en-enhttp://www.hoopsvibe.com/images/hoopsvibe_sml_logo.gifhttp://www.hoopsvibe.com/NBA BAsketball, NCAA and Streetball. News, interviews, videos, wallpapers, reviews and more http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/allen-iverson-not-the-answer-for-chicago-or-miami-ar50599.html After weeks of silence on the Allen Iverson front, the free agent combo guard has recently been linked to the Bulls and Heat. Both organizations have expressed interest in the future Hall of Famer as a reserve scorer. While ‘The Windy City’ and ‘South Beach’ have good intentions, Iverson, at this stage in his career, is a bad fit for teams with developing players –like the Derrick Rose led Chicago squad or Miami with Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers ... Oly Sandor2009-07-3T16:30 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/artest-not-ariza-positions-l-a--lakers-for-second-nba-title-ar50598.html Ron Artest is in. Trevor Ariza, it appears, is out. And the strong gets even stronger. The Los Angeles Lakers have made a significant splash in the free agent waters, inking Artest to a short-term deal for slightly above the mid-level exception. The move likely means Ariza, an unrestricted free agent, signs elsewhere ... Oly Sandor2009-07-2T19:18 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/bosh-lebron-d-wade-no-detroit-settles-for-ben-gordon-and-charlie-villanueva-ar50597.html Nothing against Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, but I hope this isn’t it. I hope GM Joe Dumars has another move up his sleeve and this isn’t the end of Detroit’s rebuilding efforts. My reaction is based on November 3rd, 2008. That’s the day Dumars ended the Pistons’ run as Eastern Conference contenders and traded MVP candidate Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets for Allen Iverson’s expiring contract ... Oly Sandor2009-07-2T09:40 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/the-problem-with-toronto-trading-chris-bosh-to-houston-ar50596.html They’ll want the right assets. Not cap space. Not a point guard. And not a South American tough guy set to hit free agency. If the Toronto Raptors are forced to trade Chris Bosh this off-season, the ‘Dinos’ will demand young, blue chip talent instead of expiring contracts. The reason: most big-ticket free agents won’t sign long-term with a Canadian franchise, so accumulating cap space is useless ... Oly Sandor2009-07-1T09:48 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/will-bryant-s-decision-not-to-opt-out-help-the-lakers-sign-ariza-odom-or-artest-ar50595.html By staying-put and deferring negotiations, ‘Black Mamba’ is hoping the purple-and-gold will focus on re-signing free agents Trevor Ariza and/or Lamar Odom. So, will Bryant’s I-can-get-mine-later approach help the club keep their forwards? Well, the club wants both players back. And both players want to be back. However, wanting and affording are separate issues, especially when the Lakers are paying the luxury tax and rivals are clearing cap space and preparing lucrative offers. Ariza and Odom return to Los Angeles if they take less than market value ... Oly Sandor2009-07-1T06:35 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/utah-s-posts-setting-market-for-top-free-agent-power-forwards-and-centres-ar50593.html You can’t teach height, so, fair or not, a market will always exist for free agent power forwards and centres. Whether they can play is sometimes irrelevant. For instance, the Seattle Sonics rewarded 2 point per game scorer Jim Mcllvane with a seven-year, 33 million dollar contract and forever alienated superstar Shawn Kemp. More recently, former Knick GM Isiah Thomas gave Jerome James a five-year, 30 million dollar gift for performing in one playoff series ... Oly Sandor2009-06-30T16:28 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba/flagrant-foul/griffin--rubio--derozan--ar50594.html John Nguyen2009-06-30T14:14 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/did-detroit-pistons-fire-michael-curry-because-of-feud-with-rip-hamilton-ar50592.html And Curry, for whatever reason, lacked respect in the locker room. He failed to mesh with Allen Iverson and alienated ‘Rip’ Hamilton by moving the veteran out of the staring line-up to accommodate ‘The Answer’. And yesterday, he made the mistake of publicly addressing his difficulties with Hamilton ... Oly Sandor2009-06-30T11:32 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/portland-trail-blazers-should-call-andre-miller-at-midnight-july-1st-ar50591.html Signing Miller would provide ‘Rip City’ with an upgrade at the one-spot. Unlike Steve Blake, the Utah grad attacks the basket and, because of his considerable size, commands double-teams down low. Also, he’s a classic pass-first