nba-general
The NBA’s upcoming season should be as exciting as it’s been ever, and I have come up with equally exciting predictions. The Heat built up on talent, Larry Brown backstabbed Detroit fans by moving to New York, and the rest of the east is just itching to get started. The new season has brought new division contenders and new dismal teams. This is what I’m looking for to happen in this NBA season in the east.
Being the sly reporter that I am, I taped a micro-microphone in the room where Michael Finley and his suitors would be doing their buizznesss. And, boy, do you have to see this!
Some REAL NBA humor!
Team USA is in a sad state right now. The Dream Team concept has been an abject failure in recent years.
Aaron McKie may not be an impact player on the court anymore. But this offseason, McKie is undoubtedly an important player for the Lakers and everyone else.
I caught up with nine of the 18 players whose contracts were claimed by the new CBA’s amnesty provision. Needful (note this is NOT needless) to say, Reggie Miller and the rest had a lot on their mind.
[Editor’s Note: Occasionally we are alerted to writing gigs that our members might be interested in pursuing. This one seems really cool so we thought we’d pass it along.]
ATTENTION: ASPIRING SPORTSWRITERS
A new publication devoted solely to covering the NBA, Courtside Magazine, is preparing to enter the basketball world this summer with a monthly magazine and fully complimentary web site. Not only will both the online and print version of Courtside Magazine have a significant amount of exclusive content from around the entire NBA, but it will also provide some of the most complete NBA fantasy content anywhere.
The largest trade in NBA history, eh?
Yesterday’s transaction that netted the Celtics two second round picks, Curtis Borchardt, Quyntel Woods, the rights to Albert Miralles, cash considerations and, all together, a $5.5 million trade exception doesn’t really fit my description of a “blockbuster,” given that the best players involved were, in no particular order, Antoine Walker, Jason Williams and Eddie Jones. However, it certainly was big, at least in terms of the number of bodies (and future bodies) being moved around. At last count it was up to 13 players and five teams. I would list them all here but I’m afraid I would run out of ink (rim shot!).
Boston fans have long had the reputation of being fickle, gloom-and-doom types. Living in a city with the pre-2004 Red Sox often bred this attitude amongst the loyal sports enthusiasts in Beantown, but that negativity has only recently permeated the air that surrounds the Boston Celtics.
As we all know, in the 1980s there was little if any doubt about the ability of Larry Bird et al to, at the very least, be a top contender for the NBA championship. Until some extremely unfortunate events at the backend of that powerhouse (such as the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis), the franchise enjoyed 12 straight postseasons. Since then, the team has been mired in mediocrity or worse, the lowlight being the 15-win team of `96-’97 and the highlight being their 2002 run to the Eastern Conference finals. With the recent success of the Sox and the Patriots, it appears that the fans have shifted their low expectations toward the Green and White.
Free Agency has begun and players will soon have some new addresses. General Mangers are recruiting these players hard and trying to wow them to sign with their team. But they can’t start officially signing until July the 22nd. Some things that you’ll have to know are that the teams that are over the salary cap have an exception called the Mid Level Exception (MLE) and the MLE is worth around 5 million dollars for the first year.
The Spurs organization has always found a way to put the perfect role players around their superstar Tim Duncan. If it wasn’t through the draft it was some key free agents or perhaps a trade.