Before 2007, the last time the Warriors had made the playoffs, Chris Webber was a rookie, Tim Hardaway was mesmerizing defenders with his potent between-the-legs/crossover combo, and Chris Mullin was sniping jumpers from long range, sporting his trademark military haircut. After coaching this group of future Hall of Famers, Don Nelson was fired the following season after a slow start. Read More »

With the bodies mounting like a mission in Black Ops 2, Minnesota needed some fresh blood, and even if Josh Howard is anything but fresh, the 32-year-old makes sense with the Timberwolves. After getting interest from a few teams throughout the offseason and preseason, Howard finally has a home: ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports the two sides have agreed to terms on a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum. Read More »

Josh Howard went through a swift fall from grace over the last few years. From public admissions of Mary Jane use to injuries to leaving Dallas and becoming forgotten about in D.C., the one-time All-Star lost all of his juice. Now, he’s one of the few remaining free agents left that still offers value, and says he’s drawn interest from the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Bobcats, and San Antonio Spurs. Check out this video to see what he’s doing to be ready when the call comes. Read More »

When he was smashing on cats’ heads back at Oak Hill, we doubt Josh Smith thought he’d one day have to play his way into a contract. Alas, that’s where he’s now at with Atlanta, the only NBA home he’s ever known. New GM Danny Ferry is running a tight financial ship – you can ask Joe Johnson about that – and giving Smith a new deal doesn’t totally make sense for him, at least right now. Read More »

We can’t wait until the season — training camps, even — begins and we can mention something about Dwight Howard that involves his game, not Orlando. His back rehab is what really has us the most interested right now because the Lakers need all the time together they can get to build the elusive chemistry every great team needs. Read More »

The 2006 Western Conference Semis between the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs was a series for the ages – Hall of Famers, a seven-game series and gut-wrenching drama. In particular, the Dallas Mavericks had never seen real playoff success until that season. Dirk Nowitzki, as a prelude to his 2011 championship run, poured in 37 points to go along with 15 rebounds in route to the Game 7 win. But the most memorable moment of the series came before that final Game 7 reached overtime, when the Dallas Mavericks were trailing 104-101 in the fourth quarter. Read More »

The big names signed on the dotted line – or in Deron Williams‘ case, on the iPad – weeks ago, and the pool of talent is pretty much completely dry. But for contending teams, and even those who are just in the market for a veteran to give them a few good minutes or a few good pre-game speeches, there are still a couple of names available. None of these guys will be making consistently key contributions for a contender, but they’re all still viable NBA players. Read More »

It took Miami 18 years to reach the franchise’s first NBA Finals. Six years later, the city is watching its third Finals trip start tonight when the Heat play in Oklahoma City in Game 1. But don’t think just because it’s not a long history of playoff dominance that there aren’t some crazy moments from their Finals history that still have us in awe. Read More »

These are strange times in the NBA. Strange times, indeed. We want to believe this whole fiasco revolving around the Chris Paul-to-the-L.A. Clippers trade is over. But we know, and y’all know, it isn’t. That’s what happens when a league is forced to trade one of its most visible and valuable assets. That’s what happens when there are accusations someone screwed around with the amnesty waiver process to make sure Chauncey Billups ended up a Clipper. That’s what happens when reporters ask a GM from Houston who thought he had a trade done last week, to comment on what exactly happened and the man backs off saying he isn’t allowed to speak on it. Read More »

So what did Otis Smith say? Or what did he do? Something happened. Something weird, because just hours after Dwight Howard basically came out and said “Look man, trade me. I’m not feeling like we can work things out. You and I don’t have a good relationship,” the big man is now saying he loves Orlando and doesn’t want to leave. Whereas Chris Paul had made it pretty clear he’s not trying to stay in New Orleans, Howard has been going back and forth for the past few weeks on whether he wants to stay or not. Read More »