PHILADELPHIA – For nearly five decades, Jerry Colangelo has been pro basketball’s version of Annie Sullivan: a miracle worker. No, he never taught a blind and deaf Helen Keller how to “read.” But he did take over the expansion Phoenix Suns in the late 1960s and build them into a legitimate NBA power, twice winning the Western Conference and coming close to a championship with a team that was almost always respectable. That made him an institution in the Valley of the
Kristaps Porzingis has become the trendy name among NBA executives since dominating at his ASM Sports workout a week ago. “I think there is a strong chance he lands in the top four picks,” one Eastern Conference general manager told SheridanHoops. “The Lakers, Knicks and 76ers are all possible options. He has the length and athleticism of Andrei Kirilenko and stroke and footwork like Dirk Nowitzki. He will be the best prospect in this draft while also having the best upside.”
On Friday, four of Europe’s top teams head to Madrid to compete in Europe’s premier basketball competition, the Euroleague Final Four. Several NBA scouts and GMs will get a live look at the action to see if they can find some new international talent. Which future NBA players will make their name known this weekend? Which former NBA players will shine with the pressure on? Here is a guide for the casual NBA fan on what to watch for in NBATV’s broadcast of the
The Western Conference got a little crazier in December when Dallas acquired Rajon Rondo from Boston to become a dark horse contender, while Houston was willing to take on the volatile ways of Josh Smith, who was amazingly waived by Detroit. It seems the rest of the West won’t stay quietly as others shore up on their weaknesses. Oklahoma City traded for Dion Waiters earlier in the week, and apparently, all you have to do is pick up the phone and talk
Let’s start with the obvious: Josh Smith is not going to be claimed on waivers. It’s true that Smith, 29, won’t be able to sign anywhere until 5 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, when the league office will announce if Smith was claimed in the waiver process. But the only reason Detroit cut Smith, even with over $35 million in guaranteed money still owed, was because they couldn’t find a taker to trade for him at that contract. In other words, no
We have our first trade speculation frenzy of the 2014-15 NBA season courtesy of Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who is using his bully pulpit at the Worldwide Leader to throw a little something against the wall, saying the Brooklyn Nets have made it known around the league that Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez are available via trades. But as Stein reports, nothing is imminent. And we should further remind you that players who signed contracts over the summer are
As you’ll probably notice from the headline, Andrei Kirilenko’s time with the Nets may be drawing to a close. What makes this interesting, apart from how good Kirilenko used to be, is that he turned down a sizable contract from the Timberwolves to come to Brooklyn in the first place on a veteran minimum deal. Kirilenko has barely seen the floor this year, and last year was easily the worst of his career, but you’ve got to imagine there’s an NBA
Adding some small degree of excitement to what would have been a dull, mundane preseason game at the Barclays Center, the league conducted an experiment with the Celtics and Nets playing 11-minute quarters on Sunday. In addition to the one fewer minute per quarter, there were two media timeouts in the second and fourth quarters instead of the normal three. The shorter 44-minute long game, the first one in NBA history, ended in a pleasant one hour and 58 minutes with the Celtics