2010-12 Team USA Men's Basketball Roster

2010-12 Team USA (Men's Basketball) Roster:

PG - Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets) [p]
PG - Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) [p]
PG - Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics) [p]
PG - Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) [p]
PG - Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder) [p]
PG - Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) [r]
PG - Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) [r]

SG - Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers) [p]
SG - Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers) [p]
SG - O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies) [p]
SG - Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings) [p] [i]
SG - Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) [r] [s]
SG - Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)

SF - Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder) [p]
SF - Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers) [p]
SF - Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies) [p]
SF - Gerald Wallace (Charlotte Bobcats) [p]
SF - LeBron James (Miami Heat)
SF - Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
SF - Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons)

PF - David Lee (Golden State Warriors) [p] [i]
PF - Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers) [p]
PF - Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves) [p]
PF - Jeff Green (Oklahoma City Thunder) [p]
PF - Chris Bosh (Miami Heat)
PF - Carlos Boozer (Chicago Bulls)
PF - LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trailblazers)

C - Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets) [p]
C - Tyson Chandler (Dallas Mavericks) [p]
C - JaVale McGee (Washington Wizards) [p]
C - Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)
C - Amare Stoudemire (New York Knicks) [c]
C - Al Jefferson (Utah Jazz)
C - Kendrick Perkins (Boston Celtics) [i] [s]
C - Robin Lopez (Phoenix Suns) [r]

Intern Assistant Coach:
PG - Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks)

Legend:
[p] = currently participating in the July 19-24 training camp in Las Vegas
[r] = recovering from injury
[i] = currently injured
[s] = waiting for / recovering from offseason surgery
[c] = not participating due to contract not covered by insurance

source:usabasketball.com

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - Chicago Bulls

The new look 2010-11 Chicago Bulls

Starter / Bench:
PG - Derrick Rose / C.J. Watson
SG - Ronnie Brewer / Kyle Korver
SF - Luol Deng / James Johnson
PF - Carlos Boozer / Taj Gibson
C - Joakim Noah / Kurt Thomas

source:espn.com

2009-10 regular season: 41-41 (8th in East)
2009-10 playoffs: Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

Players out: Kirk Hinrich, Hakim Warrick and Brad Miller
Players in: Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Watson, Kurt Thomas

(They have added inside scoring, outside shooting, and a defensive-minded head coach to this young playoff team ...)

My 2010-11 season prediction: 50-32 (tied for 4th in East)

2010 NBA Summer League - Las Vegas

2010 NBA Summer League (Las Vegas) All-Star Selections:

PG - John Wall (Washington Wizards)
23.5 PPG  /  4.0 RPG  /  7.8 APG  /  2.5 SPG  /  0.5 BPG

DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings)
14.5 PPG  /   9.8 RPG  /  1.8 APG  /  1.5 SPG  /  1.2 BPG

Sam Young (Memphis Grizzlies)
19.4 PPG  /  3.8 RPG  /  1.4 APG  /  1.2 SPG  /  0.8 BPG

JaVale McGee (Washington Wizards)
19.5 PPG  /  9.3 RPG  /  0.0 APG  /  0.5 SPG  /  0.8 BPG

Reggie Williams (Golden State Warriors)
22.6 PPG  /  4.4 RPG  /   2.8 APG  /  0.4 SPG  /  0.2 BPG

DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors)
21.0 PPG  /  4.5 RPG  /  1.5 APG  /  0.5 SPG  /  0.3 BPG

J.J. Hickson (Cleveland Cavaliers)
19.3 PPG  /  6.3 RPG  /  1.0 APG  /  0.5 SPG  /  0.5 BPG

Ty Lawson (Denver Nuggets)
16.4 PPG  /   2.4 RPG  /  5.0 APG  /  1.6 SPG  /  0.0 BPG

Dominique Jones (Dallas Mavericks)
16.6 PPG  /  3.8 RPG  /  3.4 APG  /  0.8 SPG  /  0.6 BPG

Derrick Caracter (Los Angeles Lakers)
15.4 PPG  /  8.6 RPG  /  1.8 APG  /  0.4 SPG  /  1.4 BPG

Larry Sanders (Milwaukee Bucks)
14.0 PPG  /   8.4 RPG  /  0.8 APG  /  1.4 SPG  /  3.2 BPG

Gani Lawal (Phoenix Suns)
15.4 PPG  /  7.4 RPG  /  0.2 APG  /   0.6 SPG  /   1.0 BPG

Jermaine Taylor (Houston Rockets)
18.4 PPG  /  4.8 RPG  /   2.0 APG  /  0.4 SPG  /  0.0 BPG

Alonzo Gee (San Antonio Spurs)
14.2 PPG  /  5.2 RPG  /  1.8 APG  /  2.4 SPG  /   0.0 BPG

Some Honorable Mentions:

Gary Neal (San Antonio Spurs)
16.0 PPG  /  2.6 RPG  /  1.6 APG  /  1.4 SPG  /  0.0 BPG
The San Antonio Spurs have just signed him to a 3-year guaranteed contract today ...

John Lucas III (Chicago Bulls)
18.3 PPG  /  1.0 RPG  /  2.7 APG  /  2.0 SPG  /  0.0 BPG
His impressive play in the summer league has drawn interest from a number of teams ...

