Lawyer, Businessman NBA Blogger

Title: Where were you on July 4th? By Rafael J. Borras Twitter @rafaelborraslaw Email: [email protected] Attorney Borras…Are you going to keep refreshing that page? My legal assistant is from Mexico, I'm an attorney and this guy is my right hand man. He knows me better than most people, knows what I need before I think I need it and handles my staff, schedule and offices like no other assistant I've ever had. But when it comes to basketball it seems like we are speaking a different language. He just can't understand what I feel for the Thunder and most significantly, what I was feeling that 4th of July morning at my office in San Antonio. You would think that coming from Monterrey Mexico, a city that is so passionate about its soccer teams, this man would get it. The thing is, he's never been into team sports. He is into martial arts, motorcycles and sports cars. He loves golf, hiking and swimming. He couldn't understand why I wasn't my usual self. So I tried to explain. When I fell in love with this franchise, I felt it would be a long term relationship. The religious-like kind of following that the Celtics and Yankees have enjoyed for decades. Different from my past situations with teams in which I was a fan of star players and cared in ephemeral fashion about the team or the city. A team that can make your suffer like the Red Sox and Cubs. The kind of team you follow forever and pass the love onto your children. I'd never been to Oklahoma and in 2008 I didn't live in the United States. But, I felt something for this team before it existed. Close to what I experienced before I opened my first business. I was in love with it before the doors ever opened and the ribbon was cut. I began the presentation with the team coming from Seattle and about the 2007 NBA draft. We discussed hurricane Katrina and Oklahoma's support of the New Orleans Hornets. I showed him YouTube highlights and would walk around the office describing Durant's 54 pt game. It looked like my routine before delivering a closing argument to a 12 –person Jury. We talked about KD's donations for tornado relief, the All Star Game MVP and his awkward shake when he shoots free throws.I talked about the early playoff battles with the lakers, went into detail on how rare of a talent KD was and how he lied about his height. My assistant learned of the recent battles with the Spurs and Warriors and his MVP Speech. I was all over the place with information and stories. He was amazed at how I couldn't sit still while I was doing this pitch. Yeah, the kind of pitch Durant must've had from OKC, I hope. We all know who was pitching to Durant that weekend. I wish I'd had the chance. It was a Monday, a 4th of July, and I was going to work until 1:00 pm. I wanted to review a couple of case files. My wife called me a couple of times to see if I had anything on Durant. I told her about The players Tribune page and promised that I would call her as soon as I heard something. I was listening to The Sports Animal on my phone and was in a difficult mood. Sleeping was impossible for much of the night before and my eyes were red. I had been following the Durant situation closely since the last day of the regular season. I heard everything and read everything and based on the info that was out there and, well, my gut, I expected the worst. As soon as I finished talking to my assistant about KD and the Thunder I took a call from a Client. I went into lawyer mode and totally shut out the Durant drama. I was focused on my client and was on the phone for about 30 minutes in my conference room. I went back to my office and put in some notes about the phone call on my clients file. I closed the file and laid back on my chair to relax for a second before I continued working. After a couple of seconds the silent became weird and I felt so strange. At first I couldn't make out what it was. Was it the call from my client? Was it the fact that I was working on a 4th of July Holiday? Did I need to do something?....Holy $&&@t!! Kevin Durant! Picked up my phone and jumped out of my chair. I touched on to the Iheartradio app and the first thing I hear is "there you have it folks, Kevin has made his decision, he is headed to Oakland". I didn't feel anything for a couple of minutes. I sat back in my chair. I was alone in my office. I opened my laptop and refreshed TPT page. There it was. A nightmare in real life, His “Next Chapter”. My favorite athlete had just left to play for the enemy. The team that just beat him in the playoffs. The team OKC had a chance to eliminate on 3 occasions but because of HIS lackluster play they couldn’t. I didn't want to talk to anybody, I couldn't call my wife, I didn't want to tell my two little girls that the guy their Hero had been idolizing for the past nine years was going to the team that daddy had been hating for the past two years. How could he do this to the City, to Russell, to Adams? We'd just been so close to the NBA finals! KD had just choked in the Western Conference finals against this 73 win team! Why?! Why not stay for at least one more year?Wasn’t this my forever team? I thought…Would I follow him to GS like I followed Iverson to Denver? No way, I hate him, I really hate him. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this was me, a grown man pouting like a 4 yr old whose mom won't buy him ice cream. There I was, a criminal defense attorney who could handle high profile murder cases but had tears in my eyes because Kevin Durant had chosen to play for the Warriors. After about an hour I was able to get out of my office. I had a headache and wanted to go home. My assistant asked me if there was something wrong. I couldn't tell him. How could I lambaste someone I'd just been eulogizing? That Guy (Kevin Durant's name from that day forward) had me troubled and this was just the beginning. "You wanna get lunch", he said."… “No Thanks” I replied without making eye contact. I had to get home and lay down in my bed with the lights turned off. I got in my car and 5 minutes later he calls me and says "hey did you hear that Kevin Durant is signing with Curry's team?.... Exactly. He doesn't know that basketball is a 5 on 5 sport but knows who the heck Stephen Curry is. Who doesn't, the world was in love with that team and that player. That night as I saw fireworks from every angle at my home in San Antonio, I was feeling betrayed and disgusted. It felt similar to getting dumped by your girl or like you felt your mother tells you you are moving and leaving significant people behind. What an abysmal disappointment. Then I realized it was Independence Day; a day to celebrate liberty, peace and prosperity. It is a tribute to taking on new challenges by those who weren't limited or discouraged by fear. Kevin Durant has that fearlessness in him, but so does my team, so does Russell Westbrook. Kevin Durant was probably seeking his own liberty, prosperity and peace…”Bring on the independence” I said. Figured things are not bad, they're just different.

