LAS VEGAS- Shabazz Napier has a set of skills you all know about; the slick handle, the pick-your-pocket defense and the winning pedigree with UConn’s national championship in April as Napier’s collegiate capstone. The other skills he needs to pick up as his rookie season approaches will help determine how well the Miami Heat can fare in South Florida’s post-LeBron James era. With James gone, Napier is now a much more important part of the team than Miami management imagined. [Read
CHARLOTTE HORNETS 2015-16 Offseason Additions: F Nicolas Batum, G Jeremy Lamb, G Jeremy Lin, G Aaron Harrison, F Tyler Hansbrough 2015 Draft Picks: C Frank Kaminsky Draft Picks Coming: 2018 second round (Brooklyn); 2018 second round (Cleveland) Draft Picks Going: 2016 second round (to San Antonio, protected 31-55); 2016 second round (to Denver, 56-60); 2018 second round (to Memphis) Cap Exceptions: Mid-level ($5,460,000) Trade Exceptions: Matt Barnes ($650,000, expires June 25, 2016); Luke Ridnour ($550,000, expires June 26, 2016) Over/Under: Over the cap, under the tax Amnesty Provision: Used on Tyrus Thomas (2013) PLAYER 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 Al Jefferson $13,500,000 Nicolas
12:12 a.m. Eastern -Billy King could not talk about the 59th and 60th picks on record but those deals should be finalized by the end of the night. Xavier Thames and Cory Jefferson, who were selected by other teams, will be Nets. 11:53 p.m. Eastern -Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the newest Knicks player. He hopes to bring energy and effort to the team, he told reporters. 11:44 p.m. Eastern -The Knicks just took Thanasis Antetokounpo, the older brother of Milwaukee’s Giannis. He played for Delaware in the
This may come as a surprise, but the Atlanta Hawks are actually closer to becoming championship contenders than you might think. This summer, Atlanta has a realistic opportunity to present LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony with the most attractive free agent pitch of any team in the league, if Danny Ferry maneuvers contracts aggressively and appropriately. It’s certainly an ambitious idea, but it’s far from ridiculous. First and most obviously, the Hawks are situated in the Eastern Conference. This gives them a succinct
Wednesday the All-NBA Teams were announced, and with them came a slew of congratulatory, confused and frustrated tweets. Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant led all vote getters as the lone unanimous selection to the First Team, followed by Miami Heat forward LeBron James, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah, Houston Rockets guard James Harden and Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul. Much to the chagrin of 124 NBA writers with voting privileges, Chris Sheridan, our esteemed Editor-in-Chief, was the lone vote preventing
The Detroit Pistons named Jeff Bower as Stan Van Gundy’s new general manager, the team announced Tuesday afternoon. Bower served as the Charlotte/New Orleans/OKC Hornets’ GM from 2001 to 2003 and 2005 to 2010 and comes to Detroit after a stint as head coach of Marist College. Bower will report to Van Gundy, who will make the final decisions for Detroit, and his experience as a player personnel guru, talent evaluator and head coach will help ease Van Gundy’s transition into
Thursday afternoon the NBA unveiled the 2013-14 NBA All-Rookie Team, celebrating this past season’s top young athletes. One name you will not see on the the team is the Cleveland Cavaliers’ No.1 overall draft pick Anthony Bennett, who only played in 52 games, averaging 4.2 points and three rebounds in just 12.8 minutes per game. He is just the fifth top overall draft pick to miss the All-Rookie team in 26 years. There were quite a few young rookies deserving of the
With much of the national discourse centering on Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the reality of the matter is that a lifetime ban and a $2.5 million fine is the limit to what NBA commissioner Adam Silver is capable of doing. The rest falls on the shoulders of 29 team owners, as they—according to the NBA’s Constitution and By-Laws—must vote with a 3/4’s majority to force the sale of the team. Players, media pundits and people all across the nation