Last week in New York City, our friends at Under Armour held an exclusive event to preview their new campaign, and to see the latest collection of UA Basketball footwear and apparel. But before the festivities began, I got the chance to catch up with Brandon Jennings and Derrick Williams and talk about everything from kicks to the NBA lockout. Read More »

Not to jump on the bandwagon, but what’s not to like about an NBA team that could potentially start Ricky Rubio, Wesley Johnson, Derrick Williams, Michael Beasley and Kevin Love, with Darko as your sixth man? Basically nothing. That’s why the following clip of the T-Wolves in the gym before the lockout will keep me amped throughout the summer.

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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 »

All it took was the magical luck of Nick Gilbert to fluster David Kahn. Rumors indicate that the Minnesota GM is shopping the No. 2 pick, with the Indiana Pacers and Danny Granger headlining a possible deal. Considering the practical, on-the-court rotational concerns, a trade is not illogical. Assuming Kyrie Irving is taken first overall by the Cavs, the small forward spot that Derrick Williams would play is already occupied by Wesley Johnson and Martell Webster. Enes Kanter, on the other hand, might fit. While he may be an athletic replica of Kevin Love, he’s the true low post bruiser, offensively and defensively, that Love might never become. Operating out of the high post and slithering out to the three-point line through the pick and pop suits Love best. Read More »

On Thursday, we told you about rolling VIP with Snoop Dogg during All-Star Weekend. And for those of you that did, you probably know that Snoop’s squad took home the title at the inaugural adiHOOP 3-on-3. (The “West Coasters” featured Snoop, Game and Chris Brown, and were coached by Matt Barnes.) Ken Jeong (a.k.a. Slim Chin) and DJ Neil Armstrong were also in the house, as well as Serge Ibaka, Jrue Holiday, Wesley Johnson and Toney Douglas. Check out the recap below:

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Sure Knicks rookie Andy Rautins has only played three NBA games so far this year, but that was to be expected. Why? Because after being the starting shooting guard at Syracuse last season, where he finished his career second on the school’s all-time list with 282 career three-point field goals made, Rautins has had to make the transition to the point. We got up with Andy recently to chat about his rookie season and Syracuse hoops. Read More »

As much as the Denizens of Kobe Bryant‘s Crawl Space would like to believe their hero won his last two NBA championships “on his own,” the fact is that Pau Gasol was as important to Kobe’s fourth and fifth rings as Shaquille O’Neal was to Kobe’s first three pieces of championship jewelry.

As the Lakers have struggled recently in their quest for another three-peat, Gasol’s value is finally being realized. In a Dec. 28 loss to San Antonio, Gasol had only eight field goal attempts and scored nine points while Kobe jacked 27 shots. Read More »

When he left the University of North Carolina in 2009, Wayne Ellington was on top of the college basketball world. The 6-5 shooting guard averaged 15.8 points per game as a junior, hit a career-high 41.7 percent of his threes, helped the Tar Heels win a national championship, and Ellington won Final Four Most Outstanding Player after dropping 20 points on Villanova in the national semi and 19 on Michigan State in the title game.

Since being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, however, Ellington has seen the contrasting side to success. Read More »

Once upon a time, Michael Beasley was a can’t-miss future NBA superstar. But just two years after being drafted No. 2 overall, he was deemed expendable in Miami and traded to Minnesota for next to nothing. Aiming to silence critics who label him a bust, Beasley says he’s grown up now. Will his game grow along with him?

Ten games into this season, Beasley is averaging 20.5 points and 5.2 rebounds on 48 percent shooting from the field. Last week he dropped a new career-high 42 points on Sacramento, before pouring in 35 on New York and 25 on Atlanta over the weekend. For our Dime #60 NBA Preview issue, we got up with Beasley before the beginning of the rest of his career: Read More »

I’m as big a fan of Wesley Johnson as anyone I know, but I think someone forgot to tell him that he’s not playing in college any longer. Being the reigning Big East Player of the Year is cool and all, but LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are two of the five best players on the planet. And let him know last night. Check out LeBron’s swat on Wes below, and D-Wade’s dunk on Wes after the jump.

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