With Rajon Rondo out with an injury, there is opportunity for Marcus Smart. Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images

Five observations from third day of Summer League

Summer League continued Monday in Orlando with three games of varying intrigue. You do not want to put a whole lot of stock into results or into statistics coming out of these game,s but there is still quite a bit we can learn. And, as I noted yesterday, lots of storylines to follow. We will be […]

Five observations from second day of Summer League

Summer League continued Sunday in Orlando with three games of varying intrigue. You do not want to put a whole lot of stock into results or into statistics coming out of these game,s but there is still quite a bit we can learn. And, as I noted yesterday, lots of storylines to follow. We will be […]

Five observations from first day of Summer League

Summer League started yesterday in Orlando with all 10 teams getting into the action. You do not want to put a whole lot of stock into results or into statistics coming out of these game,s but there is still quite a bit we can learn. And, as I noted yesterday, lots of storylines to follow. […]

Photo by Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Nets looking to fill point guard gap

Jason Kidd’s departure from the Nets this summer took everyone by surprise. It happened so suddenly that there was not much time for many of the Nets’ players to digest it. For a young point guard like Marquis Teague, the departure was real sudden. Like a veteran on a team, the Nets newcomer was learning […]

Photo by Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Charlotte’s Hairston punches a prep senior during pickup game

Oh boy. This isn’t what you want from your rookie if you are the Hornets. Especially if your rookie has personal issues while in college leading many to think of him as a huge risk. Charlotte’s rookie P.J. Hairston got into a tussle during a pickup game in North Carolina which led to him punching a […]

Rockets’ Johnson has one sick dunk in Summer League

Might as well call this the dunk of the Summer League.

Houston’s rookie Nick Johnson wowed the crowd at the Orlando Summer League with a sick dunk over Piston’s Tim Ohlbrecht in the third quarter.

Get ready to jump off your seats. This is just sick!

Go inside the Kings war room

http://youtu.be/rEN6ad_Aw-M

Grantland got pretty surreal and unprecedented access to the Kings’ draft night and a look inside their “war room.”

In the video, you can see how the Kings tried to move up to get Joel Embiid and the worry that the team would lose out on the player they wanted and eventually got in Nik Stauskas.

And this short video probably does not encapsulate the full pressure of Draft night.

[h/t Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk]

Photo by Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Five things to watch at Orlando Summer League

Basketball is back from its brief hiatus as games have tipped off from Orlando for the 10-team Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League. It is a much quieter time and a much more relaxed atmosphere than the hoopla in Las Vegas. That does not mean Summer League is short on storylines. In those 10 teams […]

Photo by Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Lebron’s Decision 2.0 is real

LeBron James’ return to Miami was maybe never a slam dunk. It still felt pretty certain. Not so much anymore. As free agency has entered its fourth day, the LeBron James decision seems to be getting much more serious — if not much more quiet than it was four years ago. There are no meetings […]

Lowry has already stepped up in DeRozan’s absence this year. Photo by John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Lowry finds his fit and home in Toronto

Raptors history is pocked with stars who just could not wait to leave the Great White North. Vince Carter made an ugly exit for New Jersey — pouting openly on the court and cementing a negative reputation. Tracy McGrady was just beginning to blossom when he hit free agency and jumped ship for Orlando. Chris […]

Marcin Gortat’s basketball camp comes complete with machine guns

Nothing like taking in a basketball camp with your favorite NBA player. You know, lots of kids, drills being repeated, cones to dribble through, shooting competitions and much more.

But if you are at Wizards’ Marcin Gortat’s basketball camp in Poland, participants get that and much more. And by much more I mean machine guns mounted on military vehicles.

Check out this photo of Marcin manning a machine gun.

Raise your hand if you now want to go to Gortat’s basketball camp.

(h/t Sports Kings)

Rockets erase Jeremy Lin for Melo full-court press

Once again, Jeremy Lin is finding himself getting pushed out of town by Carmelo Anthony. As the Rockets have wined and dined Carmelo Anthony on Wednesday, they posted gigantic billboards in and around Toyota Center with Anthony in a Rockets uniform: There is only one problem with that. Jeremy Lin already wears number seven for […]

John Wall scoops Marcin Gortat signing

Like the draft, free agency is a rush for reporters to try to scoop one another. There is a lot of reporter’s pride on the line.

Sometimes though, the newsmakers tweet out the news first. That is what happened Tuesday when Wizards guard John Wall announced on Twitter the Wizards would re-sign Marcin Gortat. All the other reporters (I saw David Aldridge of NBA.com first, but it could have been someone else) quickly raced to their phones to get the amount. That amount is five years, $60 million for the center from Poland.

Chris Paul appears to be a star who can lead the diverse interests of the NBPA. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Union prepping for next labor stoppage

Free agency is only two days old and the money is already starting to spread around the league as free agents agree verbally to contracts — they cannot officially sign for another week. This is the agent’s game now and they are wielding their considerable power to reshape the league as much as they can. […]

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