The Cleveland Cavaliers are making moves. Specifically, general manager David Griffin is trying to go all in on the talented but flawed roster of his team right now. It started with the removal of Dion Waiters on late Tuesday night, as the guard had not lived up to the role as a starter or a bench player for the team. For him, they were able to acquire J.R. Smith (who made a not-so-glorious debut on Wednesday with an zero-of-five shooting performance),
In today’s NBA, the formula for winning in recent years was simple: Accumulate as many maximum-salary stars as you can without breaking the bank. But when you start piling up eight-figure salaries against the luxury tax, the bank breaks pretty quickly. So teams fill out their rosters with minimum-salary veterans. And if you look at the top of the NBA standings right now, many teams are getting very productive seasons from veterans signed to minimum-salary deals. The Chicago Bulls added Pau Gasol to Jimmy
Every time someone summons up the nerve to ask, “What’s wrong with the Spurs?” the defending NBA champions have provided an emphatic response: Nothing. They did it in November, beating the Clippers and Warriors on the road on consecutive nights after losses to Houston and New Orleans. They did it again in December, beating the Clippers to end a four-game losing streak that included back-to-back excruciating triple-overtime losses. And they did it again last night, beating the Rockets for the first time
While many GMs were working the phones this week, Knicks president Phil Jackson was using a different, more contemporary form of communication: Twitter. On Thursday, Donnie Nelson and Danny Ainge swung a five-player trade that sent Rajon Rondo to Dallas and draft picks to Boston. On Friday, Daryl Morey, Flip Saunders and Sam Hinkie worked a three-team deal that landed Corey Brewer and Alexey Shved in Houston and draft picks in Minnesota and Philadelphia. But not Jackson, and not the Knicks. Jackson doesn’t
Kobe Bryant will have to wait at least another game to reach the milestone that everyone is waiting on with much anticipation. Friday night’s game on the road for Los Angeles Lakers against San Antonio Spurs carried a potentially-significant moment in NBA history: Kobe Bryant needed 31 points to move into sole possession of third place on the all-time scoring list, which meant he would pass the almighty Michael Jordan. [Read more…]
We all know what the Philadelphia 76ers are doing. Call it whatever you want – tanking, rebuilding, deconstructing, hoarding – the 76ers are openly, unabashedly and intentionally sinking to the bottom of the NBA, because GM Sam Hinkie has convinced ownership that is the fastest way to get back to the top. Hinkie has constructed a roster that is inherently non-competitive. The Sixers have the fewest first-round picks and the most undrafted free agents of any team. Their highest-paid player makes $6.6
Mark Cuban wants the Dallas Mavericks to become an Eastern Conference team, and he appears to be dead serious about it. Based on how the respective conferences look these days, can you blame him? The West has absolutely demolished the East in the early going with a combined record of 55-23 (!!!). With that kind of differential, it’s no surprise to see that the West has nine teams with a 60 percent or better winning percentage, while the East only has three such
Saturday wasn’t my night. Though it was great to watch Lou Williams score a career-high 36 in Cleveland, who could have predicted that? [Read more…]