It would appear that any cracks that may exist in the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook relationship are not going to result in Russ leaving town any time soon. Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the Oklahoma City Thunder signed Russell to a five-year, $80 million contract extension last night. Read More »

Last night, I watched my Sixers maul the worst Phoenix Suns team in recent memory. They’re just awful. Poor Steve Nash – after abusing Jrue Holiday the first handful of times down the court, disappeared into one of the least-effective performances of his career (four points on 2-11 shooting, one assist, six turnovers in 17 minutes).

Much of that can be blamed on a rotten supporting cast. Help is (sort of) on the way though, as the Suns just signed Michael Redd to a one-season free agent deal. Read More »

The Nets are doing their best to fill out their roster and surround Deron Williams and Brook Lopez with as many able pieces as possible. This week they’ve signed Public Enemy No. 1 to bolster their frontcourt, and this morning comes word that they have reached a deal with free agent DeShawn Stevenson.

So why did they move to sign a 30-year-old swingman who has been on five teams in 12 seasons to add to their already-crowded backcourt? Read More »

With the sudden end to the NBA lockout and abbreviated training camps rushing guys through to a regular season jammed with lots of games in short periods of time, I have no doubt that we’re going to be seeing an uptick in injuries across the League. There’s just no way around it. Injuries happen all the time, even when guys are in incredible basketball shape – the effects of a significantly longer offseason running right into an NBA season are going to take their toll on guys.

One of the first big injuries hit the Memphis Grizzlies over the weekend when they lost rising star Darrell Arthur, most likely for the season. Read More »

It seems kind of crazy that a guy with serious back and conditioning issues can basically take his pick between the Knicks and Lakers, but that’s exactly the position Baron Davis found himself in heading into the weekend. After much speculation over the last few days, ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that Baron has made his choice: He’s going to sign with the Knicks. Read More »

For a team that has been sooo agonizingly close to pulling off huge acquisitions for the franchise, the Nets are now sort of a mess. And in lots of ways they’re in a borderline disastrous spot.

The team is now no closer to Dwight Howard than they were two weeks ago, and with this guy staying home, and the regular season less than two weeks away, they don’t have much of a roster. Read More »

The Orlando Magic have two things that no other team involved in the Dwight Howard Sweepstakes have at the moment: Dwight Howard and time. At least for right now. The clock is ticking (the trade deadline will be here before we know it), but the Magic are choosing to be picky in their demands for Howard – as they should be.

The latest news being reported is that Orlando’s on-again, off-again dialogue with the New Jersey Nets (and multiple other teams), is that conversations are dead – for now – despite the Nets’ most recent offer of a monster collection of assets. Read More »

Tyson Chandler

A few weeks ago, while the NBA Lockout was still on, I spent some time with Tyson Chandler during his visit to New York City.

Now, I could try to make you believe I closed him for the Knicks, but that just wouldn’t the truth. New York City did that for itself. As it turns out Tyson has quite an artistic side, specifically when it comes to fashion, photography and painting – and NYC is overflowing with opportunities for Tyson to explore those passions.

Thanks to Dime and Excel Sports Management, I had the opportunity to spend a November Tuesday bouncing around the city with him while he hit up various places to feed his creative hunger. Read More »

Richard Hamilton is expected to sign a free agent deal with the Chicago Bulls once he clears waivers in the morning, says the Chicago Tribune.

The deal is reported to be for two years, $10 million, and Rip is much-needed addition to a Bulls’ lineup that clearly needs more reliable scoring. Read More »

First of all, the Houston Rockets are getting their asses kicked in NBA Free Agency 2011. With the news that Nene has reached an agreement to re-up with the Denver Nuggets, Houston has officially had Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol and now Nene snaked from them in various ways. And now they’re screwed.

Nene has been one of the hottest commodities on the free agent market since the the NBA Lockout was lifted, and now he’s going to be paid like one. Read More »