This is the best time of the year in the NBA. The draft is only days away, opt-in and opt-out decisions are due a couple days later, and free agency courtships can begin July 1. We are currently in a holding pattern in which Kevin Love rumors, Carmelo Anthony speculation and Joel Embiid-Greg Oden comparisons are being wildly thrown around. You can lose track of yourself trying to keep track of all the rumors, so try to remember that rumors are
The Cleveland Cavaliers have chosen David Blatt of Maccabi Tel Aviv as their new head coach. They will not be disappointed. I have known Blatt since 2007, when he led the Russian national team to a victory over Spain in Madrid in the gold medal game. I dined with him in Shanghai in 2008 in the prelude to the Beijing Olympics, and our paths crossed again in Istanbul in 2010 when I was covering the world championship. That was when Blatt
Joel Embiid of Kansas has a broken foot and needs surgery. And now that piece of news has thrown everyone’s draft projections into disarray. Embiid was listed at No. 1 in Mock Draft 4.0, but he is not there in our latest edition. So does that mean the Cavs will not draft him? Perhaps not. The Cavs are now looking at trading down a couple of spots, believing that Embiid will still be available. And with the Philadelphia 76ers coveting Andrew Wiggins,
The Decision II is upon us. Yes, we have to call it that, because LeBron James has to decide his future — specifically whether or not he will opt out of the final year of his contract, and whether he will stay with the Miami Heat, old contract or new contract. [Read more…]
SAN ANTONIO — Before we get to the elephant in the room, it would be unfair to the San Antonio Spurs to not acknowledge their accomplishment and give you a little snapshot of what it was like in their locker room after they became NBA champions Sunday night. The champagne being served and sprayed was Dom Perignon, 2003. I’m told it tastes OK, but I don’t do champagne that costs more than my car. There was not a ton of Dom.
The end has arrived. Or has it? There is a good chance LeBron James is going to opt out of the final season of his contract with the Miami Heat, making him an unrestricted free agent. And when LeBron becomes a free agent, crazy things can happen. Paging Jim Gray. Paging Jim Gray. So what do you think, folks? Is LeBron going to opt out only for the purposes of signing a longer deal to stay in Miami? Might he want to return
The season could end Sunday night if the Miami Heat lose. And if the Miami Heat lose, all bets are off concerning what they might look like next season. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can all opt out of their contracts, and the Big Three could be scattered in three different cities by the time the 2014-15 season tips off. [Read more…]
You may not have noticed it, but Chris Bosh was perfect from the field in Miami’s Game 3 loss, going 4-for-4. Of course, that is a broad interpretation of the word “perfect” because Bosh only taking four shots is far from ideal. As the Miami Heat reviewed film Wednesday in preparation for Game 4, the need to get Bosh more touches was one of the paramount points. Also, Miami needs to get more efficient production from Mario Chalmers, whose nine assists