Yahoo: Lance Thomas may have Duke’s basketball program in a little bit of hot water.  According to a lawsuit filed by celebrity jeweler Rafaello & Co., Thomas purchased five items for $97,800 in December of 2009.  He paid just $30,000 down, and he’s allegedly yet to pay the remaining balance (he was supposed to have done so within 15 days).  This is of concern to Duke, obviously, because Thomas was still in college at the time of the purchase.  I’m sure the NCAA will find it more than a little bit fishy that Thomas had $30,000 to spend on jewelry, but the bigger issue is the $67,800 he received in credit.  How was Thomas, who wasn’t set to become an NBA player until June, planning to pay up in just 15 days?

Youtube: Observe this nasty poster by Serbia’s Nemanja Nedović, the man that some call “The European Derrick Rose.”  Unfortunately for Serbia, their own Derrick Rose wasn’t able to lead them past Estonia in this qualifying match for Eurobasket 2013 (special thanks to my friend jamal99 of the InsideHoops forums for the video/information).

Footbasket/Pro Basketball Talk: Marcus Camby couldn’t even bear the thought of wearing a Miami Heat uniform, so Chris Bosh is bulking up to play center.  If I were a Heat fan, I’d be wary of this experiment.  Added muscle/weight doesn’t always translate to a higher level of play.  Ask the Knicks about Amare Stoudemire.

SLAM: Much of the NBA had its eyes on the NFL yesterday.  Personally, I enjoyed Bradley Beal’s assessment of Peyton Manning’s IQ: It’s “dumb high!”

Sun Sentinel: In order to improve his jump shot, Dwyane Wade is working on how he catches the ball.  According to Dwyane Wade, Dwyane Wade has actually got “one of the best mid-range shots in the game,” but “other reasons” cause him to “come up short a lot.”  Basketball reasons?

Twitter: It’s JR Smith’s birthday (27) today.  Follow him here and wait for the ensuing chaos.  In the comments section, leave your wager on the total cost, including any and all fines levied by David Stern.

NBA Store: The online store of the Phoenix Suns is not carrying the jersey of any current player (via TBJ’s @TasMelas).  Nostalgic Suns fans will be pleased to learn that authentic Robin Lopez jerseys can still be had for just $259.99, though (and for your lady friend, a women’s replica)!

Hangtime Blog/ESPN/Bullets Forever: ESPN recently ranked the Oklahoma City Thunder the premier franchise in all of sports.  Keep in mind that this is not a list of the most valuable franchises; the criteria includes price of admission, fan relations, and ownership’s honesty in the community (is Seattle not a community?).  Oh, and then there’s the Kings, who edged the Bobcats for worst franchise in the NBA, finishing 121st out of 122.  Also, in the ownership category, the Wizards and Capitals finished 90th and 13th respectively.  That’s kind of odd considering that both teams are owned by the same guy.

Eye On Basketball: In a ranking of the top 100 NBA players, how many spots do you figure would separate JJ Redick and Kevin Martin?  Did anybody guess one?

NBA247365.COM: Still trying to move these t-shirts.  Make them a success and I’ll print more designs!

“If camp started tomorrow, I’d be ready to go.  I could go now if I needed to.”

That’s Blake Griffin talking at the end of August.  As you know, the NBA’s premier high-flyer tore the meniscus in his left knee during Team USA training camp.  Based on the video above (shout-out to Ball Is Life), which was recorded during this weekend’s visit to Oklahoma, it appears that he’s made a quick and successful recovery.  Nice to see you again, Blake!

Griffin had actually returned to OU not to dunk on the basketball team, but to give the football team a little pep talk.  I suppose dunking on basketball teams is simply something he does everywhere he goes, given that his health (and a guy like Buddy Hield) will allow it.

Enjoy your 15 minutes, Buddy!  You’ve earned it.

If we’ve learned anything about Michael Beasley over the course of his young NBA career it’s that he marches to the beat of his own drummer.  Beasley, whose Twitter handle [disclaimer: it's unverified, but seems highly authentic] is @IMABIG0, doesn’t tweet as much as some of his peers, but he’s still been active enough to provide us with an interesting window into his everyday life.

What you’re about to read is my idea of what a typical day in the life of Michael Beasley would be like, based on my observations of his Twitter timeline.  I’ve read through over 1,000 of his tweets, and I’ve used some of the more interesting ones to construct a semi-factual story.  All highlighted text will take you directly to a tweet from Beasley (or a tweet/photograph pertaining to him), while the rest of the ink is filler based upon my knowledge of our subject.

8:00 AM: After a quiet night spent reading up on primitive erotic art, Michael Beasley wakes up to catch a flight.  He quickly gets dressed, tosses some clothes and assorted toiletries into a knapsack, and heads to the garage.  Before he gets into his S-Class Mercedes, he stops to take photographs of the AMG decals.

9:53 AM: Naturally, Super Cool isn’t super timely.  Unfortunately, he’s more than fashionably late.  He misses his flight, which departed at 9:45, because he wasted 15 minutes trying to upload those photos of his Mercedes to Twitter.

