It’s pure speculation, sure, but chances are new Knick J.R. Smith did not go to the Far East and find enlightenment during his three-month stay in the Chinese Basketball Association. We do know, though, that he found a green light in his three months balling for Zheijang.

The former Nugget gunner averaged 34.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.5 steals and 4.2 turnovers per for Zhejiang — also the home of ex-UConn and Net forward Josh Boone — in a stint that began with him twisting his knee and calling out management in his first game. Read More »

We saw a few people joking around on Twitter yesterday that Allen Iverson is sort of morphing into the NBA version of Kenny Powers. For our socially inept readers, Powers is the profanity-lacing, jetski-riding, beer-drinking-while-he-drives star from HBO’s popular show, Eastbound & Down. Now with reports linking a team in Puerto Rico with Iverson, the comparison is a perfect fit. In the second season documenting Powers’ on-again, off-again baseball comeback, the most hilarious character on television spent some time creating “highlights” for a pro team in Mexico called the Charros. Read More »

Even though he hasn’t played in a game since Nov. 10, 2010, you can definitely feel Yao Ming‘s absence in the NBA this season. And with 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting tipping off today, over 1 million people will have to find another suitable candidate among Western Conference centers. (Although I hope people still write him in.) Even though Yao is retired from playing ball, the 31-year-old is not resting on his laurels. His latest endeavor? The Chinese wine scene. Read More »

It didn’t make ESPN BottomLine when former Western Kentucky standout Sergio Kerusch signed a three-year deal to play professionally for Aris Thessaloniki in Greece this August. But this dunk should have made SportsCenter. If you’re wondering who got destroyed, that’s former UNC Greensboro star Kyle Hines playing for Olympiacos. Ouch. Read More »

While some people tune in to see Besiktas to watch Deron Williams, I keep tabs on the Turkish club to get my lockout fix of Semih Erden. Unfortunately for me, Erden broke his left thumb the other day. Fortunately for you, Williams dropped 50 on 17-of-23 shooting in 36 minutes. He could be the best player in Europe right now. Read More »

In Dime #64, we wrote about Portland Trail Blazers guard Patty Mills‘ best assist yet — his “Assist Australia” campiagn that raised funds through t-shirt sales for victims of flooding from Tropical Cyclone Yasi, primarily in his home state, Queensland.

Today, a second chapter of the campaign unfolds. Mills is scheduled to present a $40,000 check before the Melbourne Tigers (his current team) play the Perth Wildcats, to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal. Should you be reading this Down Under, Mills will present the check at 7:25 p.m. local time. Read More »

A few pages in a book explained everything. It was one of those instances where you read, then drop the book to your lap, pick your eyes up, stare off into space completely zoned out, and have an epiphany. It all makes sense now. Starbury is a person and an entity. It’s a brand and it’s a mindset, all of that tied into one. Starbury withstood. The word didn’t officially come to represent one of our favorite best worst players until a few years ago when he was at the onset of a journey that would take him halfway across the globe. It started a long time ago back in Coney Island. It’s not a fad. It’s seemingly grown into his way of life. Read More »

This is what powerhouse teams do: they go for the big names. Remember back in intramurals when there’d be one or two teams – many of the best and most popular players – and they would befriend and do pretty much whatever they could to get any free agent players or younger newcomers who didn’t have a team? They wanted to stay on top, or had to stay on top, so they did what they had to. With the chance that Barcelona could find itself rolling with both Gasol bros, Real Madrid is going all out. They already have Serge Ibaka, Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez. Now they want LaMarcus Aldridge… and Dwight Howard. Read More »

The dominoes are starting to fall pretty quickly. Barely 24 hours since the NBA season was put in jeopardy, it was reported that a team in China is going hard after Jamal Crawford to bring him over to play for them. Now, an even bigger story: Kevin Durant may agree to a deal with the Beko BBL club as soon as tomorrow. According to a SPOX.com article, Durant’s agent has called the German club out of the blue and both sides have been in serious contract negotiations since. Read More »

We all laughed at guys like Wilson Chandler, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith when they signed in China and it was ruled they might not be able to get back into the NBA this year. But after yesterday’s proceedings, they actually came out of this thing looking good. They have jobs – and in Smith’s case, an extra suite to store all of his luggage – and are playing basketball. Most of the rest of the NBA is playing in boring lockout games or attempting to redefine men’s fashion (I’m looking at you, Baron Davis.) But one NBA player is still being courted to play. Read More »