I know what you’re thinking, and no, I’m not out of my mind. While everyone has been talking about the Summer of 2010 with as much voracity as Y2K, people often forget that there are reasons and rules behind people’s actions. Sure Torontans consider it blasphemous that Chris Bosh would opt out and/or not re-sign, just as Clevelanders are convinced that (title or no title) LeBron James will remain atop the throne in his home state, but there are economics backing up the future decisions of the NBA’s superstars this summer. And that is something you cannot argue with. Read More »
At this point, the same pieces keep getting mentioned, but GMs are just trying to figure out which move is the right one. Tracy McGrady, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood have been mentioned in trade chatter pretty much all season, but now a deal that includes Al Harrington could get it done. Read More »
Kelvin Torbert was, undeniably, The Man back in 2001. Coming out of Northwestern High School in Flint, Mich., the 6-4 shooting guard was named Sporting News and Gatorade National Player of the Year over future NBA classmates T.J. Ford, Dajuan Wagner, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry and Kwame Brown. Torbert averaged 26 points and eight boards as a senior, then dropped 21 points in that year’s McDonald’s All-American Game.
At Michigan State, Torbert was naturally expected to continue the legacies of Magic Johnson, Steve Smith, Shawn Respert and the “Flintstones” — the four-man crew of Mateen Cleaves, Mo Peterson, Charlie Bell and Antonio Smith that hailed from the same hometown as Torbert. However, Torbert never delivered on that potential in college. Read More »
Unlike some nights when you have to choose between five different games on League Pass, one on NBA TV and reruns of “Jersey Shore,” tonight was one of the few instances where everything came together. As the League’s top two teams and top two players squared off, all eyes were on Kobe vs. LeBron, and the League’s No. 1 and 1a did not disappoint … The mood was set before the jump, as “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana blasted from the speakers. Aside from perhaps “The Ride of the Valkyries” when the helicopters attack the village in Apocalypse Now, there’s nothing more epic … Read More »
A couple years back, I was interviewing somebody on the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour — I seriously can’t remember who — and asked for some crazy “life on the road” stories. The player told me about one hotel the team had used in a South American country (Argentina?) that everybody thought was haunted: furniture moving by itself, strange sounds in the hallway, super-creepy front desk guy, etc.
Apparently the pro playground ballers got a taste of life in the NBA that night. According to the New York Daily News and Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie, the New York Knicks believe the hotel they stayed in during a road trip to Oklahoma City was haunted. Read More »
Anything is possible in the National Basketball Association. On any given night a team can pull out an upset victory, David Stern can fine you for something you didn’t even say or a superstar can be traded for pennies on the dollar. For the most part we don’t know what General Managers and team executives are thinking. The general NBA fan has the common sense to know when a front office decision is a bad move. For instance everyone knew when Isiah Thomas signed Jerome James to his ridiculous contract that it was unwarranted. It is knee jerk reactions like that which create the special group of NBA players called the Untradeables. Read More »
We already saw one trade go down this past week when the Jazz sent rookie Eric Maynor to the Thunder. With the new year just around the corner, expect trade talks to really pick up between now and the February 18 trade deadline. Trade rumors around the web and in newspapers have already started to gain momentum this week. Players like Tracy McGrady, Kevin Martin, Eddy Curry and Tyrus Thomas are just a few of the names that have been thrown out. Read More »
Sam Cassell can stay, but if Flip Saunders is going to turn these Wizards around, he needs to clean house with the rest of his assistants and bring in the likes of Coach Carter, Joe Clark from Lean on Me, Gene Hackman, Bobby Knight and Mike Ditka. Basically, coaches who won’t take any nonsense and won’t accept some of the iron-headed decisions the players are making. The Wizards had a chance to beat the Celtics last night and stay undefeated in national TV games this season, but they gave it away with their own curious choices … Read More »
