The queen of red hair and sultry singing is now dating an NBA baller.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: We give this relationship ...  hmmm, about 15 minutes.

Smith tells a group of kids he's going to kick Jeremy Lin's ass.

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: J.R. repping everything we love to hate, mostly just him being a douche. 

There's so much ink in the NBA, it could power a space shuttle to the moon and back eight times.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: So many weird tattoos, so little time.

There are so many players with bodies full of ink, it's difficult to narrow the field down to just five. And with each passing minute some NBA player, at this very moment, is probably getting inked up. The explosion of tattoos in the NBA over the last 10-15 years is in no doubt due to two people- Dennis Rodman and Allen Iverson.

Rodman was the first player to sport multiple tattoos, unabashedly, on the court. Iverson took a cue from Rodman and continued the trend, to the point now where roughly 70% of NBA players have tattoos.

Wilson Chandler

Chandler had several tattoos when he joined the league in 2007, and since then he hasn't slowed down at all. A big fan of comics (Juggernaut of X-Men fame), cartoons (Beavis and Butthead of all things, next to Master Shake from Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and rap music (an Eazy-E piece), Chandler has dedicated a portion of his body to each. Check out this article for the full break down.

JR Smith

Smith is filled to the brim as far as tattoos go, with some even now spilling out onto his ears and close to his face. Smith had around 70 tattoos "before I lost count." Smith actually said about tattoos that he "hated them" when he was younger, and told himself "he would never get like this." He seriously has no more room to add anything.

Chris Anderson

Speaking of a guy with no room left for tattoos, Chris "The Birdman" Anderson is in the same spot. In a lot of ways Anderson was a head of the game as far as body art and he has spawned a lot of imitators. I was on board until the "Free Bird" neck tattoo, the color in that thing was just too much. I had to put a pic of a young Anderson so you can see how far he has come, tattoo wise.

Monta Ellis

Ellis' stomach tree is probably the most noted stomach tattoo in the NBA. Gilbert Arenas' was for a while, and Kevin Durant's selection of tattoos is pretty close, but nobody beats Ellis. 

Dorell Wright

About five years ago, Wright was an afterthought in the category of "most tattooed NBA player." But now, he is easily one of the most tatted.

If Larry Bird had started playing in the NBA during the last decade, what would he have a tattoo of? Here's an idea:

JR Smith was spotted partying it up at a club after the Knicks win Tuesday night - and this time, he was kickin' it with R&B superstar Rihanna.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  Got to give Smith some credit for having that work hard play hard mentality.

The Knicks have been struggling in the second round against the Pacers, and now JR Smith, the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year is taking the blame.

Hoopsvibe's quick call:  While Smith's production has significantly declined against the Pacers, he's not solely to blame.

I call them Top Gun fly-by moments.

These are spectacular highlights which make you spill your beverage, swear so loudly your neighbour calls the police, and has your significant other wondering why she’s with you. The entire sequence is reminiscent of Maverick and Goose pissing off the crusty supervisor with their cruise by-the-tower manoeuvre in Top Gun.

In Out of Bounds IV, Marija translates Big Ben Roethlisberger's apology statement, tells Brad Miller he's not wanted in NY and lets you know what you can do to keep Jeff Van Gundy the hell away from the Bulls.

You wouldn't believe the number of inky abominations etched into the pelts of pro ballers.  I'd originally planned a simple list of the league's ten worst tats, but when my dishonourable mention section hit double digits I realised I'd need to expand the scope of the project a little.  Even when I elongated the list to twenty-five terrible tattoos, I still found that I had to exclude some real atrocities.  In the end it took a full fifty spots to showcase the shittiest skin art in the L.

Nuggets guard J.R. Smith said there's a "strong possibility" he won't sign with the Nuggets this summer as a free agent, expressing frustration Thursday after the Nuggets went down 0-2 against Oklahoma City in the playoffs. "There's a strong possibility as of right now," Smith said. "It's not going the way I planned it to go. It's a tough situation. I want to be here, I love the fans and everything about the city. It's just maybe not my fit."

