The March of the Madness

Government employees received emails last week requesting that they list five things that they had accomplished last week.  The indignation and outrage were fiercely immediate.  Elon the unelected was the originator of the request and spectrally deflected criticism. He has the president's benign support on this issue.  The Yard toiled for decades in the private sector.  Capricious demands for “What have you done for me lately?” were the norm.  Threats to future employment were shrouded in these missives.  The narrative is that the emails were to detect signs of life at the destination email. We would not retain anyone who could not bluff their way through that request in ten minutes or less.  The Yard made a career of it as several of my audience can attest, Buck up, @gov, deal.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had been a controversial nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services. His thoughts on vaccinations have been well documented.  He got the job and was on camera at the first cabinet meeting.  Bad day at the office when an unvaccinated child dies of measles right before your first press Opp in the new gig. These things happened and RFK Jr, graveled through his short comments about the occurrence. It is hard to imagine what his qualifications are besides bowing out of the primary at Trump’s behest. He has conducted personal research on most recreational drugs including heroin.  He has stated that he was a heroin addict for 14 years. He is no quitter that is for sure.  He certainly does not look very healthy with the two pack a day voice, bloodshot eyes hanging off his crimson mug.  Maybe just bad genes.  Heck, he roped Cheryl Hines into his orbit of the irrational. There must be something there, right?

The Dodgers have been busy this off season and the rest of the NL West appears to be happy fighting for a wild card berth.  The Dodgers stormed through the gates at Petco all the way to the World Championship, San Diego is still stunned. The Padres are wrapped up in a family legal battle that has stymied baseball operations. The Padres are Knott’s Berry Farm to the Dodgers Disney World. Go for the fried chicken not a WS title.  The D’Backs picked up Corbin Burns in a huge deal.  They were a player away from the title before missing the playoffs LY.  The Giants are stuck in 81-win hell.  Hiring Posey might be a good start but so did the last three GM’s hirings. The Rockies might get dropped out of the Champion’s League after this year if they do not win 60.

Baseball is still on the horizon.  The NBA is edging towards seasonal relevance. Hockey is nearing beast mode. For March, it is all about the Madness.  College basketball will demand our attention for the next five weeks. Fortunately, if asked, we already have our five accomplishments teed up for each week in March. There are several exceptional teams this season with Alabama and Auburn taking that great state to a place typically reserved for football. UCLA is a solid six seed with a big win on Bill Walton Day last Saturday. Selection Sunday is March 16 with first round games the following Thursday.  It is the greatest sporting event every March.  If you are in a pool and your bracket survives the first weekend, even more fun.

The trade of the decade will be the jolt that Luka needs to take his career to the next level.  Watching Lebron James play each night must be enlightening for young Doncic.  The king is 15 years older than him and plays every night at a level that Luka can aspire to.  Kyrie was not a role model or a leader.  He is an outstanding offensive player who can carry a team for spurts. He can also say things that do not get him invited to team BBQ’s. Lebron has embraced LA.  He is a media mogul who is still a top ten player in the league. He can bring Luka under his cape and show him what the promised land should look like.  His legacy is not Bronny, it may be Doncic.

The Bill Walton Day was very special on network television of the UCLA-Ohio State game.  UCLA played up to Walton’s honor.  His legendary exploits were sprinkled through the broadcast.  One tidbit was Walton did not lose in High School, and he did not lose at UCLA until his senior year when the wheels fell off the big red head in a rebellious haze.  The Yard blog about Walton can be found here:

  https://tonyattheyard.blogspot.com/2024/05/21-notes-for-big-red.html

Follow the Luka brick road

Kobe Bryant’s first agent when he came out of high school was Arn Tellem.  Tellem had become close with Joe Jellybean Bryant when he played at La Salle in Philadelphia. He took a keen interest in Bryant’s son Kobe who was playing on the Merion High School varsity as a 14 years old freshman.  Jordan did not make the varsity until his junior year.  Tellem was also close friends with Jerry West.  He alerted West to this phenomenon and set up a tryout with the Lakers. Young Bryant went toe to toe with elite defender Michael Cooper for 20 minutes.  West shut the tryout down and instructed Tellem to get Bryant for the Lakers.  High schoolers going straight to the NBA was uncommon and all had been big men. Skinny teenager Bryant was considered risky.  Tellem did not allow any other teams to try out Bryant prior to the draft.  Charlotte drafted him 13^th and immediately traded him to the Lakers for Vlade Divac.  Kobe for Vlade, try and wrap your head around that one.

