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ShareJolovitz: From Philadelphia to Athens
As I prepare to watch Allen Iverson and his United States teammates play for a gold medal in Athens, random hoops thoughts are percolating in my mind. The last week in Philadelphia has been an eventful one, and the next two in Athens promise to be as well.
Some cliches are based in fact much more than others. Have you ever heard of 'addition by subtraction'? In trading Derrick Coleman to Detroit and Larry Brown, Billy King added to the Sixers. Derrick Coleman, in my opinion, is a detriment to a basketball team. Despite his talent and intelligence, I feel that Coleman is one of the more negative influences on a basketball team that I have ever seen.
While he was in New Jersey, Coleman was threatened with a fine for each time he failed to meet the team dress code. Derrick basically said he would give the team a blank check and they could fill it in at the end of the season. Frank Sinatra wrote 'My Way'. If you are an entertainer, this works. If you are a member of a team of any type, it does not. Coleman is a selfish, manipulative, often injured waste of talent, and why the Sixers ever brought him back has always puzzled me. I like to think of the glass, in most cases, as half full. In the case of Coleman, I always thought of it as half empty.
Considering the restrictions of the NBA salary cap, trading Coleman for several million dollars' worth of scrap metal would have been a coup for Billy King. Having obtained Corliss Williamson, dubbed 'The Big Nasty', I feel that Billy made a fabulous trade. Williamson can score down low, rebound, intimidate, and he brings with him Detroit's championship pedigree. In dealing Derrick Coleman and Amal McCaskill for Williamson, Billy King added to the team and added by subtraction as well.
With the headache that is DC out of the way, Billy King heads to Athens to see if Allen Iverson can add a gold medal to his extensive jewelry collection.
Let me get something off my back. Some people are upset at some NBA players for snubbing The Olympic Games. I am among them. If I was blessed with the talent that prompted my country to offer me a USA jersey in any sport, I would be out the door in a nanosecond. I went to the Olympic Games in Atlanta not as a media member, but as a fan. I fully understand that because of security issues, doping problems, and other issues that The Olympics are not what they used to be. While this is true, you will not find many people who will tell you that the actual competition is not compelling and fabulous. Playing for one's country brings out the best in athletes, and most have worked their whole life for their Olympic experience. It makes for phenomenal theater, in any sport.
Because of the defections, some are actually rooting for the United States Of America to lose in basketball. Why? To shove it in the face of the defectors? Does that help the sport or the country? Nope. To prove that we play the game the wrong way in this country? Is that worth rooting against your flag? Nope. To hope that Larry Brown, Allen Iverson, or some other object of one's scorn does not succeed? Is that worth rooting against your flag? Nope. In fact, any of these reasons are idiotic, in my opinion.
If you wear the letters USA on your uniform, whatever sport you play, I am rooting for you in Athens. When Allen Iverson and his teammates take the court for Larry Brown, they take the court for America. Our country is bigger than Larry, Allen, or anyone else. Those letters are all that matter. With that, I leave you with a chant.
USA, USA, USA!!!
"The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Philadelphia 76ers organization."
Some cliches are based in fact much more than others. Have you ever heard of 'addition by subtraction'? In trading Derrick Coleman to Detroit and Larry Brown, Billy King added to the Sixers. Derrick Coleman, in my opinion, is a detriment to a basketball team. Despite his talent and intelligence, I feel that Coleman is one of the more negative influences on a basketball team that I have ever seen.
While he was in New Jersey, Coleman was threatened with a fine for each time he failed to meet the team dress code. Derrick basically said he would give the team a blank check and they could fill it in at the end of the season. Frank Sinatra wrote 'My Way'. If you are an entertainer, this works. If you are a member of a team of any type, it does not. Coleman is a selfish, manipulative, often injured waste of talent, and why the Sixers ever brought him back has always puzzled me. I like to think of the glass, in most cases, as half full. In the case of Coleman, I always thought of it as half empty.
Considering the restrictions of the NBA salary cap, trading Coleman for several million dollars' worth of scrap metal would have been a coup for Billy King. Having obtained Corliss Williamson, dubbed 'The Big Nasty', I feel that Billy made a fabulous trade. Williamson can score down low, rebound, intimidate, and he brings with him Detroit's championship pedigree. In dealing Derrick Coleman and Amal McCaskill for Williamson, Billy King added to the team and added by subtraction as well.
With the headache that is DC out of the way, Billy King heads to Athens to see if Allen Iverson can add a gold medal to his extensive jewelry collection.
Let me get something off my back. Some people are upset at some NBA players for snubbing The Olympic Games. I am among them. If I was blessed with the talent that prompted my country to offer me a USA jersey in any sport, I would be out the door in a nanosecond. I went to the Olympic Games in Atlanta not as a media member, but as a fan. I fully understand that because of security issues, doping problems, and other issues that The Olympics are not what they used to be. While this is true, you will not find many people who will tell you that the actual competition is not compelling and fabulous. Playing for one's country brings out the best in athletes, and most have worked their whole life for their Olympic experience. It makes for phenomenal theater, in any sport.
Because of the defections, some are actually rooting for the United States Of America to lose in basketball. Why? To shove it in the face of the defectors? Does that help the sport or the country? Nope. To prove that we play the game the wrong way in this country? Is that worth rooting against your flag? Nope. To hope that Larry Brown, Allen Iverson, or some other object of one's scorn does not succeed? Is that worth rooting against your flag? Nope. In fact, any of these reasons are idiotic, in my opinion.
If you wear the letters USA on your uniform, whatever sport you play, I am rooting for you in Athens. When Allen Iverson and his teammates take the court for Larry Brown, they take the court for America. Our country is bigger than Larry, Allen, or anyone else. Those letters are all that matter. With that, I leave you with a chant.
USA, USA, USA!!!
"The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Philadelphia 76ers organization."
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Though he hails from Bethesda, Md., Paul Jolovitz has been a Philadelphian since he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983. He worked for PRISM Television 1985-1997. He has served as on-air host on 610 WIP since 1997. Jolovitz is also a professional stand-up comedian who has worked in Philadelphia, New York, and Las Vegas, among other places. Comedy runs in the family as his sister Jenna was a member of the famed Second City Comedy Troupe in Chicago. Jolovitz lives in Plymouth Meeting with his wife Amy.
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