One of my favorite authors, Jeff Pearlman joins this edition of the podcast. Pearlman has written a ton of awesome books and has one coming out this week called “Three Ring Circus” about the Kobe-and-Shaq-era Lakers. We talked about the buildup to a championship team, how he (an east-coast native) perceives the Lakers and their fans, and the value (or maybe lack thereof) of having a “calming influence” guy on the roster. 

Like a lot of people in San Luis Obispo, I met Jessica Slate while on the sideline at high school and Cal Poly games locally. As someone who is a San Luis Obispo native and has a ton of NBA knowledge, the beginning of the NBA season was a perfect time to finally have Jessica on the podcast. We discussed the league, what it’s like growing up as a fan on the Central Coast, and a few players Jessica thinks could break-out this year. You can find Jessica on twitter @thejslate or on Instagram. 

The most worked-up I ever got about a personnel decision the Lakers made in the Kobe era was when they gave up Trevor Ariza. 

Really. 

Photo by Keith Allison [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

That offseason, the Rockets signed the UCLA product for a little more than $5 million per season and the Lakers went out and signed free agent Ron Artest (Metta World Peace). World Peace signed with the Lakers for slightly more than the Rockets signed Trevor for, and the two basically switched teams.

I wasn’t happy. Why would a team that just won a title get rid of a 24 year old starter on that title team in favor of a 30 year-old Artest/World Peace who had a weird game and was a wild card at best?

The litmus test was whether the Lakers would win a title with World Peace, and I suppose they accomplished that. World Peace made a game clinching jumper in game seven of the finals to justify all of it. So I guess it all came out in the wash. While Metta aged, Trevor was in his 20’s. I’m not saying he would have mitigated their plans, but you can’t tell me Ariza wouldn’t have helped the teams that a washed World Peace finished his NBA career with.

This season, Ariza’s departure from the Rockets and the nose dive Houston has taken so far this year are further evidence to support the idea that he was, and still is really good. Ariza, now 33, is still a good player. Nine years later, I still think he’s one of the best guys out there to fill gaps and holes a team has.

The shame is that he’s on a young team in Phoenix that has too many of those holes for anyone to deal with. I’m not sure if his $15 million deal is tradable this season, but you know he could plug into virtually any contender and make them marginally better. He may be hitting the tail end of his highly useful career, but I will always believe in Trevor Ariza and the power of players like him. Basketball games are often decided on the margins, after all. 

Harrison Faigen is a senior writer for Lakers Nation and also a Cal State Fullerton student who has various roles at the Daily Titan. With Cal Poly facing the Titans at home on Saturday, I thought it would be a good time to give Harrison a call and talk a little about Dedrique Taylor’s upstart Fullerton team. 

I also asked him about David Nwaba, who he covered all season last year with the DFenders and then the Lakers. 

Hurricane Harvey ripped through Texas over the past week. On Thursday, the FOH Army was mobilized in force. 

Shea Serrano, author of The Rap Yearbook, the upcoming book Basketball (and other things), and writer for TheRinger.com, asked people to give money to support something to help Houstonians in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. 

Sorry for the language. I guess… . 

time 4 the Fuck Hurricane Harvey donation ~ i got $200 on it ~ if u wanna join in:

PayPal: introducingliston@gmail.com
Venmo: Shea-Serrano pic.twitter.com/GQALuG8SIr

— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) August 31, 2017

That was three hours ago. As of a few minutes ago, the FOH Army has raised over $70k.

Edit – In the time it took me to write most of this, the balance is up to over $90k.

over $90,000 in less than four hours — i'm not sure what else there is for me to say pic.twitter.com/h8qfk08DHt

— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) September 1, 2017

They’re gonna get to 6 digits. 

The cool thing is that nobody quite knows what Serrano will do with it, but he’s bound to do something awesome.

this is what it looks like and sounds like lol it's been doing this for three hours pic.twitter.com/PuXv76NdKe

— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) September 1, 2017

Seriously, how cool is this?

As I understand it, Serrano grew up in San Antonio, but lives in Houston now. If you don’t know the devastation that many in Houston are currently facing, you have been living under a rock. 

