Shawn Kemp's strong comeback is murdered...But he still has a slight chance!

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Shawn Kemp, A MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT

By Matt Lowy
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Jul 24, 2006, 11:45

The upcoming NBA season has several potential storylines that can be described as “feel good” stories. A healthy successful season for Grant Hill with the up and coming Orlando Magic, A home playoff game in New Orleans for the Hornets, a playoff run for either Kevin Garnett or Allen Iverson. All of those stories would qualify, but one potential story which was more intriguing than the rest would be the successful comeback of six-time All Star Shawn Kemp. This story prior to Friday wasn’t a guarantee, as teams were still skeptical on the troubled 14 year veteran, but it appeared likely. After Friday morning’s arrest, it will now be a very strange surprise if the names Shawn Kemp and 2006 NBA season are in the same sentence at all.

The Seattle Times ran a story in March on a slimmer Kemp, who was now in good shape both mentally and physically, and eyeing a return to the stage where he made his name for himself. Since then, there has been the possibility of the return of the Reign Man to the NBA. In April, the Dallas Mavericks lost Keith Van Horn for the remainder of the regular season. Kemp’s name surfaced as a possible late season addition to add front court depth. A workout in Houston, where Kemp had been working out with former coach John Lucas, was scheduled to take place. The workout didn’t come to be, and Dallas ended up not adding a veteran as their injury exception was rejected by the league. Dallas is said to still have some degree of interest in Kemp. The team that has shown the most interest recently has been the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets are coached by George Karl, who coached Kemp for six seasons in Seattle. Kemp was brought in for the Nuggets free agent camp in early June, and impressed the Nuggets coaching staff. Kemp is back down to his playing weight he was at in his prime of 260, and although at the age of 36, is well rested as he has not played since the 03-04 season. The Nuggets who have an average age of 26 are in need of veteran leadership that Kemp could provide.

The thought of Kemp providing veteran leadership conflicts with the headlines that ran on the newswire Friday: “Former All-Star Kemp charged with drug possession”. Kemp was pulled over for driving un-plated, and his vehicle had odors of marijuana, and a little less than two ounces was found in Kemp’s possession. The 1st question that should be asked is if Kemp is sincere about turning his life around, and proving to the players, coaches, media, and fans that he has changed, then why is he driving a vehicle with no plates? The obvious second question is if he’s going to operate a vehicle with no license plates, why does he have dope in the vehicle, and either he or someone else was smoking it? Kemp on Sunday stated that he has not used drugs since 2004, and the vehicle had no plates as he was going to trade it in over the weekend. The drugs in the car were said to be old, and that he was unaware of them. Kemp also refutes the police report that states the inside of the vehicle had smells of burning marijuana. No matter what Kemp, his agent, and his legal team came up with for answers to these questions, the real answer is clear. Kemp hasn’t changed. He may have honestly thought he had changed, but that’s not reality. If he had changed, he would not be in the situation he is currently: a court date this coming Friday.

Now just two ounces of pot is a fairly small offense in comparison with Kemp’s past track record. In April of 2005, Kemp’s vehicle was found with 60 grams of marijuana and a gram of cocaine. These drugs were said to belong to a “friend” of Kemp. His arrest for this incident was said to have woken him up, and put things back in perspective for him. Well, the incident on Friday must mean that Kemp has become sleepy again. The question is does he even have a reason to wake himself up now?

Coach Karl may not completely write Kemp off after this incident, but Kemp wearing a Nuggets uniform next season doesn’t appear likely. The Nuggets are led by a 22 year old in Carmelo Anthony who has yet to show that he can lead this team., while two of his counterparts have led their teams to postseason success. This is also a team that features the troubled young J.R. Smith, where your second oldest statesman is Ruben Patterson, and still has Kenyon Martin on the payroll. Coach Karl has a lot of work ahead of him already, and his roster is yet to be finished. What the team needs is a steady theme of maturity to it, Kemp does not fit in that mold. If Coach Karl passes on his former protégé, Kemp does have other networking contacts that he can hope for a second chance from. If Kemp is to be signed, it will almost certainly be due to someone who knows Shawn well, and believes in him. Charlotte, where Kemp’s first head coach Bernie Bickerstaff is leading the Bobcats, is a possibility. VP of Operations Michael Jordan is the same man who brought in Charles Oakley to the Wizards to provide leadership and frontcourt depth, and knows first hand how good Kemp was/can be. In the 1996 NBA Finals, Jordan’s Bulls won in six games, but the real winner was Kemp, as he shined above the rest on the biggest stage. The Bobcats are a young team, and lack frontcourt depth, and could use a veteran to aid the effort. The Memphis Grizzlies, where head coach Mike Fratello coached Kemp in Cleveland is a possibility. The Grizzlies are another young team that are lacking depth up front. Kemp played for Mo Cheeks in Portland, and would be a fit with Cheek’s 76ers as well. Former running mate Gary Payton isn’t sure if he has enough pull that he will even be brought back to Miami, so it’s doubtful he could campaign for Kemp to join the defending champs, if he wanted to campaign in the first place. Dallas is attempting to get over the hump as a championship team, and having to worry about a 36 year old man doesn’t seem to be something that would be in their game plan. The main problem with the teams that have personnel who may believe in Kemp, is that they all host a large base of young talent. Although Kemp should be a veteran leader and mentor, his actions on Friday indicate he is still not mature enough to be accountable for that role. Veteran teams who are contenders are not going to want to add Kemp, because they don’t need the drama or bad publicity that Kemp may bring.