Jeremy Lin (Dallas Mavericks) (Golden State Warriors)
9.8 PPG  /  3.2 RPG  /  1.8 APG  /  1.2 SPG  /  0.2 BPG
How can I not mention Jeremy Lin here? The Golden State Warriors signed the crowd favorite to a 2-year partially guaranteed contract yesterday ...

source:contracostatimes.com

Mega Trio In Miami - NBA's CBA vs NHL's

In the past 30 hours, every single sports show has been talking about the NHL's decision to reject Ilya Kovalchuk's ridculously lengthy but perfectly legal 17-year, $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils. The contract was constructed in a way that it would pay Kovalchuk $98.5 million in the first 11 years, but only $3.5 million in the final 6 years ...

2010-11: $6 million
2011-12: $6 million
2012-13: $11.5 million
2013-14: $11.5 million
2014-15: $11.5 million
2015-16: $11.5 million
2016-17: $11.5 million
2017-18: $10.5 million
2018-19: $8.5 million
2019-20: $6.5 million
2020-21: $3.5 Million
2021-22: $750,000
2022-23: $550,000
2023-24: $550,000
2024-25: $550,000
2025-26: $550,000
2026-27: $550,000

The NHL feels that both Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils have no intention to honor the entire length of the 17-year contract as the player will be 44 years old when the contract expires, and the contract was only constructed to take advantage of the obvious loop holes in the NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement and salary cap rules ...

The NBA, on the other hand, has a much tighter CBA and an extremely complex salary cap structure that it is almost impossible to take advantage of. I have talked to NHL fans before and they really had no idea why it was such a big deal in the NBA that 4 Team USA members - LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Mike Miller - are now playing on the same team. They are so used to the NHL's loose salary cap structure and think that it was simply 4 superstars decided to join the same team ...

But you really can't blame them. I'll bet you more than 80% of the NBA fans around the world don't really understand why the Miami Heat gave up the 6 future draft picks to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors to get LeBron James and Chris Bosh when the Heat could have just signed both of them straight-up without doing sign-and trades ...

I have seen this question being asked over and over on the internet without someone knowledgeable enough to answer the question. Without going into NBA salary cap details, I will give the short answer to the question here - because the Heat wanted to preserve cap room to re-sign both Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony to non-minimum contracts after signing the Miami Thrice ...

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - Dallas Mavericks

The new look 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks

Starter / Bench:
PG - Jason Kidd / Jose Juan Barea
SG - Rodrigue Beaubois / Jason Terry
SF - Caron Butler / Shawn Marion
PF - Dirk Nowitzki / Ian Mahinmi
C - Brendan Haywood / Tyson Chandler

source:pegasusnews.com

2009-10 regular season: 55-27 (2nd in West)
2009-10 playoffs: Western Conference Quarterfinals

Players out: Erick Dampier, Eduardo Najera and Matt Carroll
Players in: Ian Mahinmi, Tyson Chandler, Alexis Ajinca and Dominique Jones

(They once again will have 2 high-priced centers on their roster and a different player starting at shooting guard every 2 months or so ...)

My 2010-11 season prediction: 56-26 (2nd in West)

Mega Trio In Miami - Finalize Their Rosters

The Miami Heat now have 13 players under contract after, interestingly, bringing 7 players back from last year's squad ...

PG: Mario Chalmers / Carlos Arroyo
SG: Dwyane Wade / Mike Miller
SF: LeBron James / James Jones
PF: Chris Bosh / Udonis Haslem / Juwan Howard
C: Joel Anthony / Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Dexter Pittman / Jamaal Magloire

After losing out on both Raja Bell (officially signed a 3-year, $10 million contract with the Utah Jazz today) and Matt Barnes (will likely sign a 2-year, $9 million contract with the Toronto Raptors later this week), the Heat still have 2 available roster spots to be filled. Possible candidates are:

PG - Jason Williams
SG - Kenny Hasbrouck
SF - Jon Scheyer
PF - Jarvis Varnado

While the Miami Heat are bringing back their own players, the Chicago Bulls are doing the exact opposite. Their plan this summer, after failing to land LeBron "now the prince" James, is to sign all available Utah Jazz free agents. So far it has been successful as they have signed Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer to multi-year contracts. The one they didn't get? Wesley Matthews! He signed a heavily front-loaded contract with the Portland Trailblazers last week ...

Las Vegas Odds On Teams Winning the 2010-11 NBA Championship:

1. Miami Heat - 7 to 5
2. Los Angeles Lakers - 7 to 2
3. Orlando Magic - 8 to 1
4. Boston Celtics - 10 to 1
5. Oklahoma City Thunder - 15 to 1
6. Denver Nuggets - 15 to 1

2010 NBA Summer League - Fantasy Sleepers

Maybe I'm wrong about the number 1 overall draft choice John Wall. He did turnover the ball at a ridiculous rate during the summer league games like I predicted. But I have to admit that he is a very, very good passer. Way better than I anticipated after watching him last night ...

John Wall (Washington Wizards)                   Games Played: 4                   Minutes: 32.3
FG%: 37.7% (26 of 69)                  FT%: 87.2% (41 of 47)                 3PT: 12.5% (1 of 8)
PTS: 23.5           AST: 7.8           REB: 4.0           STL: 2.5           BLK: 0.5           TO: 5.2

It was a major disappointment for the number 2 overall draft choice Evan Turner in this year's summer league. Not to mention that he will start at shooting guard for the Philadelphia 76ers on opening night ...

