There is a ton of money available in NBA free agency next summer, and everyone knows it – especially players in the final year of their contracts. Across all sports, the contract year phenomenon occurs when an athlete performs at his highest level with millions of dollars on the line in a contract season. As a result, players naturally put in extra work in the gym and focus more clearly with their financial future hanging in the balance. Some players use these
Talk is cheap. Just ask the slumping Houston Rockets, whose locker room is starting to resemble a presidential candidates’ debate. “We’ve been talking,” slumping superstar James Harden said. “We’ve been doing too much talking.” “We’ve had a lot of heart-to-hearts,” coach Kevin McHale said. “As a matter of fact, we talk too much. Talking doesn’t win basketball games.” Last season, the Rockets surprised more than a few folks by crashing the Western Conference finals, a spot thought to be reserved for the San
For months, the Golden State Warriors heard the taunts of lucky and fluky and worse. Now, the defending NBA champions have begun to answer their critics as if to say, ‘OK, if we win ’em all, then would that be good enough for you?” The Warriors aren’t quite 82-0 yet — they’re only 10-0 — but their start has been so drop-dead dominant, so utterly impressive that it makes you wonder if theirs can be one of those seasons for the ages. Six of the victories came against playoff
Back in February, the Milwaukee Bucks traded starting point guard Brandon Knight in a three-team deal that netted Michael Carter-Williams from Philadelphia and young players Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee from Phoenix. Knight’s contract was up after the season, and his trade from Milwaukee freed up salary space for guard/forward Khris Middleton. Middleton blossomed in his third year in the league, hitting 40.7 percent of his threes and playing strong defense for the young Bucks, who rewarded the 24-year-old with a five-year,
As a personnel man, Stan Van Gundy has broken a lot of the so-called contemporary rules. Since being lured back to the NBA by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores in May 2014, Van Gundy has not exactly followed the usual NBA blueprint in rebuilding the once-proud franchise, which has not been to the playoffs in six years. Van Gundy has flat-out waived four veterans with fully guaranteed contracts, accumulating nearly $32 million in dead money to be paid over the next five
NEW YORK – You don’t need a watch to know Father Time has caught up to Kobe Bryant. With that in mind, I asked Bryant what he wants his legacy to be when he retires. “As a talented overachiever,” Bryant replied with a laugh. “I really worked my butt off every single day to make sure I left no stone unturned and try to push it as much as I possibly could.” “My message has been consistent all the time,” Bryant said. “If
The Atlanta Hawks have played six games already! Boy, did that fly by. For the most part, things have panned out roughly how you would expect over the first week of NBA action. The Rockets were slow out of the gate, and although they will bounce back and be fine, they really cannot afford to be leaving any cheese on the table in a brutal Western Conference. Those three early losses could potentially come back to haunt them in April, when they are
We’re now a little more than a week into the NBA season, so there’s been a bit of time for some statistical trends to emerge. Despite the sample sizes still being extremely small, here are several things that have jumped out when it comes to several of the league’s players. 1. It has been ugly for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers through four games. Bryant has missed 40 of his 62 shots overall, is just 7-for-34 from the arc, LA is