I always get a kick at this time of year when a team when a deadbolt lock lottery pick is bounced early in the NCAA Tournament. We already saw Duke (Jabari Parker) upset in the first round. And yes, it was the first round, despite what the NCAA wants you to believe. Kansas (Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid) went down in the second round. Duke and Kansas had been both expected to play into this weekend. Neither did. So, the breathless question after
What are we going to say about Andrew Wiggins four or five years from now? That was the question I was asked tonight on AM1280TheZone in Salt Lake City, and I prefaced my answer with a few words of caution — keep as close of an eye on Jabari Parker of Duke as you do on young Mr. Wiggins from Kansas via Ontario. Parker may be the better prospect, even if my NBA draft writer has him slotted at No. 2 in our
If Phil Jackson takes over the New York Knicks, he’ll have a tough job on his hands. He’ll have to rebuild in free agency in 2015, because the Knicks have traded away their 2014 and 2016 first-round picks and their second-round picks in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Plus Raymond Felton will still be under contract in 2015-16, as will JR Smith. Oh, and first he’ll have to convince Carmelo Anthony to stay. Plenty of talk on that, plus other subjects including Frank Isola
The general manager of the Houston Rockets wants an overhaul of the NBA draft. The Celtics’ assistant general manager has a proposal to do away with the whole shebang. Even new commish Adam Silver is open to changes. Why? The NBA draft is fine the way it is. Don’t change it. It’s working just fine. If you’re going to change anything, eliminate the ridiculous incentives that prompts kids – most of them not close to being NBA-ready – to enter the draft
The trade deadline is behind us, and now almost half the league _ and half of the league’s fan base _ starts looking forward to the draft. By now, we have heard plenty about the much hyped draft class of 2014. Riggin for Wiggins, Sorry for Jabari, Mishandle for Randle and I’m sure there are many more terms out there acting as synonyms for Tankapalooza. It’s without doubt the most eagerly anticipated class since 2003, and whether or not it lives up
These fans are sitting in what used to be press row at Madison Square Garden David Stern never really cared about the people who did more to publicize his product than any other group: the NBA beat writers for the daily newspapers, and later, for the major Web sites. Stern pretended to evince a modicum of interest in his meetings with us, which came a couple times during the year. He’d listen, then basically ignore everything he heard.
The Canadian invasion of the NBA has hit a speed bump. Anthony Bennett, the Canadian chosen No. 1 overall in 2013 by the Cleveland Cavaliers, is trending toward being a full-scale bust. And Andrew Wiggins, the Ontario native widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in 2014 when this college basketball season began, could “fall” to No. 2 or 3 come June. “I think Wiggins is still in the proper range,” one NBA executive told SheridanHoops.com. “No. 1 if things go well,
While Laker haters throughout the NBA are able to enjoy the struggles of one of the two most successful franchises in the league, they perhaps have overlooked the irony of the Lakers’ misfortune. It seems quite evident what is going to happen. The Lakers are not going to make the playoffs and will be in the draft lottery. Regardless of how few chances they have in the lottery, they’re going to win it. And Andrew Wiggins is going to be a Laker. Book