Looking Ahead To 2014 NBA Free Agency

Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant join LeBron James and other big names as free agents in 2014. (bleacherreport.com)

This year's NBA free agency period has been far from quiet, with Dwight Howard's move to Houston highlighting a busy month that highlighted some big names on the move, including Howard and players like Josh Smith.

If you enjoyed what this season's free-agent market brought, you'll be in for a treat next year. It will automatically be a bigger spectacle after one free-agent name, LeBron James, given that he is the best player in the world and we learned from the last time that people are interested enough in his decision to make a hour-long TV special out of a sentence-long answer.

But it won't just be LeBron. A pool of stars all have contracts that end in 2014, which means the moves made next summer can completely change who the contenders will be from then on out. Here's a look at some of the teams whose lineups can shift and the big-name players that could find new homes.

Miami Heat - 
Sure, James is the focal point, but pretty much the entire Heat team joins him on the free-agent market. This includes, but is not limited to, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen and Udonis Haslem (James, Wade and Bosh all have early termination options in 2014). Obviously, this doesn't mean all of them, or any, are leaving, but the possibility is there for the Heat to look like a completely different team in 2014-15.

Los Angeles Lakers - 
The Lakers are another team with a large chunk of the roster with expiring contracts next season, although the majority are role players. Still, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are on the list, and it wouldn't be shocking to see the Lakers clear some space to try and land LeBron.

Indiana Pacers - 
The Pacers have announced themselves as a contender in the Eastern Conference, pushing Miami the last two years in the playoffs, but many have wondered how the Pacers will be able to afford keeping their current lineup as their talent grows. Paul George has turned into a star and should be the player the Pacers wrap up into a new deal first next season. Also with expiring contracts are Lance Stevenson and Danny Granger. Indiana made its playoff run this year without Granger, so it will be interesting to see if he gets dealt away to free up space for George and others.

New York Knicks - 
Like the Heat, the Knicks' star players, Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, have early termination options in 2014. Anthony and Stoudemire have yet to get the Knicks deep into the playoffs. Would Anthony be interested in being part of a new Big Three somewhere else?

Dallas Mavericks -
The Mavericks' core is aging quickly, and Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter and Shawn Marion will all be unrestricted free agents in 2014. It will be interesting to see how Mark Cuban reloads the team, especially if Nowitzki (35), Carter (36) or Marion (35) hang up the jersey after next season.

Sacramento Kings - 
A handful of high draft picks has yet to pull the Kings out from the bottom of the conference standings and now some of those picks will be restricted free agents. DeMarcus Cousins has had plenty of issues to make it not surprising if the Kings want to part ways with the troubled center, while Isaiah Thomas, Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez could also be on the move.

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LeBron James Wins Fourth MVP Award, Joining Elite Company

LeBron James won his fourth NBA MVP award in five years. (nydailynews.com)

The hype started in high school. The criticism started once he reached the NBA and has followed him every year since, because that's what hype from a young age brings.

But LeBron James built up more firepower to fight the critics Sunday when he was named the 2012-13 NBA MVP, the fourth of his nine-year career. James received 120 out of 121 first-place votes.

Only James and a handful of players, four others to be exact, have won four MVP awards. That's impressive. But James has won those four awards in the past five years, which is unheard of.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who leads everyone with six MVP awards, Michael Jordan, five, Bill Russell, five, and Wilt Chamberlain, four, are the only other players on the exclusive list to win the award four or more times. While every player above is known for their scoring ability, you must be a complete player to win this honor. Sure, if LeBron wants to score, very few can stop him, but his game has evolved into so much more.

James finished fourth in the scoring race at 26.8 points per game, trailing Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant, but he was the most efficient, joining Chris Mullin as the only players to shoot 55 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range in a season. James also tallied eight rebounds,  7.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, showing he could dominate a game through all facets. This isn't new. He has averaged at least 26 points, six rebounds and six assists every year since his first season in the league.

At the rate James is playing, it's hard to imagine him not winning two more MVP awards to tie Kareem, especially if, at the age of 28, he is able to play another six or seven seasons mostly injury free.

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Friday Roundtable: Who Should Be The NBA Midseason MVP?

