ShareThisNBA players are getting restless, and who can blame them? They want to work. They crave routine. The heavy (weight) lifting usually begins in September. Training camps and travel to unusual places dominate October. November is when games begin to matter, except during a labor impasse, when players are locked out of team facilities and left on their own.
But organizing and participating in charity games -- while admirable ventures -- is probably not the wisest or safest use of their idle time.
This isn't about fear of failure; no one cares who wins or loses. This isn't about padding the numbers; no one cares about stats.
This is a chance to see NBA players in tight confines, at relatively lower prices, in a format that more closely resembles an All-Star Game than a regular-season matchup.
Nonetheless, if playing overseas is the only other alternative to sitting on the couch while owners, lawyers and union leaders squabble about the salary cap and system issues, it's time to start checking with the airlines. France. China. Italy. The ancient settings in financially strapped Greece -- PAOK, Olympiacos, AEK, etc. -- can't be worse than this.
The quality of play in these charity games is pretty dreadful -- and not worth the risks. Blow out a knee. Sprain an ankle. Fracture a cheekbone. Under normal circumstances, when a player sustains a significant injury during the offseason, he has access to the team's medical staff and some of the most advanced orthopedic care in the world.
But that doesn't happen during a lockout. Players are locked out of team premises, barred from contacting team officials and, more importantly, precluded from consulting members of the medical staff.
"Do I worry about getting hurt?" DeMarcus Cousins repeated, pausing thoughtfully, after an exhibition at the University of California, Davis. "I fell last night while I was walking down the street. You can get hurt doing anything. You don't let yourself think about it."
It's probably time to think about it, which might explain the no-shows at these events and why the players at the Pavilion didn't get close enough to each other to catch a cold.
Tyreke Evans tossed alley oops and launched an impressive array of long-range three-point attempts. Jimmer Fredette, implored by the crowd of a few thousand, backed up and hoisted half-court shots. Donte Greene showed off his svelte physique (compared to last year, when he arrived at camp looking like a sumo wrestler), but he wasn't eager to mix it up underneath. Nor was Jason Thompson, who moved well despite a recent toe injury.
Cousins, who said he wanted to lose another five pounds before training camp, was particularly energized and engaged. The second-year center ran the floor for dunks, swiped rebounds and couldn't resist those mid-range jumpers with the perfect rotation. While he and several other players could have used oxygen masks -- there is no duplicating game conditioning -- there were no dust-ups, no tussles for rebounds, no diving for loose balls.
And that's a good thing.
Not that the owners, lawyers and union leaders need further incentive to resume bargaining and finalize a new agreement, but the more often these exhibitions are scheduled, the greater the risk for something untoward to happen.
Hence, the appeal of a sabbatical to France, Italy, Greece, China. Agents aren't dummies. For their clients who are pursued for the remaining vacancies overseas, especially those who secure opt-out clauses in contracts, playing in an organized setting is preferable to barnstorming the country in these loosely structured exhibitions. It's cheaper, too, since players absorb all costs for the charity events, including insurance, airfare, hotels and food.
"I'm still going to wait a little bit before deciding to go overseas," Evans said while signing autographs. "I am hoping something gets done in a couple weeks. If not, then I'll talk to my agent and see what I can do. I want to play."
Fredette, Cousins, Greene, Thompson and Matt Barnes expressed similar sentiments.
"Everybody's frustrated," Fredette said. "The players, the owners, the fans. It felt good to get out on the floor, get to know the guys a little bit, get in a little better game shape. You just try not to worry about injuries."
(Contact Ailene Voisin at avoisin(at)sacbee.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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