SHREWD SURVIVAL

Kevin Durant, James Harden and Brandon Jennings are among many NBA Stars darkening the gym doorways of renowned street ball and summer league locations nationwide. Durant just dropped 66 at the Rucker while Harden gets buckets at the Drew League here in Los Angeles. The pros have commenced to puttin’ in work this summer – the type that gets tweeted and retweeted until the venues have to limit capacity.

But aside from the clear separation between average and super, the pros are demonstrating an ancient life skill of survivability. Many of even the richest hoopers have  taken to less conventional form of work atypical for this time of year. Normally, right about now is the tune up that leads to training camp in September but for guys like the aforementioned, this is a time to court overseas playing options so that killing time during a lockout doesn’t mean financial idleness. For other players such as Zach Randolph or the Clippers’ Al-Farouq Aminu, they heeded the advice given to them and divided their bimonthly paychecks so that they’ll keep coming through November 2012 whether owners and players see eye-to-eye or not.

There’s a bible story about a shrewd man who found himself suddenly on the brink of unemployment (Luke 16:1-8) but wisely thought of a way to use his skills to prepare for the worst. His called the “shrewd manager” and his ability to ward off hunger is commended. These NBA guys are savvy in the same regard, convincing the world that they have value even if the NBA were to cease to exist. When FIBA (Fédération Internationale de Basketball) agreed to allow NBA players to participate in their leagues during the lockout and return to the NBA when it ends, players began playing a game that most of us are afraid to play –  the one where you market your most noticeable skills to viable clients. It’s more a paradigm than a game and it is simply the entrepreneurial mindset.

Have you ever talked to a professional athlete? They’re not interested in working for a direct report. They’d also rather not have their schedules made for them. The only reason the NBA gets away with that is because its employees really really like bouncing a ball. Oh and the pay is six digits minimum on the left side of the decimal point. These modern survivalist are exhausting themselves to keep the money flowing. Some of them are desperate because of an extravagant lifestyle as indicated by cases-in-point like Antoine Walker and Derek Coleman, to former NBA stars who made more than $80 milliion during their careers but are now experienced in bankruptcy. Other players are just serious when it comes to financial security and they’ll not be outdone by circumstances.

It makes me wonder how shrewd I am? Resourcefulness is a learned trait whose growth is stimulated through an understanding that, “I must have something somebody needs, a solution I can offer to somebody’s problem…” Make no mistake about it. When the fans at Rucker Park in New York were chest bumpin’ Kevin Durant after he drained five straight three-pointers and he tweeted about how much fun it was, it was still business.