Stephen Curry (6'3''-PG-88, college: Davidson) got free for a clean look, and a record crowd at Target Center held its collective breath when he let it fly. Like it has so often during a remarkable slump for the game's best shooter, the ball clanked off the rim again. Like they have so often during a late-season surge toward playoff contention, the Minnesota Timberwolves walked off the court winners again. Andrew Wiggins (6'8''-G-95, college: Kansas) scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half and hit the go-ahead free throws with 12.8 seconds left to lift the Timberwolves to a 103-102 victory over the scuffling Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Ricky Rubio (6'4''-G-90) had 17 points and 13 assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns (7'0''-F/C-95, college: Kentucky) scored 23 points to give the Timberwolves their sixth win in eight games as they try to chase down the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoff race. They trail Denver by 2 games. "We are learning and getting experience," Rubio said. "These games are meaning a lot. We are going after it." Klay Thompson (6'7''-G-90, college: Washington St.) scored 30 points for Golden State, but Curry's struggles continued in the Warriors' second straight loss and fourth in six games without injured star Kevin Durant. Curry scored 26 points, but was just 10 for 27 from the field and 1 for 8 from 3-point range. And he missed an 18-footer in the closing seconds that would have won the game. Wiggins missed a pair of free throws with 29 seconds left that would have given the Wolves a three-point lead. After Curry hit a floater for a 102-101 Golden State lead, Wiggins responded by calmly knocking down two in a row. "I missed two but I made the two most important ones of the night," Wiggins said. Before a two-game skid against Washington and Chicago last week, the Warriors had gone a league-record 146 straight regular-season games without consecutive losses. Their next streak lasted just two. In his last 13 games, Curry was shooting 29.7 percent from 3-point range and he missed his first four from long range on Friday night. Three of them were wide open, catch-and-shoot looks that didn't go down and the other was one of his patented crossover-stepbacks that glanced off the rim. His first 3 of the night splashed through with 7:59 to go in the third quarter, but missed his next two to keep the floodgates closed. The Warriors were down 14 to start the fourth, but Curry scored nine points in the final four minutes before missing his last shot. "You take that shot that Steph got any day of the week," Thompson said. "It went in and out." Courtesy of: msn.com
TJ Warren to sign contract extension with Phoenix Suns - 8 hours ago
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Since general manager Ryan McDonough took over in 2013, the Suns have sifted through trades and draft picks in hopes of finding long-term talent. It appears they consider T.J. Warren(6'8''-F-95, college: N.Carolina St.) fits that category. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the fourth-year forward has come to terms with Phoenix on a contract extension that would keep him in the desert through 2022. A former ACC Player of the Year at North Carolina State, Warren has flashed the same fl... [read more]
Since general manager Ryan McDonough took over in 2013, the Suns have sifted through trades and draft picks in hopes of finding long-term talent. It appears they consider T.J. Warren (6'8''-F-95, college: N.Carolina St.) fits that category. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the fourth-year forward has come to terms with Phoenix on a contract extension that would keep him in the desert through 2022. A former ACC Player of the Year at North Carolina State, Warren has flashed the same flair for scoring that he showed in college, averaging 11.2 points per game on 50.2-percent shooting in just over 24 minutes per contest over his three-year career. He has, however, struggled to stay on the court due to injury, playing in just 153 games over the last three seasons. Courtesy of: nba.com
The Thunder tabs Markel Brown, ex Khimki - 23 hours ago
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Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) inked 25-year old point guard Markel Brown (191-85kg-92, college: Oklahoma State) on a training camp contract. He played most recently at BC Khimki Moscow Region in Russian VTB league. In 11 Eurocup games he averaged 5.0ppg and 2.3rpg last season. Brown helped them to make it to the quarterfinals. He also played 21 games in VTB United League where he had 5.3ppg, 2.7rpg and 1.1apg. Brown contributed to his team making it to the final. He also spent pre-season at... [read more]
Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) inked 25-year old point guard Markel Brown (191-85kg-92, college: Oklahoma State) on a training camp contract. He played most recently at BC Khimki Moscow Region in Russian VTB league. In 11 Eurocup games he averaged 5.0ppg and 2.3rpg last season. Brown helped them to make it to the quarterfinals. He also played 21 games in VTB United League where he had 5.3ppg, 2.7rpg and 1.1apg. Brown contributed to his team making it to the final. He also spent pre-season at the Cavaliers that year. Brown contributed to his team making it to the final. Three years ago he was drafted by Minnesota Timberwolves in second round (44th overall). Brown attended Oklahoma State until 2014 and it will be his fourth season in pro basketball. Among other achievements he received All-Big 12 2nd Team award back in 2013 and 2014 at his college time. Brown has played previously for two other NBA teams: Brooklyn Nets and Maine Red Claws.
