(READERS: This column originally ran on Oct. 28, 2012, and we call your attention to the fine print in the final item. Why? Because news came Wednesday that Heidi Ueberroth is stepping down as president of NBA International, which means she will not get the position that Jan Hubbard thought she’d be a strong candidate for. She was known as an “FOA” — Friend of Adam –so the news of her departure comes as somewhat of a surprise. -CS) As
Whenever the NBA and the Players Association negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, the media – including Sheridan Hoops – goes to great lengths to understand and explain its rules, exceptions and nuances. But since the first wave of players began making the jump from high school to the NBA in the mid-1990s, the premise of every new CBA could be summed up in six words: To save the owners from themselves. Restraint never has been the collective strength of NBA owners. In
With transactions reduced from a torrent to a trickle, the NBA is now truly in its offseason. Yes, there’s still a few prominent names out there – Lamar Odom, Antawn Jamison, Corey Maggette and Tyrus Thomas among them – but no one who is going to crash our list of the top 10 free agent signings. [Read more…]
In a seemingly minor trade, two former first-round picks from Syracuse were swapped for one another Thursday. Boston sent 2012 first-rounder Fab Melo to Memphis for the non-guaranteed contract of Donte Greene. This trade has relatively minor implications, but an impact nonetheless that will be laid out. It would be a surprise if Greene plays a single minute for the Celtics. The former Sacramento King didn’t play last season after breaking his ankle last summer. This was after a 2011-2012 season
PHILADELPHIA – No, that wasn’t a puff of white smoke emanating from the Philadelphia 76ers offices when their 118-day vigil finally came to an end Wednesday. It was more like they were waving the white flag, as if to say “Okay, we surrender. We’ll hire a coach, even though we all know the goal is to stink so bad this year we have the best chance to win the lottery, and a good coach might mess up the plan…’’ With that, “Nice
The NBA is about to go through one of its most important transitions in history. In fact, it is going through several simultaneously. While some are dramatic and others symbolic, the final cumulative effect should be an evolution — not a revolution. The most public and obvious is the retirement of Commissioner David Stern and the ascension of Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver to that powerful post. While their styles are very different, the succession has been planned out and should be very
Damian Lillard, last season’s Rookie of the Year, led the NBA in minutes played. To put that into perspective, over the last five seasons, only two rookies – O.J. Mayo and Derrick Rose in 2008-2009 – even placed in the top 15 in minutes played. That comes out to three rookies among 75 players, a minuscule 4 percent. It is beyond a tremendous burden to put on a rookie, much less one who is handling the ball. That burden extended to the
Like three to make two, the 10-second violation and low-top sneakers, the $30 million NBA player may become a thing of the past. A handful of stars have approached and even crossed the magical monetary mountaintop, which is something when you consider that the collective bargaining agreement has a maximum salary restraint. Michael Jordan – who else? – was the first player to make $30 million in one season, negotiating about an 800 percent raise after the 1995-96 season. That was Jordan’s