“Welcome to LA, Delmar.”greepleairport wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 5:36 pm With the 1st overall pick, the Lakers select SF Delmar Canaday out of Butler (Please rename Delmar Lopez)
“Happy to be here, coach greeple!”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Why wouldn’t I be happy?”
“Well, we haven’t had a winning record in the last six years, never made it out of the 1st round of the playoffs when we were a ‘winning’ team, and haven’t won a ‘ship in over 25 years.”
“I know.”
“And you’re still happy about it?”
“Coach, it’s LA’s time. I’m about to make it LA’s time.”
“I sure hope so.”
“Me, Cobb and Leiker are about to tear it up!”
“Then let’s get to work. You might even get some playing time if you play as strongly as your attitude.”
“Give me the minutes and we’ll make it happen. Sooner than you think!”
“You’re alright, Delmar. See you at practice.”
1/13/2031, mid-game against the Mavericks...
“Dang, coach! Aghhh I was having a great game, too! I shot perfect!”
“Calm down now son, it happens to the best of us. We’ll get this diagnosed and see how bad it really is. We’ll get you on the floor in no time.”
“Our season is turning around and now this. Aghh!”
“Del, it’s okay. Just hang tight. We’re going to win this one for you, okay? JR Johnson is one of the all-time greats here. He’s got your back. We’re not losing this one. Go rest up, okay? Go easy on yourself.”
“Okay coach...okay. Hey coach!”
“Yeah?”
“I ain’t goin’ down like this again. Mark my words.”
“You can’t predict th-”
“COACH. If I can, I’m playing through it. You can’t stop me. Watch, I’ll prove it!”
“Alright Delmar, now head on back to the locker room and get taken care of. We’ll see you in practice when you’re back on your feet.”
“Better than ever!”
“Ha, okay Delmar.”
Delmar was not injured again for the next 10 years.
6/3/2033, following gm 5 of the finals...
“Great job, team!” Greeple yelled. “We did the unimaginable. We took RJ Barrett, Bjorn Ironside, Ernest Long and all of Soundwave’s Raptors into Game 6!”
The team cheered, hollered.
“We might get yet another upset. You never know. But everyone stop for a second and give it up for Delmar!”
“Great game, Del. Thanks for having my back - I was off tonight,” Ernie Acuna said.
“No sweat man, you had my back all year! You’re why we’re here!”
“You, Bulter and Leiker got bright careers ahead, you know that, right? Great game tonight,” Joe Sherrill said. “Player of the Game!”
“Ha, my first finals Player of the Game, but not my last. We got two more games to win now - let’s go!”
Lakers lost to the Raptors 4-2 two nights later.
7/18/2036, first day of Free Agency
“Yo…”
“Hey Delmar,” Bryce Dejean-Jones said.
“What’s up Del?!” Len Bias said.
“We’re a team now?”
“I guess so,” BDJ said.
“Wow… I mean, BDJ, you messed me up a couple years ago! Scary playing against you, man.”
“I remember that - twice!”
“That’s right, twice. First with the Kings, then with the Clips. And now you’re with us.”
“For now, anyway. But it seems like teams call me in when they’re ready to win a ‘ship so let’s see if that’s still true.”
“I’m ready for a ‘ship,” Bias said. “I’m tired of being on the Jazz. So ready for a fresh start on a team that actually cares about getting better and winning!”
“We aren’t going anywhere without a front court though,” BDJ said, like he already knew his future before it was written.
“Yeah, well, we’ll grow together. We got all season.”
“You should definitely be glad I’m here,” Bias said. “You haven’t had the right counterpart since Leiker left.”
“Dont get me started on Leiker getting traded,” Delmar said. “But it’s in the past. We’re the future riding all the way to a championship or three now that we’re all here. Let’s go!”
Two 1st round exits from the playoffs followed.
4/23/2039, playoff pregame warm ups, Gm 1 Rd 1 against the Sixers...
“It feels different this year,” Delmar said. “It feels right, like everything is falling into place.”
“We got our pieces lined up!” Bias said. “We’re solid everywhere and our bench has depth now, too. Nobody’s about to stop us.”
“Pacers could do it.”
“I’m more worried about the Bucks.”
“Yeah, if De’Aaron Fox doesn’t break his leg at the 11th hour.”
Bias laughed.
“Okay, so let’s say we make it past the Bucks,” Delmar said, “the Pacers, then what? Who do we see coming out of Omega to challenge us? It’s like, if we make it past ourselves, past Johnson, past Alpha, we’re good, right? Would be true last year, right?”
“Ahh, don’t do the Pelicans like that Del. They were favorites.”
“Okay fine. Teams with two big stars are a tough out for anyone, but what are we? We’re the Delmar Bias Connection! We should be striking fear in hearts across all of PBSL. We’re solid.”
“True.”
“We got Todd.”
“Yeah…”
“We got Burnham.”