Serrano has done things like this before. He made one day the busiest in a bookstore’s history. He gave a lady who helped him find his car a tip she won’t soon forget. Serrano’s army raised $10,000 for a homeless shelter for LGBTQ kids. Here’s some cool stuff he does with bookmark money. 

What I’m saying is that the dude is legit. He gets people (like me) really excited to do helpful things. He’s proven himself trustworthy again and again and this is ballooning into something that will help the city he lives in in some kind of significant way. 

He is, in a word, inspiring.

I donated the leftover money I had in my paypal account from this past year’s spring training trip. 

I have another post coming, but we gotta find a way to do something more organized in SLO for cool stuff like this.

WHERE TO DONATE:

JJ Watt’s Relief Fund is certainly a legit and worthy place to donate. It’s over $13,000,000 now and growing.

I donated $25 at Costco yesterday to the Red Cross — always a decent option. 

If you want to be a member of the FOH Army, you have two options:

Paypal money to Shea at introducingliston@gmail.com OR

Venmo at Shea-Serrano. 

It’s been a few nights now since Cal Poly alum David Nwaba made his NBA debut. He played some late minutes, some good defense, and missed the only shot he took. 

On Friday night, he did better, scoring 7 points, grabbing a pair of rebounds, and earning a net plus-five rating for the game in 20 minutes.

Some nerves were involved with playing for the first time in front of the Staples Center crowd, but when all is said and done, David Nwaba is getting some time in the league. Nwaba has always had NBA physical ability, but his rise got me thinking — what are some lessons young players can learn from David Nwaba’s D League Tryout-to-NBA story?

David Nwaba drives during a game vs. Texas Southern in the NCAA Tournament. His Cal Poly Mustangs won their first-round game before being ousted by one-seed Wichita State in 2014.

Perseverance

With no Division I offers, Nwaba went to school at Hawaii-Pacific out of high school and redshirted. After a year there, he moved back to Los Angeles to attend Santa Monica Community College. Two years out of high school, Cal Poly and Joe Callero finally got him into a D-I uniform with the Mustangs.

Think about it. Nwaba is a guy who had zero Division I options out of high school. Less than a year after graduating college he’s in the NBA. And it’s not like he got drafted. He had to TRY OUT FOR THE D LEAGUE! 

Young guys — if you’re feeling down about not having offers you think you should have, think about David Nwaba and buck up. 

Playing the role

He was the most athletic player on the court from the time he got to Cal Poly, but Nwaba knew how to play a role. His sophomore season — the one the Mustangs went to the NCAA Tournament, he had to play the role of defensive stopper, guarding the opponents’ best perimeter player. 

Honestly, Nwaba was only more of a “featured” offensive player once his senior year rolled around. 

Flexibility and coachability

In his first two seasons at Cal Poly, Nwaba played as a small forward and shooting guard, in that order. In his senior year, Joe Callero played him as the primary ball handler for much of the year. It was a role that David took-on seemingly seamlessly, while still mostly guarding opponents’ best players. He did what was asked of him and never wavered in his aggression.

Accentuate the positives

David’s athleticism and speed are world-class. Instead of trying to prove he had a 50% jumper when he didn’t, Nwaba quietly worked on the lesser parts of his game while sharpening the edge on his relentless defense and ability to knife inside and get buckets. 

So, I guess what I’m saying is that if you do some things really well and you work hard, are patient, listen to coaches, and sometimes go way outside your comfort zone, that you have a real chance to be successful. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. 

