Lesane Crooks
Published Jan 28, 2024
By: Lesane Crooks
Just this off-season GM Jerron Grace made some bold moves to position Los Angeles to contend, All-Star big Adam Hirsch was the 1st to arrive along w/ 2-way wing Donny Harrison & then Terrell Sherrill was the last piece to enter the new Mamba. We won't go into detail how those guys were acquired but it took Los Angeles to basically have an empty resources cup & it was a huge risk & gamble for the franchise.
"We want to really make the playoffs this coming season & in order to do that we need to take huge swings, if we fail then we fail, but we aren't gon' sit idly by. Nope, we have resources & we used it to the best of our knowledge on how to help Hollywood (Rob Scott), he wants to win & that's what we are going to position this franchise into," GM Grace said about his moves before the season.
Fast forward to present day, Hollywood Rob is in the locker room hoisting the SIBA Championship trophy. Beating the odds & leading the Mamba to basketball immortality. From lottery land to the holy land, the Mamba completes the 180 pivot to SIBA relevance, winning their first ever championship in their first ever playoff appearance thanks to the "All-In" moves that they bravely pull through last off-season.
"At the end of the day, you play for the championship. That's the end goal always, we knew that Hollywood (Scott) needed help ASAP & he doesn't want to go on a slow rebuild, he is a champion, that's his personality. He demands that not only from his teammates but from the whole organization & he showed us this year that given the right tools he can lead us & boy he did," GM Grace said following winning game 5 of the SIBA Finals.
It was supposed to be the first step to build a successful team, playoffs was the initial goal & the plan is to build up from it. The timeline is the Mamba needs to win a championship in the next 4 seasons w/ this all-in move as they won't have a 1st round pick for a while, given the moves they made. But now here we are, winning the prestigious championship in the 1st year of the new build.
"This feeling is the best, I want this bad. Everyone in the organization knew that. When they drafted me, that's the first thing I told GM Jerron (Grace), I am here to win them a championship & to be here to really celebrating it a few years later is just a blessing, makes me wants to work harder with these group of guys, my brothers," Rob Scott excitedly said after winning game 5 of the Finals. Hoping that this is a start of something special for the city of Los Angeles, the once cellar dweller team is now on the top of the world of basketball. Everybody in LA is now happy that they are, for this moment is the best basketball city in the world.