Our roundtable panel discusses if LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Durant would be our midseason NBA MVP. (sportsnet.ca)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among three of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: Who would be the NBA midseason MVP?

Kyle Davis: 
Nike's ad campaign tries to convince you that Kevin Durant is not nice, but his game sure is. This is really a three-horse race between Durant, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James, but I think Durant is the close winner, and if I had a ballot, that would be my order. Durant has really evolved from being a pure shooter to a complete scorer. His post game has improved, he is great in transition and he is the best shooter out of the three. Durant is also continuing to improve in all other aspects of his game as well. His numbers this year are higher than his career numbers in rebounding, assists, blocks, steals, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. Not bad. And remember, he's only 24 years old. These numbers could get even better.

James is still the most complete player in the game and Anthony probably would have been my pick after the first month of the season, but has battled injuries that are keeping him out of games. Neither player has been able to get their team to where the Thunder are right now, which always plays a factor in MVP voting (which is why Kobe Byrant is not in this conversation, and the fact he's needing too many shots to get his points). The Thunder look to be on a clear path back to the NBA Finals with Durant scorching opponents along the way. 
 
Alex Skov:
Kevin Durant, already an All-Star and scoring champion, has taken his play to new levels since the Oklahoma City Thunder traded their vaunted sixth-man to Houston. Carmelo Anthony, too, has put together impressive an impressive case for himself with his usual array of offensive weapons (he's second in points per game at 29.3, fifth in total points with 878) and by finally improving the other aspects of his game (his new willingness to pass and play defense have helped him get to fourth in the league in Player Efficiency Rating). Even Chris Paul is worth of candidacy for midseason MVP, having turned the Los Angeles Clippers into a freight train, but he plays relatively few minutes each night (he's outside the top 20 in mpg) and LA's excellent bench makes his impact less apparent when he leaves the floor.

LeBron James is more important to his team than all of those stars and he's still playing at a level competitive to or exceeding them. He's doing it playing the third fewest nightly minutes of his career, too. Miami's Big Three is not Dwyane Wade, a Mega-Pippen and Chris Bosh. It's not even James and two Pippen-type sidekicks. The Big Three is LeBron; an aging and, because of nagging injuries and a loss of explosiveness, often ineffective Wade; and an inconsistent Bosh playing center.

With the weight of three big contracts on his shoulders, James is ranked 10th in assists, 13th in defensive rebounds and tenth in field goal percentage, the latter being a category where Durant barely cracks the top 20 and Anthony is not in the field. Though James may be trailing Durant in other statistical fields (points, Win Shares, Win Shares per 48 minutes), he is the league leader in PER. Part of reason Miami is viewed as "struggling" with a 26-12 record is because of the big names on its roster and the intense speculation that LeBron draws, but he is also the reason this isn't a just-over-.500 team right now.

Shawn Deegan:
My midseason MVP has to go to Kevin Durant. Despite moving James Harden this past offseason, the Thunder have improved again this season, boasting the best record in the NBA. This is in no small part due to Durant’s performance this season. Durant is shooting a blistering 52 percent from the floor so far this year and is again in the top three in points scored per game with nearly 29. He also has raised his game from behind the arc, hitting 40 percent of his shots from downtown, his best since his sophomore season. He has a career high in assists per game and is still rebounding very well. I seriously considered picking Lebron James or Carmelo Anthony. ‘Melo is having a career year, and Lebron is as good as he’s ever been. However, neither has been able to propel his team to where Durant has the young Thunder squad. Durant has been a leader for the Thunder since before the team ever moved to Oklahoma City and it’s showing up this season more than ever. All these components are why Durant is my pick for midseason MVP.


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Knicks' Undefeated Start Good for the NBA

The Knicks have cause to celebrate, as does the NBA. (D. Clarke Evans/Getty Images)

The New York Knicks let Jeremy Lin walk in favor of bringing Raymond Felton back into the fold at Madison Square Garden. The team got older by trading away Landry Fields while signing Jason Kidd and Rasheed Wallace. Mike Woodson got the assignment of being the 'Bockers' head coach for an entire season, completing the installation of a playing system entirely different than that of former HC Mike D'Antoni, and managing the minutes of two scoring forwards that have not exactly worked as a formidable tandem thus far.

