// NEW YORK — Free agency opens in less than a week, unless the New York Knicks go to court to halt it. Is that really possible? Well, nothing can be ruled out with the Knicks sitting in a state of limbo after the NBA said it would appeal an arbitrator’s decision granting full Bird rights to Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak (along with J.J. Hickson of the Portland Trail Blazers and Chauncey Billups of the Los Angeles Clippers.) If the ruling stands,
NEW YORK — The NBA announced this afternoon it will appeal an arbitrator’s ruling that granted full “Bird rights” to players claimed off waivers, including Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak of the New York Knicks. In an unexpected victory for the players’ union and the Knicks, arbitrator Kenneth Dam ruled that a player’s Bird rights travel with him when his contract is claimed off waivers. The Knicks acquired Lin and Novak in that manner, and they will now have the right
The two best words in sports are Game Seven. When it comes to the NBA Finals, Game 5 isn’t too bad, either. Either one team has a 3-1 lead, which means the trailing team will scratch, claw, bite, fight and cheat to stay win. Or the teams are tied 2-2, which means both teams will scratch, claw, bite, fight and cheat to win. Our collection of the best Game Five showdowns of the David Stern Era includes three in which the series was
Donald T. Sterling Sterling World Plaza Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210 Dear Donald, Welcome back! I know, you didn’t really go anywhere, even if your Clippers stopped being the Clippers we’ve known for all these years. I mean, welcome back as the Clipper owner that those of us who write NBA columns or lines for Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien knew and loved. Wasn’t this season fun, while it lasted? As hyped as your guys were after getting Chris Paul, and as forgotten as they were when the Lakers
Tonight is the NBA draft lottery, which is one way to build a team. The other way is free agency, which starts in just over a month. Many teams positioned themselves for this summer, expecting Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams all to opt out and become free agents. But Howard and Paul opted in, and now there is money to spend on a significantly weaker but nevertheless strong class. A handful of teams could be very active this summer. Among playoff
Really? Two Bernucca Lists in a row without a correct answer? C’mon, Sheridan Hoops readers, you’re better than that. Yes, Edition 16 was a tough one, and sooner or later, we were going to produce one of these lists that stumped our readership. And reader Andrew was very close on Edition 17, which ran last week. However, we have to question his sense of NBA history. The correct answer was “Players who have averaged 25 points and 13 rebounds in the same season.” We
Two teams separated by percentage points jostle for playoff position Saturday when the banged-up L.A. Clippers host the finally healthy Memphis Grizzlies at the Staples Center. The outcome of this game is huge. Memphis (25-20) and the Clippers (26-21) are fourth and fifth respectively in the tight Western Conference playoff race, but just half a game ahead of 9th seeded Denver. The Clips have lost three straight games for the first time this season, falling three-and-a-half games behind the Pacific Division leading Lakers
Donald T. Sterling Sterling World Plaza Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210 Dear Donald, Well, you said to write again when I found work! As you may have heard, I’m no longer with the large, if not as large as it was once, metropolitan paper in Los Angeles. Of course, times are even tougher in newspapers than David Stern said they are in the NBA, although in our case, we have the casualties to show it’s not just woofing. But enough about moi, look at you! After all those years