’t had of late.

(There’s some JJ in the game story and the fellas on the desk did a tremendous job with a couple of links).

Anyway, Anderson may or may not get a longer look next fall off his play this spring but he told us yesterday morning that’s not what’s driving him.

“I learned that when you try to look too far ahead, you forget about the time at hand and you forget about tomorrow, you forget about now.

“You take care of now and you take care of things today and tomorrow and the next week will be there.

“It’s too much pressure to try to overlook now and worry about the next week. That’s too much pressure you’re putting on yourself.”

Makes entire sense, doesn’t it?

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We can safely assume …

That there won’t be a lot of stories – or any stories – out of training camp next fall on the pluckiness of Justin Dentmon or Ben Uzoh and their fight to make the team off solid showings under 10-day deals this spring.

Now, both of ‘em seem to be good kids who are just trying to make a buck and an impression and while they are earning money, they aren’t doing anything to guarantee further Toronto employment.

Sometimes you get 10-day guys who can make a mark, sometimes you get guys who are placeholders.

Which is what they got. Nothing against either of them but we’re finding out just how big the chasm between the minors and the majors is.

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And …

(First, a plea for mail. Here, thank you very much)

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TOD plays gems like yesterday and we’re gonna love ‘em to death.

Great pitching, spectacular defence (the Lawrie play was wonderful and the kid is Hobbs, I swear) and a big win over a tough lefty.

Sure, I know some you held your breath when Santos walked out of the bullpen in the ninth but there wasn’t any reason to boo as it turned out, was there?

I tell ya’, you’re really gonna like this team. Get on the bandwagon now, it’s going to be crowded come September, trust me.

Just wait ‘til Baustista starts to hit.

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Comments

[skiff]

Further to yesterday's Cuba stuff...a thoughtful piece on Grantland (especially the 2nd half).

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7800493/the-idiocy-ozzie-guillen-cuba-mess

[Lorie]

Hi Doug!
Mark Cuban tweets. A lot. About lots of things: the Mavs, Shark Tank, something called Naked Pizza. And himself. And while they're not those awful celebrity "Humblebrag" (which the Urban Dictionary defines as: "A form of self promotion where the promoter thinks he is, almost subliminally, bragging about himself in the context of a humble statement or complaint. Everyone listening thinks he is a jackass"...) Tweets. No, he does something that I find even more gauche. He retweets his Twitter compliments. Let's call it the "Not-So-Humblebrag". Weren't you taught the correct way to respond to a compliment is to just say 'thank you'? Well, when Mr. Cuban receives a compliment on Twitter, rather than just 'reply' with a thank you to the sender, he hits 'retweet' which forwards that compliment. To all one million of his followers. Come to think of it, I'm one of those followers. Might be time to do something about that. Celebrities and Cewebrities. Time to follow someone who really needs a 'follow'. Wonder if George Clooney's on Twitter? Cheers! Go Raps! Go Jays!