Free agency is in FULL swing. Love staying with Cavs ($110 mil); Butler with Bulls ($95mill); Tyson Chandler to Suns; Splitter traded from Spurs to Hawks and of course Singler with Thunder (5 years $25mill)

Heard that LaMacus Aldridge (Portland) is going to the Spurs; has this been confirm yet?

The Spurs are totally going to get LaMarcus Aldridge, aren?t they | For The Win (http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/07/the-spurs-are-totally-going-to-get-lamarcus-aldridge-arent-they)

No but reported to be a leader. He met w Lakers today and that didn't go well for LA.

Heard that LaMacus Aldridge (Portland) is going to the Spurs; has this been confirm yet?

The Spurs are totally going to get LaMarcus Aldridge, aren?t they | For The Win (http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/07/the-spurs-are-totally-going-to-get-lamarcus-aldridge-arent-they)

No, but San Antonio is rumored as the most likely destination. That's a huge, huge get for San Antonio. They also got Danny Green back on the cheap.

The Thunder tried to establish a culture where players sacrificed in contracts for the betterment of the team (which I think is somewhat absurd considering owner profits) like the Spurs. KD didn't include an opt-out in his last year and Russ took a slight discount. Unfortunately, Harden was unwilling to do so (which he had no obligation to do). That's been part of the Spurs success that no other team can replicate.

Anyway, I do like the Singler contract and it'll look better over time. $5 million per year under the new salary cap will be super cheap.

No, but San Antonio is rumored as the most likely destination. That's a huge, huge get for San Antonio. They also got Danny Green back on the cheap.

The Thunder tried to establish a culture where players sacrificed in contracts for the betterment of the team (which I think is somewhat absurd considering owner profits) like the Spurs. KD didn't include an opt-out in his last year and Russ took a slight discount. Unfortunately, Harden was unwilling to do so (which he had no obligation to do). That's been part of the Spurs success that no other team can replicate.

Anyway, I do like the Singler contract and it'll look better over time. $5 million per year under the new salary cap will be super cheap.

It's absurd as a systemic/NBA thing. It's not absurd as an individual franchise thing. As long as San Antonio is the only one doing it though, then they're the only ones who will benefit.

If Durant and Westbrook are serious about turning OKC into a dynasty, they'd be wise to look at SAS. Especially Durant, whose insane Nike Contract will be the largest he ever signs for…he'll probably make a little more every year via the NBA…but really, when you've already got a 10-year/$300MM contract locked up, maybe you can look at the winning aspect and say "hey…I think I'll take less so that I can get some pieces around me".

I mean, OKC's probably going to land about $34MM in the tax this year.

Greg Monroe gets max deal. NBA is playing with monopoly money.

Have Cav's salary for the roster? Record breaking spending.

Have Cav's salary for the roster? Record breaking spending.

Don't think they're spending more than the Nets did. But, yeah, they're going to be paying some serious luxury tax dollars.

Funny - NFL players are all pissed off about NBA money. Lots of tweets today flying around!

You can probably scratch Dallas from the Enes Canter sweepstakes; they just picked up a premier NBA center.


Los Angeles Clippers free-agent center DeAndre Jordan plans to announce early Friday evening that he has agreed to sign a four-year, $80 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks, sources told Yahoo Sports.

Source: DeAndre Jordan agrees to $80 million deal with Mavericks http://sports.yahoo.com/news/source--deandre-jordan-to-announce-an-agreement-with-mavericks-200436772.htmlhttp://

Aldridge to Spurs. UUGH. made a point of saying it was important to go home to Tx. Double UUGH.

Spurs are gonna be tough.

Spurs are gonna be tough.

Very. Lost Splitter but re-signed Green, Leonard. Duncan didn't retire damn him. ha.

What a blow to Portland? Wesley Matthews, Nicholas Batum, Robin Lopez & LaMarcus Aldridge (Key core players) plucked from the Trailblazers' roster.

Rumors are that the Blazers will hit the reset button; Is Kanter on their radar? Portland Trail Blazers May Be Interested in Enes Kanter - Blazer's Edge (http://www.blazersedge.com/2015/6/30/8875751/enes-kanter-portland-trail-blazers-free-agent)

Deandre Jordan circus - good overview of it all. Cuban has to be beside himself.

Sorting Out the DeAndre Jordan Carnival « (http://grantland.com/the-triangle/sorting-out-the-deandre-jordan-carnival)

Beside himself (Cuban) is a good description; just think, Dallas lost these key players:


Tyson Chandler, C (to Suns)
Monta Ellis, SG (to Pacers)
Rajon Rondo, PG (to Kings)

Rondo wasn't happy with Rick Carlisle, so he was on his way out the door. Others were let go to secure CAP space for DeAndre Jordan. This could happen to any team; it's so unfortunate for the Mavericks, they were in the reset mode.

