The salary cap rose to $70 million for the 2015-16 season, an increase of 11 percent and nearly $7 million from a year ago, the NBA announced Wednesday night. The cap for next season originally was projected around $67.1 million. Shortly before free agency began, however, CBS Sports reported that the number would be at least $1 million higher and perhaps as much as $2 million higher. In fact, it is $3 million higher, the sort of anecdotal information that will
Yesterday’s main column started with a question: What is the next big surprise? Our answer arrived midday Wednesday. And what a surprise it was. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and coach Doc Rivers turned the NBA on its head by making a last-ditch effort to get DeAndre Jordan to change his mind on his commitment to signing with the Dallas Mavericks, flying to Houston for a sitdown with the seven-year vet. If Jordan were to back out of his verbal commitment to the Mavs,
What is the next big surprise? When will it happen? We are inside of 48 hours until the league’s moratorium ends, so fasten your seatbelts, folks. This summer’s free agency period has provided as much suspense and excitement as the NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs have agreed to terms with LaMarcus Aldridge and David West while retaining Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green in hopes of returning to the Finals. West said he wanted to play for a title
So this is how it ends for Kobe Bryant, huh? A top-10 all-time player, Bryant will spend his last four years as the face of arguably the most storied franchise in NBA history, watching it plunge into unprecedented irrelevance. What has happened to the Lakers happens to a lot of successful family-owned businesses. It was handed from the patriarch to the next generation, which was in over its head. It took its brand for granted and treated the competition with disdain rather
Slowly but surely, the free agent market is starting to dry out with over 40 signings in the first three days of the free agency period. Further significant signings occurred on Friday with the biggest deal going down for DeAndre Jordan, who decided to bolt the Los Angeles Clippers to join the Dallas Mavericks for four years on an $80 million contract. Other significant and relevant deals included the following: Tobias Harris agreed to stay in Orlando for a four-year, $64 million
Considering the history of the Clippers, the easy shot is to compare them to the franchise they’ve always been. Losing a 3-1 lead in the series and a 19-point lead in the third quarter of what should have been the deciding game is another case of “the Clippers being the Clippers” – only on a much grander stage. The reality is, however, that as inept as the Clippers looked while losing in the Western semifinals to the Rockets, they are nothing
The top seeds in each conference won at home last night in very different fashion. The Hawks needed a late offensive rebound from Al Horford to edge the Wizards 82-81, while the Warriors cruised to a 20-point victory. [Read more…]
Please, people, don’t panic! The strategy of fouling bad foul shooters, incessantly creating a parade to the free throw line, will die a quiet death. I’m not talking about a team that is behind by 6 with a minute to go trying to get the ball back. I’m talking about the “Hack-a-Shaq” – or Dwight, or DeAndre – strategy of putting a 40 percent shooter on the line 40 times a game. Yes, it is bad television. It kills the flow of