In an unprecedented and bold move, the Detroit Pistons today waived starting power forward Josh Smith — a decision that will cost them roughly $36 million over the next 2 1/2 seasons. The news came in a press release from the team: “Our team has not performed the way we had expected throughout the first third of the season and adjustments need to be made in terms of our focus and direction,” said Stan Van Gundy, Head Coach and President of
Been too long since the last MVP rankings, nearly two whole weeks. A lot has been happening during that time, and I have a few stories to tell — new and old, before we get into the latest rankings. This morning’s New York Times brings news that the United and Cuba will restore full diplomatic relations. But wait … no tourism for Americans, and no democracy for Cubans? Hey, you never know what kind of a surprise the Old Gray Lady
Are NBA players likely to be better if they stay in college longer? Do NBA executives know the difference between a stud and a dud based on how long the player stays in school? There is anecdotal data everywhere, from Kobe Bryant to Korleone Young. But former NBA player and current SheridanHoops columnist Danny Schayes works for Intensity Corporation, a firm that did its own exhaustive study on early entry candidates for the NBA draft. Schayes has written a three-part series explaining the
Anybody who signed an NBA contract prior to Sept. 16 is now eligible to be traded. And the “Most Likely” list begins and ends with Lance Stephenson … sort of. In the NBA, you never really know when someone will have a hair trigger and pull off a deal that becomes addition by subtraction (yes, we are talking about you, Stan Van Gundy/Josh Smith). But the primary guy who fits under that subcategory is Stephenson, the prized offseason acquisition of the Charlotte
We have our first trade speculation frenzy of the 2014-15 NBA season courtesy of Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who is using his bully pulpit at the Worldwide Leader to throw a little something against the wall, saying the Brooklyn Nets have made it known around the league that Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez are available via trades. But as Stein reports, nothing is imminent. And we should further remind you that players who signed contracts over the summer are
The Prince will go see the King tonight in Brooklyn, and William should see a show from LeBron. The biggest Brit of them all should also take a look at the baseline photographers to see something else that is a freak show: The shutterbugs will be all spiffed up. Word was passed along to the fotogs last week that jeans and sneakers will not be tolerated if they plan to take their usual cross-legged seats along the baseline for Monday night’s
The best record in the NBA is now shared by the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors, thanks to Stephen Curry finally sinking a game-winning 3-pointer for the ‘Dubs to give them a victory over the Orlando Magic last night. At 15-2, the teams sit atop the Western Conference. Both were highly regarded coming into this season, but neither was expected to get off to a start this good. We will get to judge them against each other in a
The team formerly known as the Charlotte Bobcats was supposed to be a heck of a lot better than they are. The Hornets begin this week with a nine-game losing streak, and compounding the misery is the fact that coach Steve Clifford has benched prized offseason acquisition Lance Stephenson in the fourth quarters of several games, including two last week. Under the “we’ve seen this movie before” theory, when a star play is at odds with a losing coach, there is