Jeff Olalo Articles - Page 7

The Dwane Casey era with the Detroit Pistons is in full swing. Bruce Brown, to some degree, will be part of it. They may not be making big splashes in free agency (and one could argue that this might be the time to strike with the LeBron James monopoly no longer a road block) but the […]

In terms of sheer craziness, 2015’s DeAndre Jordan-Dallas Mavericks debacle is surely up there, if not the clear-cut example of the unpredictability and insanity of NBA free agency. After agreeing to terms on a four year, $80 million deal at the start of free agency, the 6-foot-11 athletic center quickly went dark only to resurface […]

After the Dallas Mavericks secured a verbal commitment from DeAndre Jordan back in the summer of 2015, owner Mark Cuban couldn’t help but gush about their free-agent coup. At one point, they christened the then 26-year-old as a potential go-to-guy at the post whom they could dump the ball into and make things happen, labeling […]

As NBA champions in three of the last four seasons (including the last two) and with their core virtually locked up for the rest of the year, the Golden State Warriors don’t really have any pressing needs to worry about. They do have a hole at center and that has been the case for many […]

While DeAndre Jordan has reportedly reached a verbal agreement to sign with the Dallas Mavericks over the last weekend, we all know better (most especially Mavs fans, who remember the events of July 2015 all too well) and that we should probably take this announcement with a grain of salt. Fast forward almost a week […]

After LeBron James decided to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers for a fully guaranteed four years earlier this week, some L.A. residents decided to honor the three-time NBA champion — at the expense of a Laker legend in Kobe Bryant, by defacing his famous mural on Melrose Avenue with James’s portrait. A Laker fan […]

Much has been said about DeMarcus Cousins’ controversial decision to go to the Steve Kerr-coached Golden State Warriors for essentially peanuts. The prevailing sentiment is that it upset the already skewed balance of power, allowing the defending champions to shore up a position of need — and by need, meaning empty, obviously not because they […]

Immediately after DeMarcus Cousins announced his intentions to sign a one year deal with the Golden State Warriors, word got out that the All-Star center may not be ready until December or January as he continues to rehab from his Achilles tear. To some, this explains why the team was able to nab one of […]

The Boston Celtics-Marcus Smart free agency negotiation just took a turn for the weird. After reports days ago that both camps are nearing agreement on a new contract, it’s now revealed via an article by the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy, that there have been no meetings at all. The source, who is part of Smart’s […]

Just a week or two ago, the Los Angeles Lakers’ pipe dream was a terrifying trio of Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and LeBron James. It wasn’t an impossible plan considering that George has long been vocal about his interest in playing for his hometown team (and it’s the reason why he was promptly shipped by […]

Things happen for a reason, and C.J. McCollum decided to commemorate July Fourth by sharing his experience of not making Team USA back as a college junior. In a touching Instagram post, C.J. McCollum recalls that everything worked out in the end because most of the players selected (with the exception of his buddy Draymond […]

Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal is largely known for two things. First is his mixture of sheer power and finesse (well, more of the former than the latter) moves with such grace and fluidity that belies his stature. The second is his penchant for comedy that manifests itself on his witty quotes and practical […]

At just 16 years of age, Zaire Wade still has a long ways to go before he makes it to the NBA. However, it may become shorter with the NBA and NBPA in serious discussions of eliminating the one-and-done rule by 2020, his high school class basically. This helps the odds of him and his father […]

The post-Carmelo Anthony era of the New York Knicks was off to a promising start during the 2017-18 season. With the Latvian sensation Kristaps Porzingis putting up MVP numbers, the playoff-starved franchise was making a strong push for the eight seed and could have finished the year with a comparatively better record than their previous […]

LeBron James may be the best player in the world and the biggest free agent slam dunk by the Los Angeles Lakers since they whisked Shaquille O’Neal away from Florida about two decades ago, but Los Angeles is still “Bean” Town — Kobe Bean Bryant that is. But that didn’t stop some (very likely) El-ay […]

Heading into the NBA offseason, the Brooklyn Nets were one of only a few teams that had significant cap space to sign marquee free agents – and since there’s so few money available, the market doesn’t necessitate overpaying for talent unlike the last couple of years. However, the Nets chose to keep their powder dry, […]

With the Oklahoma City Thunder way above the salary cap, the team is unable to partake in the splashy moves that define free agency and have no choice but to  improve internally and worry about their own free agents. Still, the team has agreed to keep backup point guard Raymond Felton to a one-year deal. […]

For a social media junkie, newly-acquired Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins has been awfully quiet. With the exception of a classy “Thank you” to the New Orleans Pelicans, the internet was largely devoid of any quotable quotes or notable posts directly from the All-Star big man. Then again, a cursory glance on the web in […]

Last October, it wasn’t looking too good for Kevin Looney. Despite the Golden State Warriors lacking youth and versatility off the bench (particularly from the center and power forward slots), the team chose to not pick up Looney’s fourth-year option and thus making the 22-year-old an unrestricted free agent. It later turned out to be […]

NBA players are no stranger to acts of charity or particularly making large sum donations. But they are normally expected from superstars with their deep pockets, not lower-tier roleplayers such as the Brooklyn Nets’ Allen Crabbe. Then again, Crabbe isn’t an average roleplayer that typically command mid-level money. He was one of the beneficiaries of […]

