On Kneeling, The Flag, and BLM

I realize I'm probably not going to change any minds with this post. I'm not even really sure why I'm writing it, given that knowledge. But, I've seen the same stupid arguments in regards to NFL players kneeling/sitting/stretching, anything but standing, during the anthem before their football games. I'd like to try to explain what's happening using analogies or metaphors (I was never good at figuring out which one was which - I know one uses 'like' or 'as' to compare, but I never remember which one), because I think that makes things easier. Now, if I'm way off-base here, which I very well might be given the fact that I'm as white as you can be, please fill me in on how I am off-base. Seriously, though. Think of all the white stereotypes and you have me: unathletic, owns cargo shorts, privileged, the list goes on.

Okay, first, we're going to start with Black Lives Matter, because people still are saying, "No, ALL lives matter!" Okay, buddy. Yes, all lives matter, but black people are the ones being shown their lives don't matter. You know what happened in Houston with Hurricane Harvey (and a lot of cities in Florida and literally all of Puerto Rico thanks to Hurricane Irma, but for simplicity's sake, we're going to focus on Houston, here)? Pretty awful, right? Lots of people donated time and money to help out, and those that couldn't maybe prayed for Houston, which is great! Saying "All lives matter!" would be like saying, "I'm not going to pray for Houston because ALL cities matter." Doesn't that sound stupid? Like, yeah, all cities matter, but which one needs help right now? The ironic thing about saying all lives matter is that it's the argument to black lives matter. Like, you're actually not including black lives in "all lives." "What about blue lives?" First of all, people aren't blue, but that's pretty nit-picky on my part. Second of all, these ideas don't go hand in hand here. You can truly grieve all of the police officers who lose their lives in the line of duty and still be upset that some officers are racists and not very good at their jobs, and want that to get better. It's not a "love all of 'em or hate all of 'em" kind of deal. Another way of looking at "Black lives matter," is by imagining a ", too," at the end of it, so it reads, "Black lives matter, too." Nowhere do they say "Only black lives matter." I think it's funny that liberals get labeled as "snowflakes" but...nah, I better not.

Okay, now to the kneeling. I've got a couple metagies (that's a combo word comprised of 'metaphor' and 'analogy' in case you were wondering. Yes, I made it up. There's a red line under it right now) for this one. Let's do a football one! You've got your favorite team, right, and let's say they're actually pretty good. They had a good season, going...let's say 10-6. Or maybe they won the division, let's give 'em 11 wins. 11-5. That's a good year! You won the division, made the playoffs! Nice work! But, uh-oh, your team lost in the divisional round. You say, "Man, I love this team! I will always root for this team! But if they could just upgrade at wide receiver, that'd put them over the top! They could win the Super Bowl!" That's a logical statement. Your team has crappy wide receivers and an upgrade would make the team so much better! But then all the other fans of your team say, "No! This team is the greatest team in the league! It's fine the way it is! IF YOU DON'T LIKE THIS TEAM, THEN YOU CAN FIND A NEW TEAM TO ROOT FOR!" Whoa. Wait a minute, that's aggressive. You just want the team to realize it's full potential, right? You love the team, it's a great team, but you know it can be even better, right? You don't hate the team, you're not disrespecting the team, you're just trying to make it better. That's like the players kneeling during the anthem! They don't hate America, or the troops, or the flag. They hate racial inequality. The kneeling was actually a compromise up from sitting to show deference to the troops! Whoa - curveball, right?! Sorry, I'm mixing my sports metagies.

Okay, let's do a parenting one next. This one's a lot shorter and less detailed. You've got a kid. Your kid does something you don't like - something really naughty. Poops on the floor, maybe, or kicks you in the shins. Let's say poops on the floor because that one's funnier. It's a chronic problem. Your kid just keeps pooping on the floor and you don't like it. Are you going to get rid of your kid? What?! Of course not! That's ridiculous! You're going to teach your kid to poop in the toilet!

