After the dust has settled from the first couple days of free agency, it’s time for the real fireworks to appear. So with Joe Johnson comfy in Atlanta, and Amar’e Stoudemire most likely en route to New York, you knew that the Knicks were going to continue making moves. One such move would be part of a three-way trade involving the Timberwolves and Warriors moving their biggest trade assets. Read More »

The grand opening of the House of Hoops in Seattle this past weekend was like a family reunion. Brandon Roy was the guest of honor at the South Center mall event, greeted by an excited crowd in his hometown. Read More »

Around this time last year, I ranked the Top 10 players at each position covering the NBA, college and high school ranks for the just-completed season. Welcome to the second annual edition, starting with the two-guards.

To clarify, “Top 10″ is different from “10 Best.” If you see Evan Turner ahead of Brandon Roy here, I’m not saying the incoming rookie is a better player than the NBA All-Star; I’m saying Turner had a better season than B-Roy. Accomplishments at the highest level of the game obviously hold more weight than others, but this is about who made the biggest impact on their respective level, who put their stamp on the game, and who made the ’09-10 season his own: Read More »

The Las Vegas summer league is right around the corner, and with it, the 2010 NBA rookie class has its first chance to prove itself on the court against real competition.

But while every first-round pick has a guaranteed contract to fall back on in case they struggle, the guys drafted in the second round are essentially fighting for jobs. These are the 10 second-rounders most likely to sign contracts with the team that drafted them: Read More »

Following Day 4 of free agency, this much we do know: Joe Johnson is staying in Atlanta and could now use Chipper Jones‘ house as a garage if he wanted, Amar’e had a talk with Mike D’Antoni to smooth things over and appears a lock for the Knicks, and LeBron won’t make his decision until at least Wednesday. ‘Bron is running his annual Nike camp in Akron this week, so if some other college kid dunks on him this time, you won’t read a word about it in any Chicago, Miami, Cleveland, New York, New Jersey or L.A. newspapers … Joe Jeezy re-upped with the Hawks for six years, $120 million. Read More »

When Joe Johnson was averaging 12 points per game on 29 percent shooting in Atlanta’s second-round playoff sweep at the hands of Orlando, it was the worst possible time to have a slump during a contract year. For a player whose talent has never been doubted — rather, critics question his ability to be a leader and perform like a franchise superstar on the big stage — coming up so short in the playoffs wasn’t the lasting impression J.J. wanted to leave with potential suitors. Read More »

For at least two of this summer’s marquee free agents, there wasn’t really a question of where they’d end up. After a brief flirtation with the Knicks, Dirk Nowitzki joined Paul Pierce on the least-suspenseful superstar signings list, re-upping with the Mavs for a reported $80 million over four years. (Throw in Germany’s World Cup blowout over Argentina, and Dirk was probably grinning like Homey D. Clown all day yesterday.) Like Pierce, Dirk could have taken a max deal, but decided to take less so the Mavs have some money to keep putting a solid team around him. Dirk’s deal also reportedly has a no-trade clause, making him and Kobe the only two players in the League with that kind of power … Read More »

Who knew scouring another man’s day-planner could become so interesting? Thanks to a couple of (on the surface) small schedule changes, it’s now looking like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh may be vying for just two open spots in Chicago … LeBron was supposed to meet with the Bulls and Cavs today, in that order, but reportedly switched it around to where he’ll meet with Cleveland in the morning and then Chicago. And as anybody who follows college recruiting knows, the team that gets the last visit typically has an edge. Meanwhile, D-Wade scheduled a second meeting with the Bulls on Friday, after having already met with them on Thursday. Bosh has been staying in Chicago throughout this early stage of free agency, so are we looking at a scenario where all three superstars have the Bulls on top of their wish list? Read More »

Going into the offseason, about the only thing the L.A. Lakers needed to worry about — besides making sure their key guys make it back to training camp with all their limbs intact — was the point guard position. Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown are all free agents, and only Fisher seems like a lock to return to the defending champs. Read More »

Apparently Amar’e Stoudemire knew what he was doing by turning down $96 million from the Suns, because he’s reportedly about to get $100 million from the New York Knicks.

Having already made their free-agent pitch to LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Joe Johnson, the Knicks have apparently made Amar’e a five-year, $100 million offer. Read More »