Does anyone have an update on Enes Kanter?

Could Enes Kanter sign with the Dallas Mavericks? - Welcome to Loud City (http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/2015/7/9/8922441/could-enes-kanter-sign-with-the-dallas-mavericks)

What a circus. I understand everyone gets buyer's remorse, but this is outrageous. I expect the commissioner to say something about this. I'm also interested to see how DeAndre and CP3 mesh next season since they pretty much detest each other (and that's why DeAndre wanted out in the first place).

These things tend to happen to Dallas more often than not. Letting good players leave and contracts lapse while going all on one or two potential superstars, only to have those dreams dashed, has sort of been the Mavs MO for some time. Mark Cuban fashions himself as a mad genius because he got a ring. I'm starting to think that 2011 championship was luck more than anything. The Mavs have been in constant "rebuild mode" since then. Eventually luck runs out.

Oh well, at least I'll be able to score super cheap tickets when the Thunder come to town....

The ticket in Dallas to the Mavs v Clips games next year should garner some interest!:)

The ticket in Dallas to the Mavs v Clips games next year should garner some interest!:)

DeAndre will get one hell-of-a reception.

Interesting article about a former Thunder player who has been in the news a lot lately.

GQ Exclusive: NBA Star Thabo Sefolosha Tells His Story of Assault by the NYPD | GQ (http://www.gq.com/story/thabo-sefolosha-nypd-assault)

Although he is no stranger to controversy, these were interesting comments by Mark Cuban tonight, prior to the Mavericks - Clippers game in LA.

Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owners, takes jabs at Los Angeles Clippers ahead of first meeting (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14006402/mark-cuban-dallas-mavericks-owners-takes-jabs-losangeles-clippers-ahead-first-meeting)


"Look, the Clippers are the Clippers," Cuban said while surrounded by media on the Staples Center sideline before the game. "You can change the players, you can change the owner, but the Clippers are who they've been for the last 30 years.

"I mean, I don't hate the Clippers. That's a strong word. I don't hate anybody on the Clippers. I pretty much hate anybody who doesn't have Mavericks or Dallas across their chest, but again, I just don't give a s--- about the Clippers. Maybe that explains it."


The final score for tonight's game: Clippers 105 - Mavericks 88.

Coincidence? Hmmmmm. ;)

Although he is no stranger to controversy, these were interesting comments by Mark Cuban tonight, prior to the Mavericks - Clippers game in LA.

Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owners, takes jabs at Los Angeles Clippers ahead of first meeting (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14006402/mark-cuban-dallas-mavericks-owners-takes-jabs-losangeles-clippers-ahead-first-meeting)



The final score for tonight's game: Clippers 105 - Mavericks 88.

Coincidence? Hmmmmm. ;)

This score is to be expected given Dallas FA season moves (or lack thereof)

Was glad to see Cuban offered to fly Doc Rivers and Clips front office guys to Flip Saunders funeral after the game. Despite all the things during off season, nice to see a classy gesture there.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/thunder/sites/default/files/styles/main_gallery_photo__480_tall/public/29_openingnight_zb_151028.jpg?itok=LshkrTjt
Rumble the Bison pumps up the crowd inside Chesapeake Energy Arena on Opening Night.
Photo by Zach Beeker | OKC Thunder

.

Kristaps Porzingis (PF) Age - 20, 7' 3'" 240lbs., $4,131,720



“He's really different,” Thunder coach Bill Donovan said. “The one thing I give him credit for as a young guy in this being his first year, he comes across with a great level of confidence and belief in himself. He obviously stretches the floor, he shoots it from behind the 3, he can put it on the floor. He's really a unique player and I think he's going to be an unbelievable player in this league.”

How Kristaps Porzingis could have been on the Thunder | FOX Sports (http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/oklahoma-city-thunder-kristaps-porzingis-could-have-been-on-team-112015)

FAREWELL TO KOBE BRYANT (aka: Black Mamba)
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQBCLX4oPzxGNnGEh0m0lXNJGJySLrDk hZ_DZMfeS6ubuZXB4XLbw https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTKh77TrFCvURKqoWDpDXe6174uIZz-zi5cIDCwfAOwRYKAY4cuqw

Despite the controversy that surrounds Kobe over the last 10 years; he has had an 'impact' on raising the profile of the NBA. Time for the Black Mamba to put on his pajamas...

