Time to put the Trade Machine to work

"Hello everyone, I'm WWE announcer Jim Ross. We'd like to welcome you to another excit-..." (We hear the sound of glass breaking and the beginning of...

Careful what you ask for, Mr. Marion

A few weeks ago, I flew to Vancouver, British Columbia, for an EA Sports shoot. The company was filming five NBA players, including Paul Pierce and Sh...

Housecleaning time: Clips, links and e-mail

...million remaining on his deal) in a three-way trade in which 'Sheed goes to Washington, Antawn Jamison (expires in 2008) goes to Portland and Zach Randolph goes to Detroit. ... Or they could just...

Breaking down the luck of the lottery

...LAC (No. 3) 2. Mike Bibby, Vancouver (No. 5) 3. Raef LaFrentz, Denver (No. 1) 4. Antawn Jamison, Toronto (No. 2) 1999 1. Elton Brand, Chicago (No. 3) 2. Steve Francis, Vancouver (No. 1...

More Cowbell: My take on the 22

I had to write something about these USA Basketball tryouts. You might remember my opus about the "Nightmare Team" before its disastrous meltdown in t...

Summer's madness

Scoop Jackson appraises the state of the NBA's contenders and how free agency is shaking out.

Open letter to Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin will be chosen No. 1 in the NBA draft Thursday night. Bill Simmons uses 33 years of history to explain why this is a terrible thing for the OU star.

The first lottery draft still rates the best

As we celebrate the 25th draft under the lottery system, Page 2 looks back and grades the previous 24 drafts.

Letters of the rich and famous

As he previews the 2009 NBA Finals, Bill Simmons answers e-mail from some of the nation's top celebrities and athletes.

NBA trade value rankings, King James version

Sure, there's not a lot of mystery at No. 1, but you'll still want to check out Bill Simmons' ninth annual NBA Trade Value rankings.

In the NBA, and life, it's all about getting your reps

Before Bill Simmons breaks down the NBA, he has to get in his column reps.

The king of all fantasy previews

Bill Simmons offers a cheat sheet for your fantasy basketball draft and tries to put LeBron's greatness in historical perspective.

The Raider with the big heart

It's another losing season in Oakland, but the franchise can be proud of the charitable work of Nnamdi Asomugha.

The best draft picks in NBA history, Nos. 1 through 60

Wonder who the best No. 5 overall NBA draft pick of the lottery era was? We rate the best at every slot, Nos. 1-60.

Washington Wizards' Antawn Jamison, second from left, and Brendan Haywood, second from right, rush in to separate Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron...