The upcoming season is an evaluation campaign for the Phoenix Suns in every respect. They will introduce a new offense designed by former Sun Jeff Hornacek, a new defense spearheaded by Mike Longabardi and at least six new rotation players acquired via the draft and trades by new general manager Ryan McDonough. With the recent trade of Caron Butler – who never played a game for the team – the Suns have only one player in his 30s: Channing Frye, who
After the high of winning the 2011 NBA championship, it didn’t take the Dallas Mavericks long to tumble back down. Between the much-publicized decision to let most of the championship team go, and the subsequent failure to obtain a top-tier free agent, Dallas is treading water – not quite ready to go under but with no real rescue in sight. This offseason, the Mavericks rolled the dice and brought in an eclectic combination of players through free agency that left much of
Caron Butler was in Phoenix hardly long enough to work on his tan. Traded by the Los Angeles Clippers to the Suns earlier this summer, Butler was shipped to his hometown Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday in a deal that landed Ishmael Smith and Slava Kravtsov. The trade also created more cap room for the Suns, who exchanged Butler’s expiring $8 million deal for the combined $2.5 million of Kravtsov ($1.5 million) and Smith ($950,000). “This deal gives us significant cap space as well
Labor Day Weekend is right around the corner, which means most of you are either holding tightly to the last vestiges of summer or getting ready for the beginning of football season. Then there are those of you who are aching and longing for the beginning of the NBA season. You, we like. We write articles like this for you. If you missed Part 1 of our players with make-or-break seasons, take the time to read it, then come back here for
The Los Angeles Clippers won a franchise-record 56 games and had the NBA’s third best scoring differential last season. Then after taking a 2-0 lead on Memphis, they proceeded to lose four straight, making an unexpected and disappointing first-round exit. Which begs the question – were last season’s Clippers the regular season contender or the postseason pretender? The team did not rest on its regular-season laurels during the offseason, adding a coach with a championship ring in Doc Rivers, a new set
We are back with the 2013-14 edition of the Sheridan Hoops team-by-team season preview index. In August, we asked bloggers who cover the NBA to give us five things to watch for the teams they cover for the upcoming season. You can read them simply by clicking on the team logo or name below. You can also get caught up on each team’s payroll, draft picks and financial outlooks with our salary cap analysis index. [Read more…]
After Derrick Rose shredded his ACL in the first game of the 2011-12 playoffs, Chicago Bulls management decided the injury shredded the team’s chances at competing for a title and proceeded accordingly. From the instant the front office decided to jettison useful contributors from the famed “Bench Mob” in favor of lesser, slightly cheaper approximations, the 2012-13 campaign was a bit of a throwaway season. Rose seemingly got the message and took it as an opportunity to sit out the entire season
NBA commissioner David Stern has been behind, and orchestrated, much of the drama that has filled the NBA over the last several decades. Most recently we have seen his fingerprints all over the bizarre Chris Paul veto, the NBA lockout, the Tim Donaghy scandal and implementing the dress code. But now, much like a Vince McMahon WWE storyline, Stern’s role in the show has taken a twist. [Read more…]