Carmelo Anthony nailed his three-pointers at the Olympics and lost weight over the offseason, though, so Manhattan's finest had that going for them coming into the season, right?

No one saw a 6-0 start coming for the Knicks and if anyone says otherwise, permission granted to raise your voice. Even if they got past their bolstered-over-the-summer, new-in-town Brooklyn rivals to begin the season, the Knicks were definitely going to get crushed by the Miami Heat. That's how it was supposed to play out.

This is the Knicks' best start since 1994-95, when Patrick Ewing and Co. turned an initial 7-0 record into a trip to the Finals. Given all that has happened in the 28 years between then and now, however, everyone -- Knicks fans most of all -- should know not to jump to conclusions.

Woodson has things clicking. Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith can score as easily as any players in the league, but, all of the sudden, they are playing without the ball and committing to defense like never before in their professional careers. They could have let a game slide away one week ago, but buckled down late to beat the Dallas Mavericks last Friday.

Reinserting Amar'e Stoudemire into the rotation when he comes back from knee surgery in 4-6 weeks could be tricky, but for now, the Knicks are good. Unexpectedly so, but good nonetheless.

And that benefits the NBA as a whole.

Big market teams have name recognition. Even if they can't name any of the team's individual players, it is safe to say people who don't make following the NBA a priority can name MSG's marquee sports team more readily than they can tell you which city in Tennessee is home to a pro basketball team. Hearing that the Knicks are doing well means more to these people than saying the Milwaukee Bucks are on top of the Central Division standings. The news could elicit a slight head nod or mutter -- or it could make a person stop on TNT or ABC whenever they see 'NYK' on an on-screen scoreboard. Depending on the opponent, this could shed more light on lesser-known players and franchises, or -- if bad luck is in the cards -- expose casual viewers to Reggie Miller's commentary.

Yes, that's a positive spin on the slippery slope fallacy, but it's reason to be happy (except the Reggie thing).

If you're not a Knicks fan, relish the fact that they may roll until your team of choice puts a stop to their unbeaten streak. If you are a Knicks fan, reeling of wins in the first six games of the season must feel good and foster hope, tempered though it may be. And if you're not a fan of basketball at all -- which is unlikely, since you're reading a hoops-centric blog that is a map-dot on the Internet -- take the time to watch the Knicks play the Grizzlies on ESPN tonight.

Then find a way to watch the Grizzlies' next game.


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Don't Confuse Team USA's Great Performance with Running Up the Score

Team USA was accused of running up the score in a 156-73 win against Nigeria (Bleacher Report)

Lopsided was an understatement.

It was domination, a clinic or whatever colorful phrase you wish to call it.

The USA basketball team defeated Nigeria 156-73 in the fourth game of pool play, which some called unsportsmanlike. Team USA was accused of running up the score, embarrassing their opponent. When the U.S. began to run away from Argentina, ultimately winning 126-97 in the final game of pool play, Argentina showed their anger in the form of cheap fouls.

This topic is popular mainly in high school and college sports. Overmatched teams getting overrun until the final whistle saves them from the torture.

But in the Olympics?

These are the world’s best athletes who have earned the rights to be there. For some it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and for a lucky few, they will return with multiple chances for gold.

The Olympics ask for the best of the athletes competing. This competition isn’t for those who don’t give their full effort. Olympic and world records hang over athletes like pinatas, waiting to be broken. With the 156-73 stomping of Nigeria, Team USA broke the Olympic record for points in a game, win margin, 3-point shots made in a game and, individually, Carmelo Anthony scored the most points in an Olympic game by an American. Yes, it was a night to forget for Nigeria, but isn’t that the kind of performance we want to see from Team USA?

This wasn’t running up the score. It was a just a good game where every player was on. Team USA wasn’t running a full-court press, trying to steal every pass and get easy fast-break points. They were shooting 3s and long 2-point shots, which were supposed to be lower-percentage shots, but they just happened to go in. Was Anthony Davis just not supposed to dunk when he was on the receiving end of multiple wide-open alley-oops? Was Anthony supposed to aim his open 3s at side of the backboard? The Americans shot 71 percent from the field and 63 percent from 3-point range. It was just their night.  

