Last week on NBA Twitter, an above-room-temperature exchange took place between Grantland’s Zach Lowe and Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey:
https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/584046639905644544
@ZachLowe_NBA why RU bothered by an entertainment biz being open about promoting their players? seems U would appreciate the candid approach
— Daryl Morey 🗽🏀 (@dmorey) April 3, 2015
@dmorey I just think it's a waste that serves no real purpose. It's not some huge deal I'm angry about.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) April 3, 2015
@dmorey Like, what am I supposed to do with the giant Chandler Parsons Trivial Pursuit box/game from last season?
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) April 3, 2015
Both sides make clean arguments. Morey recognizes that the Houston Rockets and its players are entrenched in the entertainment industry. Similar to films campaigning for its actors and actresses during Oscar season, it’s in the best interest of the Rockets for players like James Harden to win MVP. It’s on-brand. At the same time, Lowe argues that marketing shouldn’t impact the voting process. If Harden is good enough to be league MVP, for instance, are all the toys and props necessary? And furthermore, if a voter deems Harden less deserving than Stephen Curry for the award, are these gizmos actually capable of persuading them?
On the one hand, Morey maintains Houston’s candid approach is in good taste — a way for the team to participate in the process. On the other hand, Lowe (and many others) find these promotional tactics to be a distraction from their jobs as voters. Lowe considers deciphering Player X from Player Y in any given race a reflection of his performance as a professional NBA writer. You could then see why getting Chandler Parsons’ infused boardgames muddles his process — and feels a bit unclean, along the same lines as The Weinstein Company and their tasteless “Honor the man. Honor the film.” campaign for The Imitation Game.
I’m not sure either man is wrong. While I relate to Zach, Morey isn’t stepping over any ethical boundaries — he’s not fibbing or stretching any truths or exploiting deceased men in an attempt to make an extra buck.
Unlike Morey, however, the very-public campaign from the Los Angeles Clippers to win DeAndre Jordan Defensive Player of the Year does feel intrusive to the process. But why?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D4I164tiVD0
Whether it’s real or merely his persona, Doc Rivers comes away as a man of passion. He says whatever is on his mind. His voice box burns to a crisp by the end of every game, only to rise like a phoenix the following night. He chases referees around the floor begging for every conceivable call. He can’t help himself, it would seem. He’s a fighter, the kind of man who leads a rudderless franchise through a storm; the common reflection after the Donald Sterling saga was the Clippers would have fallen apart had it not been for Doc.
All of that is true, and Doc Rivers is one of the great NBA personalities and figures because of it. But since Rivers’ arrival in Los Angeles two years ago — you know, when he jettisoned the sinking ship in Boston, forcing one of the strangest trades in NBA history — the Clippers have quickly devolved from one of the NBA’s most popular teams to an irritable band of know-it-alls and complainers. The humorlessness of the Clippers is, in large part, why Chris Paul will likely never win MVP, or even be taken seriously as a candidate. And if the Clippers fail to win a championship under Rivers as currently assembled, not one person outside of their own fans will shed a tear — a fan base that is getting harder to find these days.
If the Clippers win a championship, most of the animosity aimed their way will dissipate — they did it their way, we’ll ration. But as well as the Clippers are playing, they could still enter the postseason on the road, on track to battle Golden State or San Antonio in round two — two teams that are deeper and far mightier on the defensive end of the floor. If the Clippers fall short of their lofty goals, this summer will be fascinating: Jordan is an unrestricted free agent, and trade rumors will envelop its entire starting lineup.
This is why I find the Doc Rivers “Shower the people you love with love” relationship with Jordan a bit measured. On the one hand, who wouldn’t want to play for a man who publicly lauds you? And yet, I wonder what Jordan is thinking each time Rivers utters his name besides Bill Russell or says the NBA should investigate the voting results if anybody else wins DPOY. I can’t speak for Jordan, but that would make me feel pretty damn uncomfortable. After all, there are ways to praise your starting center without evoking the name of an 11-time champion, or demanding that all other candidates for an award be cast aside. Even the notorious Harvey Weinstein never said Michael Keaton sucked in Birdman or anything!
Rivers’ affection for Jordan has been well documented the past two years. In fact, Rivers began talking about Jordan as DPOY last June, tying together his dominance with the Clippers’ title chances. To Rivers, there isn’t even a secondary option for DPOY, and Jordan is definitively the best defensive player in the league. Rivers argues on behalf of Jordan like a defense lawyer (no pun intended) attempting to get their client off Death Row.
