Dime had a chance to catch up with a handful of NBA rookies at the NBA Rookie Photo Shoot last Tuesday. On Thursday, we began unrolling our Q&A’s with these future NBA stars. So far we’ve brought you Bradley Beal, John Jenkins, Meyers Leonard and Dion Waiters, and today you’ll hear from Kendall Marshall. Read More »

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that the Oklahoma City Thunder do not attempt to re-sign James Harden next offseason. Before you scoff at that possibility, know this: OKC has approximately $58.5 million committed to six players in 2013-2014: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison and Thabo Sefolosha. Read More »

Dime had a chance to catch up with a handful of NBA rookies at the NBA Rookie Photo Shoot last Tuesday. On Thursday, we began unrolling our Q&A’s with these future NBA stars. So far we’ve brought you Bradley Beal and John Jenkins and Meyers Leonard, and today you’ll hear from Dion Waiters. Read More »

NBA salaries are based on market value, and, for the most part, are relative. A weak free agent class typically over values certain players (re: Rashard Lewis). Similarly, longevity increases max contract value, thus explaining why LeBron James can be ranked behind players like Joe Johnson. So when you read the following list – big shoutout to @warriorsworld on this – which chronicles the top 25 career NBA salaries, don’t look at it as a barometer of the greatest players. Rather, see it as the ultimate expression of the NBA as a business, in which certain players have taken advantage of their situation to cash in as much as possible. Read More »

Dime had a chance to catch up with a handful of NBA rookies at the NBA rookie photo shoot last Tuesday. On Thursday, we began unrolling our Q&A’s with these future NBA stars. So far we’ve brought you Bradley Beal and John Jenkins, and today you’ll hear from Meyers Leonard.

Meyers Leonard isn’t just a big body. Despite his elite physical stature, standing at 7-1 with a 7-3 wingspan and a nine-foot standing reach, Leonard showed in his sophomore season at Illinois that his skills aren’t far behind. Learning to become more assertive with his pure size and strength, he became a hot name in NBA circles and one of the top center prospects at this year’s NBA Draft. We had a chance to catch up with Leonard at the NBA rookie photo shoot, and he talked a bit about his Summer League performance and, most importantly, that deadly Portland center curse. Read More »

I’ll be the first to knock Kobe for his “clutch” shooting. Volume, over time, has bled through our collective memory and drowned out the the hoards of misses. There’s no doubt that Kobe Bryant has hit a ton of clutch shots over his entire career, but that has come with a price – lots of awful, last-second heaves. Then again, Kobe’s known for making difficult shots look easy. And, with his late-game reputation, he routinely faces double teams and added pressure that most don’t. So maybe he is better than my estimation, or maybe he’s not. Read More »

John Jenkins is one of the top shooters in the 2012 NBA rookie class. After helping to lead Vanderbilt to an SEC title game upset over then ranked No. 1 Kentucky, Vanderbilt went on to lose 60-57 to Wisconsin in the secound round of the NCAA Tournament. But that wasn’t the end of a basketball journey for many of Vanderbilt’s players, including Festus Ezeli and Jeffery Taylor, the 30th and 31st picks in the 2012 NBA Draft, respectively. We had the chance to catch up with the 23rd pick, John Jenkins, at the NBA Rookie photo shoot to talk about his college basketball career and his lofty goals to become one of the greatest shooters ever. Read More »

Sports are panic-stricken and fickle and impetuous, and resistance to this present-slated culture is success. Except Oklahoma City, Miami and Los Angeles flipped the script, proving that impatience does work. Building for the future used to be a nod-inducing intelligence barometer. “He has a PLAN.” And plans are good, if only because they can only be evaluated in principle. We’re going to build through the draft, we’re going to grow young players. Read More »

The Washington Wizards have a really strong young core heading into next season, headlined by a dynamic backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal. At yesterday’s 2012 Rookie Photo Shoot, where the top NBA rookies posed in their new jerseys, we had a chance to catch up with Beal to talk pregame traditions, the Wizards’ upcoming season and a bold prediction about Florida’s upcoming basketball year. Read More »

Dime was on hand for the NBA rookie photo shoot yesterday, where all the top rookies, including Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, Dion Waiters, Damian Lillard and Austin Rivers were gathered to have their pictures taken in their brand new NBA jerseys. Between photo sessions, players shot hoops with kids and did interviews. Anthony Davis, as you can imagine, was absolutely mobbed the entire time. Except for one lighthearted moment, when one media outlet orchestrated one of the funnier moments of the day. Read More »