By Rembert Browne at
Linda Cataffo/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
Yesterday, as teams began to prepare either for the postseason or a summer full of Yelping "fun things to do in Charlotte," two monster acquisitions took place, shaking the foundation of the National Basketball Association.
• The San Antonio Spurs signed Tracy McGrady for the remainder of the season.
• The New York Knicks signed Quentin Richardson for the remainder of the season.
If "monster" and "shaking the foundation" seem like reaches, it means you are wearing your "basketball abilities" hat.
Take it off. Burn it.
Humans with laptops and websites will try to convince you one of these players will be the missing puzzle piece who takes his new team from a conference finalist to a championship contender.
These same humans may use words such as "veteran" and "moxie" and "old-man strength."
Ignore all of that.
The only reason that you, fan of things, should be excited that two teams have made these 25th-hour acquisitions is because both men are easily forgettable cultural icons of days gone by, and, for a limited time only, are back in some form of limelight.
We must cherish this time we have with them. As we do that, let us not forget the gifts they have given us, for said gifts are plentiful and hilarious.
Publicly, this Web site prides itself in being an intersection of sports and pop culture. Behind closed doors, though, the real goal has always been to eventually establish itself as the Web site people think of for stories concerning the intersection of leisurely jogging and financial investing.
Today, those privately acknowledged dreams finally come true.
I'm looking forward to being a regular contributor for Grantland, where I will share my experiences as I navigate through life, the world of sports, L.A., pop culture, travel and whatever else should surface. To get you up to speed on what I have been up to since last season, I thought I'd give you a recap of what my summer has consisted of, and share my state of mind heading into an unknown territory for me as the NBA lockout continues.
When the NBA season ended in the spring, I looked ahead to summer and saw a possible NBA lockout, and the prospect of a very large void. By July 1, the summer was half over, the lockout had just begun, and the void was more eminent than ever. Last week, Billy Hunter (executive director of the National Basketball Players Association) announced that we should expect the lockout to delay the start of the season; unfortunately it wasn’t news to me, other NBA players, or even NBA fans. Nevertheless, it was and still is, a daunting prospect. Beyond suggesting that we all save our money, Billy told us to prepare for the lockout to last deep into the fall. While I and other players try to heed his advice, and we’d like to see things head in the right direction soon, the lockout has also granted me the opportunity to indulge myself and try different experiences that may not have been possible in a regular offseason. Instead of seeing the time off as just a void, I decided to change my viewpoint to see it as an opportunity that had been handed to me. I thought about how I could make the best out of the situation.
