In his essay in Sports Illustrated last summer, LeBron James famously wrote, “I’m not promising a championship. I know how hard that is to deliver. We’re not ready right now. No way.” His prediction turned out to be correct – the Cleveland Cavaliers did not win the championship. Objectively, 2014-15 was still the best season in the history of the franchise. They made it to the NBA Finals for just the second time, won a Finals game for the first time,
Will Kevin Durant be the next superstar to opt for a change of scenery in the summer of 2016? If not, could it be Dwight Howard instead? (Yes, again) Will someone change teams and then change his mind during the moratorium period again like DeAndre Jordan did? One thing is for sure, the salary cap is going up dramatically next summer – projected to be in the $90 million range – and roughly 20 teams will have room for at least one maximum salary contract. In
There are rumblings that agent Rich Paul could deliver another client to his hometown team in the near future. Several league executives believe Canadian Tristan Thompson may head north to Toronto in the summer of 2016 if he signs his one-year, $6.8 million qualifying offer with the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I always thought he was going to end up (in Toronto) this year,” one Eastern Conference general manager told SheridanHoops. “There’s going to be so much money next year so I think he
Tristan Thompson remains the biggest fish in this summer’s free agent sea, as noted in our updated rankings. In fact, LeBron James has called Thompson a “key piece” to Cleveland’s hopes of winning a title this season. So why the elongated stalemate between the two sides? It comes down to leverage. Cleveland has it for the upcoming season, but Thompson has it afterward. Confused? Let me explain. [Read more…]
Now that the NBA Finals are in the books and the Golden State Warriors are champions, it is time for some reflection on what happened … and what might happen down the road. Specifically, is David Blatt safe in Cleveland moving forward?
The NBA season could be over tonight, with everyone ready to anoint the Golden State Warriors as the next dynasty. Or the Finals could be headed to a Game 7, the two best words in sports. Just under two weeks ago, 15 members of the Sheridan Hoops staff offered their Finals predictions. Seven of us still have a chance to have both the correct winning team and number of games. Will the Warriors close it out? Can the Cavaliers stay alive? Here are the
So who is the Finals MVP now? After three games, it appeared to be LeBron James, who singlehandedly has kept the Cleveland Cavaliers in this series with historic performances. After four games, it appeared to be Andre Iguodala, who has been the primary defender on James and finally slowed him in Game 4, tacking on 22 points and eight boards as the Golden State Warriors evened the series. And after five games, it appears to be Stephen Curry, who in Game 5 finally
OAKLAND — If Game 5 of the NBA Finals was to be the final home game for the Golden State Warriors in this magical season of theirs, then they left the sellout crowd at Oracle Arena with memories that would last a lifetime. The fans will remember their chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” and “War-riors! War-riors!” in the final seconds of the 104-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, which moved their team within one victory of an elusive NBA title. Years from now,