Tag Archives: NBA

2015 Orlando NBA Summer League Rosters

The Orlando portion of the NBA Summer League started today and runs through the next week. The Summer League concludes after that in Las Vegas.

Many of the top NBA draft picks are in Orlando and will be in action.

The teams are often filled with players in their first three seasons in the NBA and rounded out with players wanting to showcase their skills in hopes of landing in the NBA next season.

Some of the top draft picks in Orlando are Frank Kaminsky, Myles Turner, Stanley Johnson, Justise Winslow and Mario Hezonja.

Which undrafted rookies, veterans and overseas players fill out the remaining Orlando Summer League roster spots?

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Are the Lakers Planning a Big Move this Offseason?

The Los Angeles Lakers were an embarrassment last season. After major injuries to Julius Randle and Kobe Bryant, the roster was full of D-League talent and aging veterans. If you pay close attention to sports betting odds, the current outlook for next season doesn’t look great either.

The Lakers are not used to being in this position. They always just restock instead of doing a long-term rebuild. Kobe doesn’t have much time left, so he is certainly in management’s ear in hopes of winning one more title to tie Michael Jordan’s ring count.

They are now trying to free up enough cap space to make a run at some of this offseason’s top free agents. They gained $9 million more by declining Jordan Hill’s team option.

Which free agents are the Lakers targeting this Summer?

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2015 NBA Draft: Best Undrafted Players

The NBA Draft is only 60 picks, so many players fall through the cracks…especially in a year in which a draft is deep.

The 2015 NBA Draft wasn’t the deepest draft in recent memory, but that doesn’t mean every potential NBA player was all drafted. It’s not the end of the road for these players. They will just need to work a little harder to attain their dream.

Many of these guys will be signed to play in the NBA Summer League. They can showcase their skills in hopes of earning a invite to training camp. Unfortunately for most, they will end up playing overseas or in the NBA Development League. There are still a few every year that surprise everybody and beat the odds to earn an NBA contract.

Here are the best college and international players who went undrafted during the 2015 NBA Draft.

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Cleveland Early Favorite to Win 2016 NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors just won the 2015 NBA Finals and top sports betting sites already released future odds on which NBA team will win the 2016 NBA Finals.

LeBron James nearly single-handedly forced a Game 7 in a series in which the Cavs didn’t have anyone left but LeBron from their opening night starting lineup.

Cleveland (3/1) is the early favorite to win next year’s NBA Finals, but a lot can happen in a year. The Cavs have nearly everyone coming back and maybe next time around they will all be healthy.

Some of the other teams near the top are Golden State (5/1), Oklahoma City (7/1), Chicago (10/1), San Antonio (10/1) and Los Angeles Clippers (10/1).

Are there any dark horse teams that could contend for the 2016 NBA Finals?

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Lance Stephenson traded to Clippers

As a long-time Lance Stephenson fan, I hated to see his playing time cut in his first season in Charlotte. He left the Indiana Pacers and signed a 3-year/$27 million contract with them last Summer.

Well, his stay in Charlotte was a brief one. The Hornets traded Stephenson to the Los Angeles Clippers for Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes.

The eccentric guard lead the league in triple-doubles in 2013-14 with Indiana, but only started 25 games in Charlotte last season. He fell into coach Steve Clifford’s doghouse for his selfish play (and random tomfoolery).

The Clippers are a perennial contender in the Western Conference. What does the addition of Stephenson mean for the Clippers this offseason?

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2015 NBA Mock Draft: Early Lottery Edition

The 2015 NBA Draft has been hyped as a two-man draft with the top prizes being Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Duke’s Jahlil Okafor. I believe both big men will go onto have nice NBA careers, but this draft is deeper than most people think.

I believe Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell and Duke’s Justise Winslow could both be future NBA All-Stars…but just like any other player, they need to be in the right situation to develop.

Don’t worry international basketball fans, there’s plenty of overseas talent in this year’s draft. You have Croatian Mario Hezonja and Latvian Kristaps Prozingis as the top talents from Europe. Also, there’s an American high schooler Emmanuel Mudiay who went to China in lieu of going to college.

Here’s our early 2015 NBA mock draft for the NBA lottery selection.

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Will the Suns trade Goran Dragic?

