Luka did what?
So, for many, many years I have said that the Hawks trading Trae Young for Luka Dončić was going to define the franchise for a decade.
And it's a position that at times has made me a social media target from the lovers of Trae and bad hair everywhere.
But buckets of buckets and reams of rebounds, Luka is the truth.
Forget for a second that Trae Young is decidedly and emphatically proving that he would be a wonderful Robin on a legit NBA championship contender. He's a compiler in a modern-day NBA that turns stats into stars. Nevermind the reports of Young lacking in the leadership leanings in the locker room. Or the fact that he's a defensive liability.
Forget all of that, because this morning, the story is Luka Dončić, who recorded the first 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double in NBA history last night. Only James Harden has a 60-point triple-double performance. Only Wilt and the Big O have triple-doubles with 50-plus points and 20-plus rebounds. The NBA's last 60-20 game was by Shaq in 2000.
But no one has gone 60-20-10 at this level since Naismith hung the peach baskets and Spy was there covering that first scrimmage in Springfield.
Think about that for a second. Doing something that has never been done before in the NBA.
And he did it in a game that Dallas needed every point, board and assist as the Mavs rallied from down nine in the final minute to force OT in a stunning 126-121 win over New York.
How amazing is that?
And now consider this amazing statement: We are in a modern NBA in which the two best and most dominant players in the league are foreign-born white guys with Luka and Nikola Jokic.
JJ did Watt?
So as Luka was lighting up the sports world last night, news came through social media that JJ Watt is going to retire at the end of this season.
Maybe it's because Watt played his 12 years in Houston and Arizona for teams that were a playoff after-thought most seasons.
Maybe it's because of recent injuries or the reemphasized attention on offensive players in the fantasy/player prop age.
But in a lot of ways, Watt's all-time greatness is under-reported.
Watt is one of three dudes to win NFL defensive player of the year three times, joining Lawrence Taylor and Aaron Donald.
He's one of two players in the Super Bowl era with at least multiple receiving TDs and interception returns for scores. The other is some dude named Deion.
Those are impressive lists, and add in his career numbers -- 111.5 sacks in 149 games -- and Watt went from former Wisconsin walk-on tight end to one of the best to ever put on a helmet.
Braves way
Let's have a fill-in-the-blank Wednesday: Your Atlanta Braves are the best organization in baseball at (blank).
There are several options.
"Fleecing Smyrna (and Cobb County) for arguably the best team-stadium deal in the MLB" works.
So does "breaking fans hearts by letting the faces of the franchise leave in recent years."
As does "making the most of homegrown stars -- in the Atlanta system and the Oakland A's system."
Which leads us to my original thought of "locking up current stars on long-term, team-friendly deals."
Because the last two were in full effect with Tuesday's news that the Braves inked newly acquired catcher Sean Murphy to a six-year, $73-million extension.
That gives the Braves multiple-year security with potential all-stars position players at catcher, first, second, third, right field and center.
The strategery of Alex Athopoulos and Co. of signing the Murphys, Olsons, Rileys, Albies, Acuñas, et al., is clear. And smart.
But the reality must also be acknowledged considering the math.
Money and team-friendly terms are the only things that matter, and the poppycock of long-term deals that take players into their mid- and late-30s is a convenient talking point.
Murphy is 28, and is only worth $12-plus-million a year playing in the field. His bat is mediocre but defensively, he's one of the best at a position that is going to only increase in value with the new rules designed to encourage teams to try to steal more bases.
Six years puts Murphy turning 34 in the final year of the deal. And catchers age in dog years considering the wear-and-tear on the legs and body.
Yes, AA followed his sign-and-stash before agents and anything-but-free-agency hits playbook to the letter. That's the good thing.
But concerns about age and long-term commitments to Freddie or Dansby certainly appear hollow this morning.
This and that
-- Former Ravens great and NFL Hall of Famer Ed Reed was named the head coach of Bethune-Cookman. If I had to guess, dude is going to shine.
-- This is a truly heart-breaking story as Dennis Eckerseley's daughter was arrested for reckless conduct after hiding her newborn in the woods and deceiving authorities.
-- So we went 3-2 on our bowl picks from Tuesday. That's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, and if Grayson McCall does not get hurt, I think CCU would have been with ECU till the very end of the alphabet. There are four more games today, and without getting too wordy, we already picked Duke to cover the 3 against UCF in the 2 p.m. game today. We'll pick the rest of the games in our Plays of the Day. Deal? Deal. (If you are not signed up for our afternoon email of picks and prose, you can get it here.)
-- You know the rules. Here's Paschall on the Vols prep work for the 100% Orange Bowl that will be UT vs. Clemson.
-- You know the rules, part II. Here's Hargis on the annual Best of Preps high school basketball tournament, which starts today at Chatt State. Not afraid to share that the BoP tournament is one of the things I'm most proud of that came from my time as sports editor of the TFP.
-- So, SEC hoops starts tonight, and the 5-at-10 clan is on The Plains for the Auburn-Florida game tonight. (I am home with the dogs and working. So it goes.) I expect Auburn to play well (they are 5.5-point favorites). I expect UT to hammer Ole Miss. I expect Doug to complain about something from tonight's conference openers this time tomorrow. I likely will wager on the first two; I wish I could bet a mortgage payment on the third one.
Today's questions
Which way Wednesday starts this way:
If we put all current players into the pool and redraft the entire league, which NBA player -- and we must consider age in this conversation -- are you drafting first overall to start your franchise?
With JJ Watt's announcement, which current NFL players would make the All-NFL starting lineup?
Discuss.
As for today, Dec. 28, let's review.
Stan Lee would have been 100 today. For all the Marvels Universe fans -- like my son -- thanks for your efforts, Stan.
Denzel is 68 today. Man, he's aged well. Looks 45 if you ask me. And what a catalog he has crafted. (Pretty sure we've done his Rushmore, too.)
John Madden died on this day last year.
Keith Lee, who was an absolute dude at Memphis State back in the day, is 60 today.
William Gates is 51 today. Gates, you may recall, was one of the stars of the all-time excellent "Hoop Dreams" basketball documentary. I think we have done a Rushmore of basketball movies too.
What about Rushmore of sports documentaries? Go.