NBA Media Day is in full swing for teams all around the league, which means plenty of status updates on players, coaching plans, headline-worthy quotes and more. There’s a lot of ground to cover, so we’ll get right to it: Danny Ainge realizes that the Celtics roster needs work, from Mark Murphy of Boston Herald: “The C’s are loaded at both forwards spots with Green, Brandon Bass, Gerald Wallace and (for now) Kris Humphries. Green’s versatility could actually find the scorer
The New York Knicks were stuck in neutral while other Eastern Conference teams improved mightily this offseason. Are they still No. 2 as they were last regular season? Probably not. After a disappointing loss to Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals that denied them a shot at the NBA champion Miami Heat, the Knicks essentially replaced Chris Copeland, Jason Kidd and Steve Novak with Metta World Peace, Beno Udrih and Andrea Bargnani. The team also re-signed J.R. Smith, Pablo Prigioni and Kenyon
When certain NBA owners are unable to attain a coveted player via free agency, they seem to feel the need to lash out or downplay what that player meant to their franchise. Mark Cuban has done this a number of times: he said the Dallas Mavericks were better off by not signing Deron Williams in the summer of 2012, and basically said the same about Dwight Howard after missing out on the center this summer. We all know about the
Like three to make two, the 10-second violation and low-top sneakers, the $30 million NBA player may become a thing of the past. A handful of stars have approached and even crossed the magical monetary mountaintop, which is something when you consider that the collective bargaining agreement has a maximum salary restraint. Michael Jordan – who else? – was the first player to make $30 million in one season, negotiating about an 800 percent raise after the 1995-96 season. That was Jordan’s
Well, we’re officially into the down period of the offseason, with the last two dominoes falling this week with Brandon Jennings’ trade to Detroit and Greg Oden signing with the Heat. The upside to that is we can definitely start looking towards next season, and all the dominance that a healthy Greg Oden will wreak on the Eastern Conference (if a healthy Greg Oden exists). If you’re ready for that, be sure to check out Chris Sheridan’s first 2013-14 power
Hello and welcome to the Evening News. As the offseason continues, we’ll keep you updated every night. What’s happening today? [Read more…]
In today’s NBA, in order to evolve, you have to understand your weaknesses. Avoid stretching into a place where you’re just not very strong. Focus on what you do well and fill in the blanks. Teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets are a few prime examples of this theory in action. Big market or small market, they’ve each had sustained levels of success —
Knicks coach Mike Woodson likes to use Carmelo Anthony as his power forward. We learned that much last year. So it should be safe to assume that Metta World Peace will be the Knicks’ starter at small forward, correct? Well, it’s never that easy with Woodson, who never settled on a set rotation throughout last season — even in the Knicks’ final game of the playoffs when Amar’e Stoudemire and Jason Kidd spent the final 24 minutes watching from the bench. Woodson has