Another NBA week, another trio of hot and trending basketball news.
The preseason is in full throttle right now, and all the events that happened on the basketball court give fans, players and pundits plenty of things to talk about.
Reigning champions Golden State Warriors recently played the Sacramento Kings in Seattle, sparking calls for the league to have an expansion franchise and give the city an NBA team once again. However, latest reports reveal that it might take some time before that actually happens.
Houston Rockets Chris Paul also grabbed headlines after he chimed in on the situation in San Antonio following the exodus of stars. Instead of taking a jibe at their rivals, the All-Star point guard showed his support to the team and their brightest young talent.
On the other hand, there’s Hall of Famer Charles Barkley who gave his two cents on what the Philadelphia 76ers need to do to contend for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Here’s the full SBOBET report on the biggest stories in the league today:
NBA Nowhere Near to Seattle Expansion, Elsewhere
Seattle basketball fans need to wait for at least seven more years before they can explore bringing an NBA team back to the Queen City.
After Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors put on a preseason show against the Sacramento Kings in KeyArena, calls for an expansion franchise in the city only increased. According to a report by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, however, the league have no plans for expansion “anywhere on its timeline.”
In his piece, Windhorst cited that “NBA officials have been told expansion may not happen until 2025 at the earliest, when a new TV deal can be negotiated.”
Furthermore, while Seattle has approved the renovations of KeyArena—which was the main reason why the Seattle SuperSonics left and relocated in 2008—getting an NBA team could still prove tricky and difficult.
“Beyond that, the complexities of the so-called New Arena at Seattle Center, the building’s working title, may make it challenging for Seattle to compete for a team if and when the time comes. The situation could even require Seattle to have a second new arena with the NBA team as the main tenant if the city wants to outbid other markets to attract a team,” Windhorst further wrote in his piece.
Durant, who was drafted by the SuperSonics in 2007, recently said that the NBA knows they need to be back in Seattle. And while it’s hard to argue with that given the city’s reputation as a profitable sports market, that may not be enough to land them a professional basketball team in the foreseeable future.
Chris Paul Believes the Spurs are in Good Hands with Dejounte Murray
Houston Rockets star Chris Paul knows a great point guard when he sees one.
The San Antonio Spurs recently lost long-time starting point guard Tony Parker in free agency, but Paul believes their southwest rivals still have a quality floor general in 22-year-old Dejounte Murray.
Paul narrated in an interview with Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle that he once played a pickup game with Murray in Seattle, and he admitted that he was impressed with what he saw from the young guard back then.
“When Jamal Crawford got married a few years ago, Dejounte might have still been in high school,” Paul said. “The night before Jamal’s wedding we played a pickup game in Seattle. Dejounte was on my team.”
“[Murray was] Really good, really good. So athletic. Plays with a lot of confidence.”
The nine-time All-Star also predicted big things for Murray, suggesting that he’s going to grab the NBA 2018 highlights after coach Gregg Popovich handed him the keys to run the Spurs’ offence.
“Now, too, playing in San Antonio Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) gave him the keys to the ship. He’s really going to be good now,” Paul added.
Murray averaged 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 81 games, 48 starts, for the Spurs last year. Interestingly though, he scored 16 points and tallied 11 rebounds in their latest preseason game against the Detroit Pistons.
NBA Legend Charles Barkley Says Markelle Fultz is the Key to Philly’s Success
There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding Markelle Fultz after a strange rookie season, but NBA legend Charles Barkley believes he is the key to unlocking the Philadelphia 76ers’ full potential.
Fultz, the no.1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, was sidelined for the most part of his rookie season due to a scapular imbalance in his right shoulder. He played in just 14 games, averaging 7.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
Despite the unexpected twists of Fultz’ rookie year, however, Barkley said that the 20-year-old has a huge role to play to bring the Sixers to the next level.
“Well, they’re [Sixers] going to have a good team because Ben [Simmons], Joel [Embiid] are terrific and [Dario] Saric. It’s going to come down to Markelle Fultz. How well he plays is how good the team can be,” Barkley said.
“Toronto and Boston are probably ahead of them. But that all depends on Markelle. Markelle is the key.”
Philly are currently fifth in our NBA 2018 odds to win the championship, but Barkley isn’t wrong to think that Fultz holds the keys to the team’s success. The former University of Washington standout averaged 23.2 points and 5.9 assists in his lone year of college basketball, and if he can replicate that success in the NBA, the Sixers are going to be a different beast.
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