Anyone remember the 2006 Clippers? The team that came the year after the squad nearly made the Western Conference Finals? Well, if you don’t recall, just as they were supposed to be the next big thing, they fell apart. Management, coaching, the players, everyone butted heads and it wasn’t even a year later before they were out of the playoffs for good. You could make the claim Memphis is eerily similar. Except for one thing: they are determined to keep the ship upright. Rudy Gay is back and looking as good as ever. He’s already talking down the trade talks, saying everything will work itself out. Zach Randolph is pledging that if the lockout does do harm to the season, he will play wherever Marc Gasol is at overseas because the two are inseparable. Even Tony Allen swears O.J. Mayo is his boy, lives right down the street and the two have been playing video games together all summer. If everything works out in Memphis, this could be THE scariest team in the whole league next year … The Suns, ever the progressive-thinking organization, plan to hire a social media reporter for games next season. The reporter will interact from the sideline with fans and post updates. We have a feeling this is the first of many. Soon, the game experience from home will be watching and listening on TV, and then reading insight from your phone on what’s happening in the huddle and on the court … We remember back in high school when all DeMarcus Cousins wanted to do was show off his handle and J. Turns out over the weekend in the Goodman vs. Indy showcase, Cousins was getting his Lamar Odom on. In the same game, Eric Gordon dropped 40. Let that boy cook … Chris Paul plans to host the CP3 All-Star Pickup Game on October 1 at Winston-Salem State University. The game is slated to start at 7 p.m. (although you never know with these things… the “Battle of I-95” started 45 minutes late). Originally, we had reported that CP was recruiting the very biggest guns for this game. Well, he came through with a whole army. The game will feature a lineup that includes Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Raymond Felton, John Wall, Josh Howard, Josh Selby, J.R. Smith, Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Tristan Thompson and Dwyane Wade. Now THAT is a showcase … The Miami Big Three are poised to host their own All-Star charity event on Oct. 8 at Florida International University. The lineup for this one looks ridiculous as well. Rumors persist though that the Big Three may land down from the rafters with jetpacks and fireworks in the largest pre-game celebration ever … Are we really overdoing the celebrity/summer league games? Kevin Durant might think so. He tweeted at Brandon Jennings: yea I am, but on da real..all these game starting to get played out..but I’m ready for the rematch. Jennings replied with: you ain’t never lie … Nine teams have already qualified for the Olympics next summer: Great Britain, the United States, Tunisia, Argentina, Brazil, China, Spain, France and Australia. Is it too early to already start hoping for a U.S./Spain final? That would be epic, maybe even better than the 2008 final … Multiple sources confirmed a report that former Blazer center Arvydas Sabonis suffered a minor heart attack yesterday. Thankfully, the big man seems to be okay and isn’t in any real danger for his life … We called this the greatest NBA lockout rant ever. Anytime you can mix the lockout with “Where the Red Fern Grows”, Koala Bears and eucalypt forests, Bugs Bunny and corn of cream, you have a winner. Watch this so you can give your kids an example of what not to grow up like … While many former players and coaches gave testimony that convinced judges it was okay to release Javaris Crittenton on bond, he’s in real trouble. Two witnesses have already identified Crittenton as the shooter, and one picked him out of the lineup after he got a very good look at the time of the shooting. This witness? The man who was walking with the murder victim at the time of the shooting. Not good news for Crittenton. His attorneys are maintaining the charges are based on faulty eyewitness testimony … And check out this dude’s crazy bobblehead collection. That Ben Wallace one makes him look like a Native American tribal leader, and then there’s Adam Morrison looking like he came straight from the 1970s … We’re out like NBA owners as Koalas.
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