NBA to Lockout Players at Midnight Tonight

Word is just now being released via ESPN that the NBA is going to lockout the players as of midnight tonight when the current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire. There were some last minute attempts to come to an agreement between the owners and players today but apparently they just couldn’t come to terms. Here is what David Stern had to say tonight:

“We had a great year in terms of the appreciation of our fans for our game. It just wasn’t a profitable one for the owners, and it wasn’t one that many of the smaller market teams particularly enjoyed or felt included in,” commissioner David Stern said. “The goal here has been to make the league profitable and to have a league where all 30 teams can compete.”

The long-expected lockout could put the 2011-12 season in jeopardy and comes as the NFL is trying to end its own work stoppage that began in March.

“The expiring collective bargaining agreement created a broken system that produced huge financial losses for our teams,” deputy commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

Despite a three-hour meeting Thursday and a final proposal from the players — which NBA leaders said would have raised average player salaries to $7 million in the sixth year of the deal — the sides could not close the enormous gulf between their positions.

“The problem is that there’s such a gap in terms of the numbers, where they are and where we are, and we just can’t find any way to bridge that gap,” union chief Billy Hunter said.

Hunter said the union made a “moderate” new financial proposal, but it wasn’t enough to keep the two sides at the bargaining table.

Read more about the lockout and the potential problems it creates for this NBA season via ESPN.com.

Cavs Trade J.J. Hickson to Kings For Omri Casspi

In all likelihood, this will be the final deal before the looming lockout takes effect. Looks live the Cavs are giving the frontcourt keys to Tristan Thompson already.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded power forward J.J. Hickson to the Sacramento Kings for swingman Omri Casspi and Sacramento’s protected first-round pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

The teams apparently sought to complete the deal Thursday before midnight to ensure its completion, with a lockout widely expected at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday, barring unforeseen progress in labor talks between the league and the NBA Players Association.

Read more about this deal at ESPN.com.

Bulls Excercise Option on Taj Gibson

Last summer, the Bulls made a bit of a splash by signing Carlos Boozer to sure up their front line. But down the stretch in the playoffs, Chicago didn’t get what they expected out of him. Some even say Taj Gibson outperformed him.

The Chicago Bulls have exercised their fourth-year option on forward Taj Gibson for the 2012-13 season.

Taken with the 26th pick in the 2009 draft, Gibson has made 89 starts in his career and is averaging 8.0 points and 6.6 rebounds. Mainly a reserve last season, he was a key contributor on a team that won a league-leading 62 games and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, averaging 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Read more about the Bulls and Gibson via AP on NBA.com.

THD’S 25 Best Dunks of All-Time: #22 Kevin Johnson Turns Into a Dreamcatcher

Our pick for the 22nd best NBA dunk of all-time goes to Kevin Johnson’s baseline jam on Hakeem Olajuwon.

As Kevin Johnson drives baseline, the only thing standing in his way from two points is Olajuwon. Read more

John Wall Stars In Bobblehead Commercial

There’s no denying that this year’s NBA Rookie of the Year runner-up John Wall, who delighted fans at the University of Kentucky for one season prior to being selected as the #1 overall Draft pick in 2010, had an outstanding first season in the NBA marked by many league, individual, and franchise records.

Wall became the first Washington player since Rod Strickland to tally 5 games of 14 or more assists in one season, was 1 of 3 rookies to record a triple-double this season, and joined the legendary Magic Johnson as the only two rookies to ever record a triple-double and 6 steals in the same game during the first six games of their rookie season.

He’s also the first Washington rookie to tally 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 100 steals in a season, first Washington player since Earl “The Pearl” Monroe to have 32pts, 10 ast, and 5 stls in a game, and the first rookie since the “Big O” Oscar Robertson to have 7+ assists in each of his first 6 games in the Association.

The 20 year old flamboyant point guard finished 2nd among rookies in scoring(16.4ppg), ranked 6th in the entire league in assists(8.3), and bested all rookies in steals(1.8). In fact, some Washington fans even made this nifty John Wall ROY highlight video in hopes of John somehow prying the award away from Blake Griffin.

To make a long story short, in any other rookie year, meaning one that didn’t include someone named Blake Griffin, John Wall would have been the unanimous winner of the prestigious ROY Award. But at least he succeeded in helping to teach us all how to Dougie.

Not to lose sight of his past as many fans of the Kentucky Wildcats will not soon forget, he became part of a legendary draft class that included a total of 5 Cats being selected in the 1st Round along with DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Patrick Patterson, and Daniel Orton. While Patterson and Orton have had their struggles in their rookie campaigns, Wall, Cousins, and Bledsoe each have made their mark with their respective clubs this past season.

Now that their rookie seasons are finished, the NBA has rewarded 3 of the Kentucky stand-out players with their very own, brand new bobblehead commercial:

Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.

Denver’s Nene to Opt Out, Become Unrestricted Free Agent

Whenever the pending lockout allows, there will be some legit free agent names out there to be acquired. It’s not exactly the Summer of 2010 but there are a bunch of serviceable Centers available. We can now add Denver’s Nene to that list.

Nene will opt out of the final year of his contract worth nearly $12 million and, as a result, become an unrestricted free agent, a source familiar with the situation said Wednesday night.

It means Nene can sign with any team he wishes without the Nuggets getting a chance to match the offer when free agency begins after the expected NBA lockout, which likely will start Friday.

