When the biggest names on the move at the NBA trading deadline are Brandon Jennings, Jeff Green and Markieff Morris, it is a bit of a letdown. There is legitimate reasoning behind last week’s relatively quiet activity. This summer marks uncharted territory for NBA teams and their general managers, none of whom want to be the guy who shoots before aiming. The salary cap is going to jump from $70 million to more than $90 million this summer. That is an unprecedented
BROOKLYN – The Sean Marks Era began with a hiccup in Brooklyn off the court. “I hope that I can capture all that I’ve learned and bring it to New Jersey,” Marks said during his introductory press conference before Friday’s game. Nets chairman Dmitry Razumov looked like a deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming car beside Marks when his new GM said, “New Jersey.” [Read more…]
Not sure about you, but I am getting sick and tired of waking up each morning and getting a bigger jolt from the political news than the basketball news. If you were given a choice of reading one and only one story today, which would you pick: “Trump vs. Pope” or “Trade Dudline Passes Quietly.” Yes, it is an election year, and it is going to be a lively and historical one. But for those of us who live and breathe NBA
We waited all season for this? Are you kidding me? A day of dumpster diving? Ugh. Well, let’s break it all down: LeBron James lost a friend, and that friend, Anderson Varejao, was immediately waived and may just come back to haunt his former team if he signs with an Eastern Conference contender after spending 12 seasons in Cleveland. In related news since we are talking about LeBron’s recent past, Miami Heat owner Mickey Arison saved millions and millions of luxury tax dollars.
After as astoundingly entertaining slam dunk contest on All-Star Saturday, the NBA was again reminded that sometimes the best response to criticism is to ignore it. After the performances of Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon, it is doubtful anyone will suggest the contest should be eliminated, or even slightly altered. But that could change as soon as next year. LaVine and Gordon established a standard that seems impossibly high to top. So if the next slam dunk is not as good as
Former NBA Executive of the Year Mark Warkentien once told me a story about this time of the season. Warkentien often traveled with his teams during the season and came to practices both at home and on the road. But not in the days leading up to the trading deadline. While with Denver, Warkentien was on the road with the Nuggets and sitting in the hotel lobby one morning before practice. It was a couple of days before the trading deadline. A
TORONTO— Say this for Russell Westbrook: It’s only fitting that someone who embodies Kobe Bryant’s ceaseless competitiveness would take home the MVP award in Bryant’s final All-Star game. Westbrook-ASG Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists to take home his second straight MVP award in a 196-173 win— a record number of points in the game and for the winning team— for the West over the East on Sunday night at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. “That’s
By this point in the season, every NBA fan on the planet has religiously read each one of my Most Improved Player rankings and my Sixth Man columns (probably). You all know what I, U.S. citizen Kels Dayton, think of the most impact players in the NBA in those two categories. And while my opinion is certainly meaningful and important, I am but one citizen in this great nation. I’m also an informed citizen who likes to make informed decisions when it comes