I’m kinda high on what the Charlotte Bobcats did with Ben Gordon. The Bobcats waived Gordon on Sunday, preventing him from appearing in the postseason should he sign with another team. While they may have alienated his agent – not a trifle thing in the business world of the NBA – two things should be pointed out. 1. When teams waive or buy out players at this time of the season, they are essentially establishing a price they are willing to pay
February’s buyout season is becoming more interesting than the trade deadline itself. There’s a case to be made that the goings-on surrounding Danny Granger, Caron Butler, Jimmer Fredette and others could make a bigger impact than all those moves made one week ago. With Granger, Butler and now Jimmer Fredette (as the Kings announced) officially bought out and ancillary players like Beno Udrih, Earl Clark and Shannon Brown finding new teams, it’s time to really ramp up the races for players who
Does anyone want Danny Granger? How about Jimmer Fredette? Perhaps Caron Butler? And how about this: Someone — the Memphis Grizzlies — wanted Beno Udrih so badly they claimed him off waivers. This is the last week for contenders to shore up their playoff rosters with NBA players for a run they hope will last into June. It is becoming known as February Free Agency. The official NBA rule is that teams have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, March 1 to waive a
I spoke with James Johnson at Atlanta Hawks media day back in October when he was just another former first-round pick trying to convince another team – his fourth, to be exact – that he was good enough for another shot. [Read more…]
This winter has been disastrous—if you live in the south and are unaccustomed to snow, ice and temperatures below freezing. The polar vortex has been causing cold fronts that have been much more intense than any in recent years past. Pax, the most recent winter storm to pass through the east coast and make its way to the southern states, has hit hard. There is less snow in some areas than the last storm, but more ice. The ice has caused
I was a guest on Sirius XM’s NBA show today, which was co-hosted by former Memphis Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins. Turning the tables, I opened the segment — even though I was the interviewee — by asking Hollins why he wasn’t in Detroit taking command of the Pistons after the firing of Maurice Cheeks. Hollins came right out and said he is interested in the job, but that nobody from Detroit had reached out to contact him. [Read more…]
Chris Paul returned to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. We don’t want to be party-poopers, but it probably should be pointed out that the Clippers were better without him. This does not mean that GM Gary Sacks should start exploring trade possibilities for a top-five player. And it doesn’t mean that coach Doc Rivers should go with the hot hand at point guard at the end of games. But it does mean that if the Clippers want to win a championship this
Is there any way to cool off the Memphis Grizzlies? The hottest team in the league (along with the Oklahoma City Thunder) continued its torrid streak on Friday by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-90. The Grizzlies have now won five straight and 10 of their last 11 games. Overall, they hold a 25-20 record and are now just half a game behind the Dallas Mavericks for the 8th seed in the Western Conference. [Read more…]