You can’t fault America for disregarding an old team that lost in the first round last season. Since then, so much has happened in basketball that I doubt too many casual fans even realize the Spurs ran away with the Western Conference during 2010-11′s first 82 games. It took the new monarchs of Los Angeles all of one preseason quarter to take the torch from Miami as the new season’s most interesting group of newcomers. Chris Paul aka John Williams. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan redefining the basic psychics of the game. Chauncey Billups playing with a controlled rage aimed at the entire basketball nation. But the Spurs showed Monday in their 95-82 revenge win against Memphis that balding heads aren’t bringing them to retirement homes and Saturday afternoon black-and-white cowboy reruns just yet. The two teams are ready to size each other up. They get their first taste tonight. Read More »

A lot of people made fun of us for talking the Clippers up, but what can you say? When you’re younger, more athletic, things just come easier. That’s just the way it is and as much as we love the game, as much as we love Kobe and Pau and the accolades they’ve won in the past, if you can’t see the Clippers are poised to take that crown than you are losing it. Or you just have more faith in the Lakers’ front office than we do. The Clippers let their big brother hang around for a while, and then in the second half they turned it up to a level the old heads couldn’t keep up with. 114-95, the Clippers ended up winning with Chauncey Billups (23 points) and Chris Paul (17 points, nine assists, five steals) doing the most damage, dominating the Laker guards at times … Read More »

These are strange times in the NBA. Strange times, indeed. We want to believe this whole fiasco revolving around the Chris Paul-to-the-L.A. Clippers trade is over. But we know, and y’all know, it isn’t. That’s what happens when a league is forced to trade one of its most visible and valuable assets. That’s what happens when there are accusations someone screwed around with the amnesty waiver process to make sure Chauncey Billups ended up a Clipper. That’s what happens when reporters ask a GM from Houston who thought he had a trade done last week, to comment on what exactly happened and the man backs off saying he isn’t allowed to speak on it. Read More »

Finally, Chris Paul is dealt away from the Hornets. On Wednesday night, the Clippers agreed to a deal where L.A. gets Paul and two future second-round picks, while New Orleans gets Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 first-round pick. Here’s a quick list of the fantasy implications: Read More »

So what did Otis Smith say? Or what did he do? Something happened. Something weird, because just hours after Dwight Howard basically came out and said “Look man, trade me. I’m not feeling like we can work things out. You and I don’t have a good relationship,” the big man is now saying he loves Orlando and doesn’t want to leave. Whereas Chris Paul had made it pretty clear he’s not trying to stay in New Orleans, Howard has been going back and forth for the past few weeks on whether he wants to stay or not. Read More »

After talks fell apart for Chris Paul, what did the Los Angeles Clippers do? They went to the waiver wire for a new PG. According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, every team in the league was just notified that the Clippers registered the winning waiver bid for five-time All-Star Chauncey Billups. Read More »

On Friday, when we posted the unfortunate news about Brandon Roy being forced into medical retirement, we were moved by the instant outpouring of love for B-Roy from our readers. So we thought today was as good as any to post Roy’s national magazine cover debut from Dime #48. Read More »

Doesn’t it feel like David West sort of belongs on the Celtics? He has a little dog in him, and maybe it’s just us, but he seems like a great fit up there. Luckily for Boston fans, Danny Ainge agrees with us, and as of now, the Celtics are on the verge of adding the former All-Star Hornet through a sign-n-trade. Adrian Wojnarowski reports that while it isn’t done quite yet (New Orleans is in limbo right now because they’re focusing on CP), it will be for three years and somewhere between $27-29 million and will probably have Boston send Jermaine O’Neal and one other player to the Hornets. Still, there are question marks. He’s 31 and coming off a major ACL injury. He also technically plays the same spot as Kevin Garnett, although those two could easily play next to each other. Read More »

In the words of the man himself (Chris Paul), “Wow.” What in the locked-out world just happened? The afternoon created as much conversation as we’ve seen around a move since “The Decision” and yet just a few short hours later, it was over and nothing had happened. In case you’ve been out of it for the past 16 or so hours, a huge trade was agreed upon between the Lakers, Hornets and Rockets where the Lakers ended up with CP, the Rockets with Pau Gasol and New Orleans would’ve gotten Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic, and a 2012 first-round pick that came from the Knicks. Read More »

Someone has to pay for Tyson Chandler, right? It looks like that someone in New York will be Chauncey Billups. With the Knicks apparently very close to signing Chandler, they need money for the deal with the Tyson, while still setting themselves up for a Chris Paul move [click here for what that might look like].

That leaves Mr. Billups to be either traded or waived as a victim of the Knicks’ Amnesty Clause. While Chauncey is reportedly not the least bit happy about today’s developments, it might end up working out for him in Miami. Read More »