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Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« on: April 06, 2014, 10:25:06 AM »

Offline sed522002

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“Back in the ’60s and ’70s, they looked like they were more finesse and they are finesse now,” said Oakley. “It’s going back [to finesse], a lot of outside shooting, a lot of ballhandlers, that’s how I see it. There weren’t a lot of post players back then [in the ’60s] and not a lot of post players now.”

Why is the league so chummy? Why is the NBA lacking the real rivalries from the ’80s and ’90s? Why has the overall level of play dipped?

“I’m blaming the management, I’m not blaming the kids,” Oakley said. “I’m blaming management for drafting guys on potential. Back in our day and era, you had to have your potential and be ready to play right away. Everybody was talented. In three years, you’d be out of the league [if you didn’t perform]. Draft what you need, not what someone else said is good.

“We had guys come out of high school, Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, but all these guys could play. It wasn’t about you’ve got to wait three or four years. That’s why Philadelphia is so bad, Sacramento, they got players but they are all young.”

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“The coaches in this league, in this day and era, are soft; the players are soft, how can you build something?” he said. “They put all these stat guys, these analytic guys, and put them on the bench and make them GM because of numbers. My thing with basketball, you’ve got to have efficiency within your structure, like San Antonio. You’ve got to have your players to buy in. That’s what wrong with the league, you’ve got guys worried about social media, my brand. You brand once you get drafted, when you win as a team, you get your brand. When your team wins, then all of those commercials will come. Everything is all about hype.”

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“When we played in the ’80s, it wasn’t OK [for European players to play in the NBA],” Oakley said. “They weren’t coming over here. They were scared. The game was tough and they weren’t tough. Back then it was 1 percent and now it’s 40 percent and it’s going to keep going up. The dollar is international now. I don’t like 7-footers shooting threes, it’s a disrespect to the game for me. Dirk [Nowitzki] is good, point blank. [Larry] Bird got away with it. A few guys can get away with it because they can flat-out shoot.”

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/04/06/sunhoop/aJXQqZcz5f6QQjdjqO6ZMO/story.html
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2014, 10:41:47 AM »

Offline indeedproceed

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Back in the 60's, 70's, I never had an issue with kids on my lawn. But now, there are all these kids all over my lawn, and I just wish they'd get off my lawn. Larry Bird, Dirk Nowitzki, they could get away with it because they cut grass , but these other guys? Get em off my lawn!!
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2014, 10:44:24 AM »

Offline BballTim

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Quote from: sed522002 on April 06, 2014, 10:25:06 AM
Quote
“Back in the ’60s and ’70s, they looked like they were more finesse and they are finesse now,” said Oakley. “It’s going back [to finesse], a lot of outside shooting, a lot of ballhandlers, that’s how I see it. There weren’t a lot of post players back then [in the ’60s] and not a lot of post players now.”

Why is the league so chummy? Why is the NBA lacking the real rivalries from the ’80s and ’90s? Why has the overall level of play dipped?

“I’m blaming the management, I’m not blaming the kids,” Oakley said. “I’m blaming management for drafting guys on potential. Back in our day and era, you had to have your potential and be ready to play right away. Everybody was talented. In three years, you’d be out of the league [if you didn’t perform]. Draft what you need, not what someone else said is good.

“We had guys come out of high school, Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, but all these guys could play. It wasn’t about you’ve got to wait three or four years. That’s why Philadelphia is so bad, Sacramento, they got players but they are all young.”

  It's true that the game was tougher when Oakley played and fewer players were drafted on potential in the 80s where more players had longer college careers, his memory is extremely selective. There were plenty of HS players drafted on potential alone in the KG-LeBron years of the draft. Most of them didn't pan out.

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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2014, 10:52:22 AM »

Offline Celtics4ever

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The athletes have got stronger and can jump higher but their skill level is not as good as it once  was folks.   They also could mug you back then on D.

Rondo is one of the few tough guys today,   the players are soft.
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2014, 11:10:58 AM »

Offline Rhyso

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Quote from: IndeedProceed on April 06, 2014, 10:41:47 AM
Back in the 60's, 70's, I never had an issue with kids on my lawn. But now, there are all these kids all over my lawn, and I just wish they'd get off my lawn. Larry Bird, Dirk Nowitzki, they could get away with it because they cut grass , but these other guys? Get em off my lawn!!

LOL TP!

But seriously, why do all old past players feel the need to get on their high horse and state how they had to play 'harder' or their era was 'tougher' or just give that general notion that they went through more than what modern players do?

If you make a career playing in the NBA, you have worked very hard and deserve credit regardless of what era you played in. Technology/analytics and science have just changed the way the game is played, that doesn't mean its an easier game to play or it isn't as tough (mentally or physically), just different!!
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2014, 11:20:26 AM »

Offline HomerSapien

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The NBA wants the players "soft". They used to be able to throw down on a nightly basis, but nowadays if players look at each other the wrong way they get T'd up, and if they breathe on each other too hard it leads to suspension. They're not stupid, they just adjusted.