If time machines existed, I’m sure Kemp would change two things that occurred in the mid to late 90’s. First, Kemp would have found a way to sign a long-term contract extension that would have kept him in Seattle after the Sonics Finals appearance. Instead, Kemp got into a drama filled situation with management over Jim McIlvaine receiving a 35 million dollar deal, when Kemp felt he was the franchise, and was wanted a commitment from the front office that backed that up. Had Kemp remained a Super Sonic, his pairing with Gary Payton would have more than likely resulted in at least one more NBA Finals appearance. The second would be to not have let himself go during the NBA lockout of 1998. Kemp gained 60 pounds as the NBA missed 4+ months of the regular season, and lost the agility and the energy that was his calling card as an All-Star player. When other players were working out at their alma mater, and staying in game shape waiting for the lockout to end, Kemp was in the drive-through line at McDonalds. If not for the lockout, Kemp may have led a team back to the NBA Finals, and could be in the discussion as a Hall Of Fame power forward. For a player who was kicked off of the University of Kentucky team before he even wore a Wildcats jersey, what a story that would have been. Pre-lockout, Kemp was the “It” player in the league. He was the player who other players would pay to see. He was that good. Unfortunately for Kemp, the lockout did happen and his lack of motivation cost him the chance to be that special player. This time around, his poor decision making and substance abuse troubles have probably cost him the second chance that he has put so much work in to receive.

Kemp now joins the likes of Dennis Rodman and Jayson Williams as players who say the right things about coming back to the league to end their careers on the right note, but their actions indicate other wise. By doing this, they make themselves sideshows, and jokes to front offices around the league. As fans, we root for their return to the league. Would you rather see Brian Skinner or Keith McLeod contribute off of the bench, or former stars that we paid to see at one point in time like Kemp or Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson? You want too see these men who were great close out their careers on their own terms, not ruin their body and/or image to the point where no team would go near them with a stick. There is more to being a professional basketball player than just playing ball. It’s just sad and disappointing that veterans who were former all-stars still do not see that point. The youth of our league doesn’t get very far if they slip up, and they are starting to understand that. Regardless of their potential, their one or two slips away from the D-League. It would be nice if the veterans and the players who these young players looked up to would follow their lead and learn to understand that as well.



Too bad...I really thought he coulda' helped the Lakers last season, I'd be PISSED if I saw him in a Laker uniform this season...He really fucked himself over...

[b-PlEaSE]

Man this dude needs to come back, I'm sure one of these teams would love to have a veteran bench man who they can go to in their time of need.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Man this dude needs to come back, I'm sure one of these teams would love to have a veteran bench man who they can go to in their time of need.

Yea, but he's always getting in trouble with drugs and stuff, makes it seem like he's not that serious about his strong comeback...PeACe

[GangstaBoogy]

Fuck him. If you're stupid enough to take weed over millions of dollars, then you don't deserve it.

[The Watcher]

Fuck him. If you're stupid enough to take weed over millions of dollars, then you don't deserve it.

[MontrealCity's Most]

Dpnt he have like 8 kids?

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Dpnt he have like 8 kids?

LOL, probably more, I heard it was 9, I think I once heard 11 somewhere as well...

[Spicemuthafuc*in1]

Any team right now that would sign Kemp is CRAZY! Id probably disown the Pacers if they did that lol

[mrceo]

Dpnt he have like 8 kids?

LOL, probably more, I heard it was 9, I think I once heard 11 somewhere as well...

Yeah I heard it was like 9 kids with 7 wives or something crazy like that, you'd think after the 5th pregnancy you would use protection

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Dpnt he have like 8 kids?

LOL, probably more, I heard it was 9, I think I once heard 11 somewhere as well...

Yeah I heard it was like 9 kids with 7 wives or something crazy like that, you'd think after the 5th pregnancy you would use protection

He obviously doesn't give a fuck...Maybe he likes creating life? It just never occured to him that it was a RESPONSIBILITY.

[R-Tistic]

Dpnt he have like 8 kids?

LOL, probably more, I heard it was 9, I think I once heard 11 somewhere as well...

Yeah I heard it was like 9 kids with 7 wives or something crazy like that, you'd think after the 5th pregnancy you would use protection

He obviously doesn't give a fuck...Maybe he likes creating life? It just never occured to him that it was a RESPONSIBILITY.

Yeah that shows he got a couple of screws loose.....

But I remember hearing a story from somebody that he slept with one girl and used a condom....but I guess he let her throw the condom away.....and instead of flushing it down the toilet, she put all the semen inside of herself and made herself pregnant....and legally, that situation still doesn't mean anything, and you still have to take full responsibility for the child, including child support and all....so if that story is true, then damn that is fucked the fuck up!!!

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Dpnt he have like 8 kids?

LOL, probably more, I heard it was 9, I think I once heard 11 somewhere as well...

Yeah I heard it was like 9 kids with 7 wives or something crazy like that, you'd think after the 5th pregnancy you would use protection

He obviously doesn't give a fuck...Maybe he likes creating life? It just never occured to him that it was a RESPONSIBILITY.

Yeah that shows he got a couple of screws loose.....

But I remember hearing a story from somebody that he slept with one girl and used a condom....but I guess he let her throw the condom away.....and instead of flushing it down the toilet, she put all the semen inside of herself and made herself pregnant....and legally, that situation still doesn't mean anything, and you still have to take full responsibility for the child, including child support and all....so if that story is true, then damn that is fucked the fuck up!!!

LMFAO! I tell you about them hoes these days...