When the biggest names on the move at the NBA trading deadline are Brandon Jennings, Jeff Green and Markieff Morris, it is a bit of a letdown. There is legitimate reasoning behind last week’s relatively quiet activity. This summer marks uncharted territory for NBA teams and their general managers, none of whom want to be the guy who shoots before aiming. The salary cap is going to jump from $70 million to more than $90 million this summer. That is an unprecedented
Does Markieff Morris want out of Phoenix? According to a tweet Thursday from The Burns and Gambo Show, who hold the Valley’s sports radio drive time slot, Morris wants nothing to do with the Suns and hasn’t talked to any team member – player or staff – since the season ended. The tweet doesn’t cite a source, either within the Suns or close to Morris. At the same time, Morris’ offseason silence would allow Suns staffers to easily draw some conclusion about
There was a lot of shade in the Valley of the Sun this week. It all started with Goran Dragic, who is far from blameless in this mess. But because the Phoenix Suns sent Dragic packing in a trade, president Lon Babby and GM Ryan McDonough got to write the epilogue and spin it in intelligence-insulting fashion. Dragic is an unrestricted free agent this summer. At 28, it’s his first and last chance at a max contract. And while the idea of
After last week’s loss in Atlanta, Memphis Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger – whose team has the fifth-best record in the NBA – lamented his roster’s shortcomings. “We have to get another playmaker on the floor,” Joerger said. “We’re going to have to start playing multiple point guards (at the same time). We’ve got to be able to get inside of defenses.” It doesn’t matter that the Grizzlies have been at or near the top of the league for most of the season.
The Phoenix Suns surprised everyone last season – including themselves – when they won 48 games and missed the playoffs only due to a couple of tough losses in the final week of the season. Goran Dragic had the best season of his career, Eric Bledsoe lived up to the potential his biggest fans envisioned and both Markieff Morris and Gerald Green were in the running for Sixth Man Award. Now entering their second season together – with a new key piece
On Thursday, we brought back our Three-Man Weave, taking a look at some of the big picture questions for Eastern Conference teams that the offseason may or may not have answered. Today, we shift our focus to the Western Conference, where the player movement has been less dramatic and more subtle but entirely interesting and thought-provoking. Let’s take a look at some of the bigger issues. 1. Which team has taken the biggest step forward in the Western Conference? [Read more…]
So you’ve been following this latest Jason Kidd debacle today, right? In case you haven’t, here’s the rundown: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: After a failed power play in Brooklyn, Nets coach Jason Kidd has entered into serious negotiations to become president of basketball operations for the Milwaukee Bucks, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Kidd made a failed coup to Brooklyn’s Russian ownership to usurp the power of Nets general manager Billy King – and failed spectacularly. The Nets and Bucks are discussing
San Antonio Spurs general manager R.C. Buford won NBA Executive of the Year on Wednesday. Should he have? Unlike the other postseason awards, Executive of the Year is voted on by fellow executives, not the media. So it’s difficult to question the validity of the winner when he has been chosen by his peers. Still … [Read more…]