First, a disclaimer: I like Billy King. He has always treated me well, has always been friendly and helpful, and he was truly one of the NBA’s most gracious men. But now let’s get to the heart of the matter: Billy King was a terrible, terrible general manager. One of the worst in league history. His temporary replacement — an empty chair — will do a better job than King did. And his eventual successor will need one essential qualification — masochist
When asked recently about the trade value of Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Johnson, one Western Conference scout summed it up in six brutally painful words: “He makes a lot of money.” After 15 NBA seasons and seven All-Star appearances, the 34-year-old Johnson has turned from a very good basketball player into just another contract a team can’t wait to get off its books. Mercifully for Brooklyn, Johnson’s contract expires at the end of this season. When it’s all said and done in Brooklyn—
Sacramento Kings All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins has drawn significant trade interest from the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls, league sources tell SheridanHoops. Sacramento is listening, but the Kings are in a holding pattern and currently have no plans to make a deal despite sitting in 13th place in the 15-team Western Conference, the sources said. But should owner Vivek Ranadive, general manager Vlade Divac and coach George Karl decide to change course, they have been made acutely aware what is
We’re a quarter of the way through the regular season and the NBA landscape has shifted dramatically. Kobe Bryant is retiring after this season and wants to be remembered as a “talented overachiever” when it’s all said and done. Meanwhile, Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers (3-15) trail only the Philadelphia 76ers (1-19) for the league’s worst record. With every loss, the Lakers grow closer to keeping their top-three protected draft pick and potentially land top prospect Ben Simmons. On the flip side, the Golden
BROOKLYN — If there was such thing as NBA purgatory, that would be where the Brooklyn Nets franchise is currently situated. At 0-4 with no first round pick next June (and no control of any first round pick until 2019), no hope for a real superstar on the roster until at least the summer and a lack of talent to compete in the Eastern Conference, it looks more likely by the day that this will be a painful lost season for
After failing for two decades to pair their franchise cornerstone – be it Kevin Garnett or Kevin Love – with a complementary superstar, the Minnesota Timberwolves finally have reason to believe they have found a perfect two-man combination for sustainable long-term success. With Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns on hand, Minnesota has the NBA’s most promising 1-2 punch since Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook joined forces with the Oklahoma City Thunder seven years ago. So despite finishing last season with an NBA-worst 16 wins,
Just about every team in the Western Conference spent money in free agency. Some were trying to close the gap on the NBA champion Golden State Warriors. Some were trying to jump from the lottery to the playoffs. And some were merely trying to keep pace in the arms race. But while some teams spent smartly and found bargains, others threw bad money after good, overreaching and overpaying for players who may not provide the expected bang for the buck. The Sheridan Hoops
BROOKLYN – Mikhail Prokhorov will reportedly be in Turkey on Sunday celebrating his 50th birthday with legions of $20,000 models hoping to console him after his American playtoy’s season came to a crashing halt at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 Friday night. So what does the unabashed playboy do with this broken playtoy? A little more than five years ago, Prokhorov vowed to bring a championship to Brooklyn or get married if that didn’t happen within five years. Now,