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday and many teams are looking make some deals. There are a handful of teams that want improve their roster for the playoffs and the rest are basically trying to dump as many assets they can. Those assets are usually expiring contracts, but a few quality players do get moved at the deadline.

Goran Dragic, who won the Most Improved Player award last season (and even got a few MVP votes), looks to be on the move. He made it clear he won’t re-signing with the Phoenix Suns next year. Even though Phoenix is currently holding onto the 8th playoff spot in the West, they can’t afford to let him walk without getting anything in return.

Where will Dragic end up? What kind of deal will Phoenix get in return?

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Cavs Still Don’t Know How to Make LeBron Happy

The Cleveland Cavaliers have made a couple head-scratching moves. First, they traded Dion Waiters for Iman Shumpert’s flat top and J.R. Smith’s ability to get into VIP rooms. Then today, the Cavs traded a couple protected first-round picks to Denver for Tomofey Mozgov (who apparently survived that Blake Griffin dunk).

I get why the Cavs are making trades, but they feel like panic moves. LeBron James is battling knee and back problems and they need to right the ship in a hurry. It clearly wasn’t working out with Waiters and he needed a new home, but the deal they received could be more toxic than helpful.

Will these move put Cleveland one step closer to being a title contender or is it a step backwards?

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Where Will Josh Smith End Up?

Josh Smith finally ‘perimeter shot’ his way out of Detroit. The Pistons decided to cut him and if he clears waivers (and he will), they will be on the hook for the remainder of his contract…a hefty $26 million.

Head coach and team president Stan Van Gundy put his foot down with this move. Smith could get away with poorly shooting long jumpers when his head coach wasn’t involved with personnel. Detroit has a long way to go to rebuild. Dumping Smith was a smart, long-term decision for the franchise.

Even though Josh Smith is one of the worst players in the NBA, teams are lining up to sign him once he clears waivers.

Title contenders will be at the top of the list, since he will most likely sign a one-year deal and then hit free agency this offseason.

Which NBA team will land Josh Smith?

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The Nets Are Looking to Trade and Rebuild

The Brooklyn Nets have been trying to become New York’s biggest draw since before they moved to Brooklyn. Nets owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, tried to spend his way to a championship, but that didn’t happen. He ended up with dried-up veterans and other bloated contracts.

The Nets front office doesn’t like what they have seen so far and have put their three best players on the trading block. Brook Lopez, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson could all be headed out of town…but are any NBA teams willing to take on their large contracts?

Lopez, Johnson and Williams are the highest-paid trio in the NBA at $58.7 million combined. Not only will a trade partner need to worry about this season, but all three players are on the books for future money.

Let’s breakdown each player and if there’s a chance any team would take a shot on them.

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Could the Hornets trade Lance Stephenson?

As many of you know, I’ve been a vocal fan of Lance Stephenson since he was drafted by the Indiana Pacers. I would champion his skills and wonder why he was sitting at the end of the bench. He then took Dahntay Jones’ spot and went on to fill-in for an injured Danny Granger. He took advantage of the opportunity and should have been an All-Star last season.

Stephenson left Indiana and signed a nice deal with the Charlotte Hornets. He hasn’t quite fit in with Charlotte and they find themselves near the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Michael Jordan did not expect last year’s 7th seed to fail this bad.

On December 15th, NBA teams can officially trade players they signed this offseason. With all the drama surrounding the situation in Charlotte, could Stephenson have a new home before the end of the calendar year?

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Sports Crush: Jen Hale

We’ve written a handful of ‘Sports Crush‘ posts since we launched America’s White Boy. We’ve spotlighted female MMA fighters, WWE Divas and female sports reporters like MLB Network’s Heidi Watney, ESPN’s Britt McHenry and NFL Network’s Erin Coscarelli. We decided to profile another female sports reporter, current FOX sports sideline reporter Jen Hale.

You can see Jen Hale every Sunday during NFL on FOX broadcasts as a sideline reporter and during New Orleans Pelicans telecasts on Fox Sports New Orleans.

She was a cheerleader at LSU and then went to Northwestern to earn her Master’s degree in broadcast journalism. She has a huge brain behind that smile.

I want to thank Walker for the email requesting her.

We are crushing on Jennifer Hale and once you look at our photo gallery, you will understand why. Continue reading →