Last week I got on a plane and went first to Orlando and then to Miami to watch the Thunder play. I never miss a game on TV, even when they play LA or Portland, those games start at around 1 AM in Puerto Rico. But this was my first visit to an NBA game in about 10 years. I wanted to go to Philly when Iverson was playing but I was never able to do so.  I took my wife and twin girls with me. I wanted them to be there and to experience this moment with me. Here are a couple of notes from my experience.  1. Everyone in the Thunder is skinny except Kendrick Perkins. On TV even Durant looks a little bigger. Adams looks huge on TV but not in person.  2. I finally understood why everyone in the league, specially broadcasters call KD a seven footer when he is listed everywhere at 6'9".  He stands next to 7 footers and looks taller. Weird but true.  3. I have always been envolved in sports and have noticed that athletes act like children a lot. I own a baseball team and it is a little awkward to see how they behave and complain like little kids. Grown men, some over 30 that sometimes behave like 6 yr olds. I saw a lot of that at the NBA games I just went to. Specially those players on the bench (Lamb and Jones). From the secret handshakes and chest pumping to complaining about calls and elbowing others, I kind of felt stupid at times for paying so much for my seats. That was until KD and WB started dunking and hitting 3's. I started acting just as childish and yelled stupid things at Miami fans that were dissing Westbrook.  4. The court seems so much smaller in person. I really don't get how these guys get so tired. The games are short anyway.  5. There is a huge difference between attending a game in Orlando and a game in Miami. The environment surrounding a team that has been a winner in recent years is amazing. It was so much quieter in Orlando.  I was searching photo galleries of the game in Miami that were online the next day on ESPN and local newspaper sites. I came across a picture and guess what? I WAS IN THE PICTURE!!! (Pumpin my chest a la Durant) It's the one where KD is dunkin on Birdman. See if you can find me in it. 

I have followed sports all of my life. But unlike many who worship a team for life, I follow players and become obsessed with those who captivate my interest. In my 36 years of age I have been a huge fan of 4 professional athletes.  In 1988 during my first MLB game at Yankee Stadium, Dave Winfield hit a homerun. I immediately became a Yankee Fan and began to follow that 6'6" right fielder who is now in the Hall of Fame. We lived in Boston for a few years and my father would buy tickets for the dates when the Yanks visited the Red Sox. I have over 300 autographs but was never able to obtain Winfield's. I got close to him a couple of times but when I begged for an autograph he was a little mean to me. I was upset and discouraged but I was such a fan that I forgave him for being as ass to a 10 year old. I continued to follow him throughout his amazing career and when I graduated from college dad bought me a Winfield autographed baseball.  In 1997 I became a fan of Jose Cruz Jr.  He was second in Rookie if he year voting that season and had incredible speed and power. I was able to meet him through some friends since he is from my hometown in Puerto Rico. Although his career wasn't as illustrious as Winfield's. Jose was a nicer guy. I had a very large baseball card collection of Jose and his cards were very popular during his rookie year. I took a couple of them to him and he signed and personalized them for me. He saw that I had many more in my bag and volunteered to sign them all. I followed him until retirement and was able to meet him a couple of more times. He even acknowledged me at a couple of games and came over and said hello. He will never understand how special he made me feel and how important that was for me.  Then my biggest obsession came. I went crazy over Allen Iverson. I mean, I ended up in a fist fight over him (I won the fight and the argument,  he was better than Vince Carter). I also wrote about him for our local paper. He was the greatest athlete I had ever seen and I was so intrigued by his personality, his style and his impact on basketball and pop culture. I was never able to to meet AI but I really hope I can someday. I was never a true fan of the Sixers, but when AI wore that #3 I never missed a game. I saw him play once at a pre season game he played in Puerto Rico. I always wanted to travel to Phily to see him but I was a broke college student.  As I am writing this I am on my way to see my new favorite athlete. A person that has helped me fall in love with the game again and I never miss a game. I'm not a college kid anymore, I'm a defense attorney and a father of twin girls. My wife and my girls are coming with me to watch Kevin Durant play in Orlando and in Miami. I feel like a kid again.  Many athletes and celebrities believe that fans want to meet them for the wrong reasons. I bet some do. But most of us just want to show them our appreciation and admiration. Some of us just want a handshake, to have your favorite player know that you love what they do. As a criminal defense lawyer I'm in the courtroom 5 days a week, every week. My work days are very tough, specially during murder trials but you have no idea of how easier a day  gets after the OKC Thunder treat me to a win, how bad I wake up the morning  after a loss or how sad I was for days when KD got injured. I get inspired and motivated when he does special things on the court.  A couple of years ago I was asked for an autograph. I started laughing and thought that the person who wanted it was crazy. I mean, I was just a lawyer in a high profile murder case and was talked about on TV for a couple of weeks. Then I thought about the hundreds of autographs I have asked for and thought, hey if it makes this guy feel good, why not.  Oh before I forget. It's the only one I have ever been asked for but now that Im a lawyer my signature on court papers and legal documents is worth a lot more than many of the pro athlete signatures I have at home. (Lol)

