Michael Jordan responded on Monday to Chicago Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf comparing Derrick Rose's injury situation to the one Jordan experienced with the Bulls in 1985.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
MJ responds to Reinsdorf's Rose analogy
Michael Jordan responded on Monday to Chicago Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf comparing Derrick Rose's injury situation to the one Jordan experienced with the Bulls in 1985.
5 Teams with the Best Young Talent
When the New Orleans Hornets drafted 19-year-old Anthony Davis, it instantly claimed one of the best young lineups in the league.
Drafts have a funny way of doing that for clubs who've spent a year or two bottom-feeding.
The Hornets aren't the only ones with a bright future though. A number of teams are well into rebuilding projects that have involved the steady acquisition of young talent over the last few years. Whether making the most of prospects acquired via trade or collecting draft picks, some of these up-and-coming clubs are closer to reaching their potential than others.
Some, like the Oklahoma City Thunder, have clearly begun to reach it already.
Other, like the Sacramento Kings, have a long way to go.
Here's a look at the five teams with the very best young units.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1301444-5-teams-with-the-best-young-talent
Friday, August 17, 2012
The Winners of Every Major NBA Award in 2012-13
The 2012-2013 NBA season is just over two months away. Another NBA season means another set of major awards at season's end.
Included in my projected winners are a few surprises such as Damian Lillard and Andrei Kirilenko, plus a couple of perennials such as Dwight Howard and a guy named LeBron.
On to the list.
NBA: #InCaseYouMissedIt.. the @Sixers officially introduced Andrew Bynum & @jrich23 today. Press Conference: http://t.co/Mo2dtQxI
NBA: #InCaseYouMissedIt.. the @Sixers officially introduced Andrew Bynum & @jrich23 today. Press Conference: http://t.co/Mo2dtQxI
Some in MLB say cheating tough to resist
Several MLB executives say they have difficulty faulting players for trying to gain an edge with performance-enhancing drugs.
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/FnpdWsT7Txg/1
Thursday, August 16, 2012
NBA: The @DenverNuggets will officially introduce @MindofAI9 at 1pm/et. See it live on http://t.co/xl31hLWk: http://t.co/WVMT9sBU
NBA: The @DenverNuggets will officially introduce @MindofAI9 at 1pm/et. See it live on http://t.co/xl31hLWk: http://t.co/WVMT9sBU
NBA Podcast: Complete Boston Celtics 2012-13 Season Preview
The Boston Celtics completely retooled their bench while installing Rajon Rondo as their No. 1 guy. There's a lot of excitement with this team, but did they keep pace with the rest of the "frantic Atlantic" division and the Eastern Conference powers?
In this episode of Basketball by Association, NBA assistant editors Ethan Norof and Joel C. Cordes break down all the key roster losses and additions, discuss the biggest storylines to watch and set realistic expectations for the Celtics.
(If the embedded player fails to load, you can find the episode here.)
While Ray Allen's departure was the offseason's biggest story for the Celtics, they did a nice job of replacing him with Jason Terry. So too did they restock the rest of their reserves with Courtney Lee, Jared Sullinger and others.
Now that Rondo has the keys to the car, what scheme changes will coach Doc Rivers install? Will this again be a "smoke and mirrors" team without a true identity? Will the pace quicken? How will Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett accept their new supporting roles?
How will Rivers divvy out playing time on a team that has a lot of versatility, but perhaps not enough meaningful minutes? The Celtics are certainly deep enough now, but can they concentrate enough firepower into five guys on the floor once into the playoffs?
Bleacher Report's Basketball by Association is your final destination for all things NBA. Check back often to find our season previews for all 30 NBA teams here.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Analysis: Bynum to Philly
NBA TV's Brent Barry and Matt Winer break down the move that will bring Andrew Bynum to Philadelphia.
Source: http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2012/08/13/20120813_bynum_philly.nba/index.html
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
After Coach K
NBA TV's Matt Winer and Brent Barry examine what Team USA may do next, now that Mike Krzyzewski is stepping aside.
