Under the guidance of Sacramento Kings legend and current VP of basketball operations and GM Vlade Divac, the Kings have assembled the most talented roster they have had in nearly a decade. So why are so many expecting the worst out of Sacramento this season? It’s complicated. The long-term consequences for how Divac went about creating enough cap space to acquire the likes of Rajon Rondo, Kosta Koufos, Marco Belinelli, Caron Butler, Seth Curry, James Anderson, Quincy Acy and Duje Dukan
A few things are certain regarding the Oklahoma City Thunder this season: First, OKC’s best bet to make the playoffs rests solely on the shoulders of All-Star guard Russell Westbrook. Second, Westbrook’s string of triple-doubles makes him the team’s best candidate for the NBA MVP award, which Kevin Durant won last year. Finally, any success that the Thunder have this season will be without Durant, who will undergo his third foot surgery in less than six months, thus ending his season,
We all know what the Philadelphia 76ers are doing. Call it whatever you want – tanking, rebuilding, deconstructing, hoarding – the 76ers are openly, unabashedly and intentionally sinking to the bottom of the NBA, because GM Sam Hinkie has convinced ownership that is the fastest way to get back to the top. Hinkie has constructed a roster that is inherently non-competitive. The Sixers have the fewest first-round picks and the most undrafted free agents of any team. Their highest-paid player makes $6.6
There were two pieces of bad news coming out of Loud City this weekend. And there was a disproportionate reaction to the wrong one. There was far too much hand-wringing to the news that Russell Westbrook will be joining fellow Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on his broken right hand. The Thunder are going to survive November without Durant and Westbrook. They have 14 games between now and Dec. 1, the projected earliest return for
The Detroit Pistons are in another rebuilding phase, with longtime president Joe Dumars out and Stan Van Gundy taking over both as chief executive and coach. He inherits a roster that remains largely intact, with the addition of some much needed 3-point shooting. Brandon Jennings, Josh Smith, Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe are all back. Jennings and Smith are either untradeable or Van Gundy isn’t interested in selling low, while Monroe took the somewhat unprecedented step of spurning long-term contract offers
The NBA offseason continues to roll along, complete with Kevin Love trade talks seeming to have spiked to an all-time high. If you’re interested, our own Chris Sheridan spoke with Dan Bickley on KTAR 98.7 regarding the latest on a potential trade. The Detroit Pistons have had a rather busy offseason. Theirs began with the hiring of a new head coach and president of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy. Lacking a first round draft pick, they drafted Colorado point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, whom
Very few things in the NBA could diminish the media frenzy surrounding LeBron James’ thrilling 35-point Game 2 performance in the NBA Finals. The news coming from New York is one such thing. 18 years of lacing up sneakers, playing in 1,287 games, 259 playoff games—including an NBA leading 161 playoff wins, Derek Fisher seems to be moving into the next phase of his career. He is expected to be officially announced as the New York Knicks new head coach Tuesday
The NBA took a day off as a courtesy to the national championship game between Kentucky Wildcats and UConn Huskies, and most around the league were glued to the television on Monday night. The quest for the NCAA title always draws massive interest, but this one was particularly special for so many that are and have been in the NBA because of Kevin Ollie – the long-time, respected NBA veteran turned head coach of the Huskies. With his great leadership and