This one might be more difficult to understand so I'll lay it out for ya:
Your kid = America
You = minority NFL player
Your kid pooping on the floor = police brutality towards minorities and other inequalities
The suggestion to get rid of your kid = The suggestion to live somewhere else
Teaching your kid where to poop = Raising awareness to police brutality and other inequalities

Now to just explain a few things about the protests. First of all, the suggestion that these players are selfish babies, or ungrateful, is probably the dumbest take you can have on this whole situation. The protest isn't about the players. They realize they're getting paid millions to play a game and that can't happen anywhere else except America. Unless they wanted to play a different game, then it could happen in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia...pretty much any where else. The protest is about inequality as a whole, not necessarily towards these players, but to other minorities in the country. And how is Colin Kaepernick selfish? Is he making money off of this? No! This is selfless, not selfish. He lost his job because of this (yeah, I know he opted out of his contract, but SF 49ers GM, John Lynch, has said that Kaepernick would've been cut if he hadn't opted out, AND he still doesn't have a job because of his protesting - don't tell me it's because he's terrible because there's no way you can make a case for each of the 64 rostered quarterbacks in the NFL).
Secondly, it's not an anti-troops, anti-America, anti-police, or even an anti-flag protest. It's an anti-inequality protest. Or just an inequality protest, I'm not sure the correct way to say it...they're protesting because there's inequality. They are against inequality. Again, it's not about them, so don't say, "INEQUALITY?! They get paid millions to play a game!" They'd like to make the country better than it currently is! How is that bad?! You know who else wants to make the country better than it currently is? Donald Trump does, and he doesn't even think it's great right now! He'd like to make it great again, as in, it's not right now. And may I say, he's doing a fine job of that so far. Great work, Mr. President... On that note, how come 45 can say America is not great and be applauded for it, but when NFL players say it's not great, they are "Sons of bitches," and should leave the country? Is it...is it because they're black? Would them leaving the country make America great again? I bet 45 thinks so.

Okay, sorry, I got a little sidetracked there. Now, here's some facts about respecting the flag!
According to the US Flag Code (yes, that's a real thing) Chapter 10, "the flag should never be carried flat or horizontally" like it is during the anthem of many football games. Kneeling during that seems patriotic, then, since they're not acknowledging the disrespected flag. Also in Chapter 10 - which is all about respecting the flag - "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery," and "The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever." Also, "No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform." What you will not find in regards to respect for the flag in the US Flag Code is standing/kneeling/sitting. That is considered a conduct violation, but not disrespectful. the US Flag Code states that you should stand, but you don't have to. So, IF YOU'RE MAD ABOUT DISRESPECTING THE FLAG, FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO BE MAD AT - THESE PLAYERS ARE NOT DISRESPECTING THE FLAG. 

One last thing (I think). "My relatives died for that flag!" Um, were they playing capture the flag? Is this Halo? No, they didn't die for the flag. They didn't even fight for the flag. They fought for the freedoms and rights of the country that flag represents. Or maybe they fought to protect loved ones, instead. I hope it's for one of those reasons, anyway. Here's a hot take for ya: those that are kneeling are actually extremely patriotic because they are exercising these rights in an attempt to make America a better place for black people, too.

Why Wolves Fans Don't Need to Stress the Draft

As you may know, the NBA draft is set to take place tomorrow night. Though, with all of the trades and speculation that have taken place this week, one might think that, instead, tomorrow is the trade deadline. Nope. Sources are saying it is, in fact, the draft.

I have a lot of thoughts about the draft. I mean, a lot. I was thinking about running through various scenarios for your future-NBA-champion Minnesota Timberwolves, but I've thought up a lot of scenarios and I think I'd still be writing this by the time the draft is over. I'm not sure how to compose this, so I think I'm just gonna go for it and see what happens. Before I dive on in, though, it should be noted that I'm not going to be speculating on who the Wolves will draft (or trade) based on any inside information. I do not have "sources," outside of Twitter, which, let's be honest, doesn't really count.

