3 Point Buzzer

It would be hard to start the season worse than the Phoenix Suns have. They are 0-3, having lost by a combined 92 points already. Their best player, Eric Bledsoe, just tweeted "I don't want to be here". So much for subtlety. Oh, and the Suns just fired their head coach Earl Watson. So much for patience. The Suns dug themselves into a hole on this one. They trotted into the season with a clear directive to lose as many games as possible in order to nab another potential superstar in the draft to pair with their lone bright spot, Devin Booker. Flush with cap space, GM Ryan McDonough stayed pat in free agency. Last season, they basically sent Bledsoe home so they could lose more games. There is no doubt that Bledsoe's recent blatant signs of displeasure stemmed somewhat from his team's decision to bar him from playing basketball games when he was perfectly healthy. McDonough has just burned through his second coach in three years. Executives generally receive a p...

The NBA is finally back! We made it! After an "off season" where Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Chris Paul, Jimmy Butler, Gordon Hayward, Carmelo Anthony and Paul Millsap all switched teams, it's time to get back to the actual games. I'm here to predict if you should take the over or under on each team's projected win/loss record. At the end of the year, we can all check out to see how wrong this was. Over/unders are based on Vegas Insiders. Atlanta Hawks Line: 25.5 The Hawks underwent quite the talent drain this summer. They lost a ton of defense in Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard and Thabo Sefalosha, then lost their most proficient scorer in Tim Hardaway Jr. for good measure. It should be noted though, that the Knicks grossly overpaid for his services and the Hawks were wise not to match the laughable 4 year, $72 million deal. What's left is point guard Dennis Schroder, who at 24 years-old, is still young enough to take another leap forward. Schroder is blazi...

No matter how hard collective bargaining agreements attempt to even the playing field, basic NBA economics will always leave small market teams at a disadvantage. In Forbes' annual rankings of the most valuable NBA franchises, the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls were three of the top four. All three of those teams happen to be atrocious at winning basketball games, but because of their prestigious markets, the money will never stop rolling in, no matter the feebleness of the on-court product. According to an investigative report from Zach Lowe and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, nine NBA teams lost money last season after the revenue-sharing process. Only one team was from a large market: Brooklyn. Meanwhile, the Lakers can afford to sit back, and sign aging veterans Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng to albatross contracts, and still rake in the cash. The Knicks can sign a broken Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose, and still make millions. The Bulls can sign an ancient Dywa...

Boris Diaw was never going to be the best player on the court. He was never going to put up 30 point games in his sleep. He was never going to attract tons of sponsorship deals. He was never going to have the cut physique usually associated with that of a professional athlete's.  No, Boris Diaw was anything but a conventional basketball player, but he was one of the most unique, thoughtful and likable people the league has ever come across, and his exotic personality will be dearly missed. After receiving no interest as an unrestricted free agent this offseason, Diaw, now a grizzled 35 years of age, inked a deal today with French basketball squad Paris Levallois. But while his career in the NBA may be over, his legend will live on for quite some time. The best adjective to describe Boris Diaw is probably quixotic. He was the type of character who installed an electric coffee grinder right in his locker room stall. He was the type of goofball who would let his weight bal...

After he earns a measly $33 million this upcoming season, LeBron will once again have an opportunity to dip back into free agency. He is a virtual lock to at least opt out of his current deal, so he can either A. make more money, B. flee to another team, or C. both. The Las Vegas Summer League has not even started yet, and King James is already laying down the breadcrumbs for his inevitable, and totally justifiable, departure. Here are 5 hints that LeBron is out the door, barring another championship. He already fulfilled his promise to the city of Cleveland When LeBron made his infamous and widely ridiculed "Decision", he also had stripped Cleveland of its only transcendent sports superstar (I still love you Joe Thomas). The Cavs tanked year after year once LeBron departed, and they ended up receiving the 1st overall pick three times in a four year span. The team and city had so little hope to ever break its title drought. But when LeBron heroically returned in 2014,...

Playoff teams such as the Thunder rarely play rookies when the minutes start to matter deep into April and May. With youth comes inexperience, and with inexperience comes mistakes, which are costly in the postseason hothouse, where every possession matters. That's why Terrance Ferguson, the Thunder's first round draft pick, probably won't see the court too much in his first season. Ferguson is one of the youngest players in the entire class, having just celebrated his 19th birthday over a month ago. He was one of the hyped recruits coming out of high school, but skipping Arizona in favor of a quiet season in Australia dipped his stock. As with any draft pick, General Manager Sam Presti and his staff had to play the guessing game of whether the true Ferguson resembles his McDonald's All-American showcase, or his disappointing season buried on the bench in Australia, where he only averaged 5 points a game. Ferguson's measurements though, are much more promising. H...

Yes, it's ridiculous to grade picks before these guys even play. But that doesn't mean it isn't fun as hell. 1. Philadelphia 76ers: Markelle Fultz After a blockbuster trade with the division-rival Celtics on Monday, the 76ers, after many years of hoarding their precious assets, finally cashed in and went for the kill. Sitting at the 3rd pick, the 76ers were content to take Josh Jackson, but when a transcendent talent such as Fultz was within reach, they decided it was worth the risk to move up. GM Bryan Colangelo gave up the 2018 Lakers pick if it falls between picks 2-5, or a protected 2019 Kings pick if that Lakers pick doesn't convey. Now, with Fultz officially a 76er, the team boasts one of the fiercest collections of young talent in the league. Fultz joining Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Robert Covington promises to be a team full of two-way players who will grow together for years to come. If Simmons is not up for the tall task of being the team...