We’re entering Year Six of Thundermania here in Oklahoma City, and the level of expectation surrounding the team is as high as it has ever been. But with that expectation comes a certain degree of uncertainty. After all the years of hearing about how the Thunder were an organization based around a true “team” concept, fans are now coming to accept that the Thunder are a two-headed horse. There’s simply no way that this team could hoist a championship banner without a
Generations of fans know the Utah Jazz as a model of stability. They were raised on Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone, coach Jerry Sloan and super significant owner Larry H. Miller, the rock of the franchise. Miller kept the team together, mended issues with coaches and players and even took financial risks to purchase the team. When Miller died in 2009, the franchise slowly lost all the stability he imparted to it as the sole owner. It truly fell apart
The upcoming season is an evaluation campaign for the Phoenix Suns in every respect. They will introduce a new offense designed by former Sun Jeff Hornacek, a new defense spearheaded by Mike Longabardi and at least six new rotation players acquired via the draft and trades by new general manager Ryan McDonough. With the recent trade of Caron Butler – who never played a game for the team – the Suns have only one player in his 30s: Channing Frye, who
After the high of winning the 2011 NBA championship, it didn’t take the Dallas Mavericks long to tumble back down. Between the much-publicized decision to let most of the championship team go, and the subsequent failure to obtain a top-tier free agent, Dallas is treading water – not quite ready to go under but with no real rescue in sight. This offseason, the Mavericks rolled the dice and brought in an eclectic combination of players through free agency that left much of
Caron Butler was in Phoenix hardly long enough to work on his tan. Traded by the Los Angeles Clippers to the Suns earlier this summer, Butler was shipped to his hometown Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday in a deal that landed Ishmael Smith and Slava Kravtsov. The trade also created more cap room for the Suns, who exchanged Butler’s expiring $8 million deal for the combined $2.5 million of Kravtsov ($1.5 million) and Smith ($950,000). “This deal gives us significant cap space as well
The Los Angeles Clippers won a franchise-record 56 games and had the NBA’s third best scoring differential last season. Then after taking a 2-0 lead on Memphis, they proceeded to lose four straight, making an unexpected and disappointing first-round exit. Which begs the question – were last season’s Clippers the regular season contender or the postseason pretender? The team did not rest on its regular-season laurels during the offseason, adding a coach with a championship ring in Doc Rivers, a new set
Another season marks another chance to feel optimistic about your favorite NBA team’s chances of making some noise. Other than a few brief stretches, Minnesota Timberwolves fans have had trouble finding any reason to be optimistic over the past few years. From injuries to frequent coaching changes to frequent front office switches to Darko Milicic, the Timberwolves have had quite an interesting little decade. This season is a special one. It marks the 10-year anniversary of their 2003-04 run to the Western
In a minor trade which has luxury tax implications for both teams, the Boston Celtics traded project center Fab Melo to the Memphis Grizzlies for Donte Greene. The swap of Syracuse alums was announced Wednesday by the Grizzlies. Dumping Melo’s $1.3 million salary for the 2013-14 season gets the Celtics right to the tax line, according to our salary analysis. They take back Greene, who is scheduled to make $1.03 million in a non-guaranteed deal. [Read more…]