(Folks, the news of Russell Westbrook being out for a couple months after knee surgery calls for an Oct. 1 revision. We published on Sept. 29, and should have known better. Something big happens early in ever October-CS). The beat brought us to East Rutherford N.J. this past week, where the Nets still have a practice facility (and yes, they still use it, making for a particularly brutal two-river crossing to get to the BK). Jason Kidd was the featured speaker,
Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star guard Russell Westbrook had a second knee surgery Tuesday and is out until December. Thunder GM Sam Presti announced that Westbrook had an arthroscopic procedure after experiencing swelling in his surgically repaired right knee caused by a loose stitch. Westbrook originally hurt the knee in the 2013 postseason. Westbrook is expected to miss the first four to six weeks of the regular season, which means his entire recovery period could require up to 10 weeks. When Westbrook went down
With NBA training camps now open, every team will be using October to try to answer questions about their rosters. But for teams with injured stars, the questions have greater significance. Like, how long can the Lakers stay afloat without Kobe Bryant? Is Danny Granger going to come off the bench for the Pacers? Are the Warriors really a better team without David Lee? No less than nine current or former All-Stars will start the 2013-14 season with doubt swirling around them because they
Dwight Howard’s reputation took a major dive over the past couple of seasons due to all the drama surrounding his status as a free agent and his indecisive behavior. It didn’t help that his level of play dropped a notch after joining the Los Angeles Lakers last season after undergoing back surgery. Rather than receiving praise for stepping up and playing earlier than he was supposed to, he was scrutinized for being part of an underachieving team. Now that Howard has
When the Brooklyn Nets somehow acquired Andrei Kirilenko for the low, low price of $3.18 million for next season (and a player option for roughly the same amount the following season) it was reported that executives around the league were furious, due to what they believed to be foul play, behind the scenes. Owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Kirilenko have ties in Russia, and it was under the assumption that the forward was accommodated in ways that don’t necessarily show in
Kevin Durant is a great player. He deserves a great owner. Durant may not know it yet, but he is becoming this generation’s Jerry West: a fantastic talent and class act whose career was marked by finishing second. In 14 seasons, West twice finished second in scoring (also winning once). He never won an MVP award, finishing third once and second a record four times. And he lost the NBA Finals seven times before finally winning in his 13th season. In six seasons,
We’re entering Year Six of Thundermania here in Oklahoma City, and the level of expectation surrounding the team is as high as it has ever been. But with that expectation comes a certain degree of uncertainty. After all the years of hearing about how the Thunder were an organization based around a true “team” concept, fans are now coming to accept that the Thunder are a two-headed horse. There’s simply no way that this team could hoist a championship banner without a
Like three to make two, the 10-second violation and low-top sneakers, the $30 million NBA player may become a thing of the past. A handful of stars have approached and even crossed the magical monetary mountaintop, which is something when you consider that the collective bargaining agreement has a maximum salary restraint. Michael Jordan – who else? – was the first player to make $30 million in one season, negotiating about an 800 percent raise after the 1995-96 season. That was Jordan’s