What a story!@dnwaba0 continues to make the most of his @NBA contract w/ the @Lakers! #NBACallUp pic.twitter.com/073bvugZ6Q

— NBA D-League (@nbadleague) March 4, 2017

*****

Cal Poly wins third in a row

On Thursday night, Cal Poly won their third game in a row, with four players scoring in double figures. Donovan Fields led the run when the Mustangs pulled away. He made a few buckets, threw an alley-oop to Hank Hollingsworth:

Ally-Oop! Donovan Fields connects with Hank Hollingsworth in @CPMustangs win over CSUN pic.twitter.com/rJSXBEGEtL

— Derek Opina (@DerekOpinaKSBY) March 3, 2017

the he did this:

Steal + Coast 2 Coast + Juke + Bucket = Cal Poly's Donovan Fields @CPMustangs pic.twitter.com/lhFYOIJUgx

— Derek Opina (@DerekOpinaKSBY) March 3, 2017

Oh dear. The Mustangs are playing great and having fun at the right time. Look at ESPN Radio’s Mike Chellsen calling for the TO at the end of the video too. Classic. 

Fields finished the game with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Senior Ridge Shipley scored 17 points on 8-12 from the free throw line to go with his 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Luke Meikle had 12 points and four boards while Victor Joseph managed 12 points and 6 rebounds on a relatively quiet night for him. Zach Gordon had 8 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. 

Cal Poly can move up one seed if they win against UCSB at home on Saturday night and if Cal State Fullerton can beat CSUN at the Matadome. 

Photos by Owen Main

David Nwaba is a Laker. Photo by Owen Main

People in San Luis Obispo knew that David Nwaba had the physical tools to be an NBA player. Now, less than a year removed from his college graduation in San Luis Obispo, he’s going to the NBA. On Tuesday the former Cal Poly Mustang signed a 10-day contract with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers. 

“David has worked on all parts of his game the last five years,” said Cal Poly coach Joe Callero via text message. “He is the perfect example of hard work and persistence! We are all so proud of him as a person and player… Cal Poly Proud!”

Nwaba, who transferred to Cal Poly as a sophomore in 2013, made an immediate impact. With his high level of intensity and athleticism, Nwaba helped Cal Poly to their first appearance in the NCAA tournament as the Mustangs rolled through the Big West tournament as a 7-seed. Cal Poly won their first round game that year over Texas Southern before losing to one-seed Wichita State. 

Outside shooting will be the thing Nwaba still needs to continue to work on with his game, but his defensive intensity and ability to finish inside make him someone that Magic Johnson and the Lakers think will be able to contribute in the NBA. 

Nwaba is a native of Los Angeles. His sister Barbara is a world-class heptathlete. Other Big West Conference alumni in the NBA are Suns forward Alan Williams (UCSB) and Grizzlies forward James Ennis (Long Beach State). 

Harrison Faigen is a young writer who is getting his reps in. Along with writing about the Lakers and DFenders for Silver Screen and Roll, Faigen is a student at Cal State Fullerton and an editor at the Daily Titan on-campus in Orange County. 

Faigen talked about the DFenders, Cal Poly alum David Nwaba, the Lakers’ situation as it stood a few weeks ago, and Big West basketball.

Today I was, as I am sometimes prone to do, listening to The Ringer’s NBA Show podcast with Chris Vernon. Vernon had Tim Bontemps (FANTASTIC name, right?) on the show. Bontemps is a national NBA writer for the Washington Post.

The two of them were discussing who would be the frontrunners for the MVP voting this season. It’s conceivable, they agreed, that James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant could be the top-three players in voting. In case you forgot, those three guys played on the same team. Oklahoma City had ALL THREE OF THEM, along with Serge Ibaka, and couldn’t hold anything together.

The Thunder did go to the finals — in 2012. They lost to the Miami Heat and LeBron’s superteam four games to one.

The splitting of the drafted super-team (OKC), I have come to realize, started with their loss to the manufactured super-team (Miami).

If you were a 23 year-old Kevin Durant, how would you have felt? He put up a 28/8/3.5 stat line that season, only to be throttled in the finals by peak LeBron.

What if you were Westbrook. He averaged 23/5/6, and yet the Heat found a way to keep him out of rhythm and dictate the way he played just enough in the finals to disrupt the flow Scott Brooks’ team had managed to build.

How about James Harden? He was a 22 year-old BENCH player on this OKC team and would probably be the frontrunner so far this season for MVP. Harden averaged 17 points off the bench that season.