Hats off to the L. A. Lakers' organization. They were the first NBA team to host pre season (exhibition) games when OKC opened the Peake. Those crowds averaged in the 13,000 range; then the Katrina story put the spotlight on OKC as a temporary home.

We had no idea that an NBA franchise would some day call Oklahoma City home.

The two years of average attendance when the Hornets were based in Oklahoma City:


2005-2006 - 18,168
2006-2007 - 17,833

Now we're a solid NBA franchise on financial footing with 214 consecutive sellouts of 18,203 dating back to the 2010 NBA season; Kobe Bryant was the marquee player on those initial exhibition games played in Oklahoma City.

https://sp.yimg.com/xj/th?id=OIP.M40400d535976d1e76e2351d335c71b16o2&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300
NBA referee Bill Kennedy reveals he is gay; Rajon Rondo made alleged homosexual slur to him

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba-referee-bill-kennedy-reveals-he-is-gay--rajon-rondo-made-alleged-homosexual-slur-to-him-174255321.html

https://sp.yimg.com/xj/th?id=OIP.M40400d535976d1e76e2351d335c71b16o2&pid=15.1&P=0&w=300&h=300
NBA referee Bill Kennedy reveals he is gay; Rajon Rondo made alleged homosexual slur to him

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba-referee-bill-kennedy-reveals-he-is-gay--rajon-rondo-made-alleged-homosexual-slur-to-him-174255321.html

Rondo went off the wheels. He needs more than one game suspension. No reason to do that.

Rondo went off the wheels. He needs more than one game suspension. No reason to do that.

Interesting for sure. On a "somewhat" similar note, Kevin Durant made an interesting comment last night, while being interviewed. When asked about a play that Serge Ibaka made against Utah Jazz player Gordon Hayward. He commented that he "Was impressed with the play, because Hayward is pretty athletic, for a white guy." I don't personally have a problem with the comment, and found it somewhat humerous...but, what would the national reaction be right now, if the roles were reversed..and some random white player made a similar "he's pretty smart.....for a black guy" type comment. Just struck me as odd.

Rondo went off the wheels. He needs more than one game suspension. No reason to do that.

Before this comment Rondo was one of my least favorit players in the league. Super duper sour puss!:)

hopefully he gets more than just the 1 game.
Deserves at least 15 games. Period

NBA All Star early return results are:

https://twitter.com/NBATV

Oklahoma City Thunder front court Durant #2 & guard Westbrook #2 would be starters if results remain the same when the final tallies are counted.

Vote early & often. You are allowed to vote once every 24 hours. NBA All-Star Ballot (http://vote.nba.com/)

These new State Farm commercials with D. Jordan as the mom, CP3, Garnett, etc.. are funny!!!! The one with "no rings" was just on.

https://dvsportsblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/dick_bavetta_gross_feature1.jpg http://katiekelleynetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/bos_g_crawford_sy_200.jpg
Dick Bavetta (left), retired the end of 2015 and Joey Crawford (right) will retire 2016.
The two oldest referees in the NBA; these guys had eyes like a hawk & could hear like an eagle. NBA will lose two of their seasoned dinosaurs within the last 2 seasons.

Lots of respect for Bavetta, but Crawford... ...not so much. Not that he doesn't have incredible experience or an excellent grasp of the rules he enforces. The problem with Crawford is that he has a propensity to make games about...Joey Crawford. He's an egomaniac.

I remember when Crawford ejected Tim Duncan for laughing on the bench.

I remember when Crawford ejected Tim Duncan for laughing on the bench.

Here it is. It's beyond absurd.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2SYIrUnf5Y

I remember when Crawford ejected Tim Duncan for laughing on the bench.

That was huge. Crawford was suspended and had to go to anger management classes and therapy. But, to his credit, he said he came out of it all not just a better referee but a better person. There was a whole series of stuff with Crawford before that, but the Tim Duncan incident was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Here's a nice on:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIsuoZlStw4

One of my favorites...you can hear me booing in the background:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9nI4zlEW2A

Good riddance Crawford. As entertaining as he was, I didn't think much of his officiating.

screw Kobe. Rumor is he is trying to recruit Durant and or Westbrook to LA.

Is the national media that desperate to make the Lakers relevant again?

Good riddance Crawford. As entertaining as he was, I didn't think much of his officiating.

I will LOL if he dies of a heart attack officiating his last game. All he was was a puppet for David Stern to make sure the Lakers and LeBron James' team won.

^^^^^^
I'm no fan of Crawford, but I think that's a pretty awful statement.

screw Kobe. Rumor is he is trying to recruit Durant and or Westbrook to LA.

