That was the word today from union director Billy Hunter in a podcast with Bill Simmons of Grantland.com. Simmons writes: “My takeaway from the hour: Billy seems convinced that his players are absolutely sticking together (that’s his “leverage,” so to speak); he feels like the league is in a much better place than it’s pretending to be; he’s more than happy to work with the more thoughtful owners on ambitious big-picture solutions; he believes the owners’ side has a built-in advantage
Tweet of the Day: J.J. Hickson
For those of you who may have missed it, Hickson is joining Bnei Hasharon of the Israeli League, where he will replace Wizards forward Trevor Booker, who left because of an injury. @JJHickson21 JJ Hickson Made it to Israel tweeps! Wow what a beautiful place! 1 hour ago via web
Heisler Column: At Long Last, Crunch Time
By Mark Heisler Talk about the matchup we waited our whole lives for … Bryant Gumbel vs. Paul Allen! What’s the chance of them fighting a steel cage death match? Things look that bad — as things figured to at this point with the warring parties already out $330 million … soon to be $660 million when Jefferson Davis, er, David Stern cancels two more weeks. The NBA trotted out Allen, the nation’s No. 23-ranked billionaire, now cautioning prudence after years of $100 million payrolls
Sheridan on Bryant Gumbel’s remarks
If Bryant Gumbel hadn’t used the words “plantation overseer” in his infamous commentary on HBO’s Outside the Lines last week, would he have been making some sort of a valid point? I discussed and debated that question with Rob Calloway on WAOK radio in Atlanta over the weekend. Click here to listen to the interview.
Beasley scores 56 in Durant’s exhibition game
My tweeps were chirping at me in the first quarter about a faulty stream on thebasketballchannel.com, but apparently the bandwidth problem was solved in time to show a pretty decent fourth quarter at Kevin Durant’s exhibition game in Oklahoma City last night, won 176-171 in overtime by Durant’s team. Some stat lines: Michael Beasley, 56 points on 25-for-35 shooting — though he disappeared in the fourth quarter when some defense started to get played, according to ESPN.com’s Royce Young. Chris Paul, 25 assists — including
Tweet of the Day: Kevin Durant
@KDTrey5Kevin Durant If you’re not in OKC, you can stream the game [email protected] Game is at 6 CT time #BasketballNeverStops Expected to Play: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul. Committed to play: Kendrick Perkins, James Harden, Lamarcus Aldridge, Jamal Crawford, Damien Wilkins, Michael Beasley and Jonny Flynn. Possible late additions: Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudamire, Russell Westbrook.
Sheridan column: Breakdown of financial and system differences
NEW YORK — Have you cooled off yet, guys? The next step in the NBA lockout is likely to be a phone call placed from the league office to the players’ association. It’ll be a courtesy call to inform the union that an announcement is forthcoming that another chunk of games is being canceled. The call could end there, or it could include a kicker: “Feel like sitting down together again?” Let’s face it: At some point, the logical and inevitable thing to
Zagoria Column: Should Andre Drummond Come Out After One Year?
By Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog Everything is all set up for Andre Drummond to be one-and-done at the University of Connecticut. The 6-foot-11, 277-pound center was named the Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year. He has been named to the Wayman Tisdale Award Preseason Watch List for the nation’s top freshman. And he is projected as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com. But just because Drummond can go as a lottery pick in next year’s draft, does that mean he should? “He has transcendent athletic ability and