I never heard of this guy before the NBA Draft last June, but from everything I’ve read about this young man, I think the Spurs done good.  Look at this face.

It’s kind of fun to see young men as they begin their NBA careers.  Not the ones who believe they’re entitled to it, but the ones who realize it’s not a given.  That’s it’s something they earn, and that there’s a responsibility that goes with the job.

Yes, you play basketball for a living, but the business side of the game is such that the large salary is paid because the team believes the player can make them that money and more.  Part of that money the team makes from the ability of the player involves the player conducting himself in a manner that does not cause the team more problems than the player is worth.  Young players who understand this, in my opinion, should be rewarded, and those that do not, should not be rewarded.

There’s a young man who was drafted very highly in last year’s draft who doesn’t seem to be “getting” that.  He doesn’t play for the Spurs.  When I read about this young man, he appears to have a lot of maturity and professionalism issues.  There’s another young man in this year’s draft who played overseas instead of doing the “one and done” thing at college.  I’ll be interested to see how he does — did the working for a living vice being an adored college hoops star help him on his road to maturity?

In some ways, it’s asking a lot of a young man in his late teens or early twenties to conduct himself in a mature, professional way.  On the other hand, if that young man want’s to command a six-figure  or a multi-million dollar salary, he needs to be mentally ready to conduct himself maturely and professionally.  If he can’t, he doesn’t deserve the salary.

I’ve observed Mr. Blair through summer league, the pre-season, and in last night’s NBA regular season debut.  I’ve followed him on Twitter and Facebook.  He projects that he knows when to conduct himself as a professional and when he can be a guy with friends to hang out with.

There have been whisperings that he could be a Rookie of the Year candidate.  Time will tell on that, but at first blush, I’d have to agree.  One speculation is that Coach Pop wouldn’t give him the minutes to be able to qualify, but if what I saw last night continues, he’ll get his minutes.  He got a double-double in his first game out and didn’t have too many negatives.  Sure, he has things to learn, but he knows that and is receptive to coaching and applying what they are trying to teach him.

Just one of many fine off-season moves the San Antonio Spurs organization made this summer to ensure they are competitive for a Championship run at the end of the season.