Chicago Bulls ends up at No. 14 spot on Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery. As the team’s draft mentality goes, the franchise is expected to draft the best player available preferably someone like Kris Dunn who is a promising point guard pick in Bulls’ Jimmy Butler-centered roster next season.
Chris Bosh may be facing the worst times in his NBA career amid a looming possibility of a medical retirement following recurring bouts of blood clots. The franchise fears that he might not be medically cleared to play again which affects how the team plans for the future.
The referees officiating the critical last minute of Thunder-Warriors Game 1 of the Western Conference finals have been blasted again for a missed call on an obvious traveling violation by Russell Westbrook. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was, of course, mad but wasn’t really a fan of NBA’s two-minute reporting.
OKC Thunder center and New Zealand native of British and Tongan descent Steven Adams apologized for his ‘quick little monkeys’ comment in a post-game interview following his team’s Game 1 upset of the Golden State Warriors’ championship repeat campaign. Warriors, on the other hand, made no response to his seemingly harmless statement.
If luck does his bidding, LSU star player Ben Simmons would want to play for the highly marketable west coast franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers, to sign in to a $10-million sponsorship (plus a number of perks) offer by German footwear giant Adidas. Simmons, represented by Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports Group, prefers Adidas’ juicier deal over Nike’s $7-million (with less incentives) offer.
Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl Anthony Towns is fifth unanimous honoree of the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 32 years. Along with fellow teammate Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota is the first franchise to win the award in two consecutive seasons in 42 years.
Rockets center Dwight Howard is reportedly moving out from Houston in search of a max contract elsewhere. The big man has been a thorn in James Harden’s side giving the impression that their seemingly irreconcilable differences may tear the team apart.
Kenny Smith is a popular choice among Houston Rockets fans to become the team’s next head coach. Apparently, having regular broadcasting presence on TNT as a sports analyst is not enough for him to be considered for the job as the team seeks to hire someone with proven coaching experience.
Oklahoma Thunder has just cleared San Antonio Spurs off their path to the Western Conference title as they face off the Golden State Warriors beginning Monday. Despite early predictions and preseason hype of an epic Spurs-Warriors showdown, the expectations immediately vapored out into disappointment as the Thunder came rumbling.
Barely one year after he was hired as coach, Scott Skiles abruptly resigned from his position which caught Orlando Magic off guard. Skiles reportedly admitted that joining the franchise as coach was a mistake and that he was trying to leave the team as soon as he can.
NBA has acknowledged two incorrect calls following the league’s Last Two Minute reporting on what transpired during the tight Game 5 between Spurs and Thunder. Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors have now secured their path to the West Conference finals after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 5.
In a post-game review, NBA assessed a technical foul on Miami guard Goran Dragic with a retroactive $2, 000 fine after swinging at Toronto guard Cory Joseph in Game 4's fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Heat’s Luol Deng is set to return to Game 6 after a sustaining a non-serious wrist injury on Game 5 but Hassan Whiteside’s injury status will probably keep him off from playing in the next match-up.
LeBron James approved of Stephen Curry’s recent first unanimous MVP title in NBA history. While he did praise the Golden State guard’s shooting prowess, he, nevertheless, said that the word ‘valuable’ is open to a lot of interpretations.
Zhou Qi is one of China’s most remarkable hardcourt figures today. With an imposing height and incredibly huge wingspan, Zhou looks a draftable prospect for the NBA although the question remains whether the same level of impact the way Yao Ming did.
In a sit-in interview on TNT, Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard mentioned that he hasn’t decided yet on his hazy future with the team although everybody expects him to opt out anyway. He also disses James Harden for not giving the ball to him during the games but thinks that he and Harden can still ‘co-exist.’