Source: http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2012/08/13/20120813_usab_next_coach.nba/index.html
Every NBA Team's Worst Starter
You hear so much about the great players in the NBA, it is time the lesser known get their due.
Every team starts a player who may at times seem like the black sheep of the starting unit. Still there are 30 basketball players out there who are incredibly valuable to their respective teams. Yet, if labels must be assessed, they are the worst starters in the league.
Flaws are abundant on all teams in the NBA; the offseason is a perfect time to assess them. This way team's can possibly seek out solutions that will improve their starting units prior to the 2012-13 season.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1297037-every-nba-teams-worst-starter
Reports: MJ can lose $1.5M in gym investment
Michael Jordan stands to lose as much as $1.5 million in a foreclosure of a gym he invested in, according to multiple reports.Source: http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/8265120/michael-jordan-lose-15-million-gym-investment
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Houston's Offseason Work Is Just Beginning
Between Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin and Dwight Howard, Daryl Morey has spent most of his offseason chasing after other teams' players. Such a strategy has resulted in more than a month of negotiation, offer sheets, trade positioning and back-up planning, but the Houston Rockets' work is only beginning; after an active summer, Houston's current roster stands at 21-plus players, making the assessment and bundling of assets all the more important as the Rox continue in the next intermediate step of their team-building process.
Morey may have missed out on Howard, but if the Rockets are even going to make the most of the vast collection of players they've acquired over the last few months, then more moves must be coming—even as Houston continues to sign players, such as former Buck Carlos Delfino, out of free agency.
But where to begin? Considering the franchise's apparent commitment to filling out its roster with young talent, Kevin Martin is an obvious trade candidate. Yet Martin's deal and potential trade value could very well keep him a Rocket for the next few months; cashing in on the trade market is what Morey does best, but that kind of movement takes time and patience for an optimal deal to come along. Martin, meanwhile, is coming off of a difficult year in which he didn't exactly play nice with others, while turning in an eight-year low in points per minute and a nine-year low in field goal percentage. For a player whose game is wholly reliant on efficient scoring, those kinds of diminished returns hurt.
It nonetheless seems likely that Martin would be moved at some point this season, but the glut of marginally useful bigs—composed of Jon Brockman, JaJuan Johnson (right), Josh Harrellson and Sean Williams—would seem to provide for more convenient roster trimming. Patrick Patterson, Donatas Motiejunas, Royce White and Terrence Jones are all very important developmental pieces for Houston at this juncture, leaving precious few minutes—and, by extension, precious few roster spots—for those kinds of bigs. Keeping one such player would be sensible, but any more would surely be overkill; for a team that needs to shed at least six players currently on their roster, such redundancy provides an easy out.
Plus, it provides room for a roster decision without much potential cost. All four of the aforementioned fringe bigs are in the same general range of production and promise, leaving Morey to make a decision on the bases of fit and taste. If he and Kevin McHale see value in a utility rebounder, then Brockman is the best fit. If they value back-line shot-blocking, then Williams is a good choice. If they see promise in Johnson's game, then he claims the available spot. The long-term salary affixed to a player like Johnson may add another dimension to the decision, but for the most part, these are end-of-the-bench talents working on pretty slight—and fairly equivalent—NBA paychecks.
Interestingly, Shaun Livingston could, too, be among the players released if Morey isn't able to package several players in a deal to liquidate some of his peripheral players. Houston isn't terribly deep at the point (at this particular moment only Lin, Livingston and Toney Douglas qualify as Houston's nominal point guards, with some Knicks fans surely willing to contest the notion that Douglas is, in fact, a 1), but Livingston may not be productive enough to protect him from being released as a means to shed salary. Livingston is one of the only Rockets whose contracted salary is partially guaranteed for the 2012-2013 season, meaning that his release alone could save Houston $2.5 million.
