Kemp just ate away his career in one long offseason.

[Kblaze8855]

The ’98/’99 lockout lasted from July 1, ’98, to January 20, ’99. The season was almost canceled after David Stern set a January 7th deadline – if there were no agreement by that day, he would cancel the season. It came as close as a deal sent to vote on January 6th. The players accepted, and we had a shortened 50 game season.



The season started on February 5th. Teams needed time to get all their players back together and get some practice time, and they got two weeks. This is, by the way, something to consider in the current situation. Whenever teams are allowed to get back together, they will need time to practice before any games are played.
Those two weeks were not enough for Shawn Kemp to make up for lost time. Kemp arrived at Cleveland via trade in 97′ and signed a 7-year 107 million extension. Being their highest-paid player, the fifth member of the 100 million club(after Juwan Howard, Kevin Garnett, Shaquille O’Neal andAlonzo Mourning), the Cavs were very disappointed after Kemp stepped on a scale. The Cavs listed Kemp at 280 pounds, and he reported to the team at 315. Not all players worked out every day as Karl Malone did, but 35 pounds was a bit much. One thing Kemp had going for him was honesty.




“He was really very honest about it,” former Cavs coach Mike Fratello recalled. “I said, ‘Shawn, how did this happen?’ He said, ‘Coach, I didn’t think we were coming back.’”
Mike Fratello, Cleveland.com (https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2011/10/cleveland_cavaliers_know_tryin.html)




Some players put on weight easier than others and are not as disciplined. Taking that into consideration, the Cavs were mostly frustrated with Kemp’s lack of discipline. The team had a Cleveland Clinic nutritionist develop a diet for Kemp, but he didn’t follow it. They offered to hire a personal chef for him, he refused. Their 100 million dollar superstar just wasn’t committed.
Kemp had a good statistical season, averaging 20.5 points and 9.2 rebounds, but everything that made him extraordinary wasn’t there. Another factor that made things worse was the compacted schedule. To make up for lost time, the league squeezed in 50 games in a little time. Players were exhausted, there was very little time to recover, and it reflected on their dietary habits.

“I don’t remember a season when more players ordered room service. Guys would usually go out, get a bite to eat or whatever on road trips. But we would be so tired after playing so many games guys were like ‘You know what, I’m just eating in the room.’”



Johnny Newman, Cleveland.com (https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2011/10/cleveland_cavaliers_know_tryin.html)

[Kblaze8855]

To be fair...it was a 9 month offseason....but still.

I don’t guess this will last long enough for anyone to get fat....but you just know half these guys will be at least out of basketball shape.

[Xiao Yao You]

To be fair...it was a 9 month offseason....but still.

I don’t guess this will last long enough for anyone to get fat....but you just know half these guys will be at least out of basketball shape.

my money is on Jokic

[iamgine]

Good statistical season? It was the best statistical season of his career!

[Phoenix]

Good statistical season? It was the best statistical season of his career!

In 96 he was 19.6/11.2/1.6(blocks) on 63% TS. His per36 scoring was the best of his career as he only played 33mpg. That's probably his best overall statistical season. He scored 20.2 in 99 but his efficiency dipped and he rebounding fell below 10rpg. He got those numbers in 99 on talent but he clearly wasn't the same physical force by that point.

[iamgine]

In 96 he was 19.6/11.2/1.6(blocks) on 63% TS. His per36 scoring was the best of his career as he only played 33mpg. That's probably his best overall statistical season. He scored 20.2 in 99 but his efficiency dipped and he rebounding fell below 10rpg. He got those numbers in 99 on talent but he clearly wasn't the same physical force by that point.
Had the best PER in '99. In '96 he was leading the leading the league in TO.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Didn't watch a single Cav game that year but I bet his weight had it's strongest negative effect on his defense.

[Phoenix]

Had the best PER in '99. In '96 he was leading the leading the league in TO.

I mean we can pick and choose how we want to slice it.His 96 rebounding, blocked shots, steals were higher in 2 less minutes, his scoring was relatively better based on per36 and his field goal percentage was 8 points higher, but if you want to hang your hat on PER and pick out TO to offset the other major categories he was better in, ok.

