One of my good friends in the business is Jay Mariotti, who I first met when I was covering Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls as they were beginning their second three-peat. He and I have both been first-hand witnesses to some of the most magical moments in basketball history, and as we come to the end of this work week and pause a moment to reflect on what we have just witnessed, a day that a lot of us will
Just a tad over four years ago, LeBron James made his breathtaking decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat live on ESPN – a move that would be scrutinized for years to come. At least back then, though, everyone knew when the announcement would be made because there was a set time, date and place for it. This year, all we know is that James is supposed to post the decision to return to Cleveland on his website lebronjames.com.
New Cavs head coach David Blatt has amassed his fair share of European hardware. The NBA has plenty of Euroleague athletes among its teams’ rosters. Now, it has its first head coach. Last year, as the Boston Celtics began searching for a replacement for Doc Rivers, who was essentially traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, Blatt was mentioned by some reputable basketball writers—including our very own Chris Sheridan—as a possible candidate. However, the job went to Butler coach Brad
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
Has Steve Ballmer finally acquired an NBA franchise? Ever since Shelly Sterling claimed to have her husband Donald’s approval to move forward with the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers, she has moved at a blistering pace to field bids in hopes of securing a legitimate buyer before the NBA Board of Governors convene Tuesday, June 3 to vote to have them removed as team owners. Since initiating the bidding war for the Clippers, Shelly’s husband—estranged or not—has
I caught some grief from all corners today after news came out that I was the only voter among 125 who had Blake Griffin second, behind Kevin Durant and ahead of LeBron James, in the NBA’s Most Valuable Player voting. Quite frankly, I am stunned I was the only one. Doc Rivers made the case in April that Griffin was the better No. 2 candidate, and that was something I decided, too, over the final two months of the season — a time
Phoenix Suns point guard Goran Dragic, once [presumably] hailed as Steve Nash’s heir-apparent, made great strides this year, leading his team to 48-34 record—a 23-game improvement from 2012-13, just missing the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. His play was markedly better, improving his scoring from a career average of 9.5 points to 20.3 this year. That’s an impressive amount of growth. His play earned him the NBA Most Improved Player Award. Our own Chris Sheridan broke down Dragic’s performance and
The narrative is only slightly different today, but that much more impactful. According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, the New York Knicks are expected to finalize a deal with Phil Jackson to bring the legendary head coach into the organization in a major front office role: “Everything is pretty much done,” the source said. “There are just some little things here and there that need to be worked out, but the Knicks are very confident that this is essentially done.” [Read more…]