Sheridan Hoops Radio

It seems there are more Dwight Howard haters out there this summer than there were three years ago when there were so many millions of LeBron James haters. Maybe that's just because so much of the venom is coming from Los Angeles, where the fans are spoiled because no one ever leaves the Lakers. Players always want to join the Lakers. My opinion? STFU, haters. Dwight Howard is an Americans, and all Americans have a right to choose where they want to work. It's just that in the NBA, it usually takes years to earn that right if you happen to be a superstar. More on that line of defense in this podcast with Tommy Dee and Moke Hamilton of SNY.

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert made a vow to Cleveland's long-suffering fans that his team would be playing postseason games next spring. I think he is going to deliver -- and it will not matter if Andrew Bynum pans out of not. First of all, getting Bynum for only $6 million guaranteed is a worthy gamble. Gilbert is bringing in that kind of money nightly at the casino complex located right acrtoss the street from the Cavs' arena. Secondly, Bynum doesn't need to be a 30-minute per night player. The Cavs have Anderson Varejao manning the middle, meaning Bynum can come off the bench or play alongside Varejao when Anthony Bennett is not on the floor. So if you are talking about a starting five of Varejao, Bennett, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving, you are talking about a 45-50 win team. More on that projection, and where the Cavs rank in the East, in this podcast with Cleveland.com 

When you make it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat, you are an elite team. Period. But that does not mean you are a legitimate championship contending team. And if the Indiana Pacers are going to take that next step, they need to upgrade their backcourt in some way. George Hill and Lance Stephenson are nice players ... but that's the nicest thing you can say about them. When one of the other, or both, had a bad game in the playoffs, the Pacers usually lost. So what is the cure? Well, for starters, Rajon Rondo is out there to be had. So is Eric Gordon. Do the Pacers have the assets to acquire either of them? That's the tough part of the equation. Boston wants no part of George Hill's contract, which pays him $8 million per season for three more years. Boston wants no part of Gerald Green. It's a been-there, done-that sort of thing. Certainly Paul George and the expiring contract of Danny Granger could get it done, but Larry Bird would never trade his best player for a wingnut like Rondo. But what about Granger and three future first-round picks? Would that get it done? I discussed that issue, along with the additions of Chris Copeland and C.J. Watson in this interview with Michael Grady and Joe Staysniak on 1070-The Fan in Indianapolis this morning.

If Andre Iguodala averages only 10 points next season, will his acquisition be a failure? Will Harrison Barnes embrace a Sixth Man role now that Iggy is aboard? And what type of a balancing act will coach Mark Jackson have to pull with the upgraded Golden State Warriors? Answers come from Chris Sheridan in this interview with Sean O'Connell and Matt Steinmetz on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco.

We have published our Top 50 Free Agents, but there are well over 100 of them. Dwight Howard is No. 1, but our No. 2 guy, Chris Paul, is almost certain to stay with Doc Rivers and the Clippers. So who will be the top dominoes once Dwight maks his "Dwecision?" Moke Hamilton joined Fred Faour of Fox Sports Radio to discuss.

WWCD: What will Cleveland Do? Or what Will Chris Do? Chris being Chris Grant, the GM of the Cleveland Cavaliers as they head into the 2013 draft with the No. 1 pick. The Cavs are working the phones trying to trade the pick, but their asking price sems to high. So if they keep the pick, what will they do? We have been saying for 10 days at SheridanHoops that they will select Alex Len of Maryland. Here is an explanation why he is a better fit for the Cavs than Nerlens Noel.

I had the pleasure of going on the air in Charlotte this morning on WFNZ immediately after general manager Rich Cho came on the program. An excerpt of Cho's interview was played, and wait until you listen to his nervous laughter before saying he is not "shopping" Michael Kidd-Gilchrist but is listening to offers. That, folks, is semantics. "Shopping" is a loaded word. "Listening to offers" is a more soothing statement. I went on to defend the story we posted yesterday about Kidd-Gilchrist, and how he would become expendable if Otto Porter falls to the Bobcats at No. 4.  And let's not forget that when you are in a position like the one the Bobcats are in, somet

Victor Oladipo reminds me of Dwyane Wade, which is one of the reasons why I believe the Orlando Magic will take him with the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft Thursday night. Even if Nerlens Noel is available (our draft guru, Joe Kotoch, has Alex Len going No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers in his latest Mock), the Magic have no need for Noel because they already have Nikola Vucevic, who may just be the best center in the Eastern Conference (Brooklyn Nets fans may disagree.)   I also believe the Arron Afflalo-Eric Bledsoe trade is going to go down, which would give the Magic a starting five of Bledsoe, Oladipo, Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic and a power forward to be determined.

The Celtics need a new coach, someone who is OK with taking over a rebuilding team. If they want to look down the road to Framingham and across the globe to Tel Aviv, there is a strong candidate who has yearned for an NBA head coaching job for years. He is David Blatt of Maccabi Tel Aviv, an American expatriate who has been coaching the Russian national team since the middle of the last decade. Blatt grew up in Framingham, Mass. but has been living overseas since graduating from Princeton, where he was a college teammate of former Knicks executive Steve Mills. No word yet on whether Dany Ainge might consider him, as the Celtics and Clippers are still waiting for details of Rivers' coaching contract to be finalized.

We have been listing Alex Len as the No. 1 choice of the Cleveland Cavaliers in our last two Mock Drafts. Almost every other draft prognosticator has Nerlens Noel at No. 1. So why does Joe Kotoch of SheridanHoops.com feel differently? Because he is more plugged in than some of the "experts" previewing the draft. The Len prediction was one topic of discussion in this interview with WNST in Baltimore.

One piece of information that has not come out during the alive/dead/alive/dead Celtics-Clippers trade talks is Rivers' motivation in wanting to leave the Celtics. It isn't just that he doesn't want to be a part of a rebuilding situation; it is because he has an intense dislike for point guard Rajon Rondo. A source tells Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com that Rondo droopped an F-bomb on Rivers in the locker room, and Rivers went after Rondo and tried to fight him before the fracas was broken up. That piece of news is revealed in this interview with Bill Lekas of SiriusMadDog Radio.

Chris Bosh scored zero points in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He was outplayed in the Eastern Confernce finals by David West and Roy Hibbert, depending on whether Chris Andersen or Udonis Haslem was playing alongside him. He appears to be a shell of the alpha dog who resided in Toronto until 2010. If the Heat could move him in a trade and upgrade him, would they do it? My answer is in this interview with Boers and Bernstein on WSCR-670 in Chicago.

Seems like all I am doing with my Friday is interview after interview bashing Gregg Popovich. Now, don't get me wrong. I like Pop. I've covered him with the Spurs and Team USA since 2002. When he is chippy with the media, he is never directing that chippiness at me (you have to know HOW to ask a proper question, or you are dead meat). But he is open to some serious second-guessing, and that's what I did in this interview on NBCSports AM1060 in Phoenix.

You do not leave your best offensive player on the bench for the most important offensive play of Game 6 and Game 7. You do not leave your bst defensive player on the bench for the most critical rebounding opportunity of Game 6. Congratulations, Gregg Popovich. You deserved to lose the NBA Finals. More on that, plus a Nixon v. McGovern reference, in this interview from Friday with Bob Valvano of ESPN680 The Zone in Louisville.

I am not going to spoil the excitement for those of you who are unaware of what my pick for this series has been all along. But I go into further detail with my prediction in this interview with Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton of the Mighty 1090 in San Diego, telling you who I believe will hit the game-winning shot tonight in GAme 7 of the NBA Finals.