RJ: The Next Scottie Pippen?

By Guichard Cadet


I have often wondered why no player is referred to as “the next Scottie Pippen”. The man has 6 championship rings with the same team and served as the complement to one of the NBA’s greatest of all-time. Perception is the problem; and it states that if Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were a sandwich, they would be a BLT. In that type of setup, Michael is the meat and Scottie can be no more than a complement – a mere vegetable.

Lucky for us, perception is a wide path with various menu options. I prefer to think of Michael and Scottie, or Scottie and Michael, in terms of my new favorite sandwich. The Cuban – no, not Mark – has two meats: Ham and Roast Pork. Same animal but prepared differently!

Does Michael get (6) rings without Scottie? Magic got none without Kareem! Bird got none without McHale and/or Parish! Only two recent superstars have shown the ability to garner a NBA championship without another superstar. Hakeem Olajuwon never had one but had the benefit of keeping the same well-rounded roster to earn his two championships. Tim Duncan had David Robinson for the first one, then an assorted roster for his most recent championship.

So, why “the next Scottie Pippen”, and not the next Robinson, McHale, etc..? Robinson and McHale are universally acknowledged as great, all-time players. The vote on Pippen is split. Depending on whom you engage in a conversation, he is either revered or reviled, underrated or some guy who got lucky to play with MJ. Case in point: though many put Kobe ahead of Scottie in terms of basketball prowess. With the same breath, they will tell you that Kobe is all about his stats and will not win a championship without Shaquille O’Neal.

That last sentence had much to do with why Kobe was ambivalent about teaming up with Shaq for more championships. It also shows why Pippen is more than deserving of superstar status as a great player on his own merit and the consummate team player, even though he balked at playing second bananas to Toni Kukoc.

The Nets’ Richard Jefferson is the new “Scottie Pippen”. He is a player who has taken a backseat to many guys just for the team. In his rookie year he deferred to Kenyon and every other veteran on the team. Now, with Vince Carter on the team, we have seen a glimpse of what made MJ and Scottie so dominant – two wing players with similar athleticism to take you off the dribble, play above the rim and nail a jump shot with consistency.

From what I have seen in pre-season, RJ has improved his playmaking abilities, especially with passing off the dribble.

RJ was groomed in the organization and could have seen Carter’s acquisition as a threat to his tenure. Instead he has carried himself with the quiet confidence of a man who knows there are specialty sandwiches that feature three meats.

Stern Warning

Societal Implications of the NBA Dress Code

By Guichard Cadet


As one who is oft-times appalled by what I see younger people wearing, I always check myself by remembering what I used to wear by going to my photo albums. There I see my friends and I wearing the fad and fashion of our times - mock necks, British walkers, sheepskin coats, ski hats and goggles. Unfortunately with the rise of hip hop and video culture, fashion and other cultural norms now transcend traditional age groupings; and many adults dress the same as the youth.

This past week NBA Commissioner David Stern put on his “throwback” thinking cap and legislated a dress code for the league. Opinions ranged the gamut, with personal preference dictating which side of the issue one took.

Reporter Kevin Blackistone of the Dallas Morning News referred to the mandate, as “culture imperialism”; whereas longtime hip-hopper and NBA fan, George of Atlanta couldn’t “…believe Marcus Camby made that statement about a clothing stipend. Is he crazy? I think not. It is just further evidence that these cats are far removed from real life. Probably 95% of these guys never had a job because since they were 12…their lives had been consumed with basketball…They need to stop worrying about that and start worrying about being able to hit a 20 foot jump shot with consistency.”

Many see the dress code as camouflage to address larger “behavioral” issues, such as the brawl on November 11, 2004, wherein NBA players charged the stands and fought with fans. Instead of understanding and accepting people for who they are and not by their looks, Stern seems to have agreed on the "criminalization" of fashion - as simplified by Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, "The players have been dressing in prison garb the last five or six years. All the stuff that goes on, it's like gangster, thuggery stuff…”

I am not against the dress code from a personal style perspective. But, I am looking at this from a macro-lens, and how much of American culture is about individualism and self-expression. That is what is being lost in the NBA.

Stern’s aim is to maintain the corporate (marketing) status quo that has led the boon of NBA popularity and profitability. But, as Ric from California noted, “These players promote throwbacks, caps and jerseys which furthers the fiscal interests of the NBA, assorted/related businesses and of other sports…He took a halfway decent idea and made a mockery of it by denouncing too many things that individuals like and should control as in where and when I take my headphones and shades.”

