O’Donnell: Sunny reign in OKC, more trawling tedium for Bulls fans
THE MERRY OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER are the newest champions of the NBA.
The first round of the league's draft is Wednesday (7 p.m., ABC & ESPN).
The Bulls are as adrift as an Alaskan trawler trying to navigate the Bering Sea out of Adak Island on a frigid and foggy night.
They are going nowhere — only back to home port to chase more futility.
MOST TELLING HARBOR LIGHT is Billy Donovan. Thunder GM Sam Presti — now the NBA's reigning Executive of the Year — parted ways with Donovan in 2020.
The mutual accolades flowed but rang brittle.
Donovan had five seasons of moderate success at OKC after a Hall of Fame run at the University of Florida.
So fresh Bulls basketball ops test tubers Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley snapped him up as their recycled “name” HC.
FOR FIVE SEASONS, BULLS CLASSICISTS have continued to drift away from the franchise for assorted reasons — mid-level tedium topping the list.
That's rough, especially for Donovan, who in truth seldom makes any sort of indictable errors as bench director of the Bulls.
He long ago mastered the three key traits of a success-oriented supervisor in any profession — communication, collaboration and coordination.
BUT HIS BULLS TEAMS don't sustain winning. Plus, Karnisovas and Eversley have presented no evidence they are capable of daring and effective alterations on the fly — a critical component toward deep-June success in the current NBA.
Still, Michael Reinsdorf throws around contract extensions on West Madison Street as if he were launching Bulls T-shirts into a United Center crowd.
OKC WON IN PART BECAUSE a hungry, trusting ownership stuck with the intuitive Presti, from Seattle to Oklahoma, as he dealt away such names as James Harden, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Chris Paul.
Fresh, Presti proved, is better.
Now in Oklahoma City Tuesday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and exuberant mates got parade love to rain down on them.
In Chicago, the tedious trawler crawled toward another pedestrian position in an NBA draft.
The harbor glow is so long gone.
STREET-BEATIN':
Must reading for anyone interested in the power and influence behind sports gaming in Illinois is a fresh offering in Legal Sports Report titled “The Richest Men in Illinois and the Billion-Dollar Sports Betting Grudge.” Core of the tale is Neil Bluhm vs. FanDuel and DraftKings with Gov. JB Pritzker fading the action. It's superb reporting by Eric Ramsey. …
Not your father's sports media but frequently spit-taking hilarious: “Stat Stuffer,” a YouTube channel dedicated to feeble tries at hero ball in the NBA and WNBA. Angel Reese's self-trademarked “mebounds” is augmented by “prayups,” short-in ego flings that don't score. The humor-challenged must be reminded there is a huge distinction between cyberbullying and inbounds satire of paid-to-play sports people. …
Maria Taylor has been named lead studio host for NBC's renaissance coverage of the NBA beginning later this year. Say what you will about the former University of Georgia volleyball star, but she has never fumbled a professional broadcast opportunity. …
Vic Perrino, one of the best gigging guitarists in the region, was regaling chums with tales of his uncle Lou Clarizio Jr. — one of only six white men to ever play in the Negro Leagues. Clarizio, now 93, was a Chicago American Giant and lives in Elk Grove. Perrino plays with EVO Friday night at Docks in Wauconda and then bounces back to Midnight Rider, his killer Allman Brothers tribute band, Saturday evening at Bobby Karas' Rookies on the Rink in Geneva. …
And traveling stats man Bill Adee reports LSU not only cruised to a championship in the College World Series last weekend, their fans also blew away all competitors in the CWS Jell-O Shot Challenge with more than 45,000 consumed. Host accounting venue was Rocco's, a pizzeria kitty-corner from Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.