With the season over for all but four teams, lots of folks are looking ahead to the draft and free agency, which were big topics in today’s NBA news. So while we await Game 4 between the Spurs and Thunder, check out our roundup of what’s been going on today. If Steve Nash leaves Phoenix, the Suns are looking to make a push for Deron Williams, says Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, citing a person with knowledge of
Today’s news around the league was dominated by the results of Wednesday night’s draft lottery. Some seem to believe in conspiracies, while others laugh at the notion. You can find all kinds of opinions about it below. The New Orleans Hornets acquired the No. 1 lottery pick on Wednesday night, giving the franchise an opportunity to draft a franchise-level player in Anthony Davis, and perhaps draw up a new logo as well. The problem? Though they are in the process of selling
Just a great piece of writing today by Zach Lowe on SI.com that should quiet all the conspiracy theorists (although, of course, it will not). Among the details reported by low were the winning ping-pong ball combination (6-4-9-7), and the fact the Cleveland Cavaliers were in the mix to win the lottery for the second straight year. But they needed a 3 to come up on the final ping-pong ball, and when “7” came up Hornets general manager Dell Demps initially
// First of all, the draft lottery was NOT fixed. NBA commissioner David Stern would be committing a felony if he rigged the lottery, and the guy does not want to be using soap on a rope for 15-to-20 years. OK? So lay off the conspiracy theories. Your time would be better spent perusing our first Mock Draft, now that the order is known. Is Stern’s idea of limiting the Olympics to players 23 and younger a good one? Hell no! It is idiocy in
The draft lottery is over. The pecking order has been established. We all know that the New Orleans Hornets will do with the No. 1 pick. But then what? The draft is a month away, and the stock of certain players will rise and fall. You can bet your bottom dollar there will be trades, and there might even be some team making a pick on behalf of the Orlando Magic if it is going to ultimately land them Dwight Howard in a
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
I finally figured out the problem with the NBA’s lockout-shortened 2011-12 season … They didn’t shorten it enough. These days, all sports’ regular seasons seem like interminable waits for the real deal, even if they’re cut from 82 games to 66, crammed into 123 days that started on Christmas, fooling the veterans, most of whom apparently stopped working out at Thanksgiving. If it was an inelegant rush to put this mess behind them, you could see the season as a triumph… if you fell
Our flagging faith in our readers’ knowledge has been restored after Kyle came up with the correct answer for last week’s Bernucca List, which was “active All-Stars who never have won a playoff series.” This week’s list is below and includes teams rather than players. See if you can find the common thread among the teams listed. If you think you know the answer, you can enter it in the Comments section or Tweet it to me. Good luck! The Bernucca List Atlanta Hawks Charlotte Bobcats Los Angeles