This was NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum’s first time in charge of the televised theatrics of the draft lottery, and you could tell how genuinely surprised he was when the Cavaliers landed the top overall pick for the second straight year and the third time in four years. “My reaction was, WOW, three times in four years,” Tatum told SheridanHoops on Tuesday night. “That’s part of the drama, and part of the fun of our system is that you always have
CHICAGO – If there was anything to be learned at the 2014 NBA Draft combine, it is that when discussing prospects, positions are somewhat blown out of proportion. Despite their size, a prospect must must become very well-rounded in order to reach true star status at the next level. “It’s not new to see guys playing multiple positions,” Tom Penn, an ESPN analyst, told the Wall Street Journal in 2012. “But we’ve never seen this many elite players play multiple positions at an elite
The NBA Draft Combine in Chicago has come and gone, and there is growing buzz as GMs, scouts, and coaches are all watching and analyzing every movement and every answer from the invited prospects. The teams get universal measurements and medical reports and the opportunity to sit down and interview prospects that they may select on June 26. The beginning of the Combine was a bit flat as the top prospects Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Joel Embiid all pulled out.
LAKERS TARGETING KEVIN LOVE ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Dave McMenamin: Timberwolves president Flip Saunders will do everything he can to keep Love, who is fourth in the league in scoring at 26.3 points per game and third in rebounding at 12.6 per game this season. And Minnesota will have the advantage of being able to offer a five-year extension, versus a four-year deal from any other team. But if Love makes it clear that he has no intention to re-up with the Wolves, Saunders will be
Surprisingly, it has only taken one weekend of the NCAA Tournament to knock out my first four projected picks in the NBA draft. It has been six weeks since I did my last Mock Lottery, so expect to see a few changes in the positioning, but the personnel staying relatively the same. As I have mentioned previously, it is important to note that this list is purely based on the best overall current prospects. Once we know who is picking where
I don’t like the NCAA Tournament. I don’t like that college basketball’s regular season provides little postseason incentive. I don’t like that the coach is a bigger personality than the players. I don’t like that the games are played on neutral courts. I don’t like that one bad game or bad call or bad break can end a team’s season. I don’t like that “close” becomes a synonym for “well-played.” And I don’t like that poor play determines the outcome much
The NCAA tournament has given us plenty to talk about after its first weekend. We’ve been treated to six overtime games (the tournament record is seven), big time upsets (Duke, Syracuse and Kansas all failed to win more than one game) and memorable finishes (ask THE University of Dayton). But between all of the madness that has commenced this week, one game has managed to stand above the rest: No. 8 seed Kentucky vs. No. 1 seed Wichita State. [Read more…]
It was kind of hard to figure out what the Milwaukee Bucks were doing this offseason. Allowing their entire backcourt rotation of Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings and J.J. Redick to leave via free agency seemed to indicate a rebuilding project was about to begin. Jennings and Redick brought youngsters and draft picks in sign-and-trades, reinforcing that premise. Then GM John Hammond used his newfound cap space on middle-tier free agents O.J. Mayo, Zaza Pachulia and Carlos Delfino before dropping a big contract