The last few months have been one of the most chaotic and entertaining off-seasons in memory. With the inarguable dominance of the Golden State Warriors, every NBA General Manager not named Bob Riley has had to decide whether to build their teams slowly and hope the Warriors taper off in the next few years or to push their chips in and make a run for the current champs. Well, we now have our answers and it seems the gaps between the haves and have-nots have grown. Let's take a look at the... [read more]
The last few months have been one of the most chaotic and entertaining off-seasons in memory. With the inarguable dominance of the Golden State Warriors, every NBA General Manager not named Bob Riley has had to decide whether to build their teams slowly and hope the Warriors taper off in the next few years or to push their chips in and make a run for the current champs. Well, we now have our answers and it seems the gaps between the haves and have-nots have grown. Let's take a look at the big trades that created would-be contenders for next season's championship.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The first splash made was on June 21, as the Chicago Bulls traded away 2016-17 All NBA 3rd Team member Jimmy Butler to Minnesota. After picking up hometowner Dwayne Wade last year, expectations grew that the Bulls could make some noise in the East. The result was a 41-41 group and a less-than-happy locker room. Butler is thrilled to be reunited with head coach Tom Thibodeau and the T-Wolves expect the three-time All-Star to bring the same offense of departing Zach Levine plus lockdown defense and leadership to great young talents Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns. Throw in the free-agent acquisition of point guard Jeff Teague and you have a legitimate contender in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Trade Grade: B
Houston Rockets
Next up was the Rockets. They managed to grab elite point guard Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers. CP3 had one foot out the door with a deteriorating relationship with head coach Doc Rivers. Paul is one of the best distributors in the game (career 9.9apg) and even at 32 years old, is a top defender, with seven All-Defensive First Team awards). He joins a team that is building itself in the image of the Warriors with a premium placed on an up-tempo offensive pace with a lot of three-point shooting. Houston finished last year with the third-best record in the league and, on paper, are now stronger. The question everyone is asking revolves around Paul and Harden's ability to share the ball; if they can, the Rockets might have punched a ticket to the Western Conference finals. Trade Grade: A
Oklahoma City Thunder
Not to be left out of the Western Conference arms race, the Thunder swooped in and traded for the highly prized Indiana Pacer, Paul George. OKC didn't give up much given the expectation that George will head elsewhere when his contract expires, with the Lakers being his top choice. With George, OKC now has one of the toughest defenses on paper and although getting through the Warriors, Rockets, Wolves and Spurs will be tough, the Thunder, as of August 13, provide great value to win the West at +1700. If George and and reigning MVP Russell Westbrook play well together, Thunder GM Sam Presti believes he can convince both to stay rather than have George - and possibly Westbrook - walk at the end of the season. Trade Grade: B
Cleveland Cavaliers & Boston Celtics
In a summer of big-name moves, the true blockbuster came on August 21 and surprisingly was between the two prohibitive favorites in the East. The Cavs sent the disgruntled Kyrie Irving to Boston for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and a 2018 first-round pick. Celtics GM Danny Ainge was expected to keep methodically building his team for contendership in the near future but with the signing of Gordon Hayward he apparently thinks Irving puts Boston over the top. Thomas has a hip injury with no fixed date of return so his absence hurts the Cavs now and increases their interest in acquiring Dwayne Wade although there's no guarantee there. The addition of Crowder and a likely early first-round pick next year helps them in the future. Trade Grade: Cavs B / Celtics A-
As with most trades, it takes time to get a true evaluation and when draft picks are included a bad trade can become good, or vice versa. It seems all of these trades were made with an attempt to win in the short-term. Many of these big names have only one year left on their current contract and are UFAs at the end of this season (Paul, Thomas, George) so their departure would be a bitter pill for the teams they currently play for. While these teams seem to represent the short list of teams to occupy the four conference finals spots, let's not forget that sometimes the best trade you make is the one you don't. The San Antonio Spurs still have kept their roster largely intact with FA signings and still have arguably the best head coach in NBA history. In the East, Toronto, Washington and Milwaukee will look to improve on last year's performances. The rest of the league, however, seems to be content to take the slow lane to rebuild for the long-term and wait for these current Warriors to go away.
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