Think your team is making the playoffs in the West this season? If you don’t live in L.A., you sure about that? If your team is the Dallas Mavericks or Utah Jazz, you shouldn’t be so sure. The Western Conference has six teams that are postseason certainties and four teams that are locks for the lottery. That leaves five teams vying for two spots. The Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets are in. Each
With the opening of training camps in late September, there is now more offseason behind us rather than in front of us. With six weeks to go, many teams are looking to fill the final spot or two on their rosters. And as we pointed out last week, there is not much to choose from. Although there has been talk about some of these teams possibly adding another player, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Golden State, Indiana, the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis, New York, Oklahoma City
We are down to the bargain bin of free agency. Reduced for clearance! Everything must go! Up to 90 percent off! Yes, we know Mickael Pietrus and Derek Fisher aren’t exactly scrap heap material. Both were key players for playoff teams last season, as were Leandro Barbosa and Kenyon Martin. But most of what is left falls into three categories: Olympians, amnesty victims and veterans too proud to take minimum deals. There is some variety remaining at both forward spots and shooting guard but
Earlier this week, our Mark Heisler reported that the Orlando Magic would be willing to wait until next summer to trade Dwight Howard if that is what it takes to get fair value for the superstar center. It’s hard to imagine Howard even coming to training camp with the Magic, let alone playing the entire season in Orlando, where he is slightly more popular than George Zimmerman and Casey Anthony. But what if he did? The NBA schedule was released Thursday, and more
Dwight Howard and Jeremy Lin. Andrew Bynum and Kyrie Irving. If you were trying to build a team from nothing, which tandem would you rather have? Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey has spent the entire offseason trying to put together the first tandem. He reeled in Lin on Tuesday night but has been unable to get the Orlando Magic to budge on Howard. Cleveland Cavaliers GM Chris Grant may be trying to put together the second tandem. He drafted Irving just over a year
We told you restricted free agency is tricky. Well, it’s so tricky that the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves decided not to participate in it. This week, the Grizzlies decided against making a $7.4 million qualifying offer to guard O.J. Mayo while making cheaper QO’s to forwards Marreese Speights and Darrell Arthur. The Timberwolves made the same decision on their $8.2 million qualifying offer to Michael Beasley. Those decisions make Mayo and Beasley unrestricted free agents – and remove them from our
13. O.J. MAYO: The Grizzlies made qualifying offers to forwards Marreese Speights and Darrell Arthur but not Mayo, whose $7.4 million would have put Memphis well into supertax territory. The combo guard is free to sign with any team but may have to take a bit of a pay cut. He is just 24, makes 3-pointers and can attack off the dribble. But the market is filled with veteran shooting guards. DESTINATION?: Indiana tried to trade for him two years ago and
Free agency started Sunday midnight ET. On Monday, the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks are expected to make an unrelenting push for All-Star point guard Deron Williams, who is clearly the best available player. The team that lands Williams also has the best chance of acquiring superstar center Dwight Howard, who is not a free agent but has said that he would like to play alongside Williams. In terms of flexibility, the Nets have the inside track. They can offer Williams more money