Mitch Kupchak shouldn’t be playing hardball. In his desire to trade Pau Gasol, the GM of the Los Angeles Lakers should not have insisted on receiving Dion Waiters or a first-round pick from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nobody has overpaid for a rental since Ernie Grunfeld sent Ray Allen to Seattle for Gary Payton — and that was a long time ago. Kupchak should have lowered his demands to match the team’s expectations. The Lakers are done for this season and should be
The upcoming season is an evaluation campaign for the Phoenix Suns in every respect. They will introduce a new offense designed by former Sun Jeff Hornacek, a new defense spearheaded by Mike Longabardi and at least six new rotation players acquired via the draft and trades by new general manager Ryan McDonough. With the recent trade of Caron Butler – who never played a game for the team – the Suns have only one player in his 30s: Channing Frye, who
When Kobe Bryant infamously ruptured his Achilles tendon just before the start of the playoffs this past season, many wondered about the future of the superstar and whether he would ever regain his form. The assumption that he would likely have to miss at least the first couple months of the upcoming season was a foregone conclusion. It wasn’t even a matter of doubt. It was a simple matter of medical science and what is typically expected of players that
Unpredictable. Chaotic. Climactic. Frenetic. Turbulent. These are just several words to describe Thursday night’s NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn. For the first time in a while, nobody had any idea what was going to happen. And from the first selection down to the humongous blockbuster trade that went down, the theater and drama of the 2013 draft more than made up for the lack of an impact player among this year’s talent pool. With very few surefire
Woo-hoo! Draft lottery day has arrived, and there will be a whole new level of hope for some playoff outlier by the time the second half of the Spurs-Grizzlies game begins. Do we know who is going to go No. 1? No we don’t. As mentioned here, Orlando and New Orleans are likely to trade the No. 1 pick if they win. But the way the ping-pong balls fly will change the landscape across the NBA, and could lead to a significant amount
March Madness is right around the corner, so it’s time to circle the wagons and look ahead to the NBA draft after breaking down each position the past five Saturdays. Since the last Big Board, draft stocks have soared or tanked based on performances, injuries, and inconsistencies. As the NCAA Tournament approaches, the lives of NBA scouts will be consumed by the names on this list as they dissect every wrinkle or wart of each prospect. [Read more…]
The NBA draft is all about projections and potential. A generation ago, most NBA executives’ strategy was to compare prospects based on their collegiate careers. Then the Fab Five arrived at Michigan, and suddenly the process was flipped upside down. Underclassmen were scrutinized, analyzed and scouted thoroughly by NBA clubs who wanted to get the next big-time prospect. While prospects with high upside are intriguing, they come with more risk than upperclassmen. The lottery is annually dominated by underclassmen, primarily freshmen. [Read
In an extremely loaded four-team preseason tournament, the Legends Classic in Atlanta tonight will place No. 7 Kansas against No. 14 Michigan State on one side of the bracket while the defending national champion No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats will face the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils. Although Kentucky escaped its matchup with the Maryland Terrapins on Friday at the Barclays Center, it’s clear that this Kentucky team is a work in progress and will try to find itself as the season