Blogs

So let’s put those “Kawhi Leonard cannot be an MVP candidate because the San Antonio Spurs are too good without him; just look at how they won Game 6 against the Houston Rockets” takes to bed, shall we? On Sunday, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Leonard re-aggravated his left ankle injury that he [...]

Any changes the New Orleans Pelicans make this summer will come via roster moves. Because the executorial pecking order isn’t going anywhere. According to The Advocate‘s Scott Kushner, the Pelicans plan to keep head coach Alvin Gentry and general manager Dell Demps in place as they prepare for next season: General manager Dell Demps and coach [...]

New York Knicks president Phil Jackson is really good at his job—provided his job is to destroy the market value of his best assets. We’re referring, of course, to Jackson’s handling of the Carmelo Anthony situation. He bombed his approach to trying to move him during the regular season, and things didn’t get much better [...]

LaVar Ball has no doubt his son, Lonzo, will trade in his UCLA jersey for Los Angeles Lakers garb at this June’s draft. Holster your “The lottery is rigged!” takes for another time. This has nothing to do with existing knowledge, and everything to do with LaVar’s commitment to treating his gut feelings as future realities. [...]

When the Golden State Warriors added the superstar Kevin Durant to the greatest regular-season team in N.B.A. history, the general reaction was that the season was effectively over. Fans, sportswriters and even opposing players began to speculate on who could actually beat them, how many more titles the Warriors would win and how many records [...]

Philadelphia 76ers fans will have to wait until the regular season to see Ben Simmons play competitive basketball. Simmons missed his entire rookie season recovering from a fracture in his foot. Though the initial hope was he would be able to participate in the summer-league festivities, Sixers head coach has confirmed that he will not [...]

Contrary to what Kristaps Porzingis may tweet, he doesn’t want to leave the New York Knicks for the Los Angeles Clippers. Or so his older brother told ESPN.com’s Ian Begley: Kristaps Porzingis‘ brother Janis Porzingis said the Knicks forward wishes to remain in New York but also wants the club to create an environment conducive to [...]

James Harden picked one helluva time to lay an egg. Despite facing a San Antonio Spurs squad that was missing its best player, Kawhi Leonard, Harden and the Houston Rockets folded on Thursday night, losing the game by 39 points and the series 4-2. Harden, one of the MVP frontrunners, was absolutely atrocious. He had more [...]

Why, yes, the relationship between Mike D’Antoni and Carmelo Anthony during their brief time together with the New York Knicks really was that bad. So bad, D’Antoni quit. And he clearly, and finally, admitted as much to ESPN The Magazine‘s Tim Keown: In New York in 2012, after Anthony said the team needed to choose between him [...]

Kyle Lowry isn’t even a week into his offseason and his free-agency rumor mill is already spitting out hot fire daily. The latest: A scenario in which he signs with his hometown Philadelphia 76ers. While appearing on 97.5 The Fanatic’s Midday Show, ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst indicated that Lowry-to-Philly is a distinct possibility. Here’s the transcription [...]