NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-2027)

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The JZA
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NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-??)

Post by The JZA » 04 Aug 2019, 17:00

It's been real Dallas :melo2:
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chosenone58
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NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-??)

Post by chosenone58 » 05 Aug 2019, 23:19

The JZA wrote:
04 Aug 2019, 17:00
It's been real Dallas :melo2:
They surprised us in G3.....
Creator of Derek Baldwin da Gawd
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NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-??)

Post by chosenone58 » 19 Aug 2019, 20:29

The time has come....
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NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-??)

Post by chosenone58 » 19 Aug 2019, 20:30

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Creator of Derek Baldwin da Gawd
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NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-??)

Post by chosenone58 » 19 Aug 2019, 20:33

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NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-??)

Post by chosenone58 » 19 Aug 2019, 20:56

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The Derek Baldwin Experiment
BY: BETHANY WARREN 6.5.26

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There was an article written seven years ago that talked about players needing to have a little bit of crazy to prove successful in the NBA. The player that was being discussed was then Los Angeles Clippers’ shooting guard Derek Baldwin as he was driving to push the Clippers to their third straight NBA title. The Clippers faced the Chicago Bulls for the second year in a row and managed to take them down in five games to cement another dynasty in Los Angeles.

It seems that Baldwin still has that crazy as he found himself suited up again after five seasons removed from the league, and at the age of 38, to help lead Brooklyn to their first ever title. But this is also the same guy who broke Michael Jordan’s record of 66 points in a playoff game against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2017 playoffs and Kobe Bryant’s record of scoring 81 points in a game, by putting up 88 points against the New York Knicks in 2019. So, you really shouldn’t put anything past this guy.

He played the last 46 games of the season averaging 18ppg. He had a few games that were up and down, but for the most part, it seemed as though Baldwin hadn’t missed a day let alone five years.

“The groove never left,” said Baldwin. “Sometimes you just have to step back and do other things.” Like the 15 assists he had against Toronto or the games where he had almost as many rebounds as Shareef O’Neal and Nate Matthews. But then there were nights when he went on a scoring rampage. Like scoring a season high 40 points against the Chicago Bulls. That’s when it was like 2019 all over again.

But the last two months have been what the Derek Baldwin Experiment was really about: The NBA Playoffs.

In front of a sea of fans clad in black and white t-shirts, Derek Baldwin was able to let go of a breath he had been holding all week. He had done it again. He was able to guide a team to the NBA Finals and bring back that seemingly elusive Larry O’Brien trophy.

Down 15 points with almost two minutes left, the Dallas Mavericks called a timeout. The Nets went to their bench and all eyes turned to Derek. All he could do was smile and shrug. He had no more words for his teammates. He had played and assisted the coaches every game throughout the playoffs. There was nothing left for him to say. So, he just smiled and scratched his beard. He and Paul George subbed themselves out of the game to let Adam Demps and Joe Hood finish things up in their place. When there was less than a minute left, George was absolutely beside himself with excitement. 16 seasons in the NBA and he was finally getting his first NBA championship. He hugged Baldwin and Greg Monroe while exchanging words with the two before Baldwin went down the bench and shook hands with every player on the team. He hugged all of the coaches. He even hugged the ball boys. He found his family: his wife, Naya Rivera, his son, Jordan, his dad and father-in-law, his sister and brother in-law, his best friends, and his nephew (his mother and his mother in-law were in the nursery with the twins) and hugged and kissed them too. He wanted Naya to stay in her seat while all the excitement was going on.

“She never does though.” He says laughing. “Wishful thinking on my part."

With forty seconds left and an eight point lead, the players were starting to believe the championship trophy was theirs, they could taste it. The NBA staff and security began to rope off the court so that fans wouldn’t run onto the floor during the presentation. Baldwin was on his feet looking up at the scoreboard in the middle of the Barclays Center. His face was expressionless. When the buzzer sounded, the look turned to one of relief.

WALK IT LIKE I TALK IT
To understand Derek Baldwin, you have to understand the chip on his shoulder. Many of his colleagues in the NBA — especially his fellow top-shelf guards — were essentially basketball blue bloods. They have been lauded and recruited for much of their lives. Baldwin had a different story. He was just a two-star recruit coming out of high school, and ended up going to Blinn, a community college in Brenham, Texas — not exactly Tobacco Road. From there he returned home and went on to Nicholls State in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Not LSU. Even though he led the Colonels to the NIT tournament, there still wasn’t much buzz about Baldwin in the 2010 NBA Draft. Undeterred, Baldwin took his talents to Spain and returned to the States ready to make his mark in the NBA. Three years later, he was named League MVP.

