Marty Fenn Articles - Page 125

What a strange odyssey 2019 has been for the Philadelphia Phillies. After having a breakout season over the first six months of the 2018 season, the Phillies stumbled to a woeful 8-20 record in September. But armed with a young and talented pitching staff headlined by ace Aaron Nola as well as a host of […]

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is a three-time NBA champion. He has twice been named to an All-NBA team while making one of the All-Defensive teams five times, including winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. In spite of these accomplishments, however, Fox Sports personality and basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb said on his […]

Jaren Jackson Jr. had an impressive rookie campaign with the Memphis Grizzlies, and he is becoming just as renowned for his humor and charisma as he is for his two-way play. From surprising former teammate Marc Gasol during the NBA Finals to making a cameo during Ja Morant’s interview in the 2019 NBA Draft, JJJ […]

After a brief stint in the NBA, former Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks power forward Tyler Cavanaugh has elected to take his talents to the EuroLeague to play with Alba Berlin. Former Hawks and Jazz forward Tyler Cavanaugh has an agreement in place with EuroLeague team Alba Berlin, a source told @Sportando Cavanaugh has played […]

The Los Angeles Lakers continue to bolster head coach Frank Vogel’s coaching staff with championship pedigree, hiring former Toronto Raptors assistant Phil Handy. The Lakers are hiring Phil Handy as an assistant coach, a source said. The former Raptors assistant will be at the front of the bench with the Lakers. He also coached in […]

The Washington Wizards have not been the most active of teams this summer, but the moves that they have made are slightly puzzling to front offices around the league. According to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post, while rival executives praised the Wizards for re-signing budding center Thomas Bryant and offloading Dwight Howard, many were […]

Carsen Edwards, who impressed for the Boston Celtics in the Summer League, officially signs a four-year guaranteed contract with the Beantown team. Over $4.5 million in guaranteed salary over the course of the deal for Edwards, per source. — Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) July 13, 2019 Edwards was one of the more intriguing and polarizing players […]

The Phoenix Suns have had a tough offseason, at least according to rival executives around the league. They were highly scrutinized for trading De’Anthony Melton in a move that would essentially be a salary dump for Ricky Rubio, and many teams were puzzled by their decision to trade a future first-round pick merely to acquire […]

After losing to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors had to turn over a new leaf. With Kevin Durant announcing that he would be signing with the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State scrambled to orchestrate a sign-and-trade that would bring Nets guard D’Angelo Russell to the Bay Area. In the process, […]

Whether or not it was true that Chris Paul and James Harden had a contentious relationship with the Houston Rockets, Paul has reportedly drawn the ire of some NBA veterans around the league. One veteran spoke with Ethan Strauss of The Athletic about Paul’s role as the president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), claiming […]

When Paul George signed a four-year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer, he seemed to be making a commitment to the franchise that he was there to stay. George had an opportunity to return home to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, but instead elected to return to Oklahoma City. So Thunder general […]

Bradley Beal became the first player in Washington Wizards history to average at least 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in the same season, making his second straight All-Star team and leading the NBA in total mileage. After failing to make an All-NBA team and thus being ineligible for the supermax, Beal still expressed […]

The Washington Wizards find themselves in an extremely strange place heading into the 2019-20 season, and it’s not just because they haven’t named a full-time general manager yet. With one of the better backcourt duos in the NBA in John Wall and Bradley Beal, the Wizards should be competing on an annual basis. But injuries […]

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer squared off in the Wimbledon Gentleman’s Singles Final on Sunday, and their spectacular five-set match drew the attention of some notable NBA people. Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge were in awe as Djokovic and Federer battled in the fifth and final set: […]

Prior to the deal that sent Chris Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook, there had reportedly been tension between Paul and fellow Houston Rockets star James Harden. On an episode of “Brian Windhorst and The Hoop Collective,” Windhorst discusses an incident between Harden and Paul getting into a verbal bout […]

The Houston Rockets have been one of the best teams in the NBA over the last two seasons. Unfortunately, they were simply unable to conquer the Golden State Warriors. The Rockets lost consecutive games in the 2017 Western Conference Finals after holding a 3-2 lead, and this past season they failed to capitalize on an […]

Plenty of good storylines are already set for the 2019-20 NBA season. Among them is the reuniting of former Oklahoma City Thunder draftees Russell Westbrook and James Harden, who will team up with the Houston Rockets after Westbrook was sent to Houston in exchange for Chris Paul and a number of future draft considerations. But […]

Last year, the NBA saw a completely new wave of strategy in terms of resting stars in order to prevent injury and keep them fresh for the playoffs. They called it “load management,” a playing status that is all but official at this point. From LeBron James to Kawhi Leonard and more, players around the league […]

Things have certainly changed for the Golden State Warriors as they prepare for the 2019-20 NBA season. They were the overwhelming favorite to defeat the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals, but injuries to Kevin Durant and (eventually) Klay Thompson ultimately hindered any chance that the Warriors would complete a historic three-peat. With Durant leaving […]

