Blogs

As if blowing a 17-point lead against the Houston Rockets on opening night wasn’t enough, the Golden State Warriors also lost Draymond Green. It’s unclear how much time he’ll miss, or whether he’ll sit out at all, but he suffered a knee injury at the end of the third quarter that prevented him from playing [...]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have someone very special to thank for Carmelo Anthony agreeing to accept a trade from the New York Knicks. Nope, it’s not Russell Westbrook. Nor is it Paul George. It’s not assistant general manager Troy Weaver, who helped facilitate Anthony’s arrival to Syracuse, either. It’s Melo’s son, 10-year-old Kiyan Carmelo Anthony. From The [...]

When Gordon Hayward crumpled to the floor early in the Boston Celtics’ opening-night loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, everyone in Quicken Loans Arena knew. The fans, the players, the coaches—they all understood. Something was broken. Hayward’s season was over. It was a gruesome, soul-sundering sight to behold, made so much worse, for some reason, by [...]

Catching Michael Jordan in the NBA’s pantheon of all-time greats isn’t the only thing on LeBron James’ bucket list. He also wants to stick around long enough to face off against his son, LeBron James Jr., at the professional level. Okay, well, he isn’t necessarily determined to do so. But he would welcome the opportunity, [...]

Stop asking Kyrie Irving about why he wanted a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Because he isn’t saying jack shit. As he told reporters ahead of the Boston Celtics’ opening-night clash in Cleveland, per The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd: Irving is well within his right as a human being—and very real grown-up—to continue deflecting questions that [...]

Joel Embiid, as expected, will begin the 2017-18 NBA season on a minutes cap. As for what that cap will be, the Philadelphia 76ers don’t seem to know for sure. They do know, however, he won’t be clearing 20 minutes out the gate, as head coach Brett Brown detailed, per NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jessica Camerato: [...]

As if you needed anymore evidence the Boston Celtics’ acquisition of Kyrie Irving over the summer was ridiculously unique. But here’s some more anyway. Per the Boston Globe‘s Adam Himmelsbach, Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren relayed the story of what happened the first time he phoned the Cavaliers to inquire about Irving’s availability: While we [...]

The NBA’s extension deadline came and went on Monday without players like Rodney Hood, Marcus Smart, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and Jabari Parker, among others, receiving new deals. But LaMarcus Aldridge got his. Wait, what? Yes, the San Antonio Spurs reached a three-year extension with their at-times unhappy power forward, according to ESPN.com’s Adrian Wojnarowski: [...]

So maybe the Cleveland Cavaliers don’t miss Kyrie Irving after all. Sure, losing him is big in the grand scheme of things—especially if they were hoping to use him as a safety net in the event LeBron James leaves next July. The Cavaliers also cannot tout too many of their blessings following that trade. They [...]

People often stack up Jimmy Butler’s tenacious approach to defense alongside Tom Thibodeau’s maniacal approach to coaching. And where some players might try to separate themselves from such a comparison, Butler is leaning into it as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. As he told The Vertical’s Shams Charania: “These young guys do listen, but it’s [...]