Memphis Grizzlies took long road to conference finals
Jerry West remembers building these Grizzlies. It wasn’t always fun. But it worked.
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Long before Miami, Spoelstra’s work ethic known
Spoelstra’s rise in the NBA has been anything but an easy road
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How Long Will the Brooklyn Nets Be Mediocre?
The Knicks aren’t the only New York team boxed in by huge contracts. The Brooklyn Nets have even worse salary cap and luxury tax constraints over the next two seasons and less talent to work with.
With over $86 million already on the books for 2013-14 and a likely-to-rise $74 million and $73 million for 2014-15 and 2015-16, the Nets will be in luxury tax territory and stuck with a mostly unmovable roster that’s destined for a run at mediocrity for the foreseeable future.
What did $84 million buy Mikhail Prokhorov in 2012-13? Forty-nine wins, the ninth best record in the NBA, the No. 4 seed out East and an upset in Round 1. Better than average, but not by much.
Stuck in the Middle
With what will be essentially the same squad in 2013-14, for the same price, one might expect the same results. The thing is, the Nets will probably slip.
Not because Brooklyn will be getting any worse. They might even improve a bit.
Deron Williams was limping on bad ankles for the first half, but rocked it in the second half after treatment. Brook Lopez’ game will continue to develop. The offseason will do Joe Johnson’s plantar fasciitis, which killed him down the stretch, some good.
The Nets will have a new coach, too, surely the absolute best Prokhorov can get his hands on.
It’s just that the fifth-seeded Chicago Bulls (hello, Derrick) will pass them. The Miami Heat and annually-improving New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers aren’t going anywhere. Even the Atlanta Hawks (Stan Van Gundy?) will stir some troublesome brew.
As time wears on, so will it wear on Johnson, who looks all his 31 years, and Gerald Wallace, who looks older than his 30.
Hard to imagine the Nets outpacing other teams the next three seasons with two of their starting five in decline and suiting a cheap, Reggie Evans-caliber third starter.
Roster and Payroll
The general consensus is the Nets will not be moving Williams. That makes sense. He is the cornerstone of this team and when he’s healthy he’s still one of the best point guards in the league.
You can’t really put anything past Prokhorov (what if some ridiculous thing like a Kobe Bryant availability arises?), but the assumption is Williams is a Net for a while.
The same is true for Joe Johnson, but for a different reason. No one will have him or his looking-worse-every-day contract.
The same is true for Gerald Wallace, for the same reason, $30 million over the next three years. Wallace finished with 7.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 2.6 APG—the worst season of his career.
Then, there’s Lopez, who has blossomed into arguably the best offensive center in the NBA. Outside a Dwight Howard transaction, why would the Nets take the popular Brook out of Brooklyn? Or even then?
These four players alone will make about $64M in 2013-14, $68M in 2014-15 and a minimum of $72M in 2015-16—all over the cap, which should fall somewhere in the $58M-$62M range, and probably zooming past the luxury tax line (about $70 million in 2012-13).
And the Nets will likely want to sign free agents Andray Blatche and C.J. Watson, their “sixth men,” on top of that.
That’s six players already and little room to maneuver.
Options
Brooklyn can improve their situation and perhaps rise above mediocrity over the next three seasons via trade(s) and the impact of their next coach (Steve Van Gundy?).
The draft will only help a little. The Nets are/will be too good to get early picks (22nd in 2013), unless they can trade for better ones. Even so, most of these players will need time to develop, minimizing their impact for a couple years (see: MarShon Brooks).
The Nets’ best bet is to try and unload Kris Humphries in a package (with Brooks, Evans or Mirza Teletovic) that will either bring them one above-average player (J.J. Redick per dimemag.com?) or a deeper bench—either would be a big plus.
But, again, how much better will they get?
It’s not until 2016-17 that the payroll will finally be cleared. With the current payroll constraints, the Nets will also have trouble building that lineup for a while, unable to ink additional long-term contracts. By then, Brooklyn will be starting over.
The reality is the Nets have to work with this core for at least the next three seasons and it is up to them to raise their level of play if the team is to escape mediocrity—make the NBA Finals, say. It is possible, but given the competition, unlikely.
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Andrew Wiggins: Why Is the College Decision Taking So Long?
Andrew Wiggins, the number one-ranked incoming freshmen basketball player in the country, still hasn’t made his decision as to which college he will attend.
Although Wiggins has narrowed down his options (via 247sports.com, subscription required) to Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, and Florida State, the basketball world is still left wondering what is taking him so long to decide.
Wiggins is the only player in ESPN’s Top 100 to not have already decided on a school. Five of the top ten players have chosen Kentucky, and if Wiggins becomes a Wildcat there will be talk of championships, undefeated seasons, and one-and-done players.
In all likelihood, Wiggins will play one year in college and then enter the NBA draft. He averaged 23.4 points in his senior season at Huntington Prep (WV), to go along with 11.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, and will look to make an immediate impact at whatever school he chooses to go. The 6’7” forward is just 18 years old, but he has the upside to become a dynamic franchise player for some lottery-bound NBA team in the 2014 draft.