Evan Turner (Philadelphia 76ers)                   Games Played: 5                  Minutes: 27.4
FG%: 33.3% (13 of 39)                  FT%: 100% (19 of 19)                  3PT: 25.0% (2 of 8)
PTS: 9.4            REB: 5.6           AST: 2.8           STL: 1.6           BLK: 0.0           TO: 3.4

On the other hand, the Sacramento Kings took a risk on draft night and it has been working so far ...

DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings)                    Games: 4                   Minutes: 30.0
FG%: 40.9% (27 of 66)                   FT%: 73.9% (17 of 23)                  3PT: 0.0% (0 of 0)
PTS: 17.8          REB: 11.5          AST: 2.8           STL: 1.8           BLK: 1.0           TO: 5.3

Honorable mention for some non-rookies:

J.J. Hickson (Cleveland Cavaliers)                  Games Played: 3                 Minutes: 35.0
FG%: 62.2% (28 of 45)                   FT%: 58.6% (17 of 29)                  3PT: 0.0% (0 of 0)
PTS: 24.3           REB: 7.3           AST: 1.0           STL: 0.7           BLK: 0.3           TO: 3.6

Reggie Williams (Golden State Warriors)                   Games: 5                   Minutes: 31.4
FG%: 41.1% (37 of 90)                FT%: 82.4% (28 of 34)               3PT: 42.3% (11 of 26)
PTS: 22.6           REB: 4.4           AST: 2.8           STL: 0.4           BLK: 0.2           TO: 1.6

JaVale McGee (Washington Wizards)                      Games: 4                     Minutes: 29.0
FG%: 68.8% (33 of 48)                   FT%: 54.5% (12 of 22)                  3PT: 0.0% (0 of 0)
PTS: 19.5           REB: 9.3           AST: 0.0           STL: 0.5           BLK: 0.8           TO: 3.0

Hasheem Thabeet (Memphis Grizzlies)                    Games: 3                    Minutes: 32.3
FG%: 63.2% (12 of 19)                   FT%: 69.0% (20 of 29)                  3PT: 0.0% (0 of 0)
PTS: 14.7          REB: 10.0          AST: 1.0           STL: 0.3           BLK: 3.7           TO: 2.7

NBA's Past And Present - Chris Washburn

Everyone should read this. A great article ...

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Washburn Traveled Long Road to Recovery
- By Marc J. Spears

He was a 6-foot-11 giant delivered from the basketball gods by way of Jim Valvano. Chris Washburn had it all. A feathery touch. A guard’s handle. The strength of a center. So much talent, so much promise.

Twenty-four NBA drafts have passed since the Golden State Warriors made Washburn the No. 3 pick in 1986, 24 opportunities for Washburn to remember what he once had and quickly lost. The most celebrated free-agent class in the league’s history also has served as a harsh reminder for Washburn this summer. Had Washburn lived up to his potential, he could have banked his own millions and retired as one of the game’s greats. Instead, he left only as a cautionary tale.

“I know I’m supposed to be a Hall of Famer,” Washburn said recently in a rare interview. “But I’ve come to realize that I’m in the Hall of Shame. …I see that I’m considered one of the worst draft choices. …I’m seeing that I’m part of being called a bust.”

Washburn can’t argue with the labels. In the nearly quarter-century since he left the NBA, Washburn has slept on the floors of crack houses and eaten from trash bins. He’s served time in the penitentiary and squandered the money he did make – all in search of his next high. His greatest victory never came on the court, but after a dozen stays in rehab centers. Somehow, Chris Washburn is alive and, he promises, clean.

Now 44, Washburn says he’s been drug-free for 10 years. He lives in Dallas and works for a home-mortgage company. His two sons, Julian and Chris Jr., have become college prospects in their own right, and if Washburn can give them anything, it’s the lessons he learned from his own mistakes.

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Washburn grew up in Hickory, N.C., as a self-proclaimed country boy. He was friendly, quick with a smile and even quicker to trust. A free spirit, teammates called him. He also was immensely talented on the basketball court, becoming a three-time All-American in high school.

“I look back at him and I think about the great big guys that were coming out,” said Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, who played with Washburn at North Carolina State and whose wife attended high school with Washburn.

“Some of the things that Shaquille [O’Neal] was doing, Washburn was doing as a forward-center who could run and jump and shoot. He could do it all. He had the talent to certainly be an All-Star.”

Washburn quickly learned that such talent also came with a benefit: Whatever he wanted, he got. Rarely did someone tell him no. An only child, he was accustomed to being coddled and that didn’t stop once he arrived at college.

“Anything that I did that was wrong, someone would take care of it,” he said. “Not having brothers and sisters, everything I did, I had to learn on a first-hand basis. When I did something dumb, instead of me taking the fall for that, they would keep cleaning it up, allowing me to have more rope.”

The basketball program at N.C. State, Washburn said, was among his biggest enablers. He had poor grades in high school, but that didn’t worry him. Nor did having to take the SAT.

“The coaches over there told me, ‘You already signed, you’re already in school, you just have to take the test just to get into college,’ ” Washburn said. “When they told me it didn’t matter what score I was getting, I went in for about 22 minutes. I just marked down [answers] … mark, mark, mark.