[iamgine]

I mean we can pick and choose how we want to slice it.His 96 rebounding, blocked shots, steals were higher in 2 less minutes, his scoring was relatively better based on per36 and his field goal percentage was 8 points higher, but if you want to hang your hat on PER and pick out TO to offset the other major categories he was better in, ok.

His per possession scoring is better and much better at FT. Not just 'pick out TO' but actually lead the league.

[Phoenix]

His per possession scoring is better and much better at FT. Not just 'pick out TO' but actually lead the league.

And like I said, in other raw categories he has clear edges in 96. There's also the eye test that he was a better, more dynamic player in 96 but we're just here nitpicking which stat can be used to make our respective point. I doubt the 96 Sonics get to the finals with 99 Kemp. He wasn't the same player despite 'stats'.

[Gotterdammerung]

I watched Kemp during the 90s just because he was my best friend's favorite player.

Kemp reached his peak as a player in the 1996 NBA Finals, because he was the best player on the floor for the majority of that series.

But by the time he got to the Cavaliers, he was no longer the same guy, and by 1999, a shell of the dunking fool we all knew as the Reignman. He could get his points, but a lot less effectively. And his rebounding fell off and didn't play well on defense.

In fact he was the reason why the Cavaliers sucked. In 1998, they won only 47 games, and in the lockout season, they cratered to below 0.500.

When a superstar leads his team to the toilet, he gets the lion's share of the blame.

[Smoke117]

Not really. He had a huge drug problem way before he became a fat ass. Stop making stupid ****ing threads, fukkhead. Get a new hobby with the season dead.

[Kblaze8855]

Why edit one curse word but leave same one to be censored a few words earlier? Really reeeeeally needed me to know you went with “****head”?

[iamgine]

And like I said, in other raw categories he has clear edges in 96. There's also the eye test that he was a better, more dynamic player in 96 but we're just here nitpicking which stat can be used to make our respective point. I doubt the 96 Sonics get to the finals with 99 Kemp. He wasn't the same player despite 'stats'.
No one is saying that he was the same player.

[RoseCity07]

I remeber being excited when he came to Portland but he was such a fat ass when he got here. He threw away a lot of seasons by being a lazy fat slob.

[3ball]

Kemp is the one guy that might've been the goat of this era, as a guard.

He was actually significantly under-producing as a misplaced big man, but his guard-like shape was athletic enough to handle the load..

[Phoenix]

No one is saying that he was the same player.

I didn't say anyone said it. It was just a point I chose to add to my post. The discussion (between us) is which season was statistically better and my contention is overall 96 was, for the reasons I stated. Yours is 99 for the reasons you state. We don't agree with each others position so that's pretty much the end of the discussion for my part.

[iamgine]

I didn't say anyone said it. It was just a point I chose to add to my post. The discussion (between us) is which season was statistically better and my contention is overall 96 was, for the reasons I stated. Yours is 99 for the reasons you state. We don't agree with each others position so that's pretty much the end of the discussion for my part.
So just adding a captain obvious point in the middle of a a reply. Allllrighty then.

[Phoenix]

So just adding a captain obvious point in the middle of a a reply. Allllrighty then.

There's nothing ' Captain Obvious' or out of context by adding in that Kemp was a better player in 96 than 99 despite what the stats personally tell you. It's a perfectly reasonable supplemental point to make. Actually arguing which version of him was better beyond their stat lines would actually require more thought and constructive dialogue, but my bad. I expected too much from you by taking the conversation beyond a google search of his career stat page.

[Smoke117]

Why edit one curse word but leave same one to be censored a few words earlier? Really reeeeeally needed me to know you went with “****head”?

Because it amuses me. Why are you asking anyway? You’re basically the king of non stop bullshit with out saying anything of worth, sweetheart.

[Xiao Yao You]

Kemp is the one guy that might've been the goat of this era, as a guard.

He was actually significantly under-producing as a misplaced big man, but his guard-like shape was athletic enough to handle the load..

He'd be a rim running, rim protecting 5 today

[Kblaze8855]

Because it amuses me. Why are you asking anyway? You’re basically the king of non stop bullshit with out saying anything of worth, sweetheart.


You are such a weird guy sometimes. You get on here drinking and kinda putting out a late 90s George Carlin vibe of useless anger and complaining but without the humor. Its like you dont wanna seem to care about this place...but you care a lot. Mostly just complaining about this poster or that one or this post about this or that.....while having virtually no contribution yourself. Mix it with the internet tough guy act? Really.....calling people ****heads?