If Wiggins chooses anywhere else but Kentucky, he will become the face of the school. Kentucky is a one-and-done factory—even freshman Nerlens Noel, who is recovering from a torn ACL, is projected to be a top-three pick—and Wiggins would likely be another name on a list that includes John Wall and Anthony Davis. If he chooses somewhere like UNC or FSU, he could make that team relevant in the NCAA tournament for the first time in a couple years.
Wiggins has shied away from the public eye during the course of his decision-making process, with his family being the only ones aware of where he stands at the moment. It’s only a matter of time before Wiggins makes some college team very happy and three others very upset. He is really putting those four schools in tough positions, because they have to decide whether they are preparing for the upcoming season with or without him. Whichever team he does commit to will make him the centerpiece of its offense.
Until then, though, all we can do is watch and wait as one of the best high school players since LeBron James chooses the college that he will attend, if only for one year, before he takes his talents to the NBA.
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New York Knicks go on a long run to rout Pacers
Knicks blew the game open when they went on a 30-2 run
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LeBron James not worried about long layoff
LeBron James vows he wont be rusty after a long layoff.
Believe him.
In the 2009 playoffs, James Cleveland Cavaliers finished a first-round sweep of Detroit on April 26 and didnt start the next round until May 5. Having eight days between games didnt hamper James in the slightest, as he had 34 points and 10 rebounds to start that next series against Atlanta.
Now James Miami Heat, after finishing off Sunday an Eastern Conference first-round sweep of Milwaukee, will have at least five days off before beginning play in an East semifinal against Chicago or Brooklyn. They could have seven or eight days off if the Nets, down 3-1, can fight back to force a seventh game.
That wont be a problem, James said of Miami having a long layoff. Were a veteran ballclub, and that definitely wont be a problem for me. I understand what the playoffs are all about. We got an opportunity to get a rest because we took care of business.
While some looking for things to write about could suggest otherwise, there is no downside to
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Why Is Andrew Wiggins Waiting so Long to Make His Decision?
The biggest story in college basketball right now is where an 18-year-old from Canada who has yet to play a minute of college basketball will decide to go to school for a year.
Andrew Wiggins, the latest savior in sneakers, is choosing between Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky and Florida State. He will make one coach and one fanbase really happy. He will disappoint three others. That’s what we know.
On Friday, Keith Jenkins, who is the Editorial Graphics Producer at ESPN (according to his LinkedIn page), tweeted that “Source tells me Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 recruit in the 2013 100, will commit to Florida State. Nothing official as of yet.” Here’s his series of tweets (via Kentucky Sports Radio).
Those tweets have since been deleted. Jenkins changed his Twitter handle from @KJenkins_ESPN to @MrKeithJenkins. The last Wiggins-related tweet he has not deleted came on March 28 when his “source” told him Wiggins was visiting with Kentucky coach John Calipari. That was also reported here and here. There’s an unconfirmed report (that I just made up) that Jenkins’ source also told him Wiggins is from Canada.
This is what we know, from Wiggins:
This is what happens when 18-year-olds make fans and Editorial Graphic Producers wait. We want to know. We want to speculate. We want sources. We want to know before they know.
But really, only the 18-year-old and his family know. Sometimes the family doesn’t even know. Sometimes the 18-year-old doesn’t even know yet.
Wiggins could be waiting just to make us wait. The late signing period does not end until May 15. He could like the attention. Or, most likely, Wiggins is waiting because he has not made up his mind yet. And he’s not the first 18-year-old basketball prodigy to make everyone wait.
Waiting Is So In Right Now
Wiggins is not the first to take his time. His decision has been magnified because of the schools involved and the hype that surrounds this particular phenom.
But this is what many of the top high school players do now.
Last year, Shabazz Muhammad did not announce his commitment to UCLA until April 11. Muhammad was also considering Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and UNLV. He could have been waiting to see if Ben Howland would still have a job after the season. And this is purely speculation, but UCLA’s administration could have been waiting to see if Muhammad would be a Bruin until they decided if Howland would still be the coach. (Not even Muhammad helping his coach win a Pac-12 title could save Howland his job this year.)
In 2010, Josh Selby was rated as the top player in the country by Rivals.com. Selby waited until April 16 to announce his decision, declaring he was going to Kansas during the Jordan Brand Classic.
Selby had picked the game to be his platform. Selby also could have been waiting at the time to see who would be left at Kentucky or if Kansas guard Xavier Henry would leave for the NBA.
The year before that, John Wall waited until May 19 to commit to Kentucky. Wall was smart to wait. He wanted to play where John Calipari would be the coach, and if he had signed in the early period, he could have ended up at a Calipari-less Memphis.
Waiting is so trendy because it’s so logical.
When you’re the best player in the class and can afford to hold out as long as possible on a decision (because it’s not like Team X will be unwilling to hold a spot for you), it makes sense to stretch out the decision-making process.