I wrote about why Draymond Green should win DPOY last week — Green is having, by numerous metrics, a stronger campaign than Jordan and others. I wrote the piece in response to Darryl Howeton’s piece claiming Duncan should win the defensive award as a literal Lifetime Achievement — that the NBA should name the award after Duncan at the ceremony. I politely disagree with him, but I also believe Duncan is a strong candidate in his own right. If I had a ballot, I’d probably vote Duncan third or fourth — behind Green and Jordan (who I admittedly did not spend much time writing about) and perhaps even behind his teammate Kawhi Leonard.
My point: That Doc Rivers wants the NBA to intervene in the event that Green or Leonard or Duncan win DPOY is ludicrous — but intentionally ludicrous.
(Getty Images)
Rivers has no shame, obviously. (See: Bill Russell references.) His concern is with Jordan playing inspired basketball, lifting what would otherwise be a sad-sack defense up to league average. The Clippers have the NBA’s best offense, led by MVP candidate Chris Paul, who rivals Harden and Curry in most categories. So long as Jordan (and Paul, a slick defender in his own right) keeps the team’s defense above water, Los Angeles is a nightmare matchup for most teams, and can certainly hang with anybody.
Jordan isn’t more important to the Clippers than Paul, however. In fact, I would argue Paul is something like twice as pivotal to the team’s success. So why is Doc barking about Jordan winning DPOY and not about Paul being taken seriously as an MVP or first-team All-NBA selection? Paul could fall off the ballot for MVP entirely and end up as a third-team selection behind Klay Thompson and Russell Westbrook — maybe Doc hasn’t noticed.
No, that’s not it. Doc knows Paul doesn’t care about these awards — not as much as winning a championship, at least. To properly motivate Paul, all Rivers has to do is get the team ready to win each night. What gives the Clippers the best chance to win? The dramatic improvement of DeAndre Jordan.
Jordan is pulling down 32.3 percent of available defensive rebounds and discouraging any number of drives to the rim every night. Rivers has brainwashed Jordan into becoming his ideal type of center — a shot-blocking deterrent in the paint, an automatic dunk around the hoop — and, unlike Kevin Garnett in 2015, Jordan is perhaps the freakiest freak in a league full of athletic dynamos. Paul and Blake Griffin are what make the Clippers a championship contender. But it is Jordan who erases the myriad of mistakes this shallow collection of competent defenders makes each night. Without a real bench or an adequate team defense, it is Jordan’s responsibility to make up for the Clippers shortcomings. Rivers knows this — he built the team that way. With each manufactured headline, with each contentious challenge of an intelligent column, he has built Jordan into a Frankenstein monster who feasts on defense, dunks and rebounds, who never needs a play called for him, and who obeys every command from Rivers and Paul.
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Rivers believes this will work, that Paul/Griffin/Jordan will bring him a second ring. But let’s suppose the Clippers don’t win the Finals, and let’s fast forward to this summer, where Jordan is an unrestricted free agent. Is he coming back? A dozen teams will offer Jordan a max contract. Why should he stay with the Clippers?
Well, there are the obvious reasons: L.A. is L.A. A non-post up threat like Jordan has it made with Paul and Griffin, two of the best passers at their respective positions in the NBA. The Clippers are an automatic 50-win team with this trio.
And where would Jordan go? There will be no shortage of teams with cap space, but is Jordan going to leave Paul, Griffin and Rivers to be the starting center for the Boston Celtics or New York Knicks? Sign-and-trade opportunities exist, but why would he want to further handicap his new team? It’s hard to imagine Jordan leaving the Clippers — the only situation he knows, where he has competed in the playoffs, and where he might be recognized as the league’s best defensive player.
The latter point is the final piece to Rivers’ master plan. Contend loud enough for Jordan to win DPOY and he might just win. Unlike the toy gimmicks Morey sends out to the NBA media with a smile, Rivers has been shouting and demanding Jordan be recognized for his accomplishments — and you should believe him too because he’s Doc Rivers.
In this way he reminds me of Charles Barkley, a basketball legend attempting to use his stature as a shield from reality. Look, Jordan is a really, really good player, easily one of the three best players on a championship contender. But he doesn’t just get to be Defensive Player of the Year because one coach — who presides over a mediocre defense, mind you — demands it. Where is the honor in that?
