The Warriors surprisingly took Stephen Curry at No. 7, leaving supposed heartthrob Jordan Hill on the board. (Hill went one pick later to New York.) Curry had refused to work out for Golden State during the workout season, and the hubbub followed that the Warriors would avoid a point guard to avoid angering Monta Ellis, who fancies himself a modern day Cousy.
Michael Lee of the Washington Post followed up recent Wizards rumors in a piece this morning on the No. 5 pick and Caron Butler. Lee said the 'Zards and Suns discussed an Amar'e Stoudemire trade, but D.C. balked when Butler became a requirement from Phoenix's end.
Washington GM Ernie Grunfeld famously has little interest in keeping No. 5. Phoenix needs to do two things in short order: get younger, and get rid of its (spiritual) question marks up front (Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal), one way or the other. So can the Wizards and Suns arrange a deal without involving Butler, Gilbert Arenas or Antawn Jamison?
The offseason is likely to be a lot like the regular season was for the Phoenix Suns. As you may recall, rumors involving both Amar'e Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal swirled around the club up until the trade deadline. And even after a coaching change that took place right after the All-Star break, the team was in a constant state of flux that most would admit was at least partially responsible for the club missing the playoffs.
In an attempt to solidify the Suns' immediate future, Steve Kerr made a quick trip to New York to meet with Steve Nash, with hopes of beginning to convince him to sign a contract extension now, instead of waiting until the end of next season, when he would become an unrestricted free agent.
But Nash will certainly want some assurances before doing so, and I believe there's one word he wants to hear from the organization most of all: Consistency.
Spears reports that Minnesota turned down Phoenix's offer quickly. It won't be the last time we hear either the Wolves (whose new GM David Kahn is said to be hell-bent on making a major splash next week) or Amar'e in trade rumors by the end of the NBA Draft. At least we know one pricing parameter.
Steve Nash made an appearance on the David Letterman show Wednesday night, and was in the studio with Dave as the two watched some video that Nash shot while reporting from Game 3 of the Finals.
There's some funny stuff in the clip, and of course, we'll show it to you after the jump. But of a bit more interest was Nash's response when Dave asked him why he doesn't come play for the Knicks. Nash said, "I'd love to. Can you work it out?"
Around this season's trade deadline, there was a lot of chatter surrounding Shaquille O'Neal. Everyone assumed that Shaq or his teammate Amare Stoudemire wouldn't be in a Suns uniform past the trade deadline. Of course the deadline passed and both Shaq and Amare remained on Planet Orange.
One of the teams reported to be involved in the pursuit of O'Neal was none other than the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to reports, the deal fell through because the Cavaliers wanted the Suns to take back Ben Wallace in return for Shaq, while the Suns wanted Wally Szczerbiak. The disagreements were purely financial, as Szczerbiak's deal expires at the end of this season, while Wallace has an additional year.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but did the Cavs make a mistake in not trading for Shaq?
HOUSTON -- Unexpected achievement in the face of incredible adversity isn't quite how the Houston Rockets saw their playoff run unfolding.
But that was certainly the theme that carried the Rockets, minus injured stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, to within one game of reaching the Western Conference finals this season. One amazing night by McGrady or just the presence of aging Dikembe Mutombo in the paint might have been all the Rockets needed to avoid a Game 7 Semifinals in Los Angeles and overcome the Lakers.
It wasn't meant to be, but still it was enough to re-energize a franchise that seemed in serious trouble a few weeks ago because of it's often-injured stars and nondescript supporting cast. The Rockets hadn't been out of the first round of the playoffs in 12 years prior to this season.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
It was 20 years ago that Bo Jackson became a pop-culture icon when Nike featured him in a series of "Bo Knows ..."commercials for what was then a new kind of shoe, the Nike Cross Trainer. Now Nike has come out with a new Trainer 1 shoe, and to celebrate the release they brought together superstars from all sports for the 2009 Nike Training Summit. Superstars like Amare Stoudemire, Brandon Roy, Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson, Troy Polamalu (right) and more talk about everything from who they think the greatest athletes are (Troy's answer will surprise you) to what other sports they would play if they could cross over like Bo (again, Troy's answer will surprise you).
Last week, I left the comfort of my mother's basement shoddy little East Coast apartment to rep FanHouse at the 2009 Nike Global Training Summit in Newport Beach, California. The primary reason for convening 50-some media members in sunny SoCal? The introduction of the Nike Trainer 1, the Swoosh's newest crosstraining shoe, which celebrates the 20-year anniversary of the "Bo Knows" campaign, featuring Bo Jackson.
Amare Stoudemire is probably desperate to train right now, having just spent some significant time on his back after eye surgery ended his 2008-09 NBA season early. He then watched (no pun intended) his Phoenix Suns just miss the playoffs.
In other words, yeah, he's probably glad that Nike hooked up him with some new shoes for training. Of course, the time off didn't damper Amare's spirits at all -- he's still one of the most personable athletes around. And while at the Nike Global Training Summit, he spoke to FanHouse about the playoffs, trash talk, Shaquille O'Neal's shenanigans, being a spokesman for Nike, and the new Trainer 1.
The Warriors surprisingly took Stephen Curry at No. 7, leaving supposed heartthrob Jordan Hill on the board. (Hill went one pick later to New York.) Curry had refused to work out for Golden State during the workout season, and the hubbub followed that the Warriors would avoid a point guard to avoid angering Monta Ellis, who fancies himself a modern day Cousy.
Michael Lee of the Washington Post followed up recent Wizards rumors in 
The offseason is likely to be a lot like the regular season was for the Phoenix Suns. As you may recall, rumors involving both 
Marc J. Spears of the Boston Globe -- 
Around this season's trade deadline, there was a lot of chatter surrounding 
HOUSTON -- Unexpected achievement in the face of incredible adversity isn't quite how the Houston Rockets saw their playoff run unfolding.
It was 20 years ago that 
Will Brinson kicked it at The OC for the 