On a related note, The league tightening the defensive rules to prevent the mugging that was allowed during the Oakley era saved the watch ability of the league.
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2014, 11:33:46 AM »

Offline D.o.s.

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Good posts in this thread.
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #7 on: April 06, 2014, 11:48:00 AM »

Offline hpantazo

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For the most part I agree strongly with Oakley. The players are weak, and there are no real rivalries, the players are too friendly with each other, teams wait too long for players to develop while the team sucks, and every player is primarily concerned with their contract and their "brand" more than anything.

A major part of this is because of Stern and the league taking all the bite out of the game. All of the rule changes have prevented players from defending each other and from expressing emotions. It's too bad, there were some great periods around Oakley's era where teams truly played hard against each other with a passion, played very tough defense, and the game had a true edge to it. I'm afraid those days are gone.
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #8 on: April 06, 2014, 11:57:34 AM »

Offline GreenFaith1819

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Charles Oakley has some good points...

Sad thing is that Shawn Kemp would get T'd up or tossed out the game on HALF of these dunks in today's NBA (being too emotional).

He'd probably get tossed right away after the Lister Blister, lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQeMhYJe5JA

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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #9 on: April 06, 2014, 12:00:06 PM »

Offline D.o.s.

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But that has nothing to do with it, because Shawn Kemp didn't play under today's environment.

There are still intense games, but those "foul everyone on every play" Knicks teams have, thankfully, gone the way of David Stern.
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #10 on: April 06, 2014, 12:02:50 PM »

Offline hpantazo

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Quote from: D.o.s. on April 06, 2014, 12:00:06 PM
But that has nothing to do with it, because Shawn Kemp didn't play under today's environment.

There are still intense games, but those "foul everyone on every play" Knicks teams have, thankfully, gone the way of David Stern.

just curious, do you have some examples of intense games in today's NBA? My feeling is they pale in comparison to what used to be considered intense.
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #11 on: April 06, 2014, 12:09:46 PM »

Offline GreenFaith1819

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Quote from: D.o.s. on April 06, 2014, 12:00:06 PM
But that has nothing to do with it, because Shawn Kemp didn't play under today's environment.

There are still intense games, but those "foul everyone on every play" Knicks teams have, thankfully, gone the way of David Stern.

My point is - based on what Oakley has stated about the league, you could take someone of Kemp's ability and place him in "This" NBA and he would be less effective - because the refs will T a player up for too much emotion.

Charles Oakley brings up a good conversation, here, and from my perspective as I see it he has some good points.

The league has changed.
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #12 on: April 06, 2014, 12:21:24 PM »

Offline fairweatherfan

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Not a lot of post players in the 60s?  Really?

And yeah, Oakley's Knick teams are a huge part of the reason why the NBA tightened up the rules on defense.  By the late 90s everyone was sick of 81-77 rock fights all the time.
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #13 on: April 06, 2014, 12:29:22 PM »

Offline HomerSapien

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I do wish the NBA and NFL would do a little less of legislating emotion out of games. I understand that direct taunting is probably not desirable, but there is a link between emotion and competition - and that's a big reason why we like sports. That connection needs to be preserved for maximum entertainment value.
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Re: Charles Oakley rips today's NBA
« Reply #14 on: April 06, 2014, 12:34:25 PM »

Offline D.o.s.

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Quote from: GreenFaith1819 on April 06, 2014, 12:09:46 PM
Quote from: D.o.s. on April 06, 2014, 12:00:06 PM
But that has nothing to do with it, because Shawn Kemp didn't play under today's environment.

There are still intense games, but those "foul everyone on every play" Knicks teams have, thankfully, gone the way of David Stern.

My point is - based on what Oakley has stated about the league, you could take someone of Kemp's ability and place him in "This" NBA and he would be less effective - because the refs will T a player up for too much emotion.

Charles Oakley brings up a good conversation, here, and from my perspective as I see it he has some good points.

The league has changed.

Right, and my point is that if Kemp were coming up today he'd be playing under the NBA of 2014, not the NBA of 1994, so to transplant his behavior from '94 and assume he would play exactly the same way in '14 is, IMO, shortsighted.

(Also Kemp would have likely had a longer, more productive career if he missed the '99 lockout.)

Quote from: hpantazo on April 06, 2014, 12:02:50 PM
Quote from: D.o.s. on April 06, 2014, 12:00:06 PM
But that has nothing to do with it, because Shawn Kemp didn't play under today's environment.

There are still intense games, but those "foul everyone on every play" Knicks teams have, thankfully, gone the way of David Stern.

just curious, do you have some examples of intense games in today's NBA? My feeling is they pale in comparison to what used to be considered intense.

Probably some choice games involving either Chicago or Indiana. Intense doesn't have to mean 'afraid that real violence is going to break out on the court'



Also, TP to Homersapien -- lots of good posts in a very short time.
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