As we briefly mentioned in Smack today, there are rumblings that the Spurs are using Tony Parker as bait to get into the top 10 in Thursday’s NBA Draft. Parker, a three-time All-Star who averaged 17.5 points and 6.6 assists last year, just recently turned 29 and still has three more years and $37 million left on his contract (plus a final year for $12.5 that is unguaranteed). Read More »

Every year in the NBA there are 16 teams that make the playoffs and 14 who are relegated to the NBA Lottery. Those 14 teams hope that their draft pick can be a building block for the future and help their team become one of the 16 in the playoffs the following season. This article evaluates how well this year’s lottery teams have drafted the past five years: Read More »

Despite all the “young talent” in Sacramento, the Kings are headed back to the Lottery this June. So what do you do as a franchise when you’re sitting at 7-24 a third of the way through the season? You start to plan for the future. And apparently part of that plan may involve moving Omri Casspi to either Chicago or New York. Read More »

“I can’t imagine him in Year Five or Six. He probably won’t peak until he is in Year Seven. He will only be 27 then. That’s crazy. Think about what he could be at his rate of growth right now. He’s going to be scary.” – Lamont Peterson

It was supposed to be his introduction to America. Not to those embedded in the game, for they already know what he’s capable of, but rather a larger audience. Much larger. 82 games in and we were all lining up to be witnesses, a new King was here. The Takeover was just beginning. But then injuries happened, fame happened and his team taking a reverse step happened.

Now Tyreke Evans is suddenly feeling something he isn’t used to: uncertainty. Read More »

As NBA training camps get underway, we preview the upcoming season with the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceiling and basement for each team.

Added: DeMarcus Cousins, Sam Dalembert, Hassan Whiteside, Luther Head, Antoine Wright

Lost: Spencer Hawes, Andres Nocioni, Jon Brockman, Ime Udoka, Sean May Read More »

Remember back when the 2009 NBA Draft class was almost universally panned as weak and top-heavy, with Blake Griffin pegged as the only player even resembling a future All-Star?

Sometime around the middle of this season, it became clear a lot of experts were wrong. Even with Griffin out injured for the year, Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings and Stephen Curry led an ’09 class that turned out to produce what looks like a handful of future All-Stars and a couple certified superstars. Read More »

Your immediate reaction after reading the title is “absolutely not,” and as of right now, it’s the right one. In fact, how can anyone compete with a ’96 lineup of Kobe, A.I., Ray Allen and Steve Nash or a ’03 lineup of LeBron, D-Wade, ‘Melo and Chris Bosh. Although we’ve seen how well Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings and Darren Collison have played so far, it’s doubtful that any of them will be Hall of Famers. Still, my friend over at NYKBlog makes a very compelling case about the potential of this year’s draft as the best ever. The argument comes down to this: Would your rather have four Hall of Famers and a big drop off after that, or 20 guys who can be All-Stars and good role players for a long time? Read More »

Hype is a fickle friend. One minute you’re everybody’s favorite reason to watch hoops, next you’re the, “What’s he been up to?” kid lost somewhere in northern Cali. Playing sub-.300 basketball on Pacific timing – and in front of disenchanted crowds – isn’t the fastest avenue for delivering on that hype. That’s why it’s a good thing Warriors rook Stephen Curry doesn’t mind the lack of props just yet. Read More »

The Cavs are locked and loaded for a solid run at the championship, a disgruntled former superstar finds a new home (and maybe another one before the day’s up), the Bulls are in an even better position to make a splash this summer and a perennial lump of dead weight now finds himself with 10,000 lakes to drown in. That pretty much sums up all the NBA trade action from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, in what has shaped up to be a trade season that has lived up to expectations so far. Here’s a quick rundown of the fantasy implications. Read More »

For about 15 minutes, the Mavericks looked like they’d been playing with its new roster for months, building a double-digit lead in Oklahoma City while starting two-guard Caron Butler (13 pts, 4-16 FG) wasn’t shy at all about getting involved in the offense right away. Over on the bench Brendan Haywood appeared not miserable for the first time since Chapel Hill, DeShawn Stevenson had a serene “I’m probably not gonna play but that’s OK” vibe about him, and the trade seemed a rousing success. Read More »