“Who’s looking better than ever I must say. That guy is about to get paaaaid this offseason Del!”
“Think I don’t know that? When we get the title, he’s getting re-signed, I’m-”
“You REALLY ‘bout to get paid, Delmar.”
“I’m getting paid like you ain’t never seen! I’ll be able to buy all the rings - I won’t need to win any! Ha!”
“You laugh now, Del...”
“Yeah, but come on Len. If not this year then next. But probably both to be honest. We’re the 2038 Los Angeles Lakers, not the 2018 Lakers! And once we got two rings, it’s your turn to get paid, Len.”
“Oh I’m not unhappy, Delmar, believe it!”
“Yeah, forget all that Curse of ‘94 crap from last year, man. We lost. It happens, but it ain’t happening now. Let’s go show Philly how we do!”
Lakers lost to the 76ers 4-2.
5/19/2040, locker room after game 4 against the Sixers, conference finals. Sixers up 3-1...
“Again. It’s… Is this really happening again?” Bias asked.
“It might be,” greeple said.
“It won’t be. It can’t be.” Delmar said. “Coach- put me back at the 4. I’m best there. I’m most comfortable there. They can’t beat us if I’m there!”
“Okay Delmar, you got it. Back at the 4. Gosh though, our front court is just outsized, I-”
“I got the step on Jarvis though. I got the step on Wiseman, too.”
“We ain’t stepping out of LA again this year if Wiseman puts up another 47 like that,” Bias said.
“Guys, guys… look. It’s our time! We’ve come back from 3-1. Del, remember when we were down 3-0 to the Raps back in ‘33?”
“We stole two.”
“Right. Not one but two, back to back.”
“Yeah...”
“The Raps were clearly the better team and we came back! So I don’t see why we can’t do that to Philly. I think we’re the better team. I know we’re the better team. We lost Burnham but so what? We gained Sabo. Glen has put up powerful numbers for us, and afforded us the opportunity to get a punch off the bench from Todd.”
“Yeah…”
“What’s wrong Del?”
“Coach… I don’t know. I just don’t know. What if we don’t?”
“I’m not worried about that. Are you?”
“I… I guess not. But coach-”
“Delmar, we’re going to win! We’re winning game 5, 6 and 7 and taking home your first ring.”
“But what if we don’t. Where do we go from there?”
“I can’t tell you Delmar. I don’t know. That’s the existential question I’ll worry about when it doesn’t come, because we’ll have won it all already and started prep for a repeat ‘ship.”
“Yeah...”
“These next three games are too important to lose. Guys, everyone!” Greeple stood and turned to the team. “I’m sad too, okay? This is my worst nightmare realized. I see it in all of you too. We can’t change these last three losses...But these last three losses can motivate us to get the next three W’s, okay?”
“Yeah,” the team murmured.
“Okay then, let’s see a brighter day tomorrow when we get back to LA. Let's go!”
The team circled up. Delmar grabbed a towel and walked off slowly to the shower by himself.
5/23/2041, flying back to LA…
“I didn’t do it coach. We lost. I lost,” Delmar said.
“We lost, yes, but not because of you. Blame is all mine,” greeple replied.
“Naw it ain’t! You drafted me to do one thing - win LA a ‘ship for the first time since 2004, almost 40 dang years - and I let you down. I let the city down! The city that made me who I am today.”
“I don’t see it like that.”
“I mean, how old is Jason Kidd now anyway? Our last finals MVP here in LA. Man could be cruising with a walker or in a wheelchair it’s been so long since he lit up the Staples Center with Kevin Garnett…”
“Yeah…”
“I thought Bias and I could do it back in ‘37.”
“Yeah,” greeple replied, sadder.
“I KNEW we could do it last year with Sabo and Todd blasting away in the front court.”
Greeple, silent.
“And this year…”
“I know, Del. I know.”
Greeple and Delmar sat still. They’ve shared longer flights than OKC to LA, but this one felt longer. The longest.
“So what next, coach? Where do we go from here?”
“I’m not sure that’s a question I can answer. That question is for you alone.”
“I thought you might say that. Dang…”
“It doesn’t bring me pleasure to talk about it. Believe that. But honestly, for everywhere we’ve traveled, haven’t you considered what it would be like to stay there? Anywhere other than LA?”
“I love LA, coach.”
“Ehh… it has its appeal. LA will always be here. You can always come back. You are an absolute legend here, Del! You can come back on any other team, sweep us, and still hear roars from the stands. MVP chants. You’ll be loved anywhere you go, but know you’ll be loved no matter what in LA. Forever.”
“I do miss the midwest sometimes…”
“There’s a team right up the road from Monmouth, IL ya know…”
“Yeah but Chicago ain’t the midwest. Chicago’s Chicago. It’s its own thing.”
“What about Milwaukee?”
“They ain’t ready for me, greeps, come on now.”
“...OKC?”
“Yo, how could you? We just left!”
