Trading a star core player from a contending team is not usually a popular move with a team’s fan base, but we’ve seen two such moves this season improve a pair of Western Conference contenders. The Oklahoma City Thunder have actually benefited from dealing James Harden to Houston, and the Memphis Grizzlies are 16-6 since trading forward Rudy Gay to Toronto in a three-team, six-player deal on Jan. 30, the latest victory coming on Marc Gasol’s tip-in at the end of
The Golden State Warriors are generally recognized as a very nice, non-confrontational type of group, led by their coach and pastor Mark Jackson, who will never use a curse word to get his point across. Apparently, that attitude does not fly with center Andrew Bogut, who went on a rant about the lack of defense played by his teammates after suffering another embarrassing defeat to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night at home. Here’s what he had to say, from Marcus
As the Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers completed a deal Tuesday that will send three players and a future first-round draft pick to Cleveland in exchange for forward/perennial D-Leaguer Jon Leuer, we must all become more aware of the bigger picture at stake. The clock is expiring on the NBA’s practical, dollar-for-dollar luxury tax era. The rules are changing, and these deals will become more of the norm than the exception. [Read more…]
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) Two seasons back, the Grizzlies were a Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder away from making it to the Western Conference finals. To that, they entered the 2011-12 season with
I will be the first one to admit I’m late to the party on Kevin Durant. I drink coffee, not Red Bull. My headphones are Sennheiser, not Beats or SkullCandy. I didn’t have a Twitter account until nine months ago. I still don’t have a Smartphone. So when some new phenomenon permeates basketball’s pop culture, I’m not exactly at the front of the line. In fact, I didn’t even attend the parties for Harold Miner, Derrick Coleman, Glenn Robinson, Joe Smith, Damon
The wait is finally over. The Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder will go head-to-head on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. See who America is cheering for in today’s news, although the answer should be obvious. Mike Wise of Washington Post discussed why LeBron James should not be recognized as a villain: “Forget about the ’ball, I’m extremely proud of what he has done,” Walker said. “He’s taken care of his family. He’s staying out of trouble. I