Note to David Stern: Cincinnati Wants an NBA Team

Send the notice out to the NBA and the owners, Cincinnati wants a team in the National Basketball Association, and I will be the first to stand up, speak out and lead this charge. I am tired of hearing about Kenyon Martin as a Denver Nugget. It is about time he came back to his college home and played in the Queen City again. Trust me when I say this, he is not the only one. I would love to see the likes of former Xavier basketball players David West and James Posey tearing it up on the home court downtown at U.S. Bank Arena. Being a bigger U.C. fan, I’d love to be seeing the likes of Jason Maxiell slamming the ball home, or James White taking Flight only the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James know of.

Think of how it would help the economy here in Cincinnati. The National Basketball Association is as successful as they come. Being in Cincinnati, we as fans or NBA outsiders do not notice just how well the NBA flourishes. Take a trip up to Cleveland and you will understand what I am talking about. Sure, it helps that the Cavaliers have LeBron James, but with the way the Cleveland Browns play and the way the Indians have ended the last few years, Cleveland has quickly turned itself into a basketball town, going deep into the playoffs and competing for the NBA Championship year in and year out.

Bringing an NBA franchise to Cincinnati would add jobs, get fans spending their money to watch a basketball game and bring tourists from all around the region. Instead of saying in November or December, “Hey, I am going to take a weekend vacation to Indianapolis to watch the Pacers and Colts, or Cleveland to see the Browns and Cavs,” fans all around the area could be saying, “Hey, load up the car, we going to Cincinnati for the weekend. Not only are they going to have a casino, but Saturday night we will see their NBA team and on Sunday, we will see the Cincinnati Bengals.”

The last professional franchise to start in Cincinnati was the Cincinnati Jungle Kats of Arena Football League 2, and we all know how well that ended. One season with a record of 1-15 and lack of support lead to their downfall. Their owners consisted of an overweight and overrated defensive tackle in Sam Adams, a disappointment and underachieving Ken Griffey Jr. and the Cincinnati Reds Medical Team Doctor in Timothy Kremcheck.

I know I am not the only one that would love to see the likes of Deonta Vaughn putting up a game winner as an NBA baller, or Steve Logan pulling up behind the three point line and nailing a three so far back that only a modified video game version of Kobe Bryant could match. Hell, I’d like to see Jordan Crawford slam dunking over the likes of Dwight Howard and Dwayne Wade. He did it against LeBron, so who’s to say he couldn’t do it over these two.

In all honesty, if Cincinnati were to receive an NBA team, fans would have to live through a few years of dismal and disheartening seasons full of talented youngsters learning to grow their game and seasons of more than 40 losses. In this case, we could go to Charlotte for comfort, as for their first five seasons in the NBA, the Charlotte Bobcats have made slow, but steady progress, culminating in a season in which their record, 24-24, is currently sixth best in the Eastern Conference and is good enough for a playoff birth.

I do not know about you, but I can live through four or five seasons of growing pains. All it takes are good role players, a few high ceiling players, one star, and good coach (Oscar Robertson anyone?) and ownership (Bob Castellini, Carl Lindner, Mike Brown or Richard T. Farmer?) to make a great team, and just like the Bengals and Reds do now, players from all three teams will be attending the other games to help cheer and root for the hometown team. Side note, if you are unaware of whom Richard T. Farmer is, he took Cintas from nothing, and created it into a Fortune 500 company.

All I have to say is this, David Stern, get the paperwork ready, because the city of Cincinnati is in need of an NBA team again, and we will not accept a letter stating, “At this time, I, David Stern, the Commissioner of the National Basketball Association, can not grant the city of Cincinnati a franchise for play in the NBA.” We will not accept no, and until we get our team, expect columns and stories like this, filling up your mailbox day in, and day out.

The Easy