So maybe there was a WNBA logo at midcourt. And maybe the crowd of just over 5,000 was about one-fourth of what you’d get on a good night at Staples Center or Madison Square Garden. And maybe the only certified All-Star on either roster was sitting on the bench in street clothes, cradling his 2-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son in his arms instead of a basketball.

But none of those images could dim the fantasy that, for now at least, the NBA was back in Seattle. Read More »

Call it a spoon-feeding. A Costco free sample. But when your NBA team is swiped away like a waiter prematurely assuming you’re done with your meal, you’ll take anything. (Thousands of Sonics fans simultaneously nod their heads.) This Saturday, an exhibition game known as the H206 Charity Basketball Classic will take place at KeyArena in Seattle featuring over 20 NBA players broken up into two separate teams – the “Seattle Team” and the “League Team.” Trust us, you want to be there. Read More »

So what do you do if you’re Denver big man Nene? You’re right in the middle of working out an extension with the Nuggets, when the motherland comes calling for you to represent at an international tournament. Do you jeopardize your health (and your free agency if the extension doesn’t get consummated) to assist the Brazilian national team in qualifying for the 2012 Olympics? Or do you “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?” It looks like Mr. Nene (or Mr. Hilario or whatever) is taking the former – dropping out of Brazil’s bid at the FIBA Americas Championship. Read More »

Every year in the NBA there are 16 teams that make the playoffs and 14 who are relegated to the NBA Lottery. Those 14 teams hope that their draft pick can be a building block for the future and help their team become one of the 16 in the playoffs the following season. This article evaluates how well this year’s lottery teams have drafted the past five years: Read More »

In last night’s 18-point Suns debacle at the hands of the Thunder, a baffling exchange took place with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter when Phoenix guards Zabian Dowdell and Aaron Brooks were both ejected from the game by official Ken Mauer.

According to KTAR Sports Radio Talk Show host John Gambadoro, Mauer told Dowdell to “stop being a little bitch.” Read More »

Beast of the Night: Dorell Wright put up 32 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals, one block and three three-pointers made. He shot 67 percent (14-21) from the field, 75 percent (3-4) from the free-throw line and had one turnover. While Wright’s field-goal percentage is usually his Achilles heel, it was clearly no problem last night. His surge into fantasy superstardom is astounding. Owners shouldn’t expect to see him last too long on draft boards next fall. Read More »

Weekend Wonder: Monta Ellis averaged 27.5 points, four rebounds, eight assists, 2.5 steals, one block and 3.5 threes in his two games over the weekend. He shot 54 percent from the field, 86 percent from the line and averaged 3.5 turnovers in that stretch. Ellis hit a career-high seven three-pointers and played all 53 minutes of an overtime victory over the Magic on Friday night. He has been a top-15 stud all season long and has held up well despite playing heavy minutes once again. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Kyle Lowry finished with 24 points, four rebounds, 11 assists, two steals, one block and three three-pointers. He shot 47 percent (9-19) from the field, 60 percent (3-5) from the charity stripe and had no turnovers. This was nearly identical to his line on March 1. Lowry has been a big help to his fantasy owners all season long and should finish the season with top-50 value. Read More »

The minutes leading up to the 3:00pm EST trade deadline Thursday didn’t disappoint. There was a flurry of last-minute swaps around the NBA, a league whose GMs appear to have caught some kind of bloodlust for transactions akin to the fever teenage girls have for Bieber. This means that there’s a whole lot to digest today. Let’s wade through the aftermath and assess the effects of the last-minute trading frenzy for fantasy basketball owners. Read More »

Another year, another NBA Trade Deadline gone by. As you probably would expect, the Dime office was Ground Zero today for anything and everything trade related. Whether it was Twitter, texts or phone calls, we were constantly on our toes looking for the most up-to-date info to relay to you, our readers. With players’ names being thrown around more than the gut of Chris Farley in a Matt Foley motivational speaker skit, it was difficult forecasting what gossip would end up reality. On the wake of the recently kyboshed Mayo/McRoberts deal, it brought my attention to the other rumored deals that were circulating, but for one reason or another didn’t quite come to fruition. Here they are: Read More »