Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes turned plenty of heads during his first postseason appearance this past season – particularly against the San Antonio Spurs in the second round. He has become a fan favorite and a candidate to become a future star in the league. Along with teammate Klay Thompson, Barnes has been spending time showcasing his multiple skill sets in training camp for the 2013 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship team. Both players were invited for the camp
Following Los Angeles Lakers’ forward Pau Gasol on Twitter might be the equivalent to being friends with Patch Adams. He has a tremendous heart for others. He is always mindful of the tragedies, the hurts and pains going on around the world. Unfortunately, Wednesday, tragedy struck much closer to home. Santiago de Compostela, 700 miles from Gasol’s native city of Barcelona. My heart is with the families of all the victims from the tragic train accident in Santiago de Compostela. — Pau Gasol (@paugasol) July 24,
Monday the Boston Celtics announced the signing of two players, one being Orlando summer league sensation Phil Pressey. The other; international center Vitor Faverani, who at 25-years-old is older than the typical NBA rookie. Faverani, a native Brazilian who played for Valencia Basket in the Spanish ACB league last season, is a 6’11” center. His addition to the Celtics’ roster gives them a true big man to play down low in the post. As with most basketball players, the opportunity to play in
Free agent guard Nate Robinson has a new home. He will be joining the Denver Nuggets for the next two seasons. As detailed in today’s Evening News, the deal is reportedly worth the bi-annual salary-cap exception, which is about $4.1 million. The addition of Robinson gives the Nuggets six new players heading into the 2013-14 NBA season, including JJ Hickson, Darrell Arthur, Randy Foye, Erick Green (46th pick in the NBA draft) and Joffrey Lauvergne (55th pick). He leaves the Windy City behind, as the Chicago
The Basketball World Cup (formerly known as the World Championship) will be held next summer in Spain, and the U.S. will be sending a team. Who will be on it? Who knows? We’ll have more on that in the upcoming days. As it is 30, elite basketball players (all listed below) will spend the next five days in a Las Vegas training facility with Team USA in a minicamp. Some of the NBA’s brightest young players are in attendance, hoping to show coaching staff
Teri Washington is a good friend who formerly worked in the NBA media relations office. She is now doing work for the Players Association as they transition into finding a replacement for Billy Hunter, who will spend the next couple of years trying to keep himself out of jail. She once told me a funny story (the two of us found it funny, others may not) about how when she was David Stern’s right-hand woman, the two of them had to
Former NBA champion Richard “Rip” Hamilton was recently waived by the Chicago Bulls, saving the team roughly $4 million next season. Rip Hamilton as a member of the Chicago Bulls. He quickly became a free agent target for teams looking to add a veteran shooting guard. Hamilton is clearly excited to be a free agent and seems to be embracing his time in the open market. First time I’ve been a free agent at the beginning of a summer in
Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard won Rookie of the Year honors this past season. He should thank No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis and coach Monty Williams for that one. Most in the media predicted that Davis would win the award before the start of the 2012-2013 season, but the forward suffered through some tough injuries (concussion, ankle) to begin the season and ended up missing 13 of his first 19 games. Although Davis looked promising throughout the season,