“If the coach told me I needed 700, 800 on the test to get to school, I could’ve got that. But when they said I didn’t need it, I didn’t need it.”

Washburn scored a 470 out a possible 1,600, barely above the minimum. Subsequent news reports about his poor score helped spur the NCAA to raise the minimum standards for athletes to gain admittance to college.

Still, that didn’t stop N.C. State from welcoming Washburn as part of a tremendous recruiting class that also included McMillan and another future NBA guard, Vinny Del Negro.

Washburn averaged 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds as a sophomore and had a memorable 26-point performance in a victory over rival top-ranked North Carolina. The Wolfpack advanced to the Elite Eight of the 1986 NCAA tournament before losing to Kansas.

“The sky was the limit with his talent, size,” said Del Negro, who now coaches the Los Angeles Clippers.

Washburn’s self-destructive behavior also had few boundaries. He began drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana in high school, and shortly after the Wolfpack’s loss to Kansas, he said a player from another school introduced him to cocaine.

“Instead of being like, ‘Nah, I don’t do that,’ I wanted to be a part of the crowd,” Washburn said. “If they were doing it, why don’t I try it? And after I tried it, I never went back to school again.”

Washburn declared for the draft, and NBA scouts marveled at the depth of his skills. He could play inside and out, bang in the post and shoot from deep. The Warriors selected him with the third pick behind Brad Daugherty and Len Bias. Less than two days after the draft, Bias died from a cocaine overdose. Washburn learned of the news while he was at a New York Police Athletic League function. He said he was high.

“I was down there doing something on athletes against crime,” Washburn said. “I had a whole box of tissues just wiping my nose, because at that point in time I was just snorting. Some dude asked me, ‘What you think about Len?’ I was like, ‘What you talking about?’ He then showed me a newspaper with an article.

“That shook me up for a minute. I couldn’t grasp it. I didn’t go to the funeral. It didn’t make no sense to me.”

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Washburn said he stopped using cocaine after Bias’ death, but not for long. When the Warriors drafted him, he didn’t know the location of “Golden State.” He learned soon enough. Oakland, Calif., was nicknamed “City of Dope.” It didn’t take long for the Warriors to figure out their prized rookie had a problem.

“It was a year of highs and lows,” said George Karl, who was then the Warriors coach. “I remember the first day of training camp he was by far the best player on the court, and then you could slowly see him disintegrate.

“How to fix a drug problem has never been easy for a head coach. It’s a frustrating give-and-take. We obviously didn’t get it done there. Chris is one of the guys that I think threw away a lot of good basketball because of drugs.”

The Warriors brought in veteran center Joe Barry Carroll to help mentor Washburn on the court, but the rookie had little support once he left practice. Long used to getting his way, Washburn quickly discovered the Warriors veterans weren’t going to go easy on him. He had to carry his teammates’ bags, a traditional form of rookie hazing in sports, and when he happened to win a post-practice shooting contest for cash, the vets sometimes refused to pay him. “I was 20 years old in the Bay Area being a grown man, but still a kid,” Washburn said. “…I showed back at them in so many ways by getting high.”

To this day, Washburn wonders if Julius Erving could have become the mentor he needed. When the Philadelphia 76ers played the Warriors early in Washburn’s rookie season, Erving approached Washburn before the game and asked if they could meet afterward at the Sixers’ hotel. At the time, Washburn was living at the hotel. When Erving showed up to meet him, he was high.

“Do you know I stood there and looked at Dr. J through a peep hole until he left my door,” Washburn said. “I never opened it up. Would that have been my savior right there? I will never know. He extended a hand. I just didn’t accept it.”

Erving wasn’t the only person who appeared to want to help. Washburn eventually purchased a luxurious home in Oakland Hills where Reggie Jackson and Rickey Henderson were among his neighbors. Henderson, Washburn said, once came by to introduce himself.

“I shook his hand, slammed the door and went back to getting high,” Washburn said.

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Washburn’s drug problem affected his work with the team. On some game nights, he’d arrive minutes before tipoff. He also stopped attending practices. The way Washburn looked at it, he stood to lose less money in fines if he skipped practice altogether ($10,000) than if he showed up and the team realized he was high (as much as $20,000).

“It was a progression,” said former Warriors guard Purvis Short, a teammate of Washburn’s. “After a couple weeks or couple months of that, you started to suspect there were some things going on. “There wasn’t a lot of information out there in terms of how to help somebody. There wasn’t a lot of information we had as his teammates on some of the things we could’ve perhaps done. We were out there more or less in uncharted waters.”

A little more than three months into his first season, Washburn checked into a drug rehabilitation clinic in Van Nuys, Calif. After returning to the Warriors in late March, he finished his disappointing rookie campaign averaging 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 35 games.

Washburn’s stay in rehab didn’t help much. He continued to use, and his weekends often began with a trip to the bank. He’d withdraw as much as $20,000 to spend on drugs and prostitutes.

By Monday morning, he was back at the bank taking out more money. Of the $1.25 million he made during his brief NBA career, Washburn thinks he lost more than $1 million.

