Whereas last summer reshaped the NBA and as a byproduct of that, helped usher in the extended lockout, the upcoming abbreviated free agency period won’t include a single franchise player. There are probably no future Hall of Famers available. Hell, there might not even be a single All-Star out there. But what is being given up will be replaced in a frenzy. The signings and player movement will be fast and furious, and without any sure things, there will be plenty of opportunities to criticize GMs who panic and throw ridiculous contracts at simply average players. Read More »

Asking Kobe Bryant to sit out with an injury just isn’t happening anymore. Some of us want to believe he’s doing it for the fame – “Not even Jordan could play through this!” – but at this point, it doesn’t matter the motives. Mike Brown says he can’t even tell Bryant is injured at practice, and Kobe is promising he will play this weekend. Kobe is Christian Bale and Gary Vitti is Morgan Freeman. So what will happen? We’re not doctors, but NBA 2K12 took a stab at it for us … Read More »

Everyone wants to talk about super teams. Of course, the Heat, Knicks, Clippers, Celtics and all the rest of ‘em capture the imagination of the NBA fan base. There’s nothing quite like feeling the anticipation and excitement in the air when you see that news hit telling you Chris Paul has finally been traded and he’s going to the Clippers. What immediately follows is typically more invigorating than what eventually happens. The promise of what could be is almost always better than what is. Even here at Dime, we find ourselves talking about one third of the NBA about 80 percent of the time. That doesn’t mean we don’t care about everyone else. Read More »

Now we can talk about the fun stuff – actual basketball. The next few weeks are going to be crazy, with teams racing to get ready for the season while adding a ton of new faces to their rosters at the same time.

We all know about next year’s monster free agents, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. But there are some nice players available now you’d love to have on your squad. Read More »

I guess nuclear winters don’t last too long. After a tormenting string of false alarms heralding “progress” and “optimism,” the NBA lockout is finally almost over, which means it’s time to dust off that part of your noggin associated with fantasy basketball again. As NBA players will have to get back into game shape in a brief period of time, fantasy basketball owners will have less than a month to skillfully shift into a mode that might seem foreign by now. There are important things to keep in mind, habits to form and preparations to be had. Read More »

With three contributing players inked to overseas deals that may prevent them from rejoining the NBA in the 2011-12 regular season (should it exist) and with at least two significant free agents to re-sign, the Denver Nuggets make for an intriguing study from a fantasy basketball perspective. While all that means the Nuggets will likely have fewer fantasy assets than they did last season, it might open things up for other players on the team. Let’s take a glance at the potential fallout. Read More »

Damn, we didn’t know Wilson Chandler was this big of a risk taker. But the forward is basically giving up the NBA season, and has agreed to a deal with Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association. The rumors of an international deal for Chandler were circulating for the last few weeks, but now it’s official with a league that doesn’t allow its teams to sign NBA players under contracts. Chandler is a restricted free agent so his move is a huge one, and he knows it, saying it is a risk but it’s one he believes in. This will be an amazing experience for him. Read More »

We haven’t done one of these in a while, so here’s a reminder on the ground rules: (1) The idea is that while each team has the same roster it had at the time of the draft, they have the added benefit of knowing how each potential draftee will turn out as of today. (2) You can’t predict injuries. (3) Potential still matters. (4) Lastly, you can’t predict how the rest of your roster will turn out.

All clear? With that, here’s my 2007 NBA Draft do-over: Read More »

Words. Mike Aufses

If you’ve been away on Spring Break drinking at the beach, you probably expected to return to see the New York Knicks reeling off victories, building their clout heading into a potentially magical playoff run, right? Unfortunately that has not been the case. With Monday night’s heartbreaking 10-point loss to the Celtics at home, the Knicks dropped to 35-35. Following the game, Ray Allen took a jab at New York’s new star-studded cast saying, “They’ve got great one-on-one players.” Was Ray-Ray insinuating that the Knicks might have been better off with their old squad? Read More »

Beast of the Night: LeBron James showed Chicago the talents he took elsewhere by posting 29 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block. He shot 57 percent (12-21) from the field, 83 percent (5-6) from the free-throw line and had two turnovers. Despite what the real-life MVP race (and Chris Bosh) says, James was the best fantasy player for at least one night. Read More »