NEW YORK — The draft lottery is probably going to look a whole lot different by the time this week is over. Regarding the Philadelphia 76ers, it is going to ensure that their tank job for this upcoming season will not be replicated by anyone else anytime soon. Under a proposal scheduled to be voted upon by representatives of the 30 NBA ownership groups, the formula for the draft lottery will change. As first reported by Zach Lowe of Grantland, the
Prediction season is almost in full swing, and here is one from me: Kobe Bryant is going to compete for the NBA scoring title all the way into April, and he might just win it. In fact, if I had to pick a favorite, I’d pick the Mamba. With all due respect to Kevin Durant, no one has been more of a pure scorer in the NBA longer than Kobe. Yes, the guy is 37 and is coming off a major knee
Michele Roberts, the person, believes an age limit that keeps 18-year-olds out of the NBA is un-American. She also believes a maximum salary in a thriving industry is abhorrent. And she feels a system set up to prevent owners from overspending is flat-out ludicrous. Again, those are the opinions of Michele Roberts, the person. Not Michele Roberts, the new boss of the National Basketball Players Association. In her new job, max salaries, salary caps, luxury taxes and age limits are economic realities
Hard to get a feel yet whether there is a palpable sense of panic over Kevin Durant’s foot injury, or whether everyone is drinking Sam Presti’s Kool-Aid and expecting the reigning MVP back sometime around Dec. 1 — the best-case scenario laid out by the Thunder when the news of the injury broke Sunday. If Durant only misses the first four to five weeks of the season, OKC will be OK. The Thunder are already established as an elite Western Conference
For those who gamble, the preseason over/under win projections are wondrous to pore over. It is the one point during the year when you can make an assessment of how the offseason went, and how it will translate into success — or lack hereof — on the court. Last season, two-thirds of the NBA teams failed to reach their projected win total. This season, nobody is projected to win 60 games by the oddsmakers in Las Vegas, which I find interesting. It
In case you missed it, Phoenix Suns forwards and twin brothers Markieff and Marcus Morris received contract extensions Monday. They joined Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Kyrie Irving as the only players thus far from the 2011 NBA draft to receive extensions. Irving received a five-year maximum extension at the outset of the offseason and the Morris twins received four-year deals for $32 million and $20 million, respectively. There are as many as a dozen players from the 2011 draft whom you could
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — He gets asked the question once per day, on average. “How long, Phil? How long will it take?” Phil Jackson never answers in specifics. At least that is how he made it sound Friday as he was asked that very same question yet again as the New York Knicks prepared to open their 2014-15 training camp. “How long?” When will the championship drought that began in 1973-74 come to an end? When will the reconstruction be complete? When will the
Will LeBron James return to Team USA for the 2016 Olympics? Here’s a better question: Will Team USA even need him? Team USA’s global dominance is recalling the days of the original Dream Teams of the 1990s. The Americans steamrolled Serbia, 129-92, in the gold medal game of the 2014 World Cup in Madrid on Sunday, capping a tournament that became a coming-out party for a handful of new international stars. There were questions about the quality of Team USA’s roster following the withdrawal