11. Petteri Kaponen, Guard, Finland, (Dallas owns draft rights) Kaponen has been moving up the food chain in European basketball since he was drafted in the first round back in 2007. Kaponen is the clear leader of the undefeated Finnish squad, pouring in 22.8 points a game to go along with 5 assists, as he prepares to take the step up to the Euroleague with the Russian giant, Khimki Moscow. He has excellent size for a point guard at 6’5”, and
21. Dairis Bertans, Swingman, Latvia, (Spurs own NBA draft rights) This versatile wing has been a leader for Latvia offensively, as a scorer and distributor. Bertans is a strong shooter, and can contribute in many ways, but it is tough to find a niche right now that could make him contribute right away in the league, and his defense certainly isn’t up to Pop’s standards just yet. With his natural skill set and athleticism, Bertans has the chance to make the
If MarShon Brooks scores 34 points in an NBA Summer League game, does he make a sound? That depends on who’s listening. The casual basketball fan would say no, it’s freaking Summer League. But coaches, GMs and observant fans understand that Brooks, like a teenager who ran out of ProActiv, is on the verge of a breakout. The 6-5 guard has been a gifted scorer his entire life. He once put up 57 points in a 16-and-under AAU game and stunned the college basketball
So I’m taking my daughter to school and look over to see a bus with smoke coming out of it and I see this ha instagr.am/p/Oby9z1rZ_J/ — Shelden Williams (@SheldenWilliams) August 17, 2012 How does that bus not get pulled over each and every single day?
NEW YORK — Since Mikhail Prokhorov and Jay-Z became the faces of the Brooklyn Nets, the objectives of their mission have been made abundantly clear: Become relevant, move to Brooklyn, be better than the Knicks, steal the market. General manager Billy King made the deals and Prokhorov wrote the checks. The Nets embarked on an unprecedented spending spree this past summer and not only retained Deron Williams, but also surround him with some capable talent. Clearly, they are relevant. And yes, they are
With the opening of training camps in late September, there is now more offseason behind us rather than in front of us. With six weeks to go, many teams are looking to fill the final spot or two on their rosters. And as we pointed out last week, there is not much to choose from. Although there has been talk about some of these teams possibly adding another player, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Golden State, Indiana, the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis, New York, Oklahoma City
Earlier this week, our Mark Heisler reported that the Orlando Magic would be willing to wait until next summer to trade Dwight Howard if that is what it takes to get fair value for the superstar center. It’s hard to imagine Howard even coming to training camp with the Magic, let alone playing the entire season in Orlando, where he is slightly more popular than George Zimmerman and Casey Anthony. But what if he did? The NBA schedule was released Thursday, and more