“I said I don’t like talking about it, but this isn’t about me. It’s about you, now. You’ve given LA everything and we can’t even get you a ring in return! And it’s really the only thing you’re missing. A ring and that final MVP: the finals MVP.”
“The finals MVP...”
“We haven’t even gotten you to the finals since Leiker left-”
“Yeah can we talk about that? You let Leiker go. Me and that dude had it-”
“I f***** up Del. I made the wrong call.”
“You never said that to me before.”
“Because I couldn’t admit it to myself. Look. You’re one of the best this league has ever seen and you should get all the accolades that come with that. You’re this generation’s Jason Kidd, Anthony Davis, Boban, BDJ, De’Aaron Fox, Quintin Kidd… these years don’t last forever. You’ve only got a few years left until the next Delmar comes along who looked up to you and what you did in your prime. You have to do it all.”
“What if I went to Philadelphia?” Delmar laughed.
Greeple smirked, “You’re joking, but why not? Can you imagine playing alongside Wiseman? Back together with Burnham? Del, it’s not a bad-”
“Yandell? What if I played with Yandell? You know we’d win.”
“We thought you’d win with Pearman.”
“Yeah but-”
“Pearman didn’t-”
“Pearman just-”
Greeple waved his hand, cutting them both off. “Pearman was mismanaged for his entire career. It’s not his fault. He learned more this year with you and Bias in LA than he did all his years in Phoenix. Just you wait - he’ll be better next year.”
“Well if that’s true, why don’t I just stay put?”
“Del-”
“Greep.”
Greeple sighed.
“If I could play with anyone though it’d have to be Lu Dort.”
“Wow, yeah, you’re not kidding.”
“Maybe we don’t win right away, but that kid is exploding. He’s taking over. I’d love to be there for it.”
“Portland is a great town, Delmar. Lots of great sights there. It’s quieter.”
“Less traffic.”
“That matters, Del. Quality-of-life change. LA is fun, busy, glitzy, good weather year round, but that’s why everyone is there and sometimes it’s just too much.”
“I like Portland.”
“I like Portland, too, especially for you.”
“Yeah… the new GM up there seems cool. AJ, right?”
“AJ seems great from what I can tell. Reminds me of me a little bit, and you liked playing for me so…”
“It’s been a good ride. Maybe it’s over.”
“It’s okay if it is. Paths cross and then move different directions and that’s just-”
“But I really want to know where my path is headed.”
“So let’s talk about it!”
“Okay so I like Portland.”
“Portland’s one, okay, what else?”
“I don’t care for the weather in Chicago-”
“Me neither.”
“...but I would definitely win a championship there.”
“They run a tight ship. They feast on W’s there like they’re going hungry.”
“I like warmth though.”
“New Orleans?”
“New Orleans could be nice.”
“Miami?”
“The parties would be better than the basketball there. I should probably steer clear and keep Miami as a vacation spot.”
“San Antonio?”
“I like San Antonio.”
“Great bbq, great queso, great tacos...”
“Yeah, maybe not San Antonio? I’ll get fat.”
“So that takes Houston off the table, too?”
“I don’t know. I mean, realistically, I’ll take San Antonio over Houston, but as a team it seems like Houston could use a boost from a guy like me. Change the atmosphere there.”
“Justin [Todd] wasn’t unhappy there.”
“Yeah, I know. I can’t write off Texas I guess, but I will have to watch my weight.”
“Ya know, Chicago is warm in the summer. Very warm. You’ll be sweating in gyms and arenas all winter anyway. Enjoy the hot summer on Lake Michigan during your offseason.”
“I could say the same for Milwaukee or Minnesota, which-”
“Yeah. Minnesota…Del, you could definitely tear things up in Minnesota. They’ve got a solid foundation there, the top if not number 1 center Mitchell Robinson flanking you… Del, think about it.”
“I will coach. Coach?”
“Yeah.”
“When I signed here 10 years ago, it was the best day of my life.”
“I didn’t know it yet, but it was the best day of my life, too.”
“I don’t want to leave LA.”
“I know.”
“I’m thinking I have to leave LA, though.”
“I know.”
“And it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
“I’ll be sad. Definitely sad. But happy for you. You deserve the best career this league can offer you.”
“Thanks greeple.”
Weeks later…
“Delmar! You’re packed up!”
“Indeed I am, greeple. It’s time.”
“Doesn’t have to be.”
“But it is. All I have to do now is go.”
“And thus the more than a hundred million dollar question: Where you going, Delmar? Where to?”
“Where to indeed… I’m going to say Hi to my mom in Monmouth today. She’ll help me figure this all out. But greeps?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for everything. I’ll miss you and LA.”
“We’ll miss you too. Good luck wherever you land.”
“Goodbye, greeple.”
“Goodbye, Delmar.”
Get your Delmar bids in now, folks. He’s already left LA, and he’s ready to bring your team a trophy.