Has anyone even said that word out loud in 2020? You get your breakfast and sit here online mad with the ****heads and sweethearts and all? As much as I(historically) have posted here and elsewhere you may have me beat as the most stereotypical internet forum guy here. And thats cool. I generally let people be. So I let you be. You just come wrapped in a weird package. So much of what you say seems like it would be in a meme thought bubble coming from the head of a ponytailed neckbeard in a swivel computer chair thats struggling to keep its shape after the punishment of him being in it all day.

Im not saying you actually are that. You may just be a normal guy walking around bullshitting at work like I am. But you have built the image of that kinda guy. A 99-01 George Carlin minus the humor who really let himself go. And...I really dont mind it much. Do you. You just come off that way.

Im sure I come off some kinda dickhead know it all way to you. If so I hope you at least think of an amusing way to word it. Thats really all we are here for right?

[ClipperRevival]

It was pretty funny to see Kemp balloon up like that. He obviously lacked discipline. But at his peak, at least athletically, he doesn't take a backseat to ANYONE in history. He was THAT explosive.

[Haymaker]

Forgot to factor in that Kemp started drinking and snorting coke during that offseason and it got worse from there on. It wasn't just a "food problem".

[Xiao Yao You]

Forgot to factor in that Kemp started drinking and snorting coke during that offseason and it got worse from there on. It wasn't just a "food problem".

Hard to put on weight with a coke problem

[Kblaze8855]

Apparently those issues started by at latest 1997:


Ten and a half hours before the most anticipated Seattle Sonics game of the regular season at KeyArena, Shawn Kemp sat at a private table in The Keg Steakhouse and Bar on Roosevelt Way, drinking heavily until 2 a.m., four restaurant workers have told the Post-Intelligencer.
The thrill of having a celebrity in their midst quickly turned to consternation last Saturday night as Kemp consumed nine to 10 drinks over a 3-hour, 15-minute period, mixing single shots of Crown Royal whiskey with Corona beers, employees said.
Kemp, who had been a force for the Sonics during the 1996 NBA Finals, was largely ineffective against the Chicago Bulls the following afternoon. Playing before a nationwide audience on NBC-TV, he didn’t score for the first 18 minutes.
He took only 11 shots, and his play was roundly criticized as unaggressive in the Sonics’ 91-84 defeat before a sellout crowd of 17,072.
One employee recounted how she listened to the Bulls-Sonics game on the radio and heard the commentators ask innocently at halftime, “Where’s Kemp today?”
“I felt like telling them, ‘He has a hangover,”’ she said.
Kemp, in Cleveland for the NBA All-Star Game, could not be reached for comment

[Zob Rombie]

Not really. He had a huge drug problem way before he became a fat ass. Stop making stupid ****ing threads, fukkhead. Get a new hobby with the season dead.

So much bitter and anger, lol.
Not healthy at all.

[Smoke117]

You are such a weird guy sometimes. You get on here drinking and kinda putting out a late 90s George Carlin vibe of useless anger and complaining but without the humor. Its like you dont wanna seem to care about this place...but you care a lot. Mostly just complaining about this poster or that one or this post about this or that.....while having virtually no contribution yourself. Mix it with the internet tough guy act? Really.....calling people ****heads?

Has anyone even said that word out loud in 2020? You get your breakfast and sit here online mad with the ****heads and sweethearts and all? As much as I(historically) have posted here and elsewhere you may have me beat as the most stereotypical internet forum guy here. And thats cool. I generally let people be. So I let you be. You just come wrapped in a weird package. So much of what you say seems like it would be in a meme thought bubble coming from the head of a ponytailed neckbeard in a swivel computer chair thats struggling to keep its shape after the punishment of him being in it all day.

Im not saying you actually are that. You may just be a normal guy walking around bullshitting at work like I am. But you have built the image of that kinda guy. A 99-01 George Carlin minus the humor who really let himself go. And...I really dont mind it much. Do you. You just come off that way.

Im sure I come off some kinda dickhead know it all way to you. If so I hope you at least think of an amusing way to word it. Thats really all we are here for right?

Relax, son. Did you really need to write this entire essay over nothing?

