Sports Blog

After a nearly five month break in the action, the 2009-10 NBA season is finally upon us as the Boston Celtics head on the road to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first of four games tonight. A lot has happened across the NBA since the Los Angeles Lakers took home the title last season, but one thing remains the same at the start of every season — all 30 teams start with the same record and have aspirations to be world champions.

And what better way to kick off the new season than with some fresh NBA gear and goodies. Whether you are looking to pick up a new jersey from a star that has changed teams (like Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, or Ben Gordon) or want to relive the season through an officially licensed NBA DVD, there are plenty of awesome NBA related items to check out.

Here are a few discounts from the NBA Store to help you get ready for the season:

While today may mark the start of a new season, there are still plenty of reasons to sport a Lakers’ championship t-shirt from last season. This “NBA Exclusive Collection Los Angeles Lakers “Got Rings?” T-Shirt proudly shows off the Lakers 15 championship titles and is currently on sale for $19.99.

Of all players that changed addresses this off-season, Shaq is literally the biggest. Some day he will end up in the hall of fame and be recognized as one of the best big men the game has ever seen, but this season all anybody will care about is whether or not he can help King James bring a title to Cleveland. Whether you are a fan of the Big Aristotle or the Cavs, make sure to grab his jersey while it is still on sale for $44.99.

One of the more memorable NBA stories of the summer was the induction of Michael Jordan into the basketball hall of fame. He is arguably the greatest player in NBA history and provided numerous breathtaking moments for fans throughout the years. Celebrate his greatness with the “NBA Ultimate Jordan: 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition DVD” ( and see how one of the greatest of the past generation stacks up against players from the current one.

Shop for discount NBA gear at Smarter.com.

With that debacle known as the NBA finals behind us, teams are already looking towards next season and beyond.

That’s right folks … the 2008 NBA free agency period has begun! With the uncertainty that comes with draft prospects, GM’s are now turning their heads to already proven NBA talent. The dream of winning the NBA championship is alive in all 30 NBA teams, probably with the exception of the Charlotte Bobcats, who for some reason let Michael Jordan make important personnel decisions.

Free agency is always one of my favorite times of the year. Not only does it provide the drama of high-priced athletes potentially leaving their team quicker than you can say mercenary, but we get to see floundering teams pillage other team’s rosters with the hopes of taking one team’s trash and turning it into another team’s treasure.

Really, what can be more entertaining than seeing historic mistakes like the Heat giving Brian Grant $84 million? Even Grant must have laughed hysterically when he got a call from his agent, which probably went something like this.

“Hey Brian, it’s your agent. You’ll never guess what happened.”

“You’re freaking kidding me! They know I only averaged 7.3 points and 5.5 rebounds, right?”

“I’m serious. I sent it as a joke, but they’re sending the paper work over right now.”

The 2008 free agent pool isn’t being touted as particularly strong, but I wouldn’t write it off so quickly. Although it’s true that it doesn’t feature MVP caliber names like LeBron James and Dwayne Wade (likely to be free agents in 2010), here are a few star players and intriguing storylines to keep an eye on.

Baron Davis, who was due to make a handsome $17.8 million next year, opted out of his contract somewhat unexpectedly. While Davis is an extraordinary talent who helped the Warriors end a 12 year playoff drought, with few teams under the cap and able to afford a player of Davis’s caliber, his options are fairly limited unless he wants to take a hefty pay cut. One possibility being discussed is a possible deal to land with LA’s other team, the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Los Angeles Clippers face a few difficult decisions this off-season. Elton Brand left the final $16.4 million he was due on the table, as did teammate Corey Maggette, who was set to make $10 million next year. Brand has said that he wants to see the Clippers sign a quality free agent and Baron Davis is said to be a player the Clippers are honing in on. This leaves Maggette, a favorite of owner Donald Sterling and the subject of many trade rumors over the years, likely to be left out of the Clippers’ future.

Restricted free agents may make the biggest splash of the year. Players like Jose Calderon of Toronto, Andris Biedrins and Monta Ellis of Golden State, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng of Chicago, and Emeka Okafor of Charlotte can receive contract offers from any team. While each players current team has the right to match any offer, these players are sure to garner a lot of interest from teams looking to inch their way closer to the NBA finals. Many of them are unlikely to be signed away outright, but look for a lot of action in the way of sign-and-trades this summer.

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There was some media speculation that the top of the NBA draft was facing a possible shake up, but the first three picks ended up playing out pretty much as most people thought they would.

The Chicago Bulls chose hometown hero Derrick Rose number one overall and it’s hard to argue that he is not going to be a star. One thing to consider, however, is that he lands among a Chicago backcourt already overcrowded with the likes of over-paid Larry Hughes, over-hyped Ben Gordon, and over-paid/hyped Kirk Hinrich. Plus Rose’s nickname is Pooh, making him the player most likely to have his name be the butte of a poor joke (or in this case pun).

Michael Beasley put all the speculation of Riley’s man crush on O.J. Mayo to rest when he was drafted second overall by the Heat. One thing he didn’t do is trick David Stern like he said he would. There were issues about his character going into the draft and I wonder if he was advised by his agent/entourage not to go through with the fake-handshake. Childish antics aside, he did set a record for college freshman by racking up an astounding 28 double-doubles last season and is sure to make an impact on the Heat from day one.

Here is when the draft got interesting. In front of a national TV audience and to no one’s surprise, Kevin McHale did something stupid. Despite my earnest pleas, he selected USC guard O.J. Mayo third overall. I can’t say that I was surprised – after all he did give away the beloved Kevin Garnett for 30 cents on the dollar – but at this point we all have to agree to call bad basketball decisions, McHalean decisions.

“Did you hear about that trade?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t just bad. It was a McHalean bad.”

The rumored Supersonics/Clippers trade fell through the cracks, then for some reason Seattle decided to draft Russell Westbrook about a million spots too high. Hyperbole aside (and this is coming from a Bruins fan), Westbrook wasn’t even the undeniable best point guard on his team last year.

UCLA’s Kevin Love went fifth to the Memphis Grizzlies, the place where good young talent goes to squander in irrelevance. The Clippers took sharpshooter Eric Gordon of Indiana seventh overall and I personally can’t wait for him to make his first all-star team as a member of another team.

The Bucks traded for offensive juggernaut Richard Jefferson, pairing him with Michael Redd and creating in theory a killer one-two punch. Then the Bucks made a truly McHalean pair of decisions. They drafted small forward Joe Alexander eighth overall and then proceeded to take small forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute in the second round. That’s three small forwards in a span of 24 hours … what in the world were they thinking?

Other notables from the first round: Stanford center Brook Lopez dropping to 10, Arizona’s Jerryd Bayless falling to 11, Brook’s brother Robin Lopez rising to 15, and Georgetown big-man Roy Hibbert going 17.

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