We have two pieces of news to pick apart today: The announcement that USA Basketball has released a list of 30 finalists for the 2016 Olympic team, and the “non-commitment” from LeBron James regarding whether he will be part of the party. And yes, it will be a party. The games are in Brazil, after all. And LeBron, whose non-commitment is disingenuous at best, does not miss a good party. So let me tell you a little story about the Brazilians. [Read more…]
Mikhail Prokhorov kept insisting Monday that he is in no hurry to fill the general manager or coaching vacancies for the Brooklyn Nets. Which begs the question: If he is in no hurry, is that because he is buying time in order to sell the team? I wouldn’t rule it out. My biggest takeaway from Prokhorov’s news conference in the wake of his pogrom that dispatched Billy King and Lionel Hollins was the Russian billionaire’s admission that people have been making bids for
First, a disclaimer: I like Billy King. He has always treated me well, has always been friendly and helpful, and he was truly one of the NBA’s most gracious men. But now let’s get to the heart of the matter: Billy King was a terrible, terrible general manager. One of the worst in league history. His temporary replacement — an empty chair — will do a better job than King did. And his eventual successor will need one essential qualification — masochist
Like millions of other Americans, I awoke this Sunday with a losing Powerball ticket. The $900 million jackpot will now move past the $1 billion mark by the time the next drawing is held in the middle of the week, and we all are going to have to wait to see if we become the next instant billionaire. Then, for someone, it will become a question of what to do with the winnings. Maybe become the next Mark Zuckerberg, and give 99
If I had been smart enough — or skilled enough — to put Oklahoma City backup point guard Cameron Payne and Utah Jazz center Jeff Withey on my Daily Fantasy Sports team at Draft Kings last night, I might be telling you about how I turned $3 into $50,000. There is a guy out there who actually is telling that story today, because through a combination of skill and luck, that player — who goes by the username of “supermanb8” —
In an NBA season marked by unprecedented dominance, has the bar measuring success been raised too high? Are we too quick to criticize teams that are not playing at the level of the Golden State Warriors? Have we forgotten where the Cleveland Cavaliers were a year ago? Sure seems that way sometimes, and never more so than it has since Christmas as the Cavaliers followed up their NBA Finals rematch with a ghastly loss to the reeling Portland Trail Blazers, then struggled to
Pre-Christmas week brought a foreshadowing of what was coming, as an e-mail from columnist and NBA Encylopedia author Jan Hubbard (who lives in Dallas) included a notation that he was in Los Angeles, where the locals are still infatuated with Kobe Bryant to an extreme degree — or so it seemed to an outsider and objective observer, as Hubbard was. Christmas then brought the news that Bryant is running away with the lead in All-Star balloting, which is always a popularity
In all likelihood, Luke Walton will be spending All-Star Weekend on vacation in two months. This would be a travesty, and it is time for someone to tell NBA commissioner Adam Silver to prevent a miscarriage of recognition. I will take on the job. As most of you know, the honor of coaching each conference’s All-Star team goes to the coach whose team has the league’s best record prior to the break. Last year, that job fell to Steve Kerr, who was