For almost a decade, the Atlanta Hawks remained stuck in a purgatory of NBA mediocrity. Too good to select prospects in the early draft lottery and not good enough to compete deep into the playoffs, there was no obvious escape route. Although the team had the longest postseason streak in the Eastern Conference, Atlanta’s futile playoff track record overshadowed its strong core of dynamic starters and capable reserves. Then a late summer scandal came in 2014, which eventually led to the sale
There is no way to sum up the 2014-15 season for the Toronto Raptors without including the word disappointment. You can debate the extent of it, of course – the team did win a franchise-record 49 games and saw point guard Kyle Lowry start in the All-Star Game – but the basic conclusion remains the same. Touted as a new power in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors exploded into last season borne on a wave of “We the North” expectation. This
It’s almost October, which means that we’re only one week away from the NBA preseason kicking off on October 2. As we’ve said before, the preseason is an excellent time to check out up and coming players in the NFL and see some of your favorite teams for significantly cheaper than a regular season game. Preseason is definitely the way to go if you’re looking for cheap NBA tickets, but some games are better deals than others. Here are four
Will Kevin Durant be the next superstar to opt for a change of scenery in the summer of 2016? If not, could it be Dwight Howard instead? (Yes, again) Will someone change teams and then change his mind during the moratorium period again like DeAndre Jordan did? One thing is for sure, the salary cap is going up dramatically next summer – projected to be in the $90 million range – and roughly 20 teams will have room for at least one maximum salary contract. In
With summer on its way out, temperatures are finally dropping, people are throwing out their white pants, and the NBA preseason is about to begin. Starting October 3rd, NBA teams will face off against each other and a number of international teams, giving fans a taste of what’s to come before the NBA regular season begins on October 27th. The preseason is a fantastic chance to see teams test out their fresh new talent, and it doesn’t hurt that NBA tickets
It pays to be patient. That is the financial lesson of the NBA’s offseason, which saw the biggest pay raises go to players who turned down contract extensions and gambled on themselves. Among the top 11 pay increases this summer, five went to players who felt like they were being lowballed by their teams — and proved it when they cashed in with bigger deals as restricted free agents this summer. Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, Orlando’s Tobias Harris, Detroit’s Reggie Jackson, Oklahoma City’s Enes
What if I told you your favorite team could land a power forward that has never averaged less than 10 points per game in any of his 13 NBA seasons? He won a gold medal for Team USA. He is widely viewed as a good locker room guy. His basketball IQ is just south of MENSA territory. Who is the mystery free agent forward? It’s Carlos Boozer. In a statistically down season, Boozer averaged 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and
There are rumblings from several NBA executives agent Rich Paul could deliver another client to his hometown team next summer as I wrote in my latest piece for SheridanHoops. Paul has publicly stated his client Tristan Thompson won’t return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2016 if he signs his one-year, $6.8 million qualifying offer. That would make Thompson an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2016 where he would be one of the youngest players on the market