Players leave. Coaches often change zip codes in April. If you have the luxury to wait and can handle the attention, then you should stall. And believe it or not, sometimes these 18-year-olds really have yet to make up their minds.
Why Wiggins Could Be Waiting
In the last few weeks, Kansas and Kentucky have already had players declare early for the NBA Draft. North Carolina guard P.J. Hairston announced on Friday with this tweet that he’s staying in school. Reggie Bullock and James Michael McAdoo have not decided yet.
If Wiggins is a North Carolina lean, he could be waiting to see who his teammates will be or how crowded it is at his position.
Wichita State guard Nick Wiggins, Andrew’s brother, put a scare in Kentucky fans when he said (via Yahoo! Sports) that UK would not be the “best fit for him to make his own legacy.” This would suggest a Florida State lean.
But wait! Wiggins threw an alley-oop to Kentucky-bound Julius Randle in the Jordan Brand Classic on Saturday. Maybe he wants to do more of that. Maybe he’s a Kentucky lean.
Or maybe we should just quit speculating.
Maybe, as Wiggins himself said, we should quit listening to sources. He’ll announce when he’s ready to announce.
No disrespect to Mr. Jenkins. I’m sure his “source” is someone who he felt he could trust. I’m sure he was excited to break some news that everyone wants to know. He could end up being right and stick his tongue out at the world. But I’m sure he saw Wiggins’ rebuttal and felt kind of silly. So silly he deleted the tweets and changed his handle.
So, let’s all take a deep breath, and just wait. Add “Andrew Wiggins” to your Google News’ alerts if you must. Watch his Twitter religiously if it’s killing you. My goal is to become one of the first 1,000 on Twitter to retweet Wiggins’ announcement. (I’ve been training my right index finger in preparation.)
Wiggins, meanwhile, can sit back and LOL at the craziness.
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How Long Is the Miami Heat’s Championship Window Open?
The answer to that question is dependent on one thing—where LeBron decides to take or keep his talents for the rest of his career.
If LeBron decides to solidify his legacy by finishing his career with the Miami Heat then their championship window is open until he retires.
If he instead chooses to leave town for a homecoming in Cleveland or a shocking move to another NBA franchise, the Heat’s championship window will abruptly slam shut.
At the end of the 2013-14 season, LeBron will enter the player options years—2014-15 and 2015-16—of his current contract.
Is it a guarantee that the Heat will retain him? No, but it’s also not a guarantee that he’ll try to make a move to another NBA city.
Honestly, his decision, in large part, will depend on just how dominant the Heat can be this season and next. So far, that’s looking pretty good for Miami’s chances of retaining the Chosen One, and keeping their championship window open.
The Heat are the clear favorite to win the NBA title this season, even if they end up with a playoff route that forces them to play either the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks.
With LeBron playing at a ridiculous rate, which includes season averages of 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game, it’s hard to see anyone getting in the way of a Heat repeat.
If that happens, and LeBron hoists the 2013 Larry O’Brien Trophy, I honestly can’t see him leaving South Beach unless it’s much later in his career—even that would be a stretch.
Anyone who follows basketball even just a little bit can understand the extremely negative consequences that leaving Miami would have on LeBron’s legacy, especially after he already left an NBA franchise once.
Let’s assume that LeBron decides to stay for the rest of his career. That means that at some point he’ll most likely be playing in Miami without arguably the greatest player in their franchise history, Dwyane Wade.
At 31 years old and with the nagging injuries Wade always seems to struggle with, there’s just no way that he’ll be able to play into the latter years of LeBron’s career.
It might hurt Heat fans to hear this, but even if Wade begins to deteriorate over the next two or three seasons, it won’t impact the Heat’s “championship window.”
Why is that? Because LeBron’s proven this season that he can win games no matter who’s on the floor around him.
He’s 5-1 this season without Wade in the lineup, and last season he was 12-1 without Wade in the lineup.
No, that doesn’t mean that the Heat don’t need Wade on their roster. It just shows that LeBron’s finally overcome what plagued him in Cleveland—his inability to win with whoever he has around him on the roster.
If Wade retires or gets released by the Heat, or “insert other end to Wade’s Heat career here”, the Heat can still win championships without him. And that’s because they will have a lot of cash to go out and find their next D Wade in free agency.
Wade hasn’t reach the point in his career where he is replaceable, but he’s going to reach that point soon. While that’s sad for Heat fans, it doesn’t impact their chances at winning NBA titles.
As long as LeBron is wearing a No. 6 Heat jersey, and he has four players on the floor with him, the Heat will have a legitimate fighting chance at adding championship banners to their rafters.
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How long can a coach avoid the hot seat today?
Increasing salaries and attention may be inversely correlated to coaching job security.
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Video: Jamal Tinsley throws up a long distance alley-oop to Jeremy Evans
There are alley-oops and then there are ALLEY-OOPS.
This connection between the Utah Jazz tandem of Jamal Tinsley and Jeremy Evans is fierce. Talk about a showstopper.
The Jazz went on to beat the Portland Trailblazers 112-102 on Monday.
Please click here to watch this video.
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