11. Petteri Kaponen, Guard, Finland, (Dallas owns draft rights) Kaponen has been moving up the food chain in European basketball since he was drafted in the first round back in 2007. Kaponen is the clear leader of the undefeated Finnish squad, pouring in 22.8 points a game to go along with 5 assists, as he prepares to take the step up to the Euroleague with the Russian giant, Khimki Moscow. He has excellent size for a point guard at 6’5”, and
With the opening of training camps in late September, there is now more offseason behind us rather than in front of us. With six weeks to go, many teams are looking to fill the final spot or two on their rosters. And as we pointed out last week, there is not much to choose from. Although there has been talk about some of these teams possibly adding another player, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Golden State, Indiana, the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis, New York, Oklahoma City
In the days leading up to the NBA draft, Joe Kotoch provided Sheridan Hoops with six mock drafts. Not one, not two, not three … six. His final mock for our site arrived Thursday morning and was entirely posted – picks 1 through 60 – about six hours before the first boos rained down on Commissioner David Stern at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. How did Joe do? Pretty damn good, if you ask us. Despite the surprise selection of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at
Through his very last timeout huddle with his team, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks said all the right things. “We’re gonna treat them like they’re the champions,” Brooks instructed his club. “After this game, we’re gonna walk and shake their hands and acknowledge all of them. They beat us fair and square. However hard that hurts, they beat us fair and square. Give them credit.” Yes, Brooks said all the right things. It would have been nice if he had done all
The Washington Wizards on Wednesday acquired center Emeka Okafor and forward Trevor Ariza from the New Orleans Hornets for forward Rashard Lewis and the 46th pick in next week’s draft. Trades usually aren’t made during the playoffs as teams are inclined to wait until the draft and free agency to start making moves in advance of next season. As far as postseason trades go, this is a pretty big one, rivaling the Chris Webber deal in May 1998. The Wizards were fleeced
Linsanity has continued into the offseason as New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin was one of the 13 players chosen for the USA Select Team that train against Team USA in advance of the Olympics. The players were revealed Monday by USA Basketball. The baker’s dozen includes point guards and top overall picks Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers and John Wall of the Washington Wizards. Lin, whose rise from obscurity to stardom earlier this season transcended basketball, missed the playoffs while
Gilbert Arenas is back in the NBA, officially signing Tuesday with the Memphis Grizzlies. Released under the amnesty clause in December – and still due more than $60 million from the Orlando Magic – Arenas worked out for the Grizzlies on Monday. The Memphis Commercial-Appeal reported that Arenas appeared slender and shot the ball well during the workout. The Grizzlies could use Arenas’ shooting ability as they are next to last in the NBA with 3.8 3-pointers per game. Arenas also can
The Denver Nuggets on Sunday waived center Ronny Turiaf, who should attract some interest from playoff contenders. Turiaf began the season with the New York Knicks, who dealt him to the Washington Wizards as part of the Tyson Chandler deal. He played just four games before breaking his hand and was included in Thursday’s three-team deal that landed Nene in Washington. The 6-10 Turiaf has played backup center minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State, New York and Washington in a