While the NBA offseason can at times seem to drag, there are still quite a bit of stories to help get us to tip-off. With that being said, let’s take a look at the latest news around the NBA: [Read more…]
The All-Star break has come and gone, and the trade deadline is here. (We’ll get to that.) But the biggest story in California this week – the biggest in the NBA, really – came Monday with the death of Lakers owner Jerry Buss. It will have a serious impact on the league’s most important brand, so it makes sense to start there. [Read more…]
Over the All-Star break, news broke that longtime Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss had been hospitalized and was battling cancer. Monday, Dr. Buss passed away. [Heisler on Buss: As owners go, he stands alone] Many NBA players (former and current), owners and personnel sent their regards via Twitter. [Read more…]
There have been three true NBA dynasties, but only one that is attributable to an owner. Red Auerbach, a coach and general manager, gets all the credit for Boston’s dominance in the 1960s; Michael Jordan merits the same in Chicago for his pair of three-peats with the Bulls, and Jerry Buss, who died Monday at age 80, deserves major props for what he did with the Lakers. [Read more…]
What is the ceiling of Washington Wizards point guard John Wall? When Wall entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2010-2011 Draft, some believed he may become one of the best point guards to ever play the game. Yes, the hype was that strong. And why not? He had incredible athleticism, size, played defense and displayed the ability to find teammates. In his second game ever as a Wizard, he quickly showed promise with 28 points and nine assists
When the NBA lockout was announced in the summer of 2011, I was driving the streets of Dallas and checking out the three sports radio stations in the area. I listened briefly to each one to get their take on the major news of the day and then called my basketball cohort Mike Monroe in San Antonio. “Guess what the three sports radio stations are discussing?” I said. “Not the lockout?” wondered Monroe. “Hardly.” “Well then what?” “Two of the three are in animated discussions
A funny thing happened on L.A.’s way to oblivion…. Actually, the L.A. teams didn’t go anywhere, even if they wrote them off as the new backwater of the West and whatever other insults and Skid Row photos they threw into their dumb stories. OK, I was the one who did the backwater story a while back. OK, it was just two days back—or put another way, just before the Lakers got Steve Nash–becoming even older and slower (their starters will be 38-34-32-32-25) but
Skid Row, downtown Los Angeles Meanwhile, along the old, deserted, weed-infested, beer bottle-strewn route into the setting sun…. Welcome to L.A., backwater of the West, with the road to the Finals now running through towns in Oklahoma and Texas, far from the glitter of Staples Center. Wait, you’re not talking about the Lakers and Clippers, home of four starting West All-Stars, are you? OK, backwater might be a bit much, but stay tuned. Whatever it is, it bears less and less