As we wrote in Smack, Baron Davis has been pretty busy during the lockout. He’s in the midst of putting together a documentary called “American Schlub” that will focus on the downfall of men’s fashion. Davis’ new fashion trends are definitely different, and his look at one of the lockout meetings earlier this summer was very memorable: flannel lumberjack shirt with some goofy-looking glasses. He’s willing to take chances. Davis has been supporting the movement LAUNFD all summer and recently had a charity event with them. Dorell Wright, Craig Smith and Tina Thompson showed up, and so did we. Photos courtesy of Cassy Athena. Read More »

Each summer the Goodman League in Washington, D.C. hosts NBA stars and streetball legends as one of the most well-known summer leagues in the country. Across the United States in Los Angeles, the Drew League does virtually the same. From Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins in D.C. to DeMar DeRozan and James Harden in L.A., the leagues have been the talk of the summer. So when Durant put on another show, but this time in the Drew League and not the Goodman League last month, he raised a question: Which league is better? Read More »

Utah broadcaster Ron Boone called it at the beginning of the second half: “The Jazz will win this game.” Never mind that his team was down 16 at halftime and were close to setting a record for “Least amount of effort exhibited by any Jerry Sloan team ever.” What happened? First of all, we’re betting Sloan lit some C4 beneath some of his guy’s butts during the break. And secondly, some bad Clipper luck — coupled with Deron Williams going into beast mode once again — led to Utah’s 109-107 come from behind 2OT win … Read More »

For Clippers fans, there’s one phrase that is a staple in their vocabulary: “There’s always next season.” Thankfully, that time is now. Yesterday at Clippers Media Day, I got a chance to chat with four of the young guns that will be supporting rookie Blake Griffin this season, and you could tell that the expectations are high. Check it out.

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All week long, it seemed the media was trying its hardest to will Cornell to an upset win over Kentucky. But by the end of the first night of Sweet Sixteen action, Butler was the underdog stealing the headlines. While Cornell had a good 3-4 minutes of magic in their pocket before John Wall and the Army of Blueness proceeded to trample them, Butler neutralized No. 1 seed Syracuse’s athletic advantage and picked apart the infamous 2-3 zone in a monumental upset … Isn’t Gordon Hayward (17 pts, 5 rebs, 2 stls) overdue for the “next Larry Bird” hype that guys like Keith Van Horn, Wally Szczerbiak and Adam Morrison typically get around this time? Read More »

The Cavs are locked and loaded for a solid run at the championship, a disgruntled former superstar finds a new home (and maybe another one before the day’s up), the Bulls are in an even better position to make a splash this summer and a perennial lump of dead weight now finds himself with 10,000 lakes to drown in. That pretty much sums up all the NBA trade action from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, in what has shaped up to be a trade season that has lived up to expectations so far. Here’s a quick rundown of the fantasy implications. Read More »

The big news over the weekend wasn’t about the lackluster slam dunk contest, the competitive All-Star game or the Shakira/Alicia Keys halftime show; it was about the huge deal between the Dallas Mavericks and the Washington Wizards. Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson were sent to Dallas in exchange for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross and James Singleton. Let’s breakdown the fantasy ramifications. Read More »

By now most of us have heard about Blake Griffin’s season-ending knee surgery that will knock him out of action for four to six months. It’s a frustrating situation that has to have many patient fantasy owners cussing at their computer screens, and rightfully so. Not only was he an extremely promising rookie for the Clippers and the NBA, but Griffin had a real shot at averaging some nice fantasy stats. He was also set to return in about two weeks. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Elton Brand finally emerged and put up 19 points, 11 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals, 6 blocks and just 1 turnover while shooting 47 percent (8-17) from the field and 75 percent (3-4) from the line. This was vintage Brand and owners who have remained patient or bought low on him have to be giggling with joy right now. He’s not out of the woods just yet, but things look are looking way up for Brand and his owners today. Read More »

If you’re purely interested in the best interest of Allen Iverson, you’re glad the Grizzlies had one of their business-as-usual losses against the Clippers last night. Having gone 0-3 since A.I. joined the lineup earlier in the week, for Memphis to win after Iverson had left the team for undisclosed personal reasons — even if it was against the Clips — would have brought up all the same criticisms of Iverson you saw in Detroit and at various points throughout his runs in Philly and Denver. Mainly, that A.I.’s team is better without him, and that certain young stars (i.e. O.J. Mayo in this case) are better off when he’s not in the picture … Instead, the Grizzlies did what they typically do with or without Iverson, putting up a lot of points while giving up even more. Read More »