Last week I was writing about the possible contract extensions for guys in the 2006 NBA Draft class, and how to-date only Andrea Bargnani, LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy had received them. Then the other day word broke that Thabo Sefolosha signed a four-year, around $14 million extension with the Thunder, leaving guys like Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay and Tyrus Thomas waiting for an offer. Good news though: the league has pushed back the deadline from Saturday to Monday. Read More »

It would have been assumed that the young Bobcats were not headed in the right direction after drafting both Adam Morrison and Alexis Ajinca in the first round of the draft. But when Sheldon Williams drops a near double-double on you, things really aren’t looking too good. Read More »

Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — previewing the NBA season by predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team. Same theme, different season…

Added: Tyson Chandler, Gerald Henderson, Flip Murray, Derrick Brown, Stephen Graham

Lost: Emeka Okafor, Sean May, Juwan Howard, Cartier Martin Read More »

There’s no question that the class of 2008 is front-loaded with talent. And now that the rookie jitters are gone and contract extensions are in sight, how will they fare after a year in the League under their belts? The reality is, a case can be made for almost 30 guys to be on this list in some way. For instance, where do Danilo Gallinari and Roy Hibbert go with such strong coach-backing? It’s still too early to close the book on any of these guys, but so far here are my predictions. Read More »

Yesterday must have been unofficial Sh*t-Talking Day around the NBA. With most teams kicking off training camp this week — check out the first installment of Dime’s team-by-team season previews HERE — most teams are having their annual preseason Media Day, and a few guys have been talking reckless. Monta Ellis raised the most eyebrows in Golden State. Ever since the Warriors took Stephen Curry and didn’t trade him to Phoenix, the rookie has been penciled into the starting backcourt next to Monta. But apparently nobody ran that idea by Cold-Vicious. “Us together? No. Can’t. We just can’t,” Monta said, sounding like somebody had asked him to film a Brokeback Mountain scene. Read More »

After quite a few media outlets picked up on our report in yesterday’s Smack that Allen Iverson had agreed to a contract with the Bobcats, Charlotte Observer beat writer Rick Bonnell refuted the claims of our NBA source, citing a “great source” who told him A.I. and the ‘Cats haven’t agreed to anything just yet, but there is a chance something will happen soon. We’re not gonna get into a “Whose recorder is bigger?” contest; whether our source is right or the other source is right, everybody can at least agree that something is brewing between Iverson and Charlotte … Read More »

I won’t even pretend to understand the origins and details of America’s economic crisis, but I do know it’s hitting the NBA and doing some significant damage. The fact that there’s even the slightest validity to rumors that New Orleans could trade Chris Paul simply to save money is proof enough.

Today, on the tail-end of a story in the Charlotte Observer about the Bobcats’ draft plans, we see another example of the economy directly impacting a team’s potential success/failure on the court. Read More »