The NBA trade deadline can make or break your fantasy team. Deadline deals not only change the value of existing fantasy studs, but also rearranges depth charts, opening the door for tons of players sitting on the waiver wire. I was a little disappointed by this year’s deadline, which was one of the slower ones in recent memory, but it still opened the door for many. Read More »

Two players expected to be dealt before the deadline were Orlando’s J.J. Redick and Atlanta’s Josh Smith. At one point Thursday before the 3 p.m. deadline the two were in a proposed trade package for one another. Only Redick will be traded, however: The shooting guard will be traded to Milwaukee as part of a three-way deal between Orlando, Milwaukee and Charlotte. Read More »

With the NBA Draft Lottery taking place, everyone has a better idea where likely draftees will land come June 28, 2012. Here at Dime, we’ve already begun our full-fledge draft coverage. Catch up on player profiles like Harrison Barnes, the weekly diary of Dion Waiters, and our latest mock draft. All of these features provide a glimpse into what to expect from the incoming influx of ballers. Yet, the perpetual interrelationship between hip-hop and hoopin’ can’t be overlooked. Read More »

This draft may lack potential superstars past Anthony Davis, but it does have depth. And dunkers. And thankfully, shooters. Old heads are always complaining the fundamentals are gone in this new, modern age of basketball. No one wants to set screens, move the ball or take one-dribble pull-ups anymore. They just want to dunk and make top 10s. Those temptations are certainly there, especially for younger amateur players. But that doesn’t mean the art of the jump shot is gone. Read More »

Following the shocking NBA Draft Lottery in New York City where everyone and their momma is now saying David Stern and the NBA rigged it to make sure the top prize landed in New Orleans, now we can now begin to get an idea of how the first round of the draft will play out after the top spot. After we took a stab at the first round immediately following the events of the lottery, here is the second of many Dime mock drafts leading up to June 28. As usual, it’s a combination of what we think teams should do and what we think they will do: Read More »

Last night was just a masterful basketball experience. There was the Boston crowd that was so ready to crown another conference champ. There was Brandon Bass and his ruthless third quarter putback dunk. Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy brought it. So did Shane Battier, who probably doubled his floor burn average. Ray Allen and Mario Chalmers also nearly came to blows early on. But who are we kidding? This game could’ve been awful. This was about one guy, and one man only, and not only did he save Miami’s season, but he saved us from what would’ve been a truly ugly Game 6 without him, like Wrath of the Titans bad. Read More »

You know you’re good when you make one shot, and yet everyone agrees: you were the best player, the one who made the biggest impact, in the most important college basketball game of the year. Anthony Davis was on his way to becoming the No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft, and shooting 1-for-10 in the biggest game of his life didn’t affect his destiny one way or another. That might have had something to do with the rest of his night (16 rebounds, five dimes, three steals and six blocks), which was one of those unique, Rajon Rondo statlines that Kentucky seems so fond of producing. Read More »

*This is the final edition in a four-part series this week where we will have four writers arguing the national championship credentials for the only NCAA teams left in March Madness: Ohio State, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisville. First, it was Ohio State. Then, we brought you Kansas and Louisville. Finally today, it’s Kentucky.*

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It’s time to consider that next year’s Rising Star Challenge during All-Star Weekend could be littered with Kentucky Wildcats. Read More »

Last season’s UConn men’s basketball team had one of the craziest and rarest runs to an NCAA Championship that we’ve ever seen. 11 straight postseason wins eventually climaxed with a 53-46 win over Butler for the program’s third NCAA Championship. For such an incredible season, amazingly no one had covered the whole story: how they all got there, the expectations (or lack thereof) and the motivation. Until now. Read More »

Matt Barnes is a little crazy, but Laker fans are hoping he’s not lying. While working out Friday in El Segundo, Barnes was asked about all the rumors going around and whether he listened to any of them. He doesn’t, unless they are dealing with his own team. But this rumor does, and it’s a pretty big one. So it wasn’t surprising Barnes was asked, and then spoke on it. His answer was a little more revealing than everyone expected: “You know, I’ve been hearing [rumors about] Dwight. I’ve been hearing [rumors about] Baron [Davis in the event of getting amnestied]. I’ve been hearing stuff a lot lately. I’ve talked to both of those guys and they wanna be here, so we’ll see what happens.” Read More »