NBA Comments

I cannot believe that those running the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz have taken leave of their senses and traded their franchise player, star point guard Deron Williams away to the New Jersey Nets, especially when the team is desperately fighting for a final eighth place playoff spot in the Western Conference against several other teams. Williams was the one reason I ever rooted for Utah, so that franchise can kiss my allegiance goodbye. And perhaps that's just as well...any state where the majority population regards drinking coffee as sinful behavior, well...

Besides, I have traditionally been a Phoenix Suns fan, also because of their star point guard, in this case Steve Nash. Yes, Phoenix does lie in Arizona, another state with, in my opinion, serious attitude problems. So you can bet that if Nash, who has loudly expressed his vehement opposition to Arizona's recent reactionary anti-Latino politics, ever leaves that franchise it will also go the way of the Jazz into my "non-support" category. But for now, Nash is still there and, thanks to Utah's incredible throwaway of Williams, the Suns have climbed ahead of the Jazz in the standings to be only one spot away from a playoff position.

With Deron Williams now with the Nets, I am now a New Jersey fan. That's the way I generally am with basketball: I tend to follow players and THEN the teams they play for. That's why I won't root for the Miami Heat (with quitter Lebron James) but instead tend to support the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs with their retinues of talented and gutsy team-oriented players.