When the Oklahoma City Thunder made a blockbuster deal to send franchise point guard Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets, general manager Sam Presti was ensuring that he would get even more future value to add on to all the first-round picks he acquired in the Paul George trade. Simultaneously, the Thunder would have to […]

Nearly every contender in the Western Conference has made a major splash in order to shake things up heading into the 2019-20 season. Both teams in Los Angeles got serious, with the Clippers adding both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and the Lakers making the big play for Anthony Davis. Houston acquired Russell Westbrook. Even […]

Russell Westbrook was already earning a handsome salary after he signed a five-year, $205 million salary with the Oklahoma City Thunder back in 2017. However, he is going to be saving that much more money after being traded to the Houston Rockets. According to Forbes writer Sean Packard, Westbrook will save $10 million in taxes […]

When Paul George spurned the Los Angeles Lakers to sign a four-year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer, it seemed as though he was committing to a partnership with Russell Westbrook that both hoped would yield a championship. But after the Thunder were bounced in the first round of the playoffs for the […]

When Kyrie Irving bottomed out against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, it seemed like his tenure with the Boston Celtics was over. Irving had endured a season in which he struggled to establish himself as the leader of a young and hungry Celtics squad where everyone felt that they had something to […]

A lot has changed for the Oklahoma City Thunder since the team moved from Seattle in 2008. One constant throughout the years has been point guard Russell Westbrook, who developed into one of the best players in the game while winning the MVP in 2017 and racking up triple-doubles on a nightly basis. However, all […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder were involved in yet another deal that seemed to completely capsize the NBA media on Thursday, trading longtime franchise point guard Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Chris Paul and a slew of future first-round picks. Although Paul would be returning to the place where he started his […]

For each of the past two seasons, one question has seemed to hover around the Cleveland Indians in the month of July: will they be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline? The Indians are certainly in the playoff picture. At 50-38, they are currently in position for the second Wild Card spot, and are […]

The Chicago Cubs are one of the winningest MLB franchises in the last few years. After a long and arduous rebuild that began in earnest following the 2010 season, the Cubs burst back onto the scene as contenders in 2015. One season later, they had finally climbed the mountain in winning their first World Series […]

The 2018-19 NBA season was a story of redemption for Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry, though it hardly started out that way. Fresh off yet another defeat at the hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 playoffs, Lowry had to endure a full offseason of scrutiny with respect to his […]

Jerami Grant escaped Oklahoma City just in time. When the Oklahoma City Thunder traded Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers and began to take inquiries on franchise point guard Russell Westbrook, it was clear that everyone on the roster would be made available for trade. This was especially true for Jerami Grant, who will […]

After initially coming to an agreement with free agent Marcus Morris, the San Antonio Spurs have reopened their agreement with Morris and will now sign former Denver Nuggets forward Trey Lyles, according to ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski. Lyles is finalizing terms on a two-year deal with Spurs, league source tells ESPN. https://t.co/ItulNCc1dn — Adrian […]

The Sacramento Kings had a trio of second-round draft picks this summer, one of which Vlade Divac used on Kyle Guy out of the University of Virginia. Guy spent three seasons at UVA, developing into an NBA talent in his sophomore year and posting his best numbers in a championship-winning effort for the Cavaliers in […]

This past year has been a wild ride for Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton. The Bucks won their highest total of regular season games since the 1980-81 season, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Toronto Raptors in six games. For his part, Middleton was named to his first All-Star team, […]

The halfway point in the 2019 MLB season has come and gone, and as teams gear up for the dog days of summer, there are some organizations that may have more to play for than others. Heading into Spring Training, there were plenty of exciting storylines. Whether fans chose to follow the retooled teams in […]

The All-Star game has come and gone, and with the 2019 MLB season over 50 percent complete, it is time to hand out midseason awards to some of the best and brightest in baseball. From breakout stars to rookie sensations and the most consistent superstars in the game continuing to perform at the highest level, […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have officially begun to take trade inquiries on franchise point guard Russell Westbrook, and a team of special interest in recent days has been the Miami Heat. Miami and Westbrook have reportedly shared mutual interest, similarly to how the Heat were able to capitalize on Jimmy Butler’s interest in coming to […]

Jerry West is one of the most influential people in the history of the game of basketball. After a Hall of Fame playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, West became the visage of the NBA’s logo-based silhouette, hence the nickname “The Logo.” But as legendary and revered as West was as a player, he […]

The Milwaukee Bucks and Brook Lopez pulled a fast one on the rest of the NBA in the 2018-19 NBA season. Behind an MVP season from Giannis Antentokounmpo, the Bucks won 60 games and finished with the best record in the NBA. Though Antentokounmpo was the driving force and ultimate determinant of Milwaukee’s success, the […]

The Orlando Magic may have been the surprise team of the 2018-19 season. Just one year after going 25-57 and firing former head coach Frank Vogel, the Magic went 42-40 and made the playoffs under new coach Steve Clifford. Despite not having a true “star” player, at least prior to the season, the Magic watched […]