All three of them saw what happens when you choose your own superteam. All three of them knew they’d never be out of each others’ shadows in OKC. The Thunder tried to get ahead of the curve, trading Harden and paying Ibaka. Kevin Durant got hurt. Instead of growing into a great second-banana, Russell Westbrook decided he was going to be the prima ballerina, and the rest is history. At least until this season.

Sometimes radio or TV people play this game: “If you could build your team to win now with a player or three players or five players, who would they be?”

If you asked an NBA fan right now, LeBron would be there, probably along with the three former Thunder teammates (aged 28, 28, and 27 now) and maybe Steph Curry. KD and LeBron could play the four and the five. Don’t get too caught up in that part.

Russell Westbrook is flat-out putting on a show this season. By Erik Drost from United States (Russell Westbrook) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

But what if they had kept everything together? Would we be delighting in all that is Russell mania this season? Would Harden ever been able to run point forward like he is in Mike D’Antoni’s offense? Would there be a superteam like the Warriors to hate?

We wouldn’t have any of the fun that comes with the split-up Thunder WITHOUT LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh both crushing Oklahoma City’s soul and showing the youngsters in 2012 that super-teams work.

The last thought I’ll leave with is this: If you look at all the decisions Harden, Westbrook, and Durant (and Oklahoma City’s management) made since those 2012 finals through the lens of that loss, you start to see motivations for guys that are just under the surface at all times.

It was there when Durant signed his Golden State contract — you never know when you’ll get another chance at the finals, especially when you’re not always healthy. He just about guaranteed himself that with his decision.

It’s there every time James Harden has some crazy 45 point triple double. Like a middle child he’ll always be looking for attention and always have something to prove until the day he retires. He wants to show everyone that HE was the unicorn of the group.

In Westbrook, it’s more outwardly apparent. Everything that has happened over the past four years bubbles to the surface on the floor for the UCLA kid. Remember when Westbrook had to play behind Jordan Farmar in college? Remember when he had to defer to Durant all game and then to Harden in crunch time? Remember when Durant was out, and Russell thought he earned the right to be the top dog?

And remember when the Heat trashed their whole world?

Look a little deeper. Have a little context. This NBA season becomes even more fun and interesting than you thought. Maybe a re-watching of the 2012 NBA Finals is in order. I’ll buy the pizza and pops.

Mike Breen is the man.

Maybe five years ago, I got to play golf with Mike Breen. It was a great freaking day.

Hearing Breen on the I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast this week took me back.

In a charity golf tournament for my job, three dudes from my work were grouped with Breen, the celebrity.

Understand that I grew up wanting to be Chick Hearn. I watched Vin Scully all my life and any hockey knowledge I have is because of Bob Miller. I’m insane about sports and play-by-play broadcasters are a big reason why.

Imagine the feeling when the other dudes let me ride in the cart with him. I tried to play it cool, but I noticed something — one of Breen’s teeth looked black. I’m talking black like a dead tooth. Not a side tooth either. A front tooth. On the top. I’m no dentist, but I’d call it a primary tooth for someone’s appearance.

“What is that?!” I asked myself. “I guess I’ve either never noticed it, or maybe he puts a veneer on to call games on television? Whatever it is, I’m sure as hell not going to say anything to him about it.”

I acted like I didn’t see it. If it really was a dead tooth, I didn’t want to be the a-hole to bring it up.

Nobody else seemed to notice it either until about the 8th hole, when my coworker said something and Breen sheepishly took a big piece of dark spinach or something out of his mouth. In not wanting to offend him or whatever, I failed to tell him he had freaking food in his teeth.

The best part of that day was hearing Breen talk about Chick Hearn. I knew I wasn’t going to often get the chance, but Breen, the Knicks announcer for many years, had a number of wonderful Chick stories.

I also waited until Breen hit an approach shot onto the green before yelling “Bang!” Yep. I did that.

I played some of the worst golf of my life that day and flew home the next morning. When I arrived, it was like I’d been in a dream, playing golf with one of the best dudes in the profession — a play by play guy I knew and admired on television.

Last night, Breen called Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and did an awesome job. Without, as far as I could tell, anything stuck in his teeth.