point guard, with career averages of 7.5 assists per game. These positives would more than compensate for Miller’s mediocre range ... Oly Sandor2009-06-30T10:19 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/3-ways-houston-rockets-contend-without-yao-ming-ar50590.html Sure, five-men who average 20 points and 10 rebounds are rare, but so are blue-collar teams with heart and chemistry. And that’s exactly what the Houston Rockets showed pushing the world champion Los Angeles Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference Semi-Finals without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady ... Oly Sandor2009-06-29T17:05 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/who-are-the-top-free-agent-shooting-guards-and-small-forwards-of-2009-ar50589.html There are plenty of free agent options for GMs looking to upgrade at small forward and shooting guard. For instance, there’s a three-man, who can defend, score, and once tried rapping. Teams can also chase a former Sixth Man of The Year or tender offers to a pair of players that last starred in the NBA Finals. Without further adieu, here are the top free agent wings of the 2009 free agent class ... Oly Sandor2009-06-29T16:13 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/houston-rockets-playing-with-fire-offering-battier-and-brooks-for-rubio-ar50588.html Rubio has some upside and his presence would improve the team’s profile in Europe. And perhaps, Houston is comfortable with Ron Artest (if they re-sign him) and Luis Scola at the forward spots. Also, Kyle Lowry, who was acquired at the trade deadline, Could conceivably replace Brooks as the starter, while Rubio takes his time to develop ... Oly Sandor2009-06-29T09:47 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/who-are-the-top-free-agent-point-guards-of-2009-ar50587.html A recession, shrinking salary cap, and the anticipation of next year’s free agent class means the open market could be tough sledding for players. While nobody is going broke (unless you’re one of the countless players who can’t handle his finances), the max contracts won’t be flying like past summers ... Oly Sandor2009-06-28T18:09 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/what-vince-carter-is-orlando-getting-half-man-half-amazing-or-the-moody-star-ar50586.html Oly Sandor2009-06-28T10:27 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba/nba-articles/ainge-and-rondo-will-never-spend-christmas-together-ar50585.html Sami Asad from WeaksideRejection2009-06-27T18:24 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/will-golden-state-ruin-stephen-curry-ar50584.html I have a message for Stephen Curry: get out now. Get in your car. Drive. Better yet, jump on a plane and rock Europe for a season or two. If going abroad isn’t an option, pretend you never hired an agent and try returning to Davidson. Bottom line: do not report to the current edition of the Golden State Warriors. The once proud franchise by The Bay is a mess. And it’s unlikely you reach your full potential playing for such a squad ... Oly Sandor2009-06-27T16:03 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba/flagrant-foul/last-minute-rumors-before-the-2009-draft-amare-hinrich-carter-t-mac-and-ainge-dissin-rondo--ar50582.html John Nguyen2009-06-27T12:42 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/ferry-kerr-friendship-key-to-shaquille-o-neal-getting-traded-to-cleveland-ar50583.html Of course, this brings us to the news Shaquille O’Neal has finally been traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. Once again, a link at the executive level made this blockbuster happen. Years ago, Danny Ferry and Steve Kerr were buddies, partners in crime on Gregg Popovich’s bench in San Antonio. They have a past. So it can hardly be a surprise they spent months collaborating on such a massive deal ... Oly Sandor2009-06-25T17:50 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba/flagrant-foul/how-does-one-build-a-team-around-lebron-james-call-shaq--ar50581.html John Nguyen2009-06-24T22:22 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com http://www.hoopsvibe.com/nba-blog/fall-of-the-matrix-shawn-marion-to-only-get-mle-from-toronto-raptors-ar50580.html Less than two years ago, Shawn Marion was an instrumental cog in the Phoenix Suns’ wheel. ‘Seven Seconds To Shoot’ recorded several fifty-plus win seasons in part because of the forward’s defensive prowess, ability to run, and out-rebound larger opponents. There were perks for being Steve Nash’s star sidekick: Stuart Scott showed love on ESPN SportsCenter, NBA coaches voted him an All-Star, and management made him the highest paid player in franchise history by agreeing to a ‘max’ contract ... Oly Sandor2009-06-24T17:36 text/html en Hoopsvibe.com