Michael Phelps doesn’t slow down from world-record pace just because the swimmer in second is 50m behind. Usain Bolt doesn’t care how far back his fellow racers are, and has even been known to turn around before the finish line to taunt his competition. That’s what we love. We love watching great athletes do great things.

The opposite end of the topic includes the news of the Olympic badminton scandal, where teams were losing on purpose to get a better seeding. Kids are taught to do their best and try their hardest, and it is disappointing to the fans and opposing team to know a team won only because the competition blew the game on purpose. So couldn’t this be worse? Should we be worried about a team breaking an Olympic record when teams are showing much less sportsmanship and class by throwing matches?

I understand the Olympics continue to push sportsmanship and integrity in the sporting events, which it should. But sportsmanship wasn’t in question with Team USA. Maybe the USA was running up the score if Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant would have played the entire game, but LeBron and Kobe played just 11 minutes a piece, a no starter played more than Chris Paul's 22 minutes.

Why wouldn’t this team want to break an Olympic record when given the chance, not knowing if that opportunity will again become available? Team USA wasn’t taunting or keeping starters in the game. The USA didn’t pressure on defense or try to draw fouls. They simply made shots, which they should not be faulted for.

Team USA just happened to have a great game where every shot was going in. Let’s not blame them for this as if it is a bad thing, because I know viewers around the world enjoyed watching the performance, and instead appreciate the spectacle that no other team in Olympic history has accomplished.


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There's Always a Place for Pure Shooters

Incoming KU freshman Andrew White (Rivals)

The first night University of Kansas incoming freshman Andrew White arrived on the KU campus in Lawrence, he went to the gym to shoot around. His idea of a shoot-around doesn’t mean practicing trick shots or his dunking, but instead making game-type shots. And he makes lots of shots. 

A story on KU Sports.com tells of White shooting 150 3-pointers that night in the gym, with 135 of them going in. For those counting at home, that’s 90 percent. White takes his shooting ability seriously and even created his own drill where he shoots from 10 designated spots on the floor - five of the spots from 3-range. He has to make 50 shots from each spot on the floor - 500 makes total - and two weeks ago he made his 500 shots in just 592 attempts. Again for those counting, that’s a staggering 84.5 percent. White said in an interview for that story that he breaks his goal of hitting the 80 percent mark roughly one-third of the time.

White follows a shooting philosophy that seems to be slipping away in the college and pro game. It is not about the number of shots, but about the number of makes. Any player can claim they shoot 500 shots every day, but making 500 shots is much more difficult and time-consuming. Those 500 makes will also make you a better player than 500-shot Guy.

White is one of the few who represents the great equalizer as a basketball player. He’s a pure shooter.

The growing phenomenon, especially in the NBA, is of players who use strength and speed to overpower their defender and get to the basket — a.k.a. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, and the list goes on. These players — minus Howard — can still make shots, but it is not their strength.

But there will always be a place in the college and professional game for great shooters. Kevin Durant has the height, but not the size, to be a power forward in the NBA. He can, however, hit shots over anyone from every spot on the floor.

Stephen Curry was said to be too small to play in the NBA, but his electrifying shooting not only got him from a mid-major standout to a first-round draft pick, but now Curry is a successful professional player.

Stephen Curry showing his shooting touch at Davidson (Sports Illustrated)

Ray Allen has embodied what all pure shooters strive to accomplish. He’s the all-time 3-point leader in the NBA and a future hall of famer. Every ball he shoots looks like it is going in, and it is expected to. If players can learn enough of a complementary offensive game to still get open for shots, shooting ability can get them a long way in the league.

Ray Allen (Celticslife.com)

What makes people fans of shooters, of course, is they are fun to watch when they’re hot. Unless he’s playing against your team, you probably won’t complain about Ray Allen or Stephen Curry hitting 8-of-9 3’s to start the game and hope he starts dinging them off the backboard.

It is fun to watch great shooters work — making defenses look around helplessly as another shot goes in — just like it is fun to watch great dunkers or great quarterbacks who unmercifully pick apart defenses. Shooters are great to root for because what they’re doing isn’t due to natural athletic ability. It took thousands of hours in the gym, continuously perfecting the craft to get to what we see on TV.

Hopefully White and other current and upcoming college players take pride in the ability to shoot well, and allow us to continue in awe of all those hours in the gym paying off.


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