A couple of months ago, I wrote a column about how NBA commissioner David Stern’s voiding of the original Chris Paul trade had made a mockery of the New Orleans Hornets, who following the approved Chris Paul trade were making no effort to compete. There was predictable backlash, mostly from Hornets fans who disagreed with my premise that making the playoffs – no matter how short your stay – is always better than intentionally stinking up the joint for several years
NEW YORK — If Dan Gilbert wants to raise the basket height to 12 feet, or have the All-Star ballot printed in Comic Sans font, he can bring it up for discussion with the competition committee. And now, he can be a part of the discussion, too. Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was announced Wednesday as one of the new members of the league’s reformulated competition committee — the group that recommends rules changes such as the ones that were
If you are Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos, what are you thinking as you wake up this morning? For one thing, you’ve got to be grateful to be walking the earth for another day, still having your wits about you. But on the other hand, your team just had its most embarrassing loss of the season, your coach sounds apoplectic, your superstar’s intentions are unclear, and there is no way in hell you can convince yourself that your team is capable of
Why isn’t Josh Smith in the All-Star Game? Smith has been the best and most consistent player this season on the Atlanta Hawks, who have the same record (20-14) as the Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets and deserve to have an All-Star. But the Hawks probably don’t deserve two All-Stars. At least that’s what the Eastern Conference coaches felt, picking Joe Johnson and snubbing Smith, whose numbers are considerably better. When Johnson had to bow out with an injury earlier
Pau Gasol is staying right where he has been all season — on the trading block. Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak made that clear Monday night in the wake of my report that Derrick Rose let it be known to Bulls management that he would welcome a trade that would bring Gasol to Chicago — a deal that would likely include Carlos Boozer and another player being sent from the Bulls to the Lakers. “As a former player, I understand
Two weeks ago, Linsanity all began when Mike D’Antoni pointed down to the end of the bench, told Jeremy Lin to take his warmups off and go give it a shot against an unsuspecting Deron Williams. A comeback victory ensued, Lin was named the Knicks’ starter for the next game, and we really don’t need to rehash all the details of the phenomenon that captured the attention of every NBA fan from President Barack Obama on down. An All-Star, and a player
Rebuilding the Lakers and Celtics…. Good luck. As the announcers say, It’s Always Special When These Two Teams Meet—at least, if one hasn’t fallen off the world, as the Celtics had in 2007 when Laker fans got “MVP!” chants going for Kobe Bryant in the Derek Jeter Center or FleetCenter or whatever they called it then. It’s still special going into Thursday night’s game in the—uh, TD Banknorth Garden–even if both are old and they’re trying to gum each other to death. If all