Under the guidance of Sacramento Kings legend and current VP of basketball operations and GM Vlade Divac, the Kings have assembled the most talented roster they have had in nearly a decade. So why are so many expecting the worst out of Sacramento this season? It’s complicated. The long-term consequences for how Divac went about creating enough cap space to acquire the likes of Rajon Rondo, Kosta Koufos, Marco Belinelli, Caron Butler, Seth Curry, James Anderson, Quincy Acy and Duje Dukan
The Kings went to the free throw line on 13.8% of their plays. That was a rate 12.2% higher than any other team in the league! Sacramento scored 22.0% of its total points from free throws this season, most in the league. [Read more…]
Elsewhere on this site, veteran NBA experts are breaking down the real-life winners (and losers) of last night’s NBA draft. Here in the fantasy corner, it’s never too early to plan for next season. All rookies have a learning curve. Some need extra time — third-year players can be undervalued in Roto and Head-to-Head drafts. From our perspective, opportunity matters most. Minutes, touches, fit with the system and depth of the organization are all factors. While there won’t be any Daily Fantasy Sports action on pro
Kristaps Porzingis has become the trendy name among NBA executives since dominating at his ASM Sports workout a week ago. “I think there is a strong chance he lands in the top four picks,” one Eastern Conference general manager told SheridanHoops. “The Lakers, Knicks and 76ers are all possible options. He has the length and athleticism of Andrei Kirilenko and stroke and footwork like Dirk Nowitzki. He will be the best prospect in this draft while also having the best upside.”
NEW YORK – Just when New York Knicks fans thought the worst season in franchise history couldn’t get any worse, it did. After watching superstar Carmelo Anthony shut things down with a knee injury and his constantly changing teammates stagger to a 17-65 mark – the second-worst record in the league – the Knicks dropped two spots to fourth overall in Tuesday night’s NBA draft lottery. General manager Steve Mills summed it up for the team’s title-starved fans watching at home, bowing
The Bulls are continuing to win playoff games, yet the behind-the-scenes drama involving the front office and head coach Tom Thibodeau continues to escalate. In an Adrian Wojnarowski column filed after Chicago’s Game 1 win in Cleveland, the Yahoo! reporter says management still “can’t wait to rid itself” of Thibodeau. Furthermore, Wojnarowski cited some fairly disturbing examples of the lengths to which the relationship between the coaching staff and front office has been broken. In one such case, an assistant coach actually feared his
Editor’s Note: Whether coaching or forecasting, Bobby Gonzalez knows college basketball. He went 8-0 picking games in the Sweet Sixteen a year ago, 7-1 in that round this year and 3-1 in last weekend’s regional finals. This is not some Bozo. It’s Gonzo. He knows what he’s talking about. It was 1991 and I was standing in the crowd at the Final Four as a New York City high school coach, watching All-American Larry Johnson of the dominant, unbeaten UNLV team
I once heard the statement in coaching, “if you are a great coach but a weak recruiter, you will get fired. But if you are a great recruiter and even a fair coach, you will survive.” Obviously, the goal is to be both. But it does explain the importance in college basketball of getting the best players. Ever since I started coaching, I have always been compared to John Calipari more than any other coach. I guess it’s because I made