Where it always gets good. — Just pretend that the NBA didn’t explode yesterday and enjoy! (but first, if you haven’t, read Part I). 11. Trae Young (JS): As I wrote in Part 1, the two things I prioritized above all else when making my board were youth and ability to be a #1 on a…

We Back. — Not counting the 10,000 tweets I sent, both for work and for play, I wrote exactly three things in 2020: A piece about Kobe Bryant (my favorite thing I’ve ever written), a piece about Vince Carter, and a series on the 30 most important songs in my life. …

20 years after the honey dip, the longest-tenured player in NBA History lets go. — I first fell in love with basketball playing NBA Live 2004. It was during the game’s intro (featuring a basketball-themed remix of Chingy’s “Right Thurr”) that I learned about Vince Carter’s iconic dunk contest performance, which he delivered 3 ½ years earlier at The Arena In Oakland. Two years before…

Kobe Bryant’s death makes many things feel trivial. Basketball is not one of them. — The day that Kobe died, it was my job to stay up all night and monitor Twitter in case the Lakers, LeBron, or another party made a statement. An all-nighter normally represents a chance to write, but my emotions were too raw. …

How the second round of the NBA playoffs brought me back after a strange six months — As the ball bounced off the front of the rim, my thoughts turned to overtime. Who was in foul trouble? Who was the most fatigued? Which team had the momentum? The second bounce made me realize that such things were silly to consider. If the Basketball Gods didn’t think Toronto…

Welcome to the conclusion of the 2019 Franchise Player Re-Draft! If you missed Parts I and II you can check them out here and here. Today, things really open up as Justin Savaso and I take a look at picks 21–30. Enjoy! 21. Paul George (Justin Savaso): Every year we…

Welcome to Part II of the 2019 Franchise Player Re-Draft! If you missed Part I, you can check it out here. Today, Justin Savaso and I take a look at picks 11–20 — usually the most contentious part of the exercise. Enjoy! Note: The re-draft was completed shortly before Victor…

Welcome to the 2019 Franchise Player Re-Draft! For the third straight year, The Restricted Area podcast hosts Simon Cherin-Gordon and Justin Savaso are wiping clean every NBA roster, acting as GM of all 30 teams and choosing one player with whom to start each franchise. It may not seem like…

Another superstar is potentially on the move. Here’s what makes the Jimmy Butler situation unique, and not so unique. — Another NBA offseason, another All-NBA player requests a trade. What was once a biennial occurrence is now a biannual one, though some guys (Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard) are more direct with their requests than others (Paul George). Butler attempted the Georgian route, rejecting a contract extension earlier this summer and…