So, for him to take on this Brooklyn team, first as a coach, then a player, it was no real surprise.

“I wanted to do it. I wanted to be the first. Coach or player. It didn’t matter. I wanted to help make Brooklyn great any way that I could. I knew that we could get it done.”
Baldwin’s first season with the Nets as coach proved to be wildly successful. Despite not making it to the Finals, the Nets made their first playoff appearance since 2018 and they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Things could only go up from there. The next year the result was the same. Coming into this season with much hype and anticipation, there was nothing standing in Brooklyn’s way for a shot at the title.

Then Mike Bibby, Jr. went down with an injury and things seemed to look awfully bleak for the Nets. That’s when Baldwin decided to walk the walk. He decided to do what he told his players every game. It was time to lace ‘em up.

“They had worked too damn hard to let it all go to waste. I was up for it if they were. I was willing to try anything to save our season.”

Even if that meant coming out of retirement. Baldwin was originally brought in to give the Nets more firepower against the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that was well on its way to winning their third straight championship. But it was the Charlotte Hornets who they saw in the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Hornets had eliminated the 76ers in round one. But looking at the options coming out of the West, the team could breathe a little easier knowing that they had one of the greatest to ever do it taking the floor with them.

“He definitely leads by example,” said Adam Demps. The Nets rookie averaged 8 points per game throughout the playoffs. “Whatever it takes. To see him come out and practice and play the way that he did. It was amazing. It made us work harder. Can’t let a guy that’s pushing forty outwork you on the court. Whatever it takes.”
The team bought into that philosophy.

“No one expected this from us,” said point guard Keith Perkins. “We had become good, but not quite good enough. He believed though.” Perkins and Baldwin didn’t see eye to eye when the new coach was appointed. You wouldn’t believe that looking at the two share a hug on the podium before receiving the Larry O’Brien trophy. It got so bad, that it almost led to Perkins being traded to another team.

Once the final buzzer sounded, Perkins jumped on top of the scorer’s table and threw his hands up in victory to an insane Brooklyn Nets crowd.

“What a difference three years makes, huh?” Perkins said with a grin while cradling the championship trophy. “This is what we’ve always wanted, but this is what Dub always saw for us. We love you, man.”

After another few minutes, Baldwin finally addressed the fans. “Hello, Brooklyn,” he said, acknowledging the rabid crowd. “Here we are, baby. We will not go another 50 years without this feeling. That’s my word. Thank you for all that you’ve been to us over the years.”

ALL YOU NEED IS MOTIVATION
Baldwin made sure to keep his players motivated all year.

“He and the coaches would say things, to each other, but loud enough so we could hear them. They would talk about other players in the league. Like Jahlil Okafor’s stat lines or how many points Tony House scored. Stuff like that. He was always pushing us. He said he knew in his heart that we were the best. It was time to stop keeping it a secret.”

Something that Baldwin was known for in Los Angeles was coming up with themes for the team to start the season. He felt obligated to bring that to Brooklyn.

“When we walked into the locker room to start the playoffs, there was a new mural on the wall that read “The Brooklyn Way”. He told us that’s how we were going to win the championship. Doing it our way; the Brooklyn Way. He said we gave the league two years to prepare, now it was time to come and take what was rightfully ours.”

“The only thing that was stopping us, was us,” said Shareef O’Neal. “That was it. He told us the championship was ours to lose.” O’Neal averaged over 20 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists per game throughout the finals and was named Finals MVP.

The Derek Baldwin Experiment appears to be a success. Will he be signed to during free agency?

“I mean, if they want me. I only signed for this season, so we’ll have to wait and see.”
Creator of Derek Baldwin da Gawd
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NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-??)

Post by chosenone58 » 19 Aug 2019, 20:57

END OF 2025-2026 SEASON
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The JZA
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NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-??)

Post by The JZA » 20 Aug 2019, 08:26

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NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-??)

Post by chosenone58 » 20 Aug 2019, 19:43

The JZA wrote:
20 Aug 2019, 08:26
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Had to wrap that season up for you fam
Creator of Derek Baldwin da Gawd
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The JZA
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NOTHING WAS THE SAME: The Return of Derek Baldwin (2023-??)

Post by The JZA » 20 Aug 2019, 20:23

chosenone58 wrote:
20 Aug 2019, 19:43
Had to wrap that season up for you fam
Already looking forward to the next season
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