First, here's why there's no need for us Wolves faithful to worry: I think, if they keep the pick (which is far from guaranteed), the worst realistic scenario is that they take Lauri Markkanen. Now, to be clear, this isn't a great scenario by any means, and is the worst case scenario for good reason. However, what's the one thing the Wolves need? Er, defense, yeah, but what's the other one thing the Wolves need? Okay, yeah, probably a proven veteran player to provide leadership and also quality minutes. What's the other, other one thing the Wolves need? Shooting! Yes! And what's the one thing Markkanen can do? Yes - shoot! That one was much easier. He does fill a need, but in the draft, sometimes drafting for a need is a dangerous game. Markkanen, I think, has a floor of Andrea Bargnani, which is a pretty low floor, for sure. I think a more accurate comparison, though, is kind of a Channing Frye/Ryan Anderson type guy who's tall and knocks down threes and doesn't do much else, which is pretty "meh," but I'd take a guy like that coming off the bench. Unfortunately, I think this is the most likely scenario for the Wolves, but again, it's not a terrible worst-case scenario as far as worst-case scenarios go.

A much better and only slightly less likely scenario that also fills the need of a shooter would be Malik Monk. Monk would be a little redundant with Zach LaVine on the roster, but he definitely would help with bench scoring. I wouldn't count on him to carry the load off the bench as a rookie, but when the Wolves are ready to contend in a few years, he'd be a great piece who would at least keep the Wolves in games while the starters rest. Monk can score with ease and, I think, much like former Kentucky great/current Timberwolves great, Karl-Anthony Towns, was fitting into a role at Kentucky rather than being able to "be himself." This is scenario 1a. for me; I would be ecstatic with Monk

Scenario 1, of course, is Jonathan Isaac. Isaac is a raw prospect, but would still be able to contribute a bit as a rookie. He's a defensive-minded big who can shoot threes, which sounds fantastic to me. Isaac to the Wolves would be a perfect match, as he would provide much needed support for the defense, as well as being able to help out with the shooting issues, though I don't think I'd exactly call him a sharpshooter. For Isaac, Minnesota would be a great landing spot because he would not need to take on a large role right away, and even when he was ready to take on a large(r) role, he would be the secondary big man on the team.

Now, this is all provided they keep the pick. If they don't keep the pick, the worst-case scenario would be trading it for a turd, like former Laker great, Sasha Vujacic (how long has Vujacic been out of the league? That's how long the NBA has been great). Of course, the best-case scenario would be packaging it to get Kristaps Porzingis. Another, more realistic option, of course, would be to trade down. Trading up, technically, is also an option, but I really don't anticipate that happening. If the Wolves were to trade down, I think a great target would be OG Anunoby, an even more defensive-minded big than Isaac, minus all the offensive skills. According to wikipedia, OG has an eight-freaking-foot wingspan, which is just...Jesus...eight feet, huh? I'm not sure how accurate that is, but I'd take him just because he might have something close to an eight foot wingspan. Another trade-down target could be Gonzaga big man, Zach Collins. That'd be...okay. I wouldn't get excited about it, and, actually, would be a little disappointed. Collins is kind of a jack-of-all trades, master of none type of big guy. He'd be a safe pick and a solid rotational big, which, like Markkanen, is definitely not a terrible option. I would prefer Collins to Markkanen, just for the record.

I'm not even going to throw out any trades that the Wolves might make, because my only NBA trading experience is on 2k, and I can hardly throw together a trade that's accepted on there. I will say that Ricky Rubio is my favorite player, and I'd hate to see him go. But, if he were to be part of a package that would net Jimmy Butler or, dare I say, Kristaps Porzingis, and then the Wolves go ahead and sign a Jeff Teague/George Hill/Jrue Holiday (though maybe not Jrue because if he gets injured one more time he'll get put down; I'm pretty sure that's how that works), as they are rumored to be exploring, well, I think I just might be fine with that. However, I really don't think the Wolves will be adding a star.

Whatever happens, even if it's taking Markkanen or trading Rubio for not-Butler or not-Porzingis, we'll still have free agency to look forward to, as this is going to be the most pivotal off-season in franchise history. But, hey, no pressure.