I'm pointing at you because I don't respect you

Here's a clip of the infamous "Lister Blister" that I alluded to in #17 of my previous extra-extra-large basketball post. Credit is due to my homie Alex for finding it, as well as for sparking off a debate between he and myself over whether Shawn Kemp can make it back to the league. Now, I'm a huge Kemp fan, and only make cracks about him (pun intended) out of love and admiration of his legend.

However, it's also out of this love and admiration that I don't want to see him in the league anymore. All good things must come to an end -- it's an undeniable truth that we all must deal with. Kemp might have lost a good amount of weight (or so he says), but he's been out of the league for 2+ years and has got to be on the deep end of his 30s. The Mavericks had actually been in close contact with Kemp recently after appealing to the NBA to be able to sign an extra 16th player (rosters are limited to 15) due to having 4 players injured, but when the league denied their appeal, so too did they deny Kemp his chance. I believe that the buzz will die down about Kemp wanting to come back before the start of next season, when he'll only be a year older and rustier.

Furthermore, if Kemp had really wanted to come back, why publicize it so much? Contact teams, not newspapers. If the comeback fails to happen (and all signs point to that being the case), you'll only end up more disappointed. I remember former Slam Dunk champ Isaiah Rider publicizing his desire to return to the league, crying his eyes out to John Thompson on TNT about how he had matured and put his troubled past behind -- he never did make it back to the league, and then this happened (and leave it to ESPN to outline all of his past crimes just for good measure).

So, while I applaud Kemp for his effort, I, much like the rest of the league, seem to agree that it's too little, too late. But I don't think he should be too disappointed -- losing a lot of his weight at least means that he'll live longer.