Recruiting Westbrook to LA ia a no brainer, that is his hometown. Get used to major cities courting great talent from OKC after their rookie or second contract is expired. OKC will be forced to improve as a city or potentially lose franchise type players to more desirable (outside of basketball) places. Improve or lose.

I will LOL if he dies of a heart attack officiating his last game. All he was was a puppet for David Stern to make sure the Lakers and LeBron James' team won.

Beyond this statement being inappropriate, if he did try to make LeBron James' team win he did a pretty poor job considering LeBron is the best player in the world and only has two titles in his fourteen previous seasons. And, the Lakers' incredible talent had nothing to do with them winning, right? Seriously, if you're going to have a conspiracy theory, at least have a good one.

Recruiting Westbrook to LA ia a no brainer, that is his hometown. Get used to major cities courting great talent from OKC after their rookie or second contract is expired. OKC will be forced to improve as a city or potentially lose franchise type players to more desirable (outside of basketball) places. Improve or lose.

Please. Whether KD or Russ stay in OKC has jack**** to do with the city, which by the way has been doing nothing BUT improving for the past decade+, anyway.

It doesn't even have anything to do with money, either. No team can pay them more than the Thunder will be able to. They are max contract players. And as far as exposure they are getting the same endorsements and deals they would be getting in major markets, because they are legitimate international superstars.

The primary motivating factor for both is likely to be whether or not they feel they can win championships here, which has a lot more to do with who ELSE is on the roster and the quality of the coaching.

But to nobody's surprise, you have instead twisted this conversation into a way to demean the city itself. Congratulations. You're nothing if not consistent. Why do you waste your time posting here, again? You spend an awful lot of time trolling the board of a city for which you have such disdain.

Cleveland Cavaliers have fired head coach David Blatt


The Cavaliers are first in the Eastern Conference with a 30-11 record. Last year, Blatt's first in Cleveland and first in the NBA, he led them to the NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/reports-cleveland-cavaliers-fired-head-205703444.html

LeBron is going to run that team into the ground.

LeBron is going to run that team into the ground.

LeBron James is a DIVO, a male version of a female Diva. On par with Diana Ross, Patti LaBelle & Adele.

New York Knicks fire coach Derek Fisher after 23-31 start to season (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14739795/new-york-knicks-fire-coach-derek-fisher-23-31-start-season)

Scott Brooks could be on the top of many lists of head coaching positions (Sacramento, New York...).

Thibbs is also available, and Luke Walton is the fad now.

Who will be named 2016 All-Star Game MVP? (Timed sensitive)

POLL: Who Should Be NBA All-Star Game MVP? | Heavy.com (http://heavy.com/sports/2016/02/nba-all-star-game-2016-participants-mvp-most-valuable-player-poll-vote-leader-vegas-tonight-players-favorite-harden-kobe-curry/)

NBA All-Star 2016 | Feb. 12-14, 2016 | Toronto | NBA.com (http://www.nba.com/allstar/)

I vote for Russell Westbrook. :D

I vote for Russell Westbrook. :D


Congratulations to Russell Westbrook on winning the
NBA 2016 All Star Game MVP!
http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/rnPQ5KFuChMTFrOUsFC7Mg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9MzQxO3B5b2ZmPT A7cT03NTt3PTUxMg--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/Sports/ap/201602142212799654310
Westbrook is a repeat NBA All Star Game MVP Winner

http://www.chesapeakearena.com/assets/img/thunder-logo.jpg

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/z4dDhk6bQun3tyF3mKy2ntwkK8c=/0x0:2930x1953/1310x873/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48812009/GettyImages-510286512.0.jpg

Western Conf All-Stars vs. Eastern Conf All-Stars - Box Score - February 14, 2016 - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400829482)

New York Knicks fire coach Derek Fisher after 23-31 start to season (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14739795/new-york-knicks-fire-coach-derek-fisher-23-31-start-season)

Not a huge shock, being fired after a year or two was the likely result of whoever they had hired in 2014. There on court issues are largely an issue of prior GMs just kept digging their hole deeper. It seems like the year before he started the roster was as bad as ever and traded away basically every pick for the next five years.

http://content.firstcoastnews.com/photo/2016/02/15/USATSI_9116909_157441246_lowres_1455512791072_2584 20_ver1.0.jpg
2016 NBA All Star Game Most Valuable Player.

Unfortunate news for the Memphis Grizzlies who are currently in 5th place in the WC standing.

Marc Gasol of Memphis Grizzlies has foot surgery, out for season (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14830291/marc-gasol-memphis-grizzlies-foot-surgery-season)