“If you look at the hookers I was buying back then, the hotels – paying for folks’ rent because I didn’t like sitting in folks’ houses and getting high with no lights on. I paid to have the lights on,” he said. “I was hanging with folks that didn’t have running water. We had to go in the bathroom and piss in buckets.

“I had a 6,000-square-foot house built on the side of a mountain, but I’m lying on the floor with no carpet, dirty, because I don’t want to leave the drugs.”

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Don Nelson took over as the Warriors’ general manager before the start of Washburn’s second season. By training camp, he’d seen enough and told Karl the team would be better off trading Washburn. On Dec. 15, 1987, they sent Washburn to the Atlanta Hawks for the draft rights to Ken Barlow. Barlow never played in the NBA.

“Everything negative,” Nelson recently said of Washburn. “Lazy. Bad attitude. With his skill level, you projected that if he did everything right, he could get better. He didn’t do anything right.”

Washburn said he would have been better off had the Warriors sent him to Utah or Portland. Atlanta, he figured, was no place for an addict, and he was right. His tenure with the Hawks covered just 29 games. By June of 1989, Washburn’s stay in the NBA was over; he’d failed his third drug test to earn a lifetime suspension from the league. His career had spanned a total of 72 games.

Washburn moved to Houston where he lived on the streets for a couple of years. “I was eating out of trash cans. I was sleeping in abandoned buildings, abandoned houses. I was doing whatever was needed to survive at that time,” he said. “I was staying in the same clothes for weeks, maybe months at a time to a point where the [drug dealers] I was buying my stuff from would even pay me to go and change clothes.”

Washburn eventually ended up in behind bars, serving 12- and 13-month sentences for drug-related offenses from 1991-94, the second coming after a parole violation. While in prison, he returned to the basketball court.

“A couple years prior to that I was on the NBA floor in front of thousands,” Washburn said. “Now I’m on the penitentiary floor playing against guys wearing flip-flops, Army boots. Instead of cheerleaders on the sidelines, we had guys with Kool-Aid on their lips and stuff painted on their face looking like girls. It was always like a movie for me. It was so surreal.”

Except it also was his life. When he wasn’t in jail, Washburn landed some jobs playing professionally in Greece, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, the Continental Basketball Association and United States Basketball League. Former NBA player and coach John Lucas, who has spent much of his career helping players fight substance abuse, helped shepherd Washburn into nearly a dozen rehab centers, none of which seemed to help.

Washburn says he finally went clean on June 17, 2000. A month ago, he said, he passed his decade-long run of sobriety. He claims food is now his biggest vice.

“I just got tired of reaching in my pockets and having no money,” Washburn said. “I got tired of asking my momma at 70-something years old for $20 or $30 being a grown man.”

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Washburn now speaks to addicts on Saturdays at the Dallas Life Foundation Center. In February, Short saw Washburn at All-Star weekend and invited him to speak at the National Basketball Players Association’s Top 100 Camp in Virginia for high school players.

“It had a tremendous impact on the kids because Chris spoke from the heart,” Short said. “He just told it like it was.”

Washburn’s message: Stay humble. Learn from him. He had a chance to become a star in the NBA and he wasted it.

“Once I did find out I wasn’t special, it was hard for me to overcome,” Washburn said. “I only used the NBA to get through certain doors.

“The NBA opens up some doors that shouldn’t be opened up.”

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This article is taken from here at Yahoo! Sports ...

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - New Jersey Nets

The new look 2010-11 New Jersey Nets

Starter / Bench:
PG - Devin Harris / Jordan Farmar
SG - Courtney Lee / Anthony Morrow
SF - Travis Outlaw / Terrence Williams
PF - Derrick Favors / Josh Boone
C - Brook Lopez / Johan Petro

source:draftexpress.com

2009-10 regular season: 12-70 (15th in East)

Player out: Chris Douglas-Roberts
Players in: Derrick Favors (3rd pick overall), Travis Outlaw, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar and Johan Petro

(You really can't blame them for not being able to get something better after a 12-win season ...)

My 2010-11 season prediction: 28-54 (12th in East)

2010-11 NBA Season Preview - Phoenix Suns

The new look 2010-11 Phoenix Suns

Starter / Bench:
PG - Steve Nash / Goran Dragic
SG - Jason Richardson / Josh Childress
SF - Grant Hill / Jared Dudley
PF - Hedo Turkoglu / Hakim Warrick
C - Robin Lopez / Channing Frye

source:arizonarepublic

2009-10 regular season: 54-28 (3rd in West)
2009-10 playoffs: Western Conference Finals

Players out: Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa
Players in: Hakim Warrick, Hedo Turkoglu and Josh Childress

(They replaced their only inside scoring presence by adding more outside shootings ...)

My 2010-11 season prediction: 39-43 (10th in West)

Mega Trio In Miami - Makes L.A. Worry

Although the Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss said a few days ago that he hardly worries about the new look Miami Heat, the Lakers are now trying to sign all free agents that the Heat are targeting. After Derek Fisher's meeting with the Miami Heat, the Lakers re-signed Fisher to a 3-year, $10.5 million contract ...

And Kobe Bryant is doing his part, too. He has already made multiple phone calls to Raja Bell, who said 2 months ago that the Miami Heat is his first choice, and will meet Bell in person later this week to make sure he signs with the Lakers, and not the other title contenders ...