[Meticode]

I personally remember watching a few Cavs games back then when I was around 15 years old. I remember asking myself, "Why does Kemp seem so slow compared to his Sonic days? Shouldn't he be right in the middle of his prime?" I guess I know why now.

[BigShotBob]

And yet his jumper was still automatic. Crazy.

[Smoke117]

I personally remember watching a few Cavs games back then when I was around 15 years old. I remember asking myself, "Why does Kemp seem so slow compared to his Sonic days? Shouldn't he be right in the middle of his prime?" I guess I know why now.

He fell way off in 98 that first season with the Cavs. Ironically, when he was actually fat a year later he was a much better player. It was probably all the coke in 98 that made him fall off so much.

[Smoke117]

You are such a weird guy sometimes. You get on here drinking and kinda putting out a late 90s George Carlin vibe of useless anger and complaining but without the humor. Its like you dont wanna seem to care about this place...but you care a lot. Mostly just complaining about this poster or that one or this post about this or that.....while having virtually no contribution yourself. Mix it with the internet tough guy act? Really.....calling people ****heads?

Has anyone even said that word out loud in 2020? You get your breakfast and sit here online mad with the ****heads and sweethearts and all? As much as I(historically) have posted here and elsewhere you may have me beat as the most stereotypical internet forum guy here. And thats cool. I generally let people be. So I let you be. You just come wrapped in a weird package. So much of what you say seems like it would be in a meme thought bubble coming from the head of a ponytailed neckbeard in a swivel computer chair thats struggling to keep its shape after the punishment of him being in it all day.

Im not saying you actually are that. You may just be a normal guy walking around bullshitting at work like I am. But you have built the image of that kinda guy. A 99-01 George Carlin minus the humor who really let himself go. And...I really dont mind it much. Do you. You just come off that way.

Im sure I come off some kinda dickhead know it all way to you. If so I hope you at least think of an amusing way to word it. Thats really all we are here for right?

I’m a weird guy huh? You’re a ****ing narcissist who gets off seeing himself run his mouth....about nothing. You are always talking but you SAY NOTHING. Those other clowns might buy it, but I don’t. All these words you type up don’t mean anything without some goddamn sustenance.

[MrFonzworth]

I’m a weird guy huh? You’re a ****ing narcissist who gets off seeing himself run his mouth....about nothing. You are always talking but you SAY NOTHING. Those other clowns might buy it, but I don’t. All these words you type up don’t mean anything without some goddamn sustenance.

This dude told OP to relax then 4 hours later types an essay of his own:roll:

To the same post:roll:

[Smoke117]

This dude told OP to relax then 4 hours later types an essay of his own:roll:

To the same post:roll:
How is a paragraph an essay, fukkwit? You stuttering ****ing ape. Don’t open your mouth if you have nothing intelligent to say.

[MrFonzworth]

Easy there tiger

[Stanley Kobrick]

I’m a weird guy huh? You’re a ****ing narcissist who gets off seeing himself run his mouth....about nothing. You are always talking but you SAY NOTHING. Those other clowns might buy it, but I don’t. All these words you type up don’t mean anything without some goddamn sustenance.
Relax, son. Did you really need to write this entire essay over nothing?

[warriorfan]

This dude told OP to relax then 4 hours later types an essay of his own:roll:

To the same post:roll:

:roll:

So insane

[MrFonzworth]

How is a paragraph an essay, fukkwit? You stuttering ****ing ape. Don’t open your mouth if you have nothing intelligent to say.

I’m a weird guy huh? You’re a ****ing narcissist who gets off seeing himself run his mouth....about nothing. You are always talking but you SAY NOTHING. Those other clowns might buy it, but I don’t. All these words you type up don’t mean anything without some goddamn sustenance.

[nightlight]

I’m a weird guy huh? You’re a ****ing narcissist who gets off seeing himself run his mouth....about nothing. You are always talking but you SAY NOTHING. Those other clowns might buy it, but I don’t. All these words you type up don’t mean anything without some goddamn sustenance.

This post is a great reflection of who you are. A tryhard loser with a clumsy vocabulary. You are the clown jester who tried to entertain, but only produced a laugh when he scratched the itch on his ass.

[SamuraiSWISH]

I remeber being excited when he came to Portland but he was such a fat ass when he got here. He threw away a lot of seasons by being a lazy fat slob.
True, but still got dem checks doe