For about an hour, it looked like Tuesday would be the night that sparked 1,000 TV features and Internet columns about how the tides are changing in L.A., and the Clippers are seriously challenging the Lakers for local supremacy. The Clippers were outplaying the Mavs in the first half of a huge road game, while the Lakers had a dangerous Utah team on the schedule. The stage was set. But by the end of the night, status quo had been maintained … Read More »

NBA Rookie of the Year. Franchise centerpiece. An unmovable place in history alongside Jordan, Oscar and LeBron. Tyreke Evans was made for this. The 21-year-old Sacramento King is on a course to take over the basketball world, a goal that was in his sights before he even knew it.

Midway through his sophomore year, Tyreke is averaging 17.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists while playing through a painful foot injury for most of the season. His Kings are still looking up in the standings at the rest of the West, but their go-to player gives the organization no reason not to be optimistic. 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 »

Until the game of basketball reaches Kobe Bryant‘s vision and there are no more positions, we will still have arguments that get unnecessarily heated over which boxes certain players should be assigned.

Tyreke Evans may be the best example. Ever since Tyreke started to distance himself as the NBA’s Rookie of the Year front-runner in 2010, it seems every discussion and Internet post about him eventually turns into a debate on whether ‘Reke is a point guard or a shooting guard. Read More »

With the NBA Trade Deadline less than three weeks away, you knew that the rumors were going to start to heat up. The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the Bobcats are showing strong interest in acquiring Jason Thompson from the Kings, and between Tyson Chandler, Nazr Mohammed, DeSagana Diop and Alexis Ajinca, the Bobcats have a glut of big men – none of whom have done jack this season – they’re willing to offer in exchange. Read More »

Allen Iverson made last night’s Grizzlies/Kings game worth checking out from the beginning, but Kevin Martin made it worth staying until the end. What was originally billed as A.I.’s big debut turned into K-Mart’s showcase, it may have been the best game of the season so far, and it was a hell of a timely ad for NBA League Pass as the free preview week wraps up … Checking in to a nice ovation from the Sacramento crowd, Iverson looked like he was just testing out his hamstring in his initial rotation, a scoreless five-minute stretch of the first quarter. Read More »

NBA training camps are underway, meaning it’s time again for Dime’s team-by-team season previews. Last year we debuted the “Highs and Lows” system — predicting the respective ceilings and basements for each team. In other words, what is the realistic best-case and worst-case scenario for the 2009-10 campaign?

Added: Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, Jon Brockman, Sergio Rodriguez, Sean May, Desmond Mason Read More »

When I heard this weekend that new Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis was mostly likely going to add Bill Laimbeer and Reggie Theus to his staff, this got me thinking: If there was a 3-on-3 tournament amongst the NBA’s current coaching staff, who would win? Read More »

The two biggest basketball stories from Wednesday revolved around coaches. In the NBA, the Kings ended their search by hiring Paul Westphal as head coach, and in college, USC’s Tim Floyd resigned his post just as it looked like the ugliest parts of the O.J. Mayo saga were coming to light … True story: Last week some of us in the office were talking about the Kings’ top three candidates (Tom Thibodeau, Kurt Rambis, Westphal) and when Paul’s name came up, people actually laughed. Read More »