A franchise record 60 wins, winning a division title and finishing as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1993-1994 may not be reason enough for the Atlanta Hawks to retain Danny Ferry. According to a report from Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ferry is expected not to be back once the sale of the Hawks is complete: In situations like this, new ownership generally would rather not have to deal with answering questions at the introductory
11. Indiana Pacers – Kelly Oubre, SF, Kansas Like many Jayhawks prospects, Oubre should be even better in an NBA system where he’ll have more scoring opportunities. As a rookie, Oubre should be able to hit open jumpers, and if he develops his ball-handling skills to create his own scoring opportunities, he could be very good. He averaged 9.3 points and 5 rebounds in just 21 minutes per game for Kansas, and went 15-for-19 from the foul line in a late-season victory over
BROOKLYN – You can’t spell Brooklyn without “Brook,” and the Nets couldn’t win Game 3 without Lopez. The big question after this big game: What will the big man do this summer when he has a chance to become an unrestricted free agent? It remains an open question. The 7-footer led the Nets with 22 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in 42 minutes with the season essentially on the line. By getting the win, Brooklyn avoided the daunting task of attempting
It’s that time of year again. After all of the laughs, other-worldly performances, and misguided declarations that someone was dead, we’ve arrived at the end of the season. It’s time to pick a winner for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. As always, I told myself I wasn’t going to cry. As always, I lied to myself. (Sniffle) We saw a lot of improvement in the NBA this season. The Atlanta Hawks went from Eastern Conference Playoff Team With a Losing Record™ to The Spurs
Jimmy Butler shaved his head and wore No. 45 in his return with the Bulls last week. (We think). Last time we were all together in this space, I announced that Jimmy Butler was dead. That was evidently erroneous and inaccurate reporting. I apologize for that. I was just trying to honor a veteran. I know now that Jimmy is not dead. In fact, he only missed 11 games for the Chicago Bulls, then returned triumphantly last week against the
The season is winding down. The excitement of the race for the final spots and playoff positioning is starting to get real, for a majority of teams, that is. But what about those who are out of it with more than a dozen games still to go. Do you mail it in? Play for draft position? While no player wants to be in that position, there can still be plenty of motivation of things to play for. After all, only the GMs care about draft
Monday’s contest between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz featured two teams who have been in the bottom of the pack in the West for quite a number of years. The Jazz have been trying to find a way to re-identify themselves since trading away Deron Williams in 2011. The Timberwolves have essentially failed to recover since trading away Kevin Garnett in 2007, although their downfall began even with Garnett on the team. It was a bit of a surprise, then, to
The last 12 months represent by far the least amount of basketball Kevin Durant has played in his eight-year NBA career. In a sadly ironic twist, it also represents a time when he has had more intrigue swirling around him than ever before. In the last year, Durant has won NBA MVP and given a moving acceptance speech; quit as the new face of Team USA; created a bidding war between apparel companies in the mid nine figures; become the beacon of