To no one’s surprise, Mo Williams says he plans to opt out of his contract for next season and test free agency over the summer. Williams signed a two-year deal last summer worth $5.6 million, with 2014-2015 a player option. He was scheduled to make $2.7 million next season if he chose to opt into that deal. Portland, of course, has been the NBA’s most pleasant surprise this season and is tied for the third-best record in the league at 27-9. Williams has been a
Just as Reggie Jackson looked to be solidifying himself as the NBA’s best sixth man, Russell Westbrook got injured again. Now, with Westbrook sidelined until at least the All-Star break, it’s unclear whether Jackson will remain eligible to win the award. After all, to even be considered for the Sixth Man Award, a player must start in no more than half of his appearances. Jackson has seven starts in comparison to 25 games off the bench. As of now, his eligibility isn’t
Advertisement The Western Conference is absolutely nothing like the Eastern Conference when it comes to championship odds. We have what I call a two-horse race in the East versus what I am going to call the six-plus team race in the West. In the 15 previous seasons, only four teams (the Lakers, seven times; the Spurs, five times, the Mavericks, two times; the Thunder, once) have won the Western Conference, which is a similar concept to what the Eastern
Reggie Jackson is really, really good. Still, not that many people realize it. He’s the kind of player whose impact on his team is completely understated because his per-game numbers fail to tell the whole story. When people think of the Oklahoma City Thunder, they think of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook putting up big numbers and carrying the team to wins. As it turns out, Jackson’s impact on the Thunder’s success is not too far behind. For the season, Jackson is averaging
It’s time for people to start taking notice of the rejuvenated Manu Ginobili and his impressive start to the season. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had good reason to rest Ginobili on Thursday night in Golden State. After all, through eight December games, Ginobili has averaged 14 points, 5.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Those numbers are impressive for any bench player. When you consider that Ginobili has put them up in just 22.6 minutes per game, it ranks him among the
Well, it happened. After speculating last week that Sacramento Kings guard Isaiah Thomas would fall out of our Sixth Man Rankings despite his impressive stats, Thomas fell out by default as he was elevated to starter. With Greivis Vasquez shipped to Toronto in the Rudy Gay deal, Kings fans can breathe a sigh of relief that Thomas won’t get screwed out of this year’s Sixth Man Award. [Read more…]
The New Orleans Pelicans got a big win in New York Sunday night. They defeated the reeling Knicks, 103-99 to improve to 8-8 on the season after a disappointing 3-6 start. [Read more…]
When the deadline for contract extensions came and went Thursday night, point guards Eric Bledsoe and Greivis Vasquez didn’t get paid. But don’t shed any tears for them. Because when the summer rolls around, they will get their money. And it might be GMs Ryan McDonough of Phoenix and Pete D’Alessandro of Sacramento who are crying. As reluctant as McDonough and D’Alessandro may have been to pony up for point guards with plenty to prove, they should have done so. Both GMs are