After being brutally beat down by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2009 NBA playoffs — during which they tied for the worst single-game loss in postseason history in a 121–63 drubbing in Game Four while shooting 31.5% from the field and 13.3% from the three-point line — the New Orleans Hornets went about a rebuilding process.

In the aftermath of a highly unsuccessful end to disastrous ’08-09 season that included a mid-season attempt to trade starting center Tyson Chandler for expiring contracts, the Hornets were widely perceived to be looking to trim the payroll. 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 »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (3-30) Last week: Beat New York, lost to Cleveland. After closing out December by experiencing the thrill of victory for the third time, the Nets have a handful of winnable games coming up this month, including the Wizards, Pacers, Sixers, Bucks and Clippers at home.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-28) Last week: Lost at San Antonio; lost to Utah; lost to Orlando; lost at Indiana. The League’s third-worst three-point shooting team (and 4th-worst in triples made) needs a shooter or two. Anybody know what Chuck Person and Anthony Peeler are up to? Read More »

For Chris Paul and Deron Williams to go head-to-head and put up underwhelming numbers isn’t a surprise anymore. For Devin Brown — the rare NBA starter who could also appear on “Who He Play For?” and stump Charles Barkley — to steal the show from both of those guys is definitely a surprise … Brown (30 pts, 5 threes) got it rolling early, scoring 10 of N.O.’s first 18 points, wetting jumpers and getting layups in transition off Utah turnovers. Despite Brown’s hot start, however, the Hornets struggled overall, falling behind by double-digits in a first quarter highlighted by C.J. Miles‘ 360 two-hand dunk. Read More »

One 15-second sequence before halftime of Cavs/Hawks delivered the kind of excitement promised by a national TV matchup of the two best teams in the East (watch out for the batteries and water bottles being thrown by Boston and Orlando fans), but it was some unexciting basic defense that proved the difference down the stretch … Read More »

The Utah Jazz kicked off the trading season by sending Eric Maynor to the Oklahoma City Thunder for financial reasons. Not to be outdone the New Orleans Hornets have sent their regular starting 2 guard to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a player who played in one game all season. The Timberwolves announced today that they acquired Devin Brown and cash considerations from the Hornets in exchange for Jason Hart. Read More »

Weekend Wonder: Kobe Bryant delivered two nice presents to his fantasy owners this past holiday weekend, averaging 36.5 points, 2.5 threes, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 4.5 turnovers. He shot 44 percent from the field and 100 percent from the line in those two games. Kobe played a whopping 96 minutes in those two contests, thanks to a double overtime game on Saturday. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Pau Gasol had a very smooth return to the tune of 24 points, 13 boards, 3 assists, 1 block and 2 turnovers. He shot 60 percent (9-15) from the field and perfect (6-6) from the free throw line. His owners have waited a long time for Gasol to play his first game this season and he looks ready to justify his first-round draft position in most leagues. Now the question is which Gasol brother will finish the year with better fantasy value. Read More »

In June of 2003, the Detroit Pistons made a decision that forever changed the face and future of the Denver Nuggets. By selecting Darko Milicic with the No. 2 pick, it allowed Denver to finally secure a franchise player in Carmelo Anthony with the next selection.

Since that evening in the Garden, the Nuggets have only gotten better. Business the prior season though, pre-Melo, was anything but exciting for the city of Denver. The 2002-2003 squad, which featured a younger Juwan Howard, ultimately rotated through 21 players and 65 losses. The Nuggets finished the year with 17 wins and found themselves 43 games behind the division-leading and eventual NBA Champions, San Antonio Spurs. 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 »