The league is approaching its players as employees, where in essence, they are not “traditional employees”. Some, who are in support of the dress code, compare the players to other workers who wear uniforms to perform their jobs. Even so, what if as a McDonald’s worker, court officer, correction officer or UPS employee, those companies dictated what you could wear to and from work?

A better comparison for the players are actors and other entertainers who must get “into character” to perform. Imagine Travolta, Madonna, George Clinton, Wyclef, and The Rock being told by their studios and labels (when not performing) they could not express their individual style? Within all of this, what of the teachers, police officers and everyday citizens who encounter the youth who dress “the part” along with chains, etc…By seeing their favorite players’ work ethic and other positives as not being a contradiction to their gold chains and “rude boy” attitudes, those people could come to a greater tolerance and understanding of hip hop culture, the youth and other adults.

NBA players now have an opportunity to show their counter-cultural style is not just “wannabe” posturing but a true attempt to not accept a “corporate” culture that has no relevance to who they are. Their protest could be simply not adhering to the dress code and challenging the fines and/or suspensions on First Amendment grounds; or truly go throwback by wearing dashikis and black medallions.

Big Man Hunting

by Guichard Cadet

Isiah Thomas’ method of rebuilding the New York Knicks has established a certain amount of good will for the franchise. Whereas it is still hard for the team to simply sign free agents because of salary cap constraints, players are now positioning themselves to get traded to the team. This shift has occurred because Isiah seems to believe in players achieving their potential and not letting minor past transgressions cloud this belief.

Thomas could be seen as a high risk gambler who set the franchise back, more than his predecessor. Or, he can be deemed one of the shrewdest most patient GM’s around. Going into the off-season, the Knicks had two major needs: hiring a highly reputable coach, and acquiring 2 players to man the Center position. After the draft when the only big man he got was quickly slotted to play Power Forward by Thomas, it was evident there would be trades and free agents signed.

The first signing was Jerome James. Known as a career underachiever, acquiring James was more than suspect, in light of his age, length of contract and salary. Those who gave the move a passing grade did so because of James’ girth and his play in last season’s playoffs.

Though busy with the draft and analyzing the free agent market, Isiah was watching two soap operas unfold, ones that he had indirectly created.

It all started with a simple statement from Larry Brown this winter, when he stated coaching the NY Knicks would be his “dream job”. As this drama unfolded with everyone questioning Brown’s penchant for leaving teams at a whim, Thomas simply waited in the bushes while Brown and his former employers, the Pistons got into a pissing contest.

Ten days after he was fired by the Pistons, Brown would realize his “dream” and Thomas would have made his second biggest move since coming to New York. Hiring Brown brought up questions whether the new coach could coexist with Stephon Marbury, the All-Star Point Guard Isiah had acquired to be the face of the franchise.

No worry on anyone’s part, especially Thomas’ because another move he had put into play the previous off-season was working out to perfection.

I remember the first time I saw Jamal Crawford play. He was a freshman in a University of Michigan uniform. His ball-handling, speed and shooting confirmed that this guy was NBA material. Soon enough thereafter, Crawford had entered the draft and landed with the Chicago Bulls. The next year to further their youth movement, cleverly nicked “The Baby Bulls”, the team drafted high school early entry and Chicago native Eddy Curry.

Fast forward to the 2004 off-season and nearly everyone is lambasting Isiah for overpaying to acquire Jamal Crawford. On its own merit, the signing is not as bad as some have made it out; but coupled with getting Eddy Curry, the Crawford signing is simply pure genius.

The Eddy Curry signing can be broken down to this simple equation. If a close friend moves to a city and tells you life is lovely there, and you've been itching to move away from home – What do you do? You find a way to move there. I am not saying Bulls GM Paxson did not overplay his hand in dealing with Curry’s heart injury and contract negotiation. It’s just that he may have joined the card game a bit too late to know who was in cahoots with whom.

Thomas' moves are high risk, but at least he sees them developing for a long time and is not jumping into the fire without preparing himself. To further highlight his adeptness, he brings players and personnel who feel underappreciated; and want to play their hometown team, with their friends or for him, a Hall of Fame player who has won titles in college and the NBA.