Nene had until today to make a final decision.

The Nuggets tried to sign him to a contract extension before today, the last day of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, but to no avail. Instead, Nene figures to have many suitors — including the Nuggets — as he explores his options.

Read more about Nene opting out at DenverPost.com.

 

6 Jordans to Look Forward to in 2011

2011 so far has brought some great releases from Jordan Brand. From the White Cement IIIs making a return to the semi-new Year of the Rabbit Jordan VIIs, there was enough Air Jordans to keep enthusiasts happy for the first half of the year. Jordan Brand plans to finish up strong and at The Hoop Doctors we bring you 6 Js to look out for during these remaining months.

6 months left; 6 great Jordans worth picking up.

Air Jordan V “Black Metallic”

The last time these hit stores was back in 2007 and was quickly snatched up leaving many empty handed. Almost identical to the versions before it, this time around this release features the tinted blue icey sole Jordan Brand has been using as of late which is suppose to greatly reduce the yellowing of translucent bottoms.
 

Air Jordan XIV “Light Graphite-Midnight Navy/Black”

The Don’t confuse these with another pair of Jordan XIVs that has the same base color, this pair features Midnight Navy accents instead of Chartreuse like the ones from back in 2005.

Air Jordan V “Quai 54″

Just because this years’ Quai 54 tournament over in France is all said and done doesn’t mean that you wont be hearing the name anytime soon. Every year two Jordans are specially made for this tournament; one Retro and one new silhouette and this years’ retro is arguably the most anticipated.

Air Jordan III “Stealth”

Unlike the Black Cements III which are also slated to release this year, this ‘Stealth’ pair is not an original colorway. The simple colorblocking on this shoe ensures that these will sell fairly well.

Air Jordan XIII PE “3-Point Record”

This release commemorates longtime Team Jordan member Ray Allen breaking the NBA’s All-Time 3-point record back in February of this past season. Many Jordan collectors are salivating at this once-in-a-lifetime chance to purchase a pair of Jesus Shuttleworth’s PEs.

Air Jordan XI “Concord”

For the last 3 years, December has always meant that a pair of Jordan XIs would hit store shelves, and this year is no different. Even though official pictures haven’t yet surfaced, many believe that this release will bear the number 45 on the back instead of the 23 that the previous releases did. As with any Jordan XI release expect to either call in favors, long lines, or monster resell prices

Agree? Disagree? Let us know what you think or if you feel we left something out.

I Want To Be Like Mike [PIC]

Kobe’s got game no doubt. But given the natural comparisons to Michael Jordan the GOAT, it may be best to avoid these kind of photo ops, my man:

Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated

Ron Artest Explains Why He’s Changing His Name and What it Means

Earlier in the week, we told you that Ron Artest has taken steps towards legally changing his name to Metta World Peace. Read more

Portland Blazers Make $8.8M Qualifying Offer to Greg Oden

From Blazersedge via Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports:

Blazers told Greg Oden’s management earlier this week they will tender 1 year, $8.8 mill qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent.

That’s a gigantic offer to put on Oden’s plate considering he has played in about a third of the regular season games possible since entering the league. By signing Oden, that would put Portland at around $67M in salaries for 2011-12 for 11 roster players.

Oden’s worth is curious in this instance — considering his injury history and the pool of free agent talent at the C position I’m not sure why the Blazers are holding on to Oden, especially with such a high price tag. The risk/reward factor around the league for Oden is far too great for most teams and fans to buy into the former No. 1 draft pick at $8.8M. The Blazers don’t seem to have that same aversion. Curious, seeing how there’s a few players the Blazers could pick up for far less than Oden’s $8.8M this offseason including: Joel Przybilla, Chris Wilcox, Chuck Hayes, Josh McRoberts, Leon Powe, Juwan Howard, Jamaal Magloire, Dan Gadzuric, Kris Humphries, Aaron Gray and Tony Battie.

The above list isn’t exactly going to match Oden’s numbers in production over a stats-adjusted 82-game stretch, and many of them don’t have the sex appeal of his size, but how long will it be before Oden plays those 82 games compared to the rest of the guys available? Maybe I’m reasoning as a jaded Portland fan but I cannot be convinced that a 7-footer with one leg that is an inch shorter than the other will ever be able to stay healthy. Physics don’t allow it, and that’s certainly something to chew on.

In reality, the situation is more complicated than I’m making it out to be. First, free agency is a total farce at this point in time. When it will start, how salaries will be affected by the CBA and who wants to go where won’t be settled for months. It could be that the Blazers are looking to hold on to Oden, give it one last shot while they bide their time and see how things shake out with SG Brandon Roy before fire-selling the guts of a once-great team. It’s like taking a swig out of a questionably-aged gallon of milk. The sniff test (the 2010-11 season) just wasn’t enough. You have to taste it to be sure. Of course, this is assuming that the owner of the Blazers, Paul Allen, who recently said of firing Rich Cho, “It is better to move sooner rather than later,” has had a sudden change of heart.

I’d be interested to hear what readers, especially those outside of Portland, think of Oden’s supposed 1-year $8.8M offer. How will this affect the Blazers, what do you believe the strategy is and do you think Oden will accept? I’m too close to the situation at this point in time. Right now, all I want to do is push it back across the table.

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