Will Steph play for Mike D in NYC?

The news out of Jim Dolan’s office is that the Knicks are ready and willing to make a “staggering” offer to lure Mike D’Antoni away from the Bulls and into Madison Square Garden. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Knicks are prepared to offer D’Antoni roughly $6 million per year - a figure too high to be considered just a ploy to get Chicago to up their offer.

But the Knicks aren’t going to wait around forever, according to Stein.
Read More »

Jason Maxiell’s gone toe-to-toe with Dwight

In the Lakers/Nuggets series it was J.R. Smith. In the Philly/Detroit series it was Reggie Evans. In the Jazz/Rockets series it was Mehmet Okur. No matter the series, there has been at least one guy that has elevated his level of play far beyond expectations to give his team a much-needed boost throughout these playoffs.

Despite seeing only 27 minutes of action per game, J.R. Smith added six full more points per game onto his season average, tallying 18.3 over the four outings. Evans‘ production tailed off during the last two games, but during the first four games of the series, he looked like Brian Dawkins on a basketball court. The guy was doing absolutely everything. He’d collected 8.7 points and 8.2 boards during those first four games, and had committed 3.2 fouls per game that the refs never saw.

It might be early in round two, but here’s who’s stepped to the dish so far… Read More »

Photo. Mannion

We wanted to let you guys know know about the new LeBron James spot created by Nike. It’s part of a campaign called “Witness Stand” that has just started running on NikeBasketball.com.

Check it out and let us know what you think.

Their words, not ours.

Yesterday’s Newark Star-Ledger told the story David West and how close he was to quitting the game of basketball when he was a kid.

No mention though of where he picked up the magic trick that makes other teams consistently leave him wide open for that mid-range jumper that he makes 98% of the time.

And while we’re talking D-West, this question came up yesterday in the Dime office: Who would you rather have on your team, D-West or Carlos Boozer? Tell us why in the Comments section …

Dirk. Photo. Monte Isom

Word is that the Mavs, barring any snags in negotiations, could announce who’ve they’ve hired to replace Avery Johnson as early as Friday of this week.

Check it out HERE, and then go HERE for some insight into how the front office decisions go down in Big D.

Kidd Photo. Jordan Hollander

Mark Cuban’s Blog Maverick is in our list of regular sites to visit. Cuban is always straight up with his posts and doesn’t hold back.

At the end of last week, he put up this post, breaking down every aspect of the Jason Kidd/Devin Harris trade. It’s a great look inside the workings of a complicated, risky deal to land a future Hall of Famer. Check out this excerpt from the post about the long-term ramifications of pulling the trigger on the deal: Read More »

Tyson Wheeler (photo. URI)

Doing some research over the weekend, I came across a database for pro teams in Italy operating under the FIBA umbrella. Some names on the rosters you might recognize:

* Danya Abrams (Boston College)
* William Avery (Duke)
* Thomas Gardner (Missouri)
* Vincent Grier (Minnesota)
* A.J. Guyton (Indiana)
* Junior Harrington (Denver Nuggets)
* Ivan Harris (Ohio State)
* Otis Hill (Syracuse)
* Chris Hill (Michigan State)
* Edmund Saunders (UConn)
* Amara Sy (Nike Battlegrounds 1-on-1 champion)
* Tyson Wheeler (Rhode Island)

Dime #22

The article in the L.A. Times today that cites the Dime cover story that Kobe wrote a little while back prompted us to go back and take another look at Bryant’s words. Interesting to see what he had to say a few years ago about how he viewed his relationship with his teammates, the fans and Phil.

The following excerpt is from the cover story of Issue #22 of Dime.

By Kobe Bryant

My biggest fear is not winning another title. But fear is a great motivator. I’m determined to lead this organization back to the top. The people who once celebrated me are the same people who doubt me now. They say that because I don’t have Shaq that I can’t win, that it’s over. The only thing I truly worry about is that my drive and my will are sometimes too much for my teammates to handle. Do I expect too much from them? How can I elevate them to play with my same passion every night?

What helps me understand and deal with this is the fact that I was once in their shoes. I once played a supporting role on this team. Back then I knew how much pressure Shaquille had on him to win a ring and I also knew I could help. Read More »

Photo. Mannion

This afternoon the official announcement will be made: after 12 seasons in the League, Kobe Bryant will win his first MVP award.

This morning’s L.A. Times takes a look at Bryant’s long NBA journey to get to this point, covering the highs and lows, the good and the bad (except for Colorado - the author keeps it almost strictly basketball), and the sometimes strained relationship he has had with fans, teammates and management.

The piece gives a nice shout-out to the story that Kobe wrote for the cover of Dime #22 a few years back:

In the depths of the Lean Years from 2004 to 2007, Bryant discovered something new: fear.

Once serenely confident of achieving his goals, he felt abandoned and reviled — “an outcast my entire life,” he wrote for Dime Magazine — “[always] made to feel like there was something wrong with wanting to win so badly and wanting to become the best at what you do.”

Check it out HERE.