It is crystal ball time as NBA free agency is opening, and anybody who tries to predict the future does so at considerable risk given the way things change by the hour in the NBA these days. Just ask Larry Drew. Free agency begins at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, and the biggest fish that could be caught is Carmelo Anthony. Apologies to LeBron James, but pretty much everyone is convinced he is staying in Miami. One team that has been under the radar
How many more years will LeBron James stay with the Heat? Not two, not three, not four … It might just be five. And a big part of the reason why was Miami’s acquisition of point guard Shabazz Napier in Thursday night’s draft, a move that James openly praised on Twitter just moments after the deal with Charlotte went down. If ever there was a case in which you needed to read between the lines, this was it. And how is this for
LeBron James has notified the Miami Heat that he is exercising his Early Termination Option, which will make him a free agent. Will he go back to Cleveland? Will he stay in Miami? [Read more…]
The folks in Houston are hoping they have a good shot to land Carmelo Anthony in free agency. Or LeBron James, for that matter, should he somehow find Houston more appealing than remaining in Miami or returning to Cleveland. In my opinion, ‘Melo’s choices rank like this: New York, Dallas, Houston/Chicago, with the latter two tied for third. Money is going to be a factor, and the fact that the Knicks can work off a starting salary of $23.2 million and offer
This is the best time of the year in the NBA. The draft is only days away, opt-in and opt-out decisions are due a couple days later, and free agency courtships can begin July 1. We are currently in a holding pattern in which Kevin Love rumors, Carmelo Anthony speculation and Joel Embiid-Greg Oden comparisons are being wildly thrown around. You can lose track of yourself trying to keep track of all the rumors, so try to remember that rumors are
The Cleveland Cavaliers have chosen David Blatt of Maccabi Tel Aviv as their new head coach. They will not be disappointed. I have known Blatt since 2007, when he led the Russian national team to a victory over Spain in Madrid in the gold medal game. I dined with him in Shanghai in 2008 in the prelude to the Beijing Olympics, and our paths crossed again in Istanbul in 2010 when I was covering the world championship. That was when Blatt
The Decision II is upon us. Yes, we have to call it that, because LeBron James has to decide his future — specifically whether or not he will opt out of the final year of his contract, and whether he will stay with the Miami Heat, old contract or new contract. [Read more…]
SAN ANTONIO — Before we get to the elephant in the room, it would be unfair to the San Antonio Spurs to not acknowledge their accomplishment and give you a little snapshot of what it was like in their locker room after they became NBA champions Sunday night. The champagne being served and sprayed was Dom Perignon, 2003. I’m told it tastes OK, but I don’t do champagne that costs more than my car. There was not a ton of Dom.