Has Steve Ballmer finally acquired an NBA franchise? Ever since Shelly Sterling claimed to have her husband Donald’s approval to move forward with the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers, she has moved at a blistering pace to field bids in hopes of securing a legitimate buyer before the NBA Board of Governors convene Tuesday, June 3 to vote to have them removed as team owners. Since initiating the bidding war for the Clippers, Shelly’s husband—estranged or not—has
Thursday afternoon the NBA unveiled the 2013-14 NBA All-Rookie Team, celebrating this past season’s top young athletes. One name you will not see on the the team is the Cleveland Cavaliers’ No.1 overall draft pick Anthony Bennett, who only played in 52 games, averaging 4.2 points and three rebounds in just 12.8 minutes per game. He is just the fifth top overall draft pick to miss the All-Rookie team in 26 years. There were quite a few young rookies deserving of the
With the lottery over and the Sacramento Kings picking eighth in June’s draft, now the real hard work begins for Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro and his staff. D’Alessandro and the Kings are one of the more open-minded, data driven front offices in the league, and the team appears willing to explore all possible options and avenues with their first-round selection. “Now you could start making all the calls to your counterparts and say, ‘How flexible are you with your pick?’ Are
With much of the national discourse centering on Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the reality of the matter is that a lifetime ban and a $2.5 million fine is the limit to what NBA commissioner Adam Silver is capable of doing. The rest falls on the shoulders of 29 team owners, as they—according to the NBA’s Constitution and By-Laws—must vote with a 3/4’s majority to force the sale of the team. Players, media pundits and people all across the nation
NBA commissioner Adam Silver cannot just suspend Clippers owner Donald Sterling for the rest of the playoffs. Silver cannot just suspend Sterling for a year and drop a seven-figure fine on him the way his predecessor did to Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor in 2000. Taylor broke the rules. Sterling broke the game. Silver has no choice but to suspend Sterling indefinitely, as in until he sells his team. And when Silver suspends Sterling, it is important that anyone and everyone with an opinion on
Wednesday is the final night in the NBA regular season. It brings with it a lot of fun and excitement, as all 30 teams are in action. It also features quite of a few games of great import, seeing as there are more than a few teams jockeying for position in the playoffs. More than anything, for a lot of NBA athletes, it brings a moment of reflection: An entire year of hard work is coming to a close. For some, the
This is a tough column to write. It’s the last edition of the Most Improved Player Rankings, and like John Boehner at an eighth grade science fair, I’m about to lose it. I uhh…I just want to tell you all how much you mean to me. (Voice cracks) It’s been another incredible year in this column space. We’ve talked about Ike Manfresca, the Oscars, Seinfeld, the genetic connection between twins, existentialism, John Lennon, Mars Blackmon, and un-seeing the Eastern Conference standings. We even compared every candidate to a character in
Transparency is a two-way street. For years, NBA media members – echoing the sentiments of its passionate fan base – wanted more transparency from Commissioner David Stern and his executive staff. Whether it was a lottery drawing, a suspension in the playoffs or a referee scandal, folks felt like they were entitled to an explanation. And they were. Stern grudgingly came around. He arranged for the media to meet with referees prior to the season about rules changes. He allowed the media