As the Raptors wallow defensively through the months of January and February, it’s become clear that the frontcourt needs a dose of Oak attitude. Oakley’s physicality, his enforcer status (and decent jump shot), provided a prescription not unlike the one needed by today’s team. He helped instill a sense of toughness in those young Raptors teams, pushing them to playoff appearances in three straight seasons before winding down his career as a journeyman. Oakley’s first stop after leaving New York in 1998 was north of the border. We know this guy too, so we’re a little biased. When the opposite side is James Dolan, who has crashed and burned one of the great franchises in professional sports, it’s hard not to pick Oakley’s story. Taking a break from the weekly challenge of finding a power forward trade target, I want to chat about the Charles Oakley incident from Wednesday (if you want my thoughts on the man of the hour, I wrote about Serge Ibaka two weeks ago). Of course, you dummy, you go with Charles Oakley. Truth is, you don’t have a whole lot of information to base your decision off of. Now, you’re put in a situation where there was a fracas, and you have to choose between these two guys. You didn’t know this guy then, and you sure don’t want him close to you now. For some reason, they still keep him around. He got a cushy executive job at a middle-management company, but he’s sent it into ruin. He gets cold feet when all the poker chips are down. He’s good at petty statuses and posting selfies from his grainy Android camera. He was your rock, and even if he’s working some plumbing gig today and you guys don’t talk anymore, you still think of him fondly. He helped introduce you to your first girlfriend. He stood up for you when people put old food in your locker. He had a beard when you couldn’t even get peach fuzz. The first guy was your dude back in the day. You’re all grown up now, but you see each other on Facebook or whatever. So you’ve got two guys you used to know from high school.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |