By this point, David Blatt’s journey – from the suburbs of Boston to Princeton to Israel, followed by a Magellanesque coaching journey around Europe, a Euroleague title with Maccabi Tel Aviv and finally landing a head coaching job in the NBA with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers – is well documented. But what Blatt has learned along the way and what he brings to the professional game is more than worth chronicling. Maccabi Tel Aviv, Blatt’s former team, just completed its
As the New Orleans Pelicans enter a pivotal season in their potential progression to a playoff team, swingman Tyreke Evans appears to project as a reserve. The good news is that if Evans comes off the bench for your team, your roster is pretty talented. The bad news is that Evans has shown that he is a much better player as a starter. Evans’ first season in New Orleans was filled with adjusting to a new team and adapting to a new role off
Team USA smothered the Dominican Republic at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, the inconsequential final score was 105-62, but the Americans didn’t have the tallest or most intriguing player in the game. In fact, the tallest and most intriguing player in Wednesday’s contest hasn’t even started college yet. Meet Karl Towns, the 7-foot-1 big man from New Jersey who plays for the Dominican team and will soon start his freshman year at the University of Kentucky as one of the top NBA prospects
A year can make an enormous difference in the perception of an NBA team. Last summer, the Washington Wizards had the same backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal but they were faced with immense pressure of having to make the playoffs to save the jobs of head coach Randy Wittman and general manager Ernie Grunfeld. Before the season began, Grunfeld made what many perceived as a panicky move and sent its first round pick to Phoenix for Marcin Gortat, who was
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson has been the subject of trade rumors in the summer before he becomes a restricted free agent. The Warriors brass has refused to include the lesser acclaimed Splash Brother in a trade with Minnesota for Kevin Love, opting to keep one of the league’s most dynamic backcourts intact for at least one more calendar year. Just a year ago, the Los Angeles Clippers had another star player in the making in the backourt, Eric Bledsoe.
The recent rookie signings of Doug McDermott in Chicago and Andrew Wiggins in Cleveland put the possibility of a Kevin Love trade in a temporary holding pattern. Rookies cannot be traded in the first 30 days after signing their deals, so we are looking at late August before Minnesota Timberwolves GM Flip Saunders can complete a deal for his All-Star power forward. But that doesn’t mean Saunders can’t discuss those deals or another possible trade with the Golden State Warriors, whose proposal does
Have the Indiana Pacers already gone as far as they can go with this roster? It’s a question overlooked with all the big moves being made this offseason in the Eastern Conference, and the Central Division in particular. A quick synopsis, for those who watched the World Cup and forgot about basketball since the Finals ended: Cleveland signed LeBron James, drafted Andrew Wiggins and could trade Wiggins to Minnesota in a blockbuster deal for Kevin Love. Chicago got rid of Carlos Boozer and
LAS VEGAS- When the Atlanta Hawks sent Lou Williams to Toronto for John Salmons in a salary dump earlier this month, former first-round pick Lucas Nogueira was involved in the trade to the Raptors as well. Throw-ins in minor trades usually aren’t profiled, but what about a seven-foot 21-year-old who can block shots and fun the floor? Nogueira, born in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro, was the 16th pick of the 2013 draft, taken by Boston and sent to Atlanta on draft night. Nogueira