Let’s start with the obvious: Josh Smith is not going to be claimed on waivers. It’s true that Smith, 29, won’t be able to sign anywhere until 5 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, when the league office will announce if Smith was claimed in the waiver process. But the only reason Detroit cut Smith, even with over $35 million in guaranteed money still owed, was because they couldn’t find a taker to trade for him at that contract. In other words, no
Kind of funny to see so many teams supposedly lining up to get their hands on Josh Smith. One team’s $35 million piece of trash is apparently somebody else’s treasure, eh? Why a good team would want to bring in a player who has a high potential to poison the well is beyond me, but Smith will clear waivers on Christmas Eve and presumably will make up his mind on where his post-Pistons career will take him. Speculation in the mainstream
Rajon Rondo made his debut count with the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night against the San Antonio Spurs. The Mavs new point guard scored six points on 3-of-11 shooting and dished out nine assists, adding seven rebounds in a 99-93 victory. It seems like a typical Rondo night. He didn’t score until the third quarter, was well below 40% from the floor, but made all the plays we’ve seen him make in Boston the past eight plus years. [Read more…]
I know, I know. The photo of the day is not Rajon Rondo packing his bags and heading to Dallas to join in his new teammates. Nor is it Rondo in a Mavericks uniform. Yes, it’s a huge deal and shakes the entire Western Conference on it’s damn head, but that’s news that Chris Sheridan and our other writers have, and are going to tackle. The reason why you ask, though? Because Carlos Boozer took a photo today that, in my
I am going to tell you a couple of stories about the players that changed teams in today’s Rajon Rondo trade, but allow me to get right to the heart of matters first: Rondo is one of those rare players, a la Jason Kidd, who can totally dominate a game without taking a shot or scoring a point. If you don’t think the Dallas Mavericks just became instant championship contenders, I respectfully disagree with you. This move puts them over the top.
It’s been 175 days since New York and Dallas completed a six-player trade that sent Tyson Chandler to the Mavericks and Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert and Shane Larkin to the Knicks. Late in the afternoon on June 25, both teams looked like they upgraded in different ways in Phil Jackson’s first major deal as Knicks president. Dallas needed rim protection and added a familiar face in Chandler, a starter on their 2011 title team. New York needed a competent point guard in
The hottest team in the Eastern Conference doesn’t have a three-headed monster like the Cleveland Cavaliers. It doesn’t have a scrutinized superstar returning from injury like the Chicago Bulls or a rapper sitting courtside at every home game like the Toronto Raptors. Heck, it doesn’t even have a national TV appearance, even though it plays in TNT’s backyard. But the Atlanta Hawks have won nine of their last 10 games, flying well under the radar toward the top of the conference. The Hawks
Amid the showers of thanks and gratitude for our nation’s war veterans and those currently serving in the military, a single tweet crossed the wire remembering one of the founding members of the Sugarhill Gang. Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson, 57, passed away early Tuesday of complications from cancer. Big Bank Hank, along with Wonder Mike and Master Gee, all of whom hailed from Englewood, New Jersey, were assembled by producer producer Sylvia Robinson. Their 1979 hit, “Rapper’s Delight,” was the