After more pondering, the Charlotte Bobcats' head of basketball operations Michael Jordan backed out from a trade that would have brought point guard Jose Calderon to Charlotte. Instead, he decided to trade Tyson Chandler and Alexis Ajinca to the Dallas Mavericks for Erick Dampier, Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera ...

Speaking of the Dallas Mavericks, they are about to get totally shut out this summer. The Denver Nuggets have signed Al Harrington, who was number 1 on the Mavericks' list of free agents, to a 5-year, $34 million contract. The money was made available after both the Nuggets and the Mavericks failed to lure Udonis Haslem away from the Miami Heat ...

To make up for the loss of Carlos Boozer, the Utah Jazz have obtained Al Jefferson in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves today ...

Mega Trio In Miami - And New York?

Since Udonis Haslem too has decided to give up money and re-signed with the Miami Heat, we are almost 90% sure of what the Heat will look like when the regular season starts ...

PG: Mario Chalmers / Jason Williams / Carlos Arroyo?
SG: Dwyane Wade / Mike Miller / Raja Bell / Jon Scheyer?
SF: LeBron James / James Jones / Matt Barnes?
PF: Chris Bosh / Udonis Haslem / Juwan Howard / Jarvis Varnado?
C: Joel Anthony / Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Jamaal Magloire

What strikes me the most here is that the Heat has never considered signing ex-San Antonio Spurs center Ian Mahinmi for the veteran's minimum. I mentioned his name in a couple of posts before because I knew he is one of those young talents who would take just a minimum offer. Naturally, the Dallas Mavericks signed him to a 2-year minimum contract earlier today ...

The biggest news over the weekend was that Chris Paul talked about forming his own "Big 3" with Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire in New York next year. In order for this to happen, Carmelo Anthony will need to turn down the 3-year, $65 million contract extension that the Denver Nuggets have already put on the table ...

In an attempt to save his job, the Toronto Raptors GM Brian Colangelo has decided to trade his entire team in hope to win some games next season. The Phoenix Suns have already agreed to trade Leandro Barbosa to the Raptors for disgruntled forward Hedo "nightclub" Turkoglu. He is now in discussion with the Charlotte Bobcats that will bring Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler to Toronto in exchange for Jose Calderon and Reggie Evans ...

On a side note, the No. 1 overall draft choice in this year's draft John Wall had 18 points, 10 assists and 5 steals tonight after posting 24 and 8 in his first game ...

Mega Trio In Miami - Yes We Did

source: heat.com

The Mega Trio have officially signed today, with both LeBron James and Chris Bosh coming to Miami through a pair of sign-and-trade transactions. All 3 of them took paycuts. James and Bosh each signed a 6-year, $110.1 million contract with their original team, while Wade signed a 6-year, $107.5 million contract with the Heat ...

Since James and Bosh did not come to the Heat as free agents, it will be interesting to see how the Heat take advantage of this (well, the Heat did pay the price and gave away 6 draft picks) and bring in more free agents. They are now in the process of signing Mike Miller, and their own free agent Udonis Haslem. And they are looking to add Jason Williams, Matt Barnes and Derek Fisher ...

The sign-and-trade between the New York Knicks and the Golden State Warriors has completed. The Warriors will pay David Lee $80 million over 6 years, while the Knicks will get Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike and Ronny Turiaf ...

New Signings:
1) Tyrus Thomas (Charlotte Bobcats) ... 5-year, $40 million
2) Kyle Korver (Chicago Bulls) ... 3-year, $15 million
3) Brian Cook (Los Angeles Clippers) ... 2-year, $2.5 million
4) Matt Bonner (San Antonio Spurs) ... a 4-year contract

Other News:
1) Anthony Morrow (New Jersey Nets) ... 3-year, $12 million offer sheet
2) J.J. Redick (Chicago Bulls) ... 3-year, $20 million offer sheet
3) The Knicks are close to signing Raymond Felton ...

Mega Trio In Miami - How About 3 + 1 = 4

Heat president Pat Riley has just pulled off another amazing deal about an hour ago. The Miami Heat have (finally) traded Michael Beasley, their No.2 overall draft choice in 2008, to the Minnesota Timberwolves to create another $4.9 million in cap space to sign yet another team USA member Mike Miller to a 5-year, $30 million contract. Even though the Miami Heat have only 5 players under contract as of this moment, 4 of them were actually team USA members ...

source: mikemiller33

The Mike Miller signing wasn't as easy as some of you might think. The New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers were about to overpay Miller to make sure they would get at least something this summer. Pat Riley predicted all this, and gave Miller the $30 million offer with a deadline of yesterday night. He basically didn't let the Knicks and the Clippers enough time to make better offers or counter-offers to the one he gave Miller, and also forced Miller to take the opportunity of playing with 3 other team USA members before Riley gives it to someone else ...

For the work that Pat Riley has done so far, maybe we should just give him the next 5 NBA Executive of the Year Awards ...

Mega Trio In Miami - Helps Are Coming

Don't ever underestimate the Miami Heat's chance for an NBA title just as soon as this coming 2010-2011 NBA season. Let me be the first to breakdown who might be on their way to join the Mega Trio in Miami next year ...

