Since training camp opened, there have been five significant trades involving 10 teams, 19 players and seven draft picks. The big winners have been a team that got rid of the highest scorer among the traded players and a team that acquired a player who has yet to play. The big loser has been a team that swears by analytics. Another way to look at it is like this: The biggest trades thus far have been the ones that haven’t been made
As an action packed weekend of basketball comes to a close, here’s the good, bad and the ugly of what took place. [Read more…]
Four years ago, when the Los Angeles Lakers were winning their second NBA championship in as many years behind the big bodied, long armed and incredible skill of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum (oh, and that Kobe guy), would it have ever crossed your mind to see the two Laker bigs as the centerpiece of a midseason trade? For each other? [Read more…]
By now you have probably heard the news that Andrew Bynum had been suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team, and that the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to trade him before the remainder of his two-year, $24 million contract becomes guaranteed on Jan. 10, meaning the Cavs would have to waive him by Jan. 7 to save nearly $19 million. Would anyone want him? All character issues aside — and there are plenty of those — this is still a player
We have quite the interesting post up today from Evan Abrams, known on Twitter as @Betropolitan, who lists the odds — and they are very long odds — on anybody other than the Indiana Pacers or Miami Heat emerging from the Eastern Conference. You can even get 40-1 odds on the Detroit Pistons, who have defeated both of those conference powerhouses. Those are the same odds listed for the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, who both have major problems on their
Brain-twister for you today, folks. Go back to the start of the 2005-06 regular season, and try to name a superstar player who has represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. Your answer cannot include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo or Ray Allen. It’s OK. Keep thinking … [Read more…]
Not to mislead, there is not a tree competition among NBA players. However, in light of the Christmas season—today being Christmas Eve—a few players, namely Boston Celtics rookie Kelly Olynyk, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love, took to Instagram and Twitter to post pictures of their families trees to help spread Holiday cheer. [Read more…]
NBA teams have been drafting European players and stashing them overseas for several years. But the term “Eurostash” has taken on a whole new meaning this season. It’s the Americans who are being stashed across the pond, too. And one of them can actually be called an “Aussiestash.” There’s a new term for y’all. This year’s draft featured five American players taken out of college who are currently hooping overseas while their rights are retained by NBA teams. And that doesn’t count second-round