I'm going to be in Orlando and in  Miami to watch the OKC Thunder play and I got a couple of important things to say to their GM. He should give me a minute if he wants to fix this team.  A lot of people will tell you that numbers don't lie. They are wrong. They can be manipulated and presented in ways that will make you believe that things aren't as bad as they seem. But basketball is a game that although it's outcome is the result of numbers, the reasons for the outcome need to be viewed and understood based on many "hows", and "whys". And in the end, the numbers that matter the most are those on the win/loss column.  After last year's playoff run I began saying that they needed a top rebounder(10 R plus a game) and a real one on one stopper. I don't care how many boards Adams, Perkins and Ibaka put up collectively, one of them should be getting at least 10 every night.  Many on Twitter reply with collective numbers, individual accolades and superficial analysis that on paper may look impressive but on the court haven't paid the dividends that this type of team is expected of providing.  They are loosing bad and loosing ugly.  So many teams in the West have improved, thus we can't keep expecting the Thunder to be an elite team while still being so lazy on defense and making so many turnovers and errors on assignments.  Russell Westbrook is still very explosive, athletic and one of the better point guards in the league but sometimes he looks like Nate Robinson out there and Nate Robinson is no elite team's point guard.  On many games that OKC has had a real chance to win, Russell has decided to jack up threes like there's no tomorrow in crunch time.  And yes, I know that Kevin Durrant has been injured but after coming back from injury he has made so many ugly turnovers in very important parts of the game that have cost them the game or in many instances a shift in momentum. The numbers won't tell you that he is turnover crazy, but just watching him out there you know that this guy is playing at 75%. He is making mental mistakes which is what worries me. This is last years MVP, this is probably the world's best NBA player.  Numbers won't tell you the look on Reggie Jackson's face. Numbers won't tell you how under used and under appreciated Serge Ibaka is. Number wont tell you how hard Kevin Durant slaps his hands when Russell and Reggie deny him the ball.  The Thunder's struggles have more to do with management and coaching than most people think. During last night's lost they got the lead down to 10 points in the third quarter. Russell and Kevin had played most of the quarter but it was at this point of the game that they needed to be out there but both were on the bench.  Thunder had the momentum and were about to decrease the lead to single digits. They didn't score on that possession and then, things got out of hand, again.   I suggest we forget about the numbers for a day or two and just fire the coach and get someone in there that can call the right plays and provide a logical and intelligence rotation.  I can't stress enough the need for a new voice in this team.  Rafael Borras 

Phil Get in there and coach.  Simply put the Knicks were set up for failure.  After loosing badly last season and looking like debris from  a bus crash they brought in a coach, a very expensive coach, but they brought him there not to, well.... not to coach.  This Coach that decided not to coach the Knicks new exactly why he would not coach. It was a bad team!!! So he brings in a rookie coach and gives him an almost impossible assignment and, get this, gets sensitve when criticized.  The Knicks front office is paying him way too much money and also signed Carmelo Anthony to a max contract thus giving the league and the city hopes of a quick turnaround.  I believe it's time that they quit on the "Fisher triangle project" and Phil Jackson comes in and takes the heat directly for what he designed. 