PG: Jamaal Tinsley, Rafer Alston, Carlos Arroyo, Royal Ivey, Chris Quinn, Kevin Ollie, Anthony Johnson, Jason Williams, Travis Diener, Earl Boykins, Allen Iverson

SG: Larry Hughes, Devin Brown, Michael Finley, Luther Head, Bobby Brown, Jerry Stackhouse, Keith Bogans, Tracy McGrady

SF: Joey Graham, Devean George, Steve Novak, Sasha Pavlovic, Bobby Simmons, Rodney Carney, Dominic McGuire, Ime Udoka, Cartier Martin

PF: Joe Smith, Brian Scalabrine, Shelden Williams, Tim Thomas, Malik Allen, Anthony Tolliver, Josh Powell, Shavlik Randolph, Earl Barron, Louis Amundson, Sean May, Juwan Howard, Fabricio Oberto, James Singleton

C: Jason Collins, Theo Ratliff, Johan Petro, Ben Wallace, Brian Skinner, D.J. Mbenga, Jamaal Magloire, Primoz Brezec, Tony Battie, Jarron Collins, Francisco Elson, Ian Mahinmi, Rasho Nesterovic, Patrick O'Bryant

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

I know the list is really long, but this is exactly the point I'm trying to make here. Now let me give you a shorter and detailed version ...

PG: Jason Williams (Wade won his last championship with him and have called him already ...)

PG: Travis Diener (Wade went to Final Four with him ...)

PG: Rafer Alston / Carlos Arroyo / Kevin Ollie (all good backup point guards ...)

PG: Allen Iverson (Pat Riley wanted him last season and if he doesn't mind signing for the minimum ...)

SG: Michael Finley / Jerry Stackhouse (I don't see how they are not coming to Miami ...)

SG: Keith Bogans (well, he was good and smart enough to start for the San Antonio Spurs last season ...)

SG: Larry Hughes / Tracy McGrady (only if they don't mind signing for the minimum ...)

SF: Steve Novak (Wade went to Final Four with him and he's a 6'-10" deadly shooter with unlimited range ...)

SF: Joey Graham (he started a playoff game for the Denver Nuggets last season ... )

SF: Ime Udoka (he, too, played for the San Antonio Spurs just 2 seasons ago ...)

PF: Josh Powell / Louis Amundson (they both played in the Western Conference Finals 6 weeks ago ...)

PF: James Singleton / Anthony Tolliver / Earl Barron / Shavlik Randolph (what can I say, they are just good ...)

PF: Juwan Howard / Joe Smith / Malik Allen / Fabricio Oberto (another playoff run?)

C: Ben Wallace / Rasho Nesterovic / Theo Ratliff (another playoff run?)

C: Tony Battie / Brian Skinner (they still can play ...)

C: Ian Mahinmi / D.J. Mbenga (give them a chance to start for a playoff team please ...)

Mega Trio In Miami - How It Happened

It's now official! We will have a mega team in Miami next season. It is supposed to be huge that LeBron James has decided to play for the Miami Heat along with team USA teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. If everyone has been following the news in the past 24 hours, however, knew this is his decision all along ...

If he weren't going to the Miami Heat, why would he schedule a party in Miami tonight? And why would the police department plan to send an extra squad working around LeBron James' house tonight if he were to stay in Cleveland? Not only did we know, but also everyone knew even before he said it live on ESPN. It is just the matter of whether you wanted to accept the truth or not until now ...

The news of course broke many hearts in Cleveland and New York. The Cavaliers can't keep their own superstar in Cleveland, and this essentially ends all of their playoff / championship hopes. And there are news reporting that fans in Cleveland were seen burning LeBron James' jersey right after his free agency announcement. The New York Knicks, on the other hand, got their brilliant plan stolen by Pat Riley and the Miami Heat. Not only did they complete it, but also they did it 10 times better ...

The Miami Heat ended up having, not just 2, all 3 superstars in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Heat president Pat Riley also didn't trash the whole team for 2 full NBA seasons like the New York Knicks' way, allowing the team to make the NBA playoffs in each of their past 2 seasons. Once the NBA playoffs are finished, he traded Daequan Cook to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and completed the buyout of James Jones' contract to give the Heat enough cap room for possibly 3 superstar free agents. (Yes, he structured the contract this way 2 years ago to give himself a chance to do this ...)

Then, I really don't know how he did it, he talked Joel Anthony to opt-out of his contract for next season to give the Heat another $0.9 million to spend this summer. You have to really appreciate the work that Pat Riley has done this past month and the past 2 seasons in order to make everything happened today. Like Kevin Garnett said, "Anything is possible!"

source: espn.com

2010 NBA Free Agency - Mega Trio In Miami

LeBron James will announce his free agency decision at 9pm ET on ESPN tonight. Even though it is pretty much a done deal that James will join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, everyone is still busy making phone calls ...

On James' side, their people are calling players and agents around the league to see who will indeed join the Mega Trio in Miami for just the veteran minimum. On the Miami Heat side, team president Pat Riley is still discussing different trade scenarios that will send Michael Beasley to the Charlotte Bobcats to create another $5 million in cap room for another LeBron James' buddy Mike Miller. The offer on the table is $27-$30 million over 5 years, with a deadline of Thursday night. And as for Dwyane Wade, he is trying his best to bring ex-Heat starting point guard Jason Williams back for another run in Miami ...

With the belief that the Miami Heat has successfully pulled off Mega Trio plan ...

