Almost every year heading into the playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks are among the favorites to contend for the big prize. They come into every season stacked with experienced veterans and a deep bench of players who could start for most other teams. In recent years, we have seen them active during the trade deadline, improving their team by bringing in guys like Jason Kidd and Caron Butler.

Despite all of their appeal, though, the Mavs always disappoint their believers by falling short of their championship goal. Read More »

Ever since he first emerged on the basketball scene as a promising teenager, Derrick Favors has been, as they say in the industry, “an adidas guy.” Following in the footsteps of fellow Atlanta native and pro three-striper Dwight Howard, Favors was a staple at adidas camps during his time at South Atlanta High School, where he grew into one of the top prep players in the country. In fact, when Favors appeared on the cover of Dime #34 (Summer 2007), it was from a photo shoot alongside Tyreke Evans, Lance Stephenson, Jrue Holiday and Luke Babbitt at the inaugural adidas Nations elite summer program. Read More »

Words. Anthony Rizzuti

How exactly do you transform the ugly duckling into Miss America? Well, you follow a number of elaborate steps. First, you make her over. Give her a modern, beautiful look. Next, you teach her how to perform. Practice her etiquette, show her how to walk down the stage, and give her an interesting talent. And lastly, train her into a winner. Teach and instill the values of winning into this project and make her something the whole country will drool over.

This is the exact situation Mikhail Prokhorov, Billy King and Avery Johnson are looking at. How do you make the New Jersey Nets, the ugly duckling of the NBA, a playoff team? Read More »

Pretty much every wing player — i.e., a two-guard or small forward, typically someone who can play both — in the NBA is athletic. It’s one of the job requirements. And if they’re not very athletic, they can at least compensate by shooting your face off. So simply being able to do a YouTube-friendly dunk or knock down a rack’s worth of threes isn’t always enough to make an impact in the League.

The key is expanding your game. Here are five wing players who have added pieces to their original arsenal and are poised for a breakout season in 2010-11: Read More »

With HBO’s new season of “Hard Knocks” premiering August 11 — and focusing on the New York Jets — the show has been a big topic of conversation in the Dime office and NYC in general.

While Major League Baseball has begun capitalizing on the (well-produced) reality TV genre with “The Club,” which follows the front-office/managerial arm of the Chicago White Sox, the NBA has yet to really get on board. Read More »

While there is still a very, very slim hope LeBron chooses the Nets, it appears incredibly unlikely especially considering that they signed Travis Outlaw for $35 million today. Now that their need at small forward has been (barely) adressed, the Nets are looking at power forwards to sign. The Nets need a power forward to help take pressure of Derrick Favors in the immediate future, and these four guys appear to be the frontrunners. Read More »

Before LeBron James causes a party in one city and breaks hearts in five others, the teams still in pursuit of the NBA’s biggest star are undoubtedly vying for one last audience with LBJ before he goes live on-air at 9 p.m. on ESPN. What will those teams say to LeBron should they get his ear for a last-ditch pitch? Next up: N.J.’s Rod Thorn: Read More »

When Mike Brown was fired over a little over a month ago, I listed Tom Thibodeau, Larry Brown and Avery Johnson as the three coaches the Cavaliers should pursue for their head coaching vacancy. Now, Thibodeau is with the Bulls, Johnson is with the Nets, and Larry Brown — still under contract with the Bobcats — has not pushed to be released in order to pursue other opportunities like many thought he would.

Since the vacancy, the Cleveland position has become a give-and-take. Coaches have wanted at least some indication that LeBron will be returning to Cleveland next year, but because it’s impossible for the team to ensure that, coaches such as Tom Izzo have been turning down large sums of money rather than take the risk. Read More »

With NBA free agency now officially underway, teams are either still frantically preparing or currently delivering their pitches to potential signees. We recently caught up with New Jersey Nets head coach Avery Johnson — whose team is among those in the running for A-list free agents like LeBron, D-Wade, Bosh, Amar’e and Joe Johnson — and asked him to give us a sample of his free-agent pitch.

In the biggest free-agency bonanza to ever hit the NBA, LeBron James is the first domino that has to fall before everyone else figures out their next move. From D-Wade all the way down to Brian Scalabrine, you could say every other free agent’s future will in some way be affected by LeBron’s decision.

With the official start of free agency set for 12:01 a.m. Wednesday night/Thursday morning, we decided to look at each team believed to be in the running for LeBron and delve into the reasons why LBJ would and wouldn’t (or should and shouldn’t) sign with them. Next up: The New Jersey Nets. Read More »