 

Kobe’s point person within Tellem’s STX sports agency was Rob Pelinka.  Pelinka became Bryant’s friend and confidant. When Bryant was indicted for sexual assault in Colorado, Pelinka was at his side for every court hearing. Mamba convinced Pelinka to leave Tellem and partner with him as his sole agent and business partner. Adidas had aggressively signed the 17-year-old Bryant to a 6 year $48 million as High School Senior.  It would be one of many things that the Black Mamba would do that no one had ever done.  With that contract expiring, Bryant teased all the shoe companies in 2002-23 by wearing different shoes for different games.  Pelinka and Bryant knew they wanted a deal with Nike. Nike famously created the Air Jordan. At 23 years old with three NBA championships, Kobe's ascension to that throne was affirmed. Nike became part of the Kobe Bryant inner circle with Pelinka.  The point person at Nike was Nico Harrison. They all became lifelong friends taking family trips together over the years. Pelinka and Harrison grieved over Kobe’s untimely death.

 

On January 7, 2025, these two decades long friends met for a cup of coffee in Dallas. Harrison queried Pelinka if the Lakers would be interested in acquiring Luka Doncic. Rob thought his buddy was clowning him. The conversation endured and Pelinka realized Harrison was serious. He had his full attention now.  They both agreed that concealment of all discussions would be kept between the two friends.  The Lakers had seen the Chris Paul trade blow up in 2011 when word got out the deal.  Grumblings around the league that they all wanted a shot at CP3.  Late commish David Stern vetoed the deal as being “unfair”.  Harrison and Pelinka knew secrecy were key to making the deal happen. If word got out, it would get ugly and neither of them get what they want.

 

The Dallas narrative was that Luka was aggressively out of shape with persistent injuries. It was observed that Doncic put on weight during the tough NBA season.  One can only imagine what a multi-millionaire Slovenian 25-year-old might be doing but it wasn’t the gym. The Mavericks hired conditioning coaches and nutrition magicians to assist the lad. Luka loved the people, but the results were wanting. Doncic did not care because he was going to get a 5-year $345 million max deal at the end of the season. Harrison was terrified of paying that freight for the over-served adolescent.  They put the deal together that was announced last weekend.

 

The backlash in Dallas and around the league was shock and outrage.  Doncic was barely in his prime and fresh off a trip to the NBA finals.  Boston figured out in those finals that the offensive sansei was a defensive albatross.  They ran right through Luka on their way to the title. A rim protector like Anthony Davis is what Harrison felt they needed to get over the hump not Luka. Davis is under contract through 2027-28 with an opt out potential in 2026-27.  Lebron and AD had a nice Batman Robin thing going but Davis did not like playing center. He wants to play on the wing, and he will in Dallas. The Lakers were thin there in the paint, Dallas is not. He will be a tree in their forest of big men, not the big man. Doncic's max contract with the trade is now reset to a 4-year $229 million deal. Nice cake but big cut.

 

The Lakers are a special franchise with a rich history of making deals like this that transform. Kareem was traded for Junior Bridgeman, Elmore Smith, Dave Meyers and Brian Winters. In 1971, Jabbar won his first title with the Bucks, but he requested the trade. He would win five more titles with the Lakers.  The Bucks won their second in 2021 fifty years after the trade.  In 1976-77, the New Orleans Jazz signed Laker great Gail Goodrich. The NBA awarded the Lakers compensatory draft picks as part of the transaction.  When the draft picks came due, they were the Utah Jazz and the worst team in the NBA. LA won the coin flip and drafted Magic Johnson with that first pick.  In 1979, new Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien wanted immediate results for that moribund franchise.  He traded his 1980 first round pick to the Lakers along with Butch Lee for Laker Don Ford and the Lakers 1980 first round pick. Stepien’s grand plan made the Cavaliers the worst team in the NBA.  The number one pick became James Worthy. First time in NBA history that the defending champion had the first pick. Just goes to show, the leprechauns don’t have all the gold at the end of the rainbow.  Game on again!