The pickings just keep getting smaller. No matter what you think will happen over the next few months – will NBA guys warm up to the idea of playing somewhere outside the NBA or will they decide against it? – the fact remains that the majority of them won’t be able to play there. Yes, won’t. No, it has nothing to do with on-court talent, the ability to mesh into a team system or even the possibility that they come over and outshine the entire team. It’s just that there really aren’t that many jobs available. Read More »

It’s crazy the difference a year makes. Last year at this time, the media attention swirling around the NBA was actually picking up steam. Game 7 of the 2010 Finals was an afterthought compared to the free agency craze. Atlanta got so hyped up, they threw Birdman money at Joe Johnson. Cleveland got so hell bent, they were ready to tear down buildings. We were throwing July 8th office parties. Miami was throwing “We are gonna win 10 championships” parties. And LeBron nearly ruined himself. Read More »

We’ve all been waiting for some NBA action to happen before training camps start, and thanks to the Hornets and Sixers, there’s some movement going on before things get underway. According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski New Orleans has traded Darius Songaila and rookie Craig Brackins to Philly for Willie Green and Jason Smith. I’m not sure this is the type of help Chris Paul was looking for… Read More »

First impressions can be misleading if you don’t wait around for the conclusion. Ask anybody who’s been swindled by a con artist, or watched the promising first half-hour of Jeepers Creepers before enduring the colossally terrible rest of the movie. Ask Kobe Bryant after the first three quarters of Lakers/Celtics Game 7 before he took over the fourth: What you thought you saw at first can look completely different at the end of the day.

That’s what I thought when the dust settled and I realized what the New Orleans Hornets had accomplished in last night’s NBA Draft. Read More »

I’m not saying anything profound by declaring that the NBA is a business. Dollars and cents clearly take precedence over loyalty and feelings. But while this harsh reality may often come as a surprise to devoted season ticket holders, the bottom line is the bottom line. There’s a reason teams fire coaches and let the GM take a seat on the bench. Perhaps it’s not the correct basketball move, but the Band-Aid is much cheaper than the surgery. Read More »

We like to hook up our Dime readers throughout the year, so you know we have something special for the holidays. Starting now, if you purchase a gift subscription to the magazine for somebody else, you get your own one-year subscription for only $12. That’s like less than the price of feeding Big Baby Davis every day between the hours of 3-5 p.m. Check the deal out HERE and take advantage … Now if you like watching Dwight Howard shoot free throws, Magic/Pacers last night was your game. Maybe Indy coach Jim O’Brien agreed with the Orlando announcer who called Roy Hibbert a “foul-committing machine” who has no business guarding Dwight and maybe he didn’t, but Coach’s plan to single-cover Dwight and foul him basically every time he got the ball worked in the sense that the Pacers were in position to win the game late in the fourth quarter. Read More »

The NBA preseason is underway, meaning it’s time again for Dime’s team-by-team season previews. Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceilings and basements for each team. In other words, what is the realistic best-case and worst-case scenario for the 2009-10 campaign?

Added: Emeka Okafor, Darren Collison, Darius Songaila, Marcus Thornton, Ike Diogu, Bobby Brown Read More »

Well he might not be Ricky Rubio, but the Wolves were able to add another point guard to the mix by trading for Antonio Daniels today. The Hornets sent the 12-year vet and a future second round pics to the Wolves for forward Darius Songaila and guard Bobby Brown. With drafting Jonny Flynn, the move should give Minnesota some veteren leadership at that position. Read More »