Mario Chalmers Says He’s One Of The NBA’s Best PGs; The Knicks Have New Uniforms

There’s something everyone needs to know about Mario Chalmers: his confidence is bordering on movie star-level. He really believes he’s one of the best big moment players in the game. Trust us. We’ve asked him before. Now, he’s saying he’s not just one of the best point guards in the world, but that he’s in the “front end of the top 10.” We’re not even sure Rajon Rondo would reach that far, and what’s funny about this is that Chalmers’ proclamation came from a question about Rondo’s standing in the game. In an interview with Bleacher Report, Chalmers disagreed with Rondo, and said the Celtic wasn’t the best point guard in the NBA, and instead was only top five (he named Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Steve Nash as others who could be better). Then he dropped the Ether: “There are a lot of great guards in the NBA so for him to say he’s the best is a pretty bold statement. I’d say that I [Mario Chalmers] am in the front end of the top 10.” Ironic? While Chalmers is obviously still sipping on that championship champagne, we will say this: there ARE a few similarities between Rondo and Chalmers. Yes, their games are polar opposites. But no one was calling Rondo a future top-five point guard when the Big Three first arrived in Boston. He was actually the weak link, often berated by his older, more established teammates. Both players bristled at the smaller roles, and more than anything else seemed to get in the way of the team’s stars. But as Rondo showed during Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals, and as Chalmers showed at times during the 2012 Finals, they both have some big-game balls. Chalmers doesn’t appear to have that same kind of potential, but he’s solid on both ends, and truly loves taking the big shot. At worst, we remember when everyone was counting down the days until Norris Cole took his job, and that’s not happening anytime soon … In their continued pursuit of a backup for Brook Lopez, the Nets had planned to workout Eddy Curry yesterday. Yes, THAT Eddy Curry. Curry only played 14 games for Miami last year and is set to turn 30 years old this December. Considering Brooklyn also brought in Hilton Armstrong for a look yesterday, we’re guessing this is more of doing their due diligence than anything else, especially since if they did sign Curry, they’d have possibly the worst rebounding tandem at center in NBA history … As for Donte Greene, he actually had agreed to a deal with Brooklyn, but that one fell through after the 6-10 forward fractured his ankle during an offseason workout. There’s still a good chance Greene eventually plays for the Nets this season, but there’s nothing worse than believing you have a deal before an injury happens … The Heat are also – surprise! – in the market for a backup big man, and may end up signing former problem child Sean Williams, who was recently waived by Houston. At this point, the Heat have been linked to every center from Joel Przybilla to the Texans’ Chris Myers … And on the heels of the news about Kareem‘s new Laker statue, it sounds like Indiana State is building Larry Bird a 15-foot statue. Why 15 feet? They want to make sure it’s bigger than Magic‘s 12-footer at Michigan State … Keep reading to hear about the best new basketball documentary we’ve seen in the past six months …

The Knicks aren’t officially unveiling their new uniforms until September 6, but luckily for all of us, we already know what they’ll look like. After NBA 2K13 released a recent video with Carmelo Anthony rocking a somewhat altered New York jersey, the rumors started flowing. Was that the new jersey? Turns out it was, and the Knicks will play next year in a uniform with all of the black completely taken out. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes that other changes include the removal of all piping on the side of the jersey and shorts, the circle on the back will be replaced by a traditional basketball logo, and there will be an addition of new silver piping at the top of the jersey. You can see the new unis by watching the second video in this post. This is pretty much the same jersey worn by New York for about 30 years up until around 1997… basically, all the way up until they started to suck. So if you’re into retro classics, you’ll probably enjoy this. Now, if only the Knicks could win like those old teams … Reportedly, Jay-Z‘s reps recently tried to stop a New York Times writer from airing the story about Jigga’s incredibly small ownership stake with the Nets. With everything else he has going on in his life outside of basketball, at least Kris Humphries can rest easy about this. It looks like Jay doesn’t have the pull to “drop him from the team” anyways … And did any of you catch Goose when it premiered on ESPN back in February? If not, you should definitely check it out. We missed the initial showing, but luckily were able to snag a copy now that it’s available for retail. It documents the story of Reece “Goose” Tatum, who was one of the most influential and most well-known athletes of all time, and yet somehow, no one really knows about him. He was a Harlem Globetrotter, one of the first global icons. People called him the “Black Babe Ruth” even though internationally, he was bigger than any American baseball star at the time. His Globetrotters beat George Mikan‘s Lakers in two consecutive matchups during a time when prejudice was still holding many black players back, and from there, Goose dabbled in Hollywood and expanded his brand away from the game. Everyone from Jerry West to Bill Cosby calls him the first international basketball superstar. He was also a pioneer of free agency, and without his courage in a time when making money off basketball was considered a privilege, the NBA would’ve become a totally different place. If you’re at all a basketball historian, we definitely recommend checking it out. It’s a great documentary … We’re out like Chalmers’ top 10 spot.

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