1) The Toronto Raptors have signed Denver's restricted free agent Linas Kleiza to a 4-year, $18.8 million offer sheet.

2) The New Jersey Nets have signed Travis Outlaw to a 5-year, $35 million contract and now have their sight set on Luis Scola.

3) The Boston Celtics have signed Jermaine O'Neal to a 2-year, $12 million contract.

4) The Dallas Mavericks have re-signed Brendan Haywood to a 6-year, $55 million contract.

5) The New York Knicks will proceed with their sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors (David Lee for Anthony Randolph) if LeBron James decides not to join the Knicks tonight.

2010 NBA Free Agency - Mega Trio In Miami

People in Miami can finally breathe easy as Chris Bosh has chosen the Miami Heat over the Chicago Bulls today. We're not sure if his decision has anything to do with the fact that there is no income tax in the state of Florida, but he has already agreed to sign with the Miami Heat and will not change his mind ...

Dwyane Wade has said it yesterday that if Chris Bosh decides to sign with the Miami Heat, he will re-sign with them also. This is exactly what happened today. And it is reported that LeBron James was on his way flying to Miami to meet with Heat president Pat Riley after Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh told him about their decisions over a conference call earlier today ...

source: thecanadianpress

With Chris Bosh going to the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls have quickly gone to plan B and signed Carlo Boozer to a 5-year, $80 million contract. After his commitment to the Chicago Bulls, he, too, reached out to LeBron James. But before the Bulls have a chance to overpay Ray Allen to pry him from re-signing with the Boston Celtics, they have agreed to a 2-year, $20 million deal that will keep the Big 3 in Boston intact. Now the Celtics are in the process of getting Jermaine O'Neal to join them ...

Knowing that they are about to lose out on LeBron James, the New York Knicks are considering a sign-and-trade deal that will send David Lee to the Golden States Warriors for team USA invitee Anthony Randolph. Let's imagine the pairing of Amare Stoudemire and Anthony Randolph playing under Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni's run-and-gun system ...

Even though Kevin Durant is not one of this year's free agents, he has agreed to a 5-year, $86 million contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder. And ex-Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro has agreed to coach the Los Angeles Clippers next year, that feature Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordon ...

2010 NBA Free Agency - Superstars Update

It has been reported that LeBron James wants Chris Bosh to join him in Cleveland but Bosh doesn't like the idea of playing in Cleveland and wants James to join him in Miami or Chicago instead. Chris Bosh has made it clear since day 1 that he doesn't want to go to a place where he will have to play center, and Cleveland certainly is one of those places. The Cleveland Cavaliers currently have no center under contract, and will send their only big man Anderson Varejao to the Toronto Raptors to make the sign-and-trade work ...

It is expected that Carmelo Anthony will accept the Denver Nuggets' 3-year, $65 million contract extension this summer, but it definitely will not be this week since he's getting married in New York this coming Saturday. The Denver Nuggets are now holding their breath because who knows what will happen after the Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh announce their decisions on Thursday ...

After the Orlando Magic signed Chris Duhon to a 4-year, $15 million contract on Tuesday, we have 13 signings thus far in the first 6 days of this year free agent frenzy ...

1) Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies) ... 5-year, $81.6 million
2) Darko Milicic (Minnesota Timberwolves) ... 4-year, $20 million
3) Drew Gooden (Milwaukee Bucks) ... 5-year, $32 million
4) John Salmons (Milwaukee Bucks) ... 5-year, $39 million
5) Amir Johnson (Toronto Raptors) ... 5-year, $34 million
6) Channing Frye (Phoenix Suns) ... 5-year, $30 million
7) Hakim Warrick (Phoenix Suns)... 4 year, $18 million
8) Steve Blake (Los Angeles Lakers) ... 4-year, $16 million
9) Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics) ... 4-year, $61 million
10) Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks) ... 4-year, $80 million
11) Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks) ... 6-year, $123.7 million
12) Amare Stoudemire (New York Knicks) ... 5-year, $100 million
13) Chris Duhon (Orlando Magic) ... 4 year, $15 million

2010 NBA Free Agency - More Superstar Signings

Some of the top free agents are finally signed as we are now 5 days into the 2010 NBA free agency period. The Boston Celtics have re-signed the 32 years old Paul Pierce to a 4-year, $61 million contract. With coach Doc Rivers also agreed to return for next season, the Boston Celtics are looking forward to keeping the whole team intact and re-signing Ray Allen this week ...

The Dallas Mavericks have re-signed Dirk Nowitzki to a 4-year, $80 million contract. He was eligible for a max contract worth $96 million over 4 years but decided to take less to give the Mavericks more cap room to sign other free agents. To make sure he will finish his NBA career in Dallas, his contract includes a no-trade clause ...

The Atlanta Hawks have finally re-signed Joe Johnson to a 6-year max contract worth $119 million. The offer was on table since the first day of free agency, but Johnson did not commit to it right away even though he had an awful playoff performance just a couple of months ago ...

After 4 strikes (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Joe Johnson), the New York Knicks have signed Amare Stoudemire to a 5-year max contract worth $99.7 million. There was no question that the Knicks would at least get Stoudemire in this year's free agency as they were the only team willing to pay him max money. When he met with the media today, he said "The Knicks are back!!!" ...

source: espn.com