Every year, there is always lottery-level talent that slips to the bottom of the NBA Draft – and not surprisingly, the team reaps high marks from draft experts for nabbing what is ostensibly a steal. The reasons for the slip up vary. Sometimes it is a medical concern that’s been a knock on the prospect […]

Since the Kawhi Leonard trade saga started, there were only a handful of teams that were truly in contention for the disgruntled forward’s services – and it starts with having the assets to appease the San Antonio Spurs, who still aims to be playoff contenders when the smoke clears. However, that’s not stopping other teams […]

Lance Stephenson leaving the Indiana Pacers had a 50/50 chance of happening this summer. On one hand, you’d like to keep his grit-and-grind contributions to fight tooth and nail with the best of them, but at the same time, it’s not really wise to lock yourself in a long-term deal with a guy that has […]

What a crazy day it has been for basketball. Just when you thought LeBron James taking his talents to California was the headline of the year, a few hours later, arguably the worst brawl in the history of basketball took place more than 7,000 miles away in Manila as a FIBA Qualifying match between the […]

It’s no surprise that DeMarcus Cousins‘ move to the Golden State Warriors is… well, surprising. A cursory glance on the internet and you’d probably see an abundance of memes and reaction videos to the breaking news, both from fans and players alike. Not only because the rich got richer but it’s an All-Star center, at […]

Par for the course when a superstar ends up playing for a team that they once had an acrimonious history with, a social media post eventually resurfaces and finds its way back to relevance. Just yesterday, Kevin Durant’s May 2009 tweet about fans waffling between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers trended on Twitter […]

Prior to DeMarcus Cousins‘ coming to terms with the Golden State Warriors just mere hours ago for essentially pennies to the dollar, the New Orleans Pelicans were actually discussing a sign-and-trade with the Portland Trailblazers, as ESPN’s Chris Haynes reports. ESPN Sources: Portland and New Orleans had discussed the possibility of a sign-and-trade for DeMarcus […]

If you haven’t heard yet — and we doubt it since you’re on the internet, but we like to have our bases covered anyway — DeMarcus Cousins has agreed to terms with the Golden State Warriors for a one-year, $5.3 million deal. Yes, the reigning NBA champions — whose lone hole has always been the center […]

After LeBron James made his intentions known about moving to the Western Conference for the first time with a four-year deal with Los Angeles Lakers, the internet quickly made the hilarious connection. LeBron and former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Isaiah Thomas have been reunited, but it appears not for long. Less than a day after James’ […]

The Ragin’ Cajun is coming home. As reported by Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, the former Louisiana–Lafayette product has agreed to terms with the New Orleans Pelicans. Elfrid Payton has agreed to a deal with the Pelicans, league sources tell ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2018 The 6-foot-4 guard is expected to either start alongside […]

Just when you thought we could close the chapter on Kevin Durant’s social media dust-ups, another one enters the fray and could possibly trigger a new source of viral skirmishes for the Golden State Warriors star forward. At the heels of LeBron James’s shocking announcement (well, widely speculated, but that goes for any big name) […]

The LeBron James sweepstakes are often fueled by a desire to virtually guarantee an NBA Finals trip and perhaps even a title. After all, the multiple-time Most Valuable Player has monopolized the Eastern Conference since originally bolting for South Beach in 2010 and back home again, earning three championship rings during that run. But let’s […]

Age truly does make you wiser. Not only was LeBron James’s 2018 free agency a dramatic departure from the suspense and theatricality of his previous stints as a hot-shot free agent, the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player eschewed everything that epitomized an NBA offseason. There were no meetings with prospective teams and their “wining and […]

The offseason is shaping up better than the Oklahoma City Thunder expected. Well, sort of. After more than a year of speculation that All-Star forward Paul George is bolting for his hometown team in the Los Angeles Lakers the moment the clock starts midnight in free agency (which precipitated the preemptive trade to OKC by […]

The NBA Salary Cap dictates what team’s would be able to pay free agents which allows them to set budgets and brainstorm on how their roster next season would look like (and their playoff hopes), and while there are projections on how the cap is going to look like, nothing beats the official announcement. After […]

Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle once famously (and definitely controversially) compared Doug McDermott to Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller, but as of midnight, he probably has a shot at being a Pacers favorite in his own right – just maybe not as huge as the “Uncle Drew” star. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the […]

Ever since the Dallas Mavericks won the championship, they have had a craving for a top shelf anchor in the middle that could defend, block shots, rebound, and finish lobs in the paint. With the controversial 2011 free agency departure of Tyson Chandler (a move that is still hotly debated until this day), the Mavs […]

The lack of triple-doubles used to be the knock on the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green just a couple of games into their series against the Houston Rockets to which head coach Steve Kerr dismissed as a “bunch of crap.” Green responded with two straight double-doubles (snaring a grand total of 30 boards) and just […]

The Golden State Warriors may be too dominant of an example to channel the idiom “Like a wounded rat,” but the defending champions are using that mindset to fuel their Game 3 performance against the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Several Warriors players told ESPN’s Chris Haynes that the team is most dangerous when they are […]