 The end should be near. I sincerely have a lot of respect for Coach Brooks. He turned a young inexperienced franchise into a championship contender. He is well-liked around the league and specially within his organization. His players have been, for the most part supportive of him and have always mentioned him as one of the keys to their success.  But I'll go straight to the point with you guys, coach Brooks has to go. The impression I get from watching the games, from seeing his rotations and even his decision-making during the fourth quarter is that he no longer represents authority or leadership to this team. To me he just seems like one of the guys and the league, especially the Western conference, is too good to have a coach that is just good, not great.  Last season he gave Perkins too much playing time, he didn't give Reggie Jackson enough playing time and has failed to get the ball to Kevin Durand when he is the only one who should be getting the rock at some point in the game. Russell Westbrook is one of the league's best point guards but Russell needs somebody to control him. Coach Brooks has done kind of what Larry Brown did with Iverson, just let him be, "let Westbrook be Westbrook" some say. Mainly, because letting him be, with all his mistakes, turnovers and bad shot selection still provides explosiveness and good overall performances.  The Thunder needs a new voice, a strong voice, a tough voice. someone that can continue to develop young players just like Coach Brooks has done but someone who understands that both Durrant and Westbrook aren't rookies or sophomores in this league and need to produce like the superstars they are.  That's where Coach Brooks has failed. I have seen so many plays in which both Reggie and Russell have made the wrong play and then for the next play they get the ball and do it again without any  consequences. And I know that Kevin Durrant is probably the best player on the planet but someone has to get in his face and tell him that if he still wants to be regarded as the second or best player in the NBA he must grow a pair and attack the basket like he used to do. KD is so talented and so gifted but he has fallen in love with his jumpshot. Don't get me wrong he has one of the best jump shots in the league but right now, with how the season has started with all the injuries and with all the bad and painful losses that they have had, KD must put his team on his back and do whatever it takes to get wins. He is capable of doing this and much more but he needs to hear it from somebody that, well, maybe he respects, fears or admires. not his pal Coach Brooks.  Let me know what you think. 

When I first heard about Reggie Jackson being possibly traded to the Knicks I felt that it was something many expected and many wanted. His production off the bench isn't what we all expected and he definitely looks like he doesn't want to be out there playing for the Thunder. I think the Thunder should do their best to keep him, do what it takes to make him happy. A happy Reggie Jackson is an amazing scorer a decent defender and can make plays in crunch time such as the ones he made in last years playoffs. I think that Coach Brooks' rotation is confusing and inconsistent. I don't see any reason why he can't start Reggie Jackson let him feed his ego well being presented as a starter and sit him down after three minutes while being able to bring him back with the second unit. He should at least try it. When both Durrant and Westbrook were injured Reggie Jackson carried the team and did everything to put the thunder in a position to win. I know that Roberson is a better defender than Reggie. But bringing Reggie off the bench to leave Roberson as a starter is the same situation that we had with Sefalosha and Harden. And that turned out pretty bad for OKC. They ended up trading Harden and Sefalosha isn't there anymore. If the thunder keeps doing this with Reggie we are going to end up losing to a team that competes for more money. The thunder can match any offer but we know that the thunder is and willing to pay too much for a sixth man. Another possibility is to trade him and I believe that many teams such as Atlanta, Detroit and New York would love to have him. But if they are going to trade him they better do it now before his trade value keeps dropping as he keeps on putting up subpar performances. On a different topic tonight the Thunder play the Sacramento Kings and Dion Waiters will have his first game with his new team. I hope he is able to fit in Brooks' rotation in a way in which he can help the team. It has been widely documented that Waiters was upset in Cleveland since he wasn't starting and although I think he is a better player than Roberson Coach Brooks has proven to be stubborn when dealing with his rotation.

“Mo Money, Mo Problems"... Notorious BIG My grandfather always told me that anytime that you are able to have $5 in your pocket you must understand that some people will be out there to break you for $10... I know understand what he meant. No, I am not rich by any sense of the word. I have to work very hard to live the life I live and to acquire the things that sometimes I am able to. I have a family, young girls and many bills to pay. I have been blessed to be able to achieve my professional and entrepreneurial dreams. I have a successful law practice and I own a pet store in the same city. Before I had any of this I never thought about how the fact that if I seem successful to the world, it creates automatic enemies and people who want to get me for every penny I make. I always believed that I wanted to have careers instead of jobs and my own business instead of having a boss. And even though I enjoy my job and my business is an amazing experience I really don't know if it's worth it at the end of the day. I wake up at night just to look at video footage from my store, to make sure the alarm hasn't gone off at my office, and every day I open my mailbox thinking that somebody will come up with some frivolous or crazy lawsuit in order to take my family's bread from the table. If only they knew how hard it is to start a law practice with zero money and to be able to maintain it and establish it as one of the top criminal defense law firms in our city and in our area. If only they had a chance to ride with me for a day and see how hectic it really gets. If only they had an idea of how hard it is to maintain a business during these tough economic times and to be able to create jobs for others. Respect those who take the long route. Respect those who wake up at 4 AM in the morning thinking about creating instead of thinking about taking from those who create.