You wanted fireworks? They began on the morning of the Fourth of July, and they promised to continue going off throughout the day as the NBA reacted to LaMarcus Aldridge choosing the San Antonio Spurs, who have pulled off the free agent coup of the summer. As the holiday began after a dizzying 72 hours, there was only one player left on the board who could be a game-changer in the race for the 2016 NBA title. All indications pointed to the
Yesterday’s main column started with a question: What is the next big surprise? Our answer arrived midday Wednesday. And what a surprise it was. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and coach Doc Rivers turned the NBA on its head by making a last-ditch effort to get DeAndre Jordan to change his mind on his commitment to signing with the Dallas Mavericks, flying to Houston for a sitdown with the seven-year vet. If Jordan were to back out of his verbal commitment to the Mavs,
Let’s be real here for a second. As nice of a job as the San Antonio Spurs did in free agency, along with the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks, does that really make any of them the outright winners? No, it says here. Despite a ton of unfinished business (LeBron James, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova remain unsigned free agents, and a Brendan Haywood trade is coming), the Cavs are emerging as the biggest winners of the summer for one
How quickly things change. You looking for NBA news today? Well, aside from Manu Ginobili’s return announcement, there are these items: _Marc Gasol will not play at Eurobasket, nor will Kristaps Porzingis. Which means the most competitive Olympic qualifier for later this summer just lost a major stud and a major draw for those who might not otherwise be inclined to watch. _ Mo Williams is garnering interest from the Spurs and Grizzlies. Yes, the same Mo Williams who will be making
Not every facet of the Greek economy is in shambles. There is the small quadrant occupied by free agent Kosta Koufos, became the top free agent center on the NBA market early Saturday and was signed, by Sacramento, by the end of the night. The fallout from the LaMarcus Aldridge signing had the ripple effect of making Koufos a very rich man. “What’s Kosta Koufos worth?” I asked a league executive Saturday afternoon. “Mid-level.” “What do you think he will get?” I followed up. “Probably $18
Not every facet of the Greek economy is in shambles. There is the small quadrant occupied by free agent Kosta Koufos, who just became the top free agent center in the NBA market. The fallout from the LaMarcus Aldridge signing has the ripple effect of setting Koufos up to become a very rich man. “What’s Kosta Koufos worth?” I asked a league executive this afternoon. “Mid-level.” “What do you think he will get?” I followed up. “Probably $18 million from the Lakers over two years.”
Decision day arrived for DeAndre Jordan, and he chose the Dallas Mavericks. That left the rest of the NBA waiting on LaMarcus Aldridge to make up his mind. George Karl, Vlade Divac and Vivek Ranadive also made a decision to roll the dice on a one-year deal with Rajon Rondo. Nobody’s star has fallen quite as far as Rondo’s. Just six months ago, he was the prized acquisition of the Dallas Mavericks. Then, before the Mavs were even finished being eliminated from the playoffs,
The biggest news in the first hours of 2015 free agency had nothing to do with a free agent. Instead, we got a whiff of the funny money that is going to be the new norm a year from now. And later in the day, the changing financial landscape became even clearer. Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans agreed to terms on a five-year max deal for at least $145 million. Yes, one hundred and forty five million, with an