No such thing as Hometown Hero?

By Mo Diaby
It seems a forgone conclusion that players in the NBA generally do not play for their home team. Now one might say, the draft process, especially creates a situation where a player may be forced to make his home, elsewhere. But overwhelmingly with free agents, players choose to play elsewhere when given the opportunity to be a Hometown Hero.

Listed below are a few players who chose to sign elsewhere, rather than play for the hometown team. Also listed are players who are playing for their home-team whether by choice or trade. Those players are listed in bold.

Ohio

1. LeBron James (We all know how this ended)
   

Chicago

1. Dwyane Wade (Chose Miami even with strong interests from Chicago)
   
2. Shawn Marion (Sign n Trade to Dallas)
   

Iowa

1. Kyle Korver (Chicago is close enough to considered home)
   

Indiana

1. Brad Miller (Signed with Houston, though the Pacers had the center spot covered, but would've used depth.)

Dallas

1. C.J. Miles (Resigned with Utah Jazz)
   
2. Kenyon Martin (Currently with Nuggets on expiring deal)
   
3. LaMarcus Aldridge (Signed extension with Blazers)
   
4. Chris Bosh (Signed with Miami)
   

Houston

1. Rashard Lewis (Signed with Orlando on a very lucrative deal)
   
2. Emeka Okafor (Signed with Charlotte who then traded him)
   

Denver

1. Chauncey Billups (Hometown Hero)
   

Los Angeles

1. Baron Davis (Hometown "Hero" of sort)
   
2. Gilbert Arenas (Signed a huge deal with Washington and has been there since)
   
3. Paul Pierce (LA's prodigal son, extended his deal with the team that drafted him)
   
4. Tyson Chandler (Expiring deal currently with the Dallas Mavericks, interesting to see where he ends up, though if the Mavs continue their roll? Might have little choice but to Re-up)
5. Andre Miller (Sign with the Blazers)
6. Jordan Farmar (Took his talents to New Jersey)
   

Bay Area

1. Jason Kidd (Signed with Dallas Mavericks)
   
2. Drew Gooden (Signed with the Bucks, Fear the Deer)
3. Matt Barnes (Signed with the Lakers, LA is very close)

Seattle

1. Jason Terry (Dallas Mavericks)
   
2. Brandon Roy (Very close)

Phoenix/San Diego/Las Vegas

1. Richard Jefferson (Signed with San Antonio Spurs)
   
2. Channing Frye (Hometown Hero, High school in Arizona)
   

Atlanta

1. Josh Smith (Hometown Hero)

Orlando

1. Vince Carter (Hometown Hero)
   
2. Tracy McGrady (Signed with the Detroit Pistons)
   
3. Amare Stoudemire (STAT signed with the Knicks)

Miami

1. Steve Blake (Signed with LA)
   
2. James Jones (Signed with the Heat)
   
3. Raja Bell (Signed with the Utah Jazz)
   
4. Udonis Haslem (Hometown Hero)

South Carolina

1. Jermaine O'Neal (Signed with the Celtics)

Philadelphia

1. John Salmons (Signed with the Bucs)
   
2. Hakim Warrick (Signed with the Suns)
   

New York

1. Ben Gordon (Signed with Detroit)
   
2. Ron Artest (Signed with LA)
   
3. Lamar Odom (Signed extension with LA)
   
4. Elton Brand (Signed with 76rs)
5. Charlie Villanueva (Signed with Detroit)
   

New Jersey
1. Al Harrington (Signed with Denver)

New England/Pittsburgh

1. Marcus Camby (Signed with the Blazers)
   

Canada/Alaska

1. Steve Nash (Extended his deal with the Suns)
   
2. Carlos Boozer (Signed with Chicago)
   

The short list of home-town heroes are:

Kyle Korver
Chauncey Billups
Baron Davis
Matt Barnes
Brandoy Roy
Channing Frye

With this overwhelming evidence against any kind of hometown love, it was a pleasant surprise Saturday night for Mav Fans, as the hometown team received lavish praises from Dallas Colonys' very own Deron Williams : "This is the best Mavs team I've ever seen since I've been in the NBA," he said. "Across the board, they have so much talent and depth. But they're just playing a lot better defensively. This is by far the best defensive team we've seen from them." However, before exploring whether or not he might ever wear a Mavs' uniform, we have to admit, it all rests on the fate of Jerry Sloans' career. The only coach Williams has ever known, Jerry has high respect for the elite PG, and rest assure that feeling is mutual. Deron has a player option for the 2012/13 season and could have tough decisions facing him, especially with a team he has criticized before after watching friends' : Ronnie Brewer, Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver all depart. The Jazz have retooled on the fly however: Acquiring Al Jefferson and signing vet Raja Bell, as well as securing their young big Kyrylo Fesenko. However, such acquisitions might only patch things up for a little while. Williams is known for professing his love for Dallas and is close friends with Jason Terry and Jason Kidd. During the Allstar weekend, Williams, though a member of the Jazz, hosted many players in Dallas, an honor usually reserved for players of the home team.

In short, only time will tell what becomes of the situation. We should also note that the Jazz will be very determined to keep their star PG. But with players gaining so much voice in the league, recent occurrences (such as with Lebron and Carmelo) leaves an opening for anything to happen.

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