It feels right when things stay homely and close to the heart. And so it felt when Los Angeles product Jordan Farmar made his debut with the Lakers in 2006.
Farmar was the gritty kid from the bench who would provide an injection of adrenaline while the starting point guard catches a breather. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Farmar was exposed to to the rigors of professional sports from the very start by watching his father, who played in the Minor Leagues. Farmar blossomed as a high school player – a period during which he was named LA Times Player of the Year and LA Interscholastic Federation Player of the Year. He then brought his UCLA team to the 2006 Final Four, where they lost to Florida Gators.
As a Laker, he had the livewire toughness needed to hustle for loose balls and the audacity to slash to the hoop amidst the giants of the paint. He played alongside some of the best players in the NBA, including Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom; and he was a key piece of the bench that pocketed two back-to-back championship titles with the Lakers.
Farmar shows off against the Sixers
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyp88jInrE0
Next: New Jersey, here I come.
But the rings were not enough for young Jordan, who openly coveted a starting point guard position. Farmar was convinced the offensive triangle did not fit his game. With healthy veterans such as Derek Fisher in a team known for its halfcourt offense, Jordan Farmar thought he would never get the opportunity he felt he deserved to truly succeed as a starter. Eventually, the decision was taken at the Jordan Farmar camp, that if it wasn’t going to happen with the Lakers, it would need to happen somewhere else. Farmar was willing and able to try and succeed in a lesser team – eager for a chance to be the main focus point. “I really want to see what kind of player I can be in this league,” Farmar said. “I want an opportunity to play more. I know I can do a lot. I know I can lead a team.” Farmar wanted to be a leader, not a follower. He once said he joined went to UCLA because the program was a disaster and he wanted to rebuild it.
The Lakers complied and allowed Farmar to become an unrestricted free agent by failing to present any kind of offer to the player before the end of June 2010. And so the born and raised Angeleno moved on for greener pastures, signing with the New Jersey Nets, where an uptempo offense would better fit his quick legs. “We’ve got a new owner, a new coach, and we’re working on a new arena,” Farmar said. “There are some big things with this organization — it’s committed to winning, and that’s what I’m all about. I’ve had my fair share of that, and I’m trying to help this organization move in that direction.”
Apparently, newly appointed Head Coach Avery Johnson and newly owner of the franchise Mikhail Prokhorov (not to mention Jay-Z) selling the idea to Farmar had to have its impact, too. The idea was seen by some as an absurdity, given the finish of the team during the previous season (12-70). The move could be qualified as positive for both the Nets and Farmar; the team has improved, but nothing even remotely close to become a 50:50 team. The Nets are 15-35 with All Star Weekend around the corner, and nothing indicates they will become a winning team anytime soon – unless Melo agrees to a trade that will send him to the Garden State. However, that does not guarantee any immediate revolution, as the tepid beginning of the season for the Voltron-like assembled Miami Heat proved. As far as luck is involved, the Lakers could have made a good move, as Farmar has been suffering from a new set of back problems as of late. Anybody with chronic back problems can identify these symptoms