Dude Shawn Kemp wants to play again!

[Kobe101]

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archi ... nba_again/

[cyanide]

Finally you start a good thread!

That's surprising to hear from Kemp who really tarnished his name the past several years. As I'm reading the article, I really admire the guy's effort to save himself. I really do hope he makes it back, but given his age, I have no idea how good he'll be. I hope he doesn't come back the way Rodman did.

[GloveGuy]

I'm genuinely pulling for this guy.

He was such a great player, absolutely dominating the '96 Finals. It was pretty sad seeing him take such a deep decline after Seattle.

His exit from the league was so bad, a comeback couldn't possibly do anything bad to his legacy.

[Fenix]

He was a good player, but yet one of the great underachievers of the 90'. The author of the article tries to present Kemp like someone who still has some gas left in his tank by saying that Kemp is still only 35 years old. He could be my father, for god's sake. What am I saying - knowing his past, he probably is.

[[L3]1101]

doesn't he have like 200 pounds of fat to lose before actually be able to play ball again?

[Kemp]

If Kemp makes a come back, then I am more than welcome for him to play for 2-3 years. Kemp is one of my favourite PF player during the 90's because I love his dunks. He was so dominated in the 96-98 seasons. Kemp still has something left, returning to the Sonics is properly the best way to finish his career because that is the team he's been leading in the 90's. Go the Reign Man!

[Shakes]

My first thought is that he must have run up a hell of a debt with McDonalds to consider a comeback.

[Its_asdf]

Glad to see that he's actually giving a damn and trying to get back into the league. I don't think he'll do too well even if he manages to lose a hell of a lot of weight and everything. Probably a good role player off the bench would seem to be a good guess.

[Andrew]

I'm genuinely pulling for this guy.

He was such a great player, absolutely dominating the '96 Finals. It was pretty sad seeing him take such a deep decline after Seattle.

His exit from the league was so bad, a comeback couldn't possibly do anything bad to his legacy.

I concur. So many stars from the 90s sort of faded away or didn't get to leave the games on more or less their own terms. The Reignman was one of my favourite non-Bulls players back in the day, I'd love to see him have one more half-decent run in the NBA.

Interesting, the article mentions he retired. I wasn't aware he ever officially retired, I was under the impression he went unsigned after the 2002/2003 season and played in a couple of minor leagues since then.

[Kemp]

One of Kemp's highlight in the 96 Finals, a reverse dunk over Rodman!

[Fenix]

I watched 1990' dunk contest other night (one of my favourite ever), I couldn't help myself not to be impressed with this guy. This combination of size, athleticism and basketball talent was rarely seen in the history of NBA. Too bad that he wasted all his potential later in his career. His 1996 season showed only glimpse of his talent. He could be one of the best PFs ever, if he continued with working on his jumpshot and post skills. Thank goodness we got Amare. He's like upgraded Kemp with better work ethic.

[Strike Freedom]

Who wants him?

[alexboom]

I don't see the interest in seeing Kemp returning. His game was based on his athletism, and I assume that at 35 he's a little over... During his career, he had drug & alcohol problem that affected his performances: he should have loved the game more during his career, instead of trying to come back when it's too late

He could be my father, for god's sake

Beware, he may be your father

[The X]

good luck to him....Shawn Kemp was effective in his 1st year in Cleveland even though he ate too many creme rolls....remember that by the 1996 NBA Finals that Kemp had added a nice midrange jumper to his repretoire and was devastating on the blocks....do not under-estimate him as he is my father also

[ballhawk]

He must be in good shape to consider a comeback.I remember fat kemp.I wish him good luck!

[GloveGuy]

Thank goodness we got Amare. He's like upgraded Kemp with better work ethic.

Blah. I'd take Shawn Kemp in his prime any day of the week. Better defense, better post moves, and more athleticism. If only Kemp were ever given the opportunity to play in the Suns offense.

[kevC]

Thank goodness we got Amare. He's like upgraded Kemp with better work ethic.

Blah. I'd take Shawn Kemp in his prime any day of the week. Better defense, better post moves, and more athleticism. If only Kemp were ever given the opportunity to play in the Suns offense.

Agreed. Not to undermine Amare, with the Suns' insanely fast paced offense combined with Kemp's former athleticism he would've easily produced as much if not more on offense as Amare.

[maes]

Yeah it's sort of the other way around, Amare is like a less athletic Kemp...which is kind of scary to think about.

His rookie year (age 20) Kemp slammed his head against the rim on a dunk and had to have 5 stitches to close it up. Consider that, consider he had played 0 college basketball and had no professional physical training.

I think the closest comparison is KG. Kemp surprisingly, had an all-around game. He notched points, rebounds, blocked shots, steals. Once in a while he'd have a good passing game, he did have a triple double to his stats.

However, we still haven't seen everything out of Amare.

If only Kemp were ever given the opportunity to play in the Suns offense.

Or played with a talented pass-first PG like Nash instead one of the biggest ball hogs to play the game.

[Flasher]

Lakers need a bigman backup. He should make his comeback there.

[Jackal]

Why doesn't everyone just join the Lakers? What a roster they'll have.

C - Yao Ming
PF - Tim Duncan
SF - Kevin Garnett
SG - Kobe Bryant
PG - Steve Nash

C - Eddy Curry
PF - Amare Stoudemire
SF - LeBron James
SG - Tracy McGrady
PG - Jason Kidd

Awesome.

[GloveGuy]

If only Kemp were ever given the opportunity to play in the Suns offense.

Or played with a talented pass-first PG like Nash instead one of the biggest ball hogs to play the game.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. If you don't think that Gary Payton in his prime could have done what Nash did this year... Payton and Kemp were one of the best and most exciting duos in the league during their reign. Go watch an old NBA Jams video and you'll see what I mean. And don't call GP one of the biggest ball hogs of all time. That's not right, dude.

[Carmo]

Why doesn't everyone just join the Lakers? What a roster they'll have.

C - Yao Ming
PF - Tim Duncan
SF - Kevin Garnett
SG - Kobe Bryant
PG - Steve Nash

C - Eddy Curry
PF - Amare Stoudemire
SF - LeBron James
SG - Tracy McGrady
PG - Jason Kidd

Awesome.

that looks like a good line-up to me fingers crossed!

[francishoward]

I agree with GloveGuy. During the 92-97 seasons Payton and Kemp were one of the best duos in the league....Payton was among the best PGs in the NBA who was among the top 10 in assists and steals.....Kemp was a top 5 PF then and one of the most versatile players out

[Kemp]

Wouldn't be good to see both Kemp and Payton play for the Sonics for one last time to bring back memories of their past. Sonics already have Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. Sonics is going to be tough to beat.

[Andrew]

The full article was actually quite a good read. It looks as though he's slimmed down somewhat too.