How much that financial margin means to Houston is a matter for Morey and Rockets owner Leslie Alexander to work out for themselves; Livingston could be a useful player to keep around, but given the crowd and the sheer number of younger prospects who need roster spots, he conceivably could be edged out as a matter of economic convenience.
Even with some of the above circumstances providing Morey with a bit of an out, the potential release of Livingston, Brockman, Harrellson and Williams (for one possible scenario) would only reduce the Rockets roster total to 17 for a 15-player maximum. Whether or not Martin is dealt prior to the beginning of the season, there's much that needs to be accomplished to get Houston's roster down to its regular-season fighting weight, so to speak, even as the rest of the offseason action grinds to a halt.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1297803-houstons-offseason-work-is-just-beginning
Lakers News: Signing Jodie Meeks Will End Up Hurting Both Parties
Jodie Meeks made a terrible career decision Monday.
The 24-year-old officially signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, and is now going to be collecting splinters on the bench. The Los Angeles Times reports it’s a two-year, $3 million deal.
The Lakers' roster is beyond loaded with scorers who need the ball in their hands. Kobe Bryant isn’t sacrificing shots for Dwight Howard, let alone Meeks.
He’ll be backing up Kobe, and will be fighting for every minute he sees on the floor.
In three years as a professional, Meeks has averaged 8.1 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 41-percent from the field in 200 career games. He has continued to improve and seemed destined to become a starting guard for a playoff team.
Oh wait…that’s exactly what he was last year as a member of the up-and-coming Philadelphia 76ers.
Now Meeks will struggle to see the floor, and once he does his greatest strength will rarely be used. The Nashville, Tenn. native has averaged over four three-point attempts in the last two years, and is a career 37-percent shooter from behind the arc.
Too bad it’s Metta World Peace who will gobble up the majority of the corner three-point looks. Antawn Jamison off the bench is a scorer and not much else. Ditto for Andrew Goudelock.
What the Lakers needed is better perimeter defense. The two Steves (Nash and Blake) certainly won’t be providing it. Kobe does in bursts, but not consistently.
I’m fully aware the addition of Dwight Howard will neutralize some of the deficiencies of the slow-footed guards that populate the roster, but at some point the players who can defend down the stretch will rise to the top of the rotation.
Meeks doesn’t have this ability.
He is a weak defender because of his frame (6'4", 205 pounds) and because of his lack of natural instincts. This guy was born to score, and not do much else. It’s the main reason he fell to the second round of the 2009 draft.
This isn’t about Meeks more than it is about what the Lakers need. They needed a perimeter defender, not another scorer.
There simply aren’t enough shots to go around, and now Meeks will be relegated to cheerleader duty more often than not.
A year after playing 25 minutes a night for a playoff team, it’s a major-league downgrade for Meeks. This is a career move an aging veteran would make, not a player whose best basketball should still be ahead of him.
Clearly he values the opportunity to win a ring, but Meeks is sacrificing the advancement of his own career in doing so.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
7 Biggest Threats to Anthony Davis Winning NBA Rookie of the Year
Anthony Davis has already had a tremendous year. He won an NCAA title with the Kentucky Wildcats, locked up 2012 National Player of the Year honors as a freshman, was selected first overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets and capped it all off by winning a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Team USA.
Davis is no stranger to winning awards, and NBA Rookie of the Year is likely the next on his radar. As the first overall pick in the draft with all of the hype involved, Davis is the early favorite to win the award. However, there is a group of rookies threatening to steal the award out from underneath Davis’ unibrow.
We won’t know the true favorites to win the award until the season is in full swing, but here are seven early candidates who are the biggest threats to take what Davis has been projected to win during the 2012-2013 season.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Bucks add another piece to frontcourt, sign Przybilla
The Milwaukee Bucks have signed free-agent center Joel Przybilla, maintaining an offseason push to beef up their frontcourt.
Source: http://www.nba.com/2012/news/08/09/bucks-przybilla.ap/index.html?rss=true
Stein: Team USA as good as gold again
Americans overcome size issues to outlast Spain for second straight Olympic gold
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