Wednesday afternoon, the UConn men’s basketball team took part in the annual Husky Run outside of the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. On this cool fall day, the atmosphere was light and relaxed. They were signing autographs, coaches and players were joking around, and former UConn stars Kemba Walker and Hasheem Thabeet were reliving their days in Storrs.

The season officially begins tonight, and the laid-back autumn days are coming to an end for the defending national champions. Read More »

Despite the fact that Yao Ming is gone from the NBA, the Houston Rockets will be virtually unchanged next season – assuming they can re-sign its only free agent (Chuck Hayes) when the NBA resumes. New head coach Kevin McHale shouldn’t really hinder the production of these players, who formed a surprisingly effective offensive machine in 2010-11. With a potent backcourt, a blossoming swingman and some intriguing fill-ins, the Rockets have more than their share of fantasy appeal for the next NBA season. Read More »

When you heard Ater Majok’s name called on Draft Night, you probably wondered who he was and why the Lakers would take him at No. 58. With a basketball career that stretches from Australia to Turkey to UConn, it’s no surprise that you probably haven’t heard of him. Well Majok has arrived on the NBA scene and is ready to turn some heads. I caught up with the Lakers’ newest big man to talk about his hoops journey, balling at UConn and cartoons. Read More »

Anxiety, or at the very least excited curiosity, builds up inside us during this time of year. Offseason trades, the draft and coaching moves spur questions and concern. Of course, we were treated to LeBron James‘ “Decision” last season.

So today, without knowing when our questions will be answered and our basketball-loving jitters quelled, let’s play a LeBron-like game of “What should I do?” for some intriguing NBA players that I’m most curious about. Sure, it’s jumping ahead, but these questions also will evolve throughout this downtime and whenever free agency kicks off. What should each player do, and what will happen if they take Route A instead of Route B? Read More »

Right after the Rockets hired Kevin McHale as their new head coach, he made one thing clear: Houston had to get big. So with the corpse of Yao Ming coming off the books this summer, they started by acquiring Donatas Motiejunas (7-0), Marcus Morris (6-9) and Chandler Parsons (6-9) on Draft Night to pair with Luis Scola (6-9) in the frontcourt. But apparently that was only just the start. They want Andris Biedrins. Read More »

On Feb. 1, 2008, Michael Heisley, the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, and Chris Wallace, the team’s general manager, were the two most vilified men in the NBA. They had just traded Pau Gasol to the Lakers in a move that was seen as one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history. They turned the Lakers into instant championship contenders, while getting pennies on the dollar in return. The package they got included Javaris Crittenton (now out of the League), Kwame Brown, a practically retired Aaron McKie, two late first-round picks, and the rights to Pau’s brother, Marc Gasol. Read More »

The minutes leading up to the 3:00pm EST trade deadline Thursday didn’t disappoint. There was a flurry of last-minute swaps around the NBA, a league whose GMs appear to have caught some kind of bloodlust for transactions akin to the fever teenage girls have for Bieber. This means that there’s a whole lot to digest today. Let’s wade through the aftermath and assess the effects of the last-minute trading frenzy for fantasy basketball owners. Read More »

We had the rumor earlier today, but the Grizzlies and Rockets made it happen. Here’s the final deal: Houston sends Shane Battier and Ish Smith to Memphis for Hasheem Thabeet and a first-round pick. According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, the Rockets went deep in talks with Philly on a Battier for Marreese Speights and Jason Kapono deal, but ended up choosing Thabeet instead. Read More »

While most of the trade chatter out of Memphis has centered around Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo, apparently there is only one player Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is looking to deal: Hasheem Thabeet. According to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, the trade would bring Shane Battier back to the Grizzlies in exchange for Thabeet. But apparently it’s not that simple: Read More »

It’s the never-ending NBA dilemma: Young teams don’t win championships, but old teams don’t have bright futures. So how do you balance the roster if you want to win now and keep winning later? … The Spurs may be figuring it out. In last night’s win over the Knicks, we saw the old San Antonio regime mesh with the new: Tim Duncan (21 points, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks) turned in a throwback performance and dominated Amar’e Stoudemire (18 points, 15 rebounds, 4 steals). Those numbers might not show it, but Duncan and DeJuan Blair (18 points, 13 rebounds) had STAT flustered the entire game … Read More »