NBA Hangover

LeBron gets a laugh: Ron Swanson would have been a better draft pick than KyrieIrving

Kyrie Irving
AP Photo
David Stern and Kyrie Irving
Photo byBill Kostroun/AP
Ron Swanson of "Parks and Recreation"
Photo by Mitchell Haaseth

I love basketball, and I will usually defend any aspect of it to the death. Yet even I had a hard time gearing up for the NBA Draft this year, considering the dearth of talent available to be selected.

Even as I halfheartedly kept track online, I found myself far more invested in a Parks and Recreation repeat featuring the best character on TV, Ron Swanson. Still, there were some things that I found interesting about this year’s draft, and I suppose there are some picks that might just help a few teams down the road (after the upcoming lockout, that is).

Let’s take a look back and try to contain our collective excitement.

SCORE ONE FOR LEBRON

It’s been a tough few weeks for LeBron James, but at least he probably chuckled at the Cleveland Cavaliers bad fortune to have two of the first four picks in a draft that was about zero deep in top-flight talent. Kyrie Irving was probably the right choice for the top pick but that says more about the quality of the draft than it does about his talent. And Tristan Thompson seems like a big-time reach as the fourth pick, considering that he’s probably about three years away from really doing damage, at which point he’ll likely be doing it for another team.

With foreigners going in four of the top seven spots, it was hard for anyone except Fran Fraschilla to get too excited.

It’s now Dan Gilbert’s serve in this bad karma tetherball game.

I THOUGHT BISMACK WAS IN NORTH DAKOTA

With foreigners going in four of the top seven spots, it was hard for anyone except Fran Fraschilla to get too excited. No one knows how these guys and their overseas escapades will translate to the NBA game. What I do know is that I attempted to type out all of their names and my Spell Check punched me in the face.

UM, YOU DID WATCH THE TOURNAMENT, DIDN’T YOU?

Like I said, I don’t know the foreign players that well, and I can understand some teams’ preoccupation with size in the first few picks. That does not, in any way, explain how the Pistons could choose Brandon Knight over Kemba Walker. Yes, Knight is a few years younger, but other than that, Walker has it over him in every possible way.

Joe Dumars loss is his old adversary Michael Jordan’s gain, since the Bobcats end up with Walker and get a charismatic face for their rebuilding efforts.

MOM ALWAYS LIKED YOU BEST, AND SO DOES PHOENIX

What do you suppose the odds are of two twin brothers getting chosen in the very same NBA Draft? Now take those odds and reduce them even further to having two brothers go back-to-back.

What have you got? Need to narrow it down more? How about the odds for two brothers getting picked back-to-back in the first round even after their powerhouse BCS school got dumped by Northern Iowa and VCU in the past two NCAA Tournaments? OK, cheap shot.

For the record, I thought that Marcus was the better of the two Morris twins over Markieff in college, even though Markieff went to the Suns a pick before Marcus got scooped up by the Houston Rockets.

IT WASN’T ALL BAD

In many ways, I thought that the second half of the first round featured more solid picks than the first. As anyone who read my sleepers article can tell you, I liked Kenneth Faried, Reggie Jackson and Marshon Brooks, who all went between picks 22 and 25. I also think that Nikola Vucevic and Chris Singleton were nice picks at 16 and 18.

It seems like this draft was all about potential early and production late, as the better teams went with production to fill in gaps in their lineups.

Time will tell how those strategies will work out. But I don’t think time is going to change the overall opinion of this year’s NBA Draft too much.

If I were running a team, I would have selected Ron Swanson, who, at the very least, could provide comic relief.

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pucker up

Growing pickleball franchise smashes into Houston with 2 locations

Two men play pickleball on a Picklr court.

Photo courtesy of The Picklr

A Picklr court campus similar to the ones soon to open in Houston.

Pickleball is one of the hottest sports sweeping the nation, and one of the biggest names in the game is setting up two new facilities in Houston. Picklr is scheduled to open indoor sports campuses in Cypress and The Woodlands in the coming months.

“Bringing a pickleball facility to Cypress will not only provide a fun and engaging recreational outlet for residents of all ages, but will also foster a sense of community and promote a healthy and active lifestyle,” said Steve Nguyen, owner of The Picklr Cypress.“This facility will serve as a vibrant hub for social interaction, skill development, and friendly/competitive competition, enhancing community bonds and offering a welcoming space for everyone to enjoy.”

Although the game is approximately 60 years old, pickleball saw a massive spike in popularity following the pandemic when people were looking for fun group activities with easy points of entry. Though a racket sport like tennis, it is far easier and slower thanks to using perforated balls, smaller courts, and lighter paddles. This means the game is open to players of all ages, and was originally most popular with retirees. Now, there are roughly 5 million players across America, with players under 24 making up the majority. Houston even has its own professional team, the Hammers (not the Texas Hammer; that's this guy).

The court in Cypress will be located in the old ASI Gymnastics building at 8920 Barker Cypress. It's a relatively modest facility with only six courts including a practice court. By contrast, The Woodlands location will be much more opulent. At 66,517 square feet, it will have 20 courts, 4 private event spaces (one with an exclusive viewing area), as well as a shower, changing room, dry bar, and kitchenette. Picklr The Woodlands will be located at 16590 Interstate I-45 South.

These locations are the first for Picklr in Houston. They have twelve locations all throughout Texas, including in Round Rock and McKinney, and many more nationwide. Picklr locations operate on a membership model similar to a gym. Memberships run $159 a month for adults and $89 for minors, with unlimited access to open play, league play, and tournaments , as well as four free clinics a month. Additional coaching is available.

There is currently no set opening date for the two Houston-area Picklrs. Players interested in learning more may sign up for updates at ThePicklr.com.

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