The Tribune

Sporting Mischief and Mayhem

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

NOW that the dust has settled and the smoke cleared from last week’s NBA Draft, here are some of the things I have my eye on moving forward, which will shape the NBA landscape for years to come.

BUDDY-MANIA

Buddy-mania is alive and well in the city of New Orleans.

The NOLA Pelicans bided their time and let the player coveted by them the most ‘fall’ to them at the No.6 pick.

It’s a perfect fit and could allow ‘Buddy Buckets’ to step in as a day one starter, which would most certainly put him in contention for rookie of the year.

Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry had this to say about Buddy’s arrival in New Orleans.

“He’s a really extroverted kid. I think that he doesn’t mind talking and feels confident in what he’s saying. He’s a fun personality to be around, but an extremely, extremely hard worker.”

Buddy himself seems to be enamored with the Pelicans already.

“They felt like family, the way they connected with us,” he said. “How they connected with me, [agent] Rob [Pelinka]. It just felt like one of my other teammates talking to me. When I worked out, the workouts were serious. But after the workouts, we were just joking around. So it felt like family, I felt well-connected, so I felt comfortable.

“I told Rob, ‘That’s the place I’d love to go to’. It was the perfect fit, so I’m just glad I’m here now.”

The future should be very bright for Buddy in New Orleans, once he gets “Giving that tide to Church and buying ‘Mummy’ one solid house” out of the way.

As Bahamians, our NBA future as a nation is also very bright with Hield already in the NBA and fellow Bahamian DeAndre Ayton the consensus No1 high school player in the USA scheduled to hit the league in 2018.

I see the fallout on Facebook, Bahamians jettisoning their old teams for Buddy and the Pelicans (in this scenario I condone the bandwagon jumping).

I’ve been afforded a silver lining, a rare ‘have the best of both worlds opportunity’ here however.

Hear me out: I will die a Los Angeles Laker bottom line.

I am a proud Bahamian also and seeing how I’ve been left a gaping hole in my basketball heart with the retirement of my favourite player Kobe Bryant, who better to fill that void than Kobe Bryant protege and fellow Bahamian Buddy Hield?

It’s a perfect fit for me for years to come. Speaking of perfect fit ... my official Pelicans HIELD and Lakers INGRAM jerseys should be here by Friday, so no fool out of you Express It!

I LOVE LA

I’m very impressed how Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak stood pat and stuck to his guns, not trading the second pick and selecting who I feel will be the better pro long term, Duke forward Brandon Ingram.

Here’s what to expect in LA next season and for the foreseeable future according to some NBA Draft ‘experts’.

Ingram’s high skill-level starts with his jump-shot, which was extremely reliable all season, making 41 per cent of his three-pointers on nearly 200 attempts through 36 games. He’s most dangerous with his feet set, hitting 42 per cent of his catch and shoot jumpers on the season (1.247 PPP, third best among all draft prospects behind Buddy Hield and Jamal Murray), as he has fluid and consistent mechanics, a quick release and is very intelligent about the way he moves off the ball and finds open looks.

Ingram has significant potential as a shot-creator as well, as he’s an impressive ball-handler at his size, showing terrific footwork, and big, rangy strides attacking off the dribble.

He mixes in jab-steps, shot-fakes, crossovers and hesitation moves to create space off the bounce, as the threat of his jumper means he needs to be respected at all times from the perimeter.

It helps that he is both a willing and able passer, seeing the floor well at 6ft 10in, and being highly unselfish, even to a fault at times.

As he continues to add strength, Ingram will be a significant mismatch for NBA defences as he’s simply too big for most wing players and too skilled for many power forwards in small-ball lineups.

He can rise up and hit jumpers over the top of the defence if they back off him or use a smaller wing to try and slow him down, or go to work off the dribble with a more traditional big man checking him, finishing creatively around the basket from different angles using his length. Throw new head coach Luke Walton in the mix and the future for the new Lakers’ core of DeAngelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randall and now Ingram (and second round steal, centre Ivica Zubac) could be so bright they might have to wear sunglasses at night!

I can’t wait. In fact I’m looking forward to it; alas anything would be an improvement over the last three putrid seasons in LA.

Anyway I’m off. ‘Mock Fantasy Football Drafts’ have started and I must be ready for this season. I plan on winning multiple leagues this season, including the Radio House Media League. I know some of you are ready to join right now, ... patience. More details to come in short order.

I’m on the clock it’s my pick ... RB Ezekiel Elliott Dallas!

• Naughty presents ‘Mischief and Mayhem in da AM’ from 6am to 10am, Monday to Friday and ‘The Press Box’ sports talk show on Sunday from 10am to 1pm, on KISS FM 96.1. Comments and questions to naughty@tribunemedia.net