Four players – three of them future Hall of Famers – took pay cuts of a staggering eight figures this offseason. Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and Paul Pierce all took salary slashes of more than $10 million to extend their careers with contending teams. They head the list of the top 10 individual pay cuts this summer. Our list uses exact salary figures from last season. In some cases, this season’s figures are averages of multi-year deals received by players. For example,
The proverbial clock is ticking. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. With a four-year, $88 million dollar contract offer from the Houston Rockets waiting on the table; a three-day window within which said team has to match a three-year, $46 million offer sheet for restricted free agent Chandler Parsons; and the world seemingly waiting on the edge of their seats for LeBron James to formally announce — whether on his website, Twitter, TV or some other means — his intentions, there might not
Mike Brown is out after just one year as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The only question is, who fired him? Brown’s firing was announced in a joint news release that also announced that David Griffin – who replaced fired GM Chris Grant in midseason – would have the interim tag removed from his title and become the general manager. But when it came to Brown’s ouster, the first quote was attributed to owner Dan Gilbert, who is learning that life after
The Brooklyn Nets sent a message to the Toronto Raptors and Drake. Brooklyn let Toronto know the “dinosaurs” aren’t extinct yet and trolled Drake unlike anyone has ever before. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce turned the clock back to their collective Boston Celtics heydays. Joe Johnson continued to be the offensive catalyst from the wing by drawing double-teams and scoring at will when isolated. Deron Williams responded to heavy criticism by overcoming an ankle injury and playing like a $100 million franchise
Taking all the information at hand into account, it may very well be possible that Carmelo Anthony has played his last game as a New York Knick. That’s something that most Knicks fans probably don’t want to hear right now, but without any solid indication otherwise, it is a realistic possibility. [Read more…]
Monday night. 10 p.m. Eastern. Memphis Grizzlies. Phoenix Suns. Only one of them can make the playoffs. The Grizzlies will be coming off a game the previous night against the Lakers. If they win that game, they’re a game up on the Suns. If they lose, the two teams are tied. Phoenix has to be praying the Lakers get the win, because they’ve lost all three games against the Grizzlies this season, and they need to claim the eighth spot
The Nets and Bulls are on course for a potential rematch of last year’s first-round playoff series. Is this the ideal scenario for Brooklyn? As they say in the borough, “Fuhgeddaboudit!” It’s been a frigid winter in Brooklyn, and a trip to the “Windy City” could dampen any hopes of the Nets springing ahead to the next round. [Read more…]
Joakim Noah is a quiet warrior. The 6-foot-11 Chicago Bulls center has become the team’s best healthy player and even one of the NBA’s best players and he did it completely under the radar. Noah jumped into a leadership role when Derrick Rose tore his meniscus in November. The Bulls have won 21 of 29 games since Jan. 1, an East best. Chicago even managed to keep winning after losing Luol Deng via trade two months ago. On Sunday the Bulls hosted