Still, he wonders what the future holds. I'm in a tough situation," Smith said. "They don't really know what they want to do, as far as what direction they want to go in — if they do (trade) Melo or if they don't. So it's tough for me in my position because I don't know where I stand. So, you just have to keep playing it out and see how it looks."

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: You can criticize his attitude, but you can’t criticize his talent.

Once again, J.R. Smith has produced a highlight reel play, turning heads with an improbable reverse lay-up in the Denver Nuggets’ blow-out win against the Miami Heat.

Watch the clip and get at us with thoughts in the comment box below.



--Oly Sandor.
 

Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups plans to help recruit Carmelo Anthony to stay with the team after he leaves Turkey, where he's currently playing for the United States at the World Championships.

"Everybody knows that ‘I want Melo to be a Nugget’, and I would love for me to be a Nugget for the rest of my career and finish with him," Billups said Saturday.
"When I get back (from Turkey), I'm going to try to get back into the situation and hopefully keep Melo back in Denver."

Link

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: Chauncey Billups will do his best to sell Carmelo Anthony on re-signing with the Denver Nuggets.

He’ll remind his teammate they made the Western Conference Finals in 2009. He’ll remind his teammate the bones of the 2009 team are in tact and only need to get healthy. And he’ll remind his teammate he can make the most money re-upping with Denver.

Billups, a top table-setter, can be convincing.

However, the former Finals MVP will have no answer, comeback, or retort when Anthony raises a few issues.

On and off court, the Nuggets are in transition. A new member of the Kroenke family is overseeing the team. Masai Ujiri was just hired to run the basketball operations. And Coach George Karl is battling health issues.  

Billups can still play, but is near the end of his run as an elite player. J.R. Smith is in the midst of another scandal. Chris Anderson and Nene aren’t healthy. Ty Lawson aside, there isn’t a talented youngster on the roster.

Of course, Anthony and his wife are from Brooklyn, New York. And both seem to crave the spotlight that goes with living in a major market.

So Billups’ sell job will likely be for not. Anthony, one way or another, isn’t staying in Denver.

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.
 

The Heat are unlikely to swing any trades from now until the start of the season, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  J.R. Smith and Rudy Fernandez are available on the NBA trade market. Winderman writes that the Heat don't have many trade chips.

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HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: After a busy summer, the Miami Heat is catching their breath. Translation: Heat executive Pat Riley won’t be swinging a trade anytime soon for Rudy Fernandez or J.R. Smith.

The majority of Heat players are newly signed free agents, who can’t be moved until December 15th. Only Mario Chalmers and Dexter Pittman can be traded.

This could be a positive, though. After a summer of change, the Heat can build chemistry. They can block out rumour and speculation. They know where they`re playing.

For now, The Three Kings and their supporting have cast only have to focus on beating the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic.

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.

"We were called to that location about an incident possibly involving Mr. Smith. When we got there, the officers conducted their investigation. It did involve Mr. Smith."

Numerous players were taking part in drills when members of the Nuggets' coaching staff told the player who later called police to be physical with Smith.

"They were just wanting the guy to be physical with J.R., telling the other guys, 'Hey, body up on the guys and really make them work,'" the source said. "J.R. just lost it. He tried to choke the kid, and the kid called the cops."

HoopsVibe’s Quick Call: The truth has come out. It always does.

J.R. Smith was recently involved in an altercation with an unnamed player at the Denver Nuggets’ practice facility. Smith allegedly choked ‘player X’ for being overly aggressive in a drill, even though the coaching staff encouraged intensity.

The police were called. It was ugly. 

This is the final straw. After all, the talented but temperamental guard doesn’t even speak to coach George Karl, and his behaviour has constantly confounded and frustrated the Nuggets.

It’s no coincidence recent reports had the club looking to trade Smith. It was assumed the Nuggets were shopping him because they were considering rebuilding or clearing cap space.

Instead, they realized Smith will never grow up, will never mature, and will never reach his potential. Unfortunately, the rest of the NBA realizes this, too.         

--Oly Sandor.

Got thoughts? Well, get at HoopsVibe News in the comment box below.