10:00 AM: Since he no longer feels like flying out on this particular day, Michael Beasley elects to have his Benz wrapped in matte black.  When you’re Michael Beasley, you make decisions like this pretty spontaneously, and that’s okay, ’cause you’re an NBA player and you don’t need an appointment.

10:57 AM: While he waits for his Benz to be wrapped, Beasley summons his driver (and his Bentley) to take him to the mall.  He sparks one for the ride, then proceeds to spend more money than most of us make in a year.  There are some things, however, that not even Michael Beasley can afford.

1:17 PM: Having finished with his shopping, Beasley is suddenly hungry as f@ck, and he’s equally thirsty for a good time… so he calls his boys and organizes a gathering at the local Dave & Buster’s.  At Dave & Buster’s, he hears the new Willow Smith song.  He sends his driver to go cop two copies of her album, ’cause the track is “all the way dope.”

2:11 PM: The arcade has proven to be fruitful, and now it’s time to cash in on those tickets!  Beas has earned himself a stuffed turtle, which would end up changing hands in his infamous estate sale.

2:39 PM: The car’s in the shop, the mall has been bought, and Dave & Buster’s was a blast.  Ever seeking an alternative to boredom, Beasley figures this is a good time to get a tattoo.  On his philosophical gangsta tip, Mike elects to put a clever acronym on his chest: H-O-O-D, for Holding Our Own Destiny.

6:26 PM: Finally back home, Super Cool is ready to watch some TV.  Trouble is, he can’t find the remote.  He does happen to find a purple pack of Skittles under the couch cushion—a very pleasant surprise—and it turns out that his favorite show, Doug, is on Nick!  About the only thing that could f@ck this up is a power outage.

6:27 PM: Power outage.  Fortunately, Beasley is an avid collector of candles and candlesticks.

7:32 PM: The power has returned, and the phone rings.  It’s the auto shop.  The Benz has been wrapped, and it’ll be dropped off shortly.  When you’re Michael Beasley, you get valet service.

7:51 PM: The Benz arrives, and the smart phone comes out.  Remember, there’s no point in blowing money on dumb-expensive stuff if you aren’t gonna show it off on Twitter.  In the name of stunting, Beasley also photographs his mall haul, which includes two Rolex watches, the new Air Jordans, and about 300 hats.

10:43 PM: Late-night workout to offset all of the unhealthy activities that took place throughout the day.  Workouts make Super Cool super hungry, though…

12:32 AM: …and he knows Wendy’s is where he can eat great, even late!  Beasley drools over the thought of a spicy chicken sandwich (or two, or three).  He hops in his Batman Benz and hits up the drive thru.  It’s still open, but they’re out of spicy chicken sandwiches.  Always a cool character, Beas tries to take the bad news in stride… but he’s sorely disappointed.  He becomes more upset with his apparent lack of luck when he realizes that he left his Willow Smith CD in the Bentley.  He’s forced to settle for Nipsey Hustle and a Baconator.

2:00 AM: To conclude an exhausting day of poor planning, irresponsible spending, and E-stunting, Mike listens to a few sappy love songs, downs a Spongebob juice, and cries himself to sleep.  It may seem as if this young baller has it all, but his insecurities are eating him alive.

The moral of the story?  If you aren’t following Michael Beasley (@IMABIG0), you’re doing it wrong.

Tyreke Evans came into the NBA with a bang, becoming just the fourth rookie ever to average 20-5-5 during his stellar season that was 2009/10.  As he managed to outshine other highly-impressive rookie point guards such as Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings, Evans scored game-winners, recorded triple-doubles, and even experienced something of his own AI-Jordan moment.  Despite his busted jumper and tendency to heavily favor his right hand, ‘Reke certainly appeared to be a superstar in the making.  I don’t think I was the only one that saw a little LeBron in him, and I know I wasn’t alone in thinking he’d soon become one of the league’s better point guards.

Fast forward to the present, and it’s unclear whether or not Tyreke Evans is the best point guard on his own team… or whether or not he’ll be playing point guard at all.  After his sophomore slump began to extend into his third season, Evans found himself playing a lot of the three.  At times, he came off the bench.

Not exactly the future I foresaw for the young man whose rookie season landed him in the company of Oscar and MJ.  While he has suffered through his share of injuries over the past two seasons, he’s also been unable to improve on that broken jump shot.  With Sacramento’s situation being so… Sacramento, who the hell knows what will become of Tyreke Evans.

Maybe we’ll just have to settle for Tyreke being second to none in the “offseason highlight mixtape” category.

So, um, at 1:05… was that some sort of mini shammgod into a double crossover?

I think it was.  Can’t honestly say I’ve ever seen anything quite like that before.  Keep in mind that this is coming from a man who owns every AND1 Mixtape, and realize that Tyreke Evans could probably dribble his way out of just about any situation.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about his driving.

The Spirits Of St. Louis ceased to exist more than three and a half decades ago, but the defunct ABA franchise is still generating some big bucks for a couple of brothers.

When the NBA and ABA agreed to a merger in 1976, only four ABA teams were brought over to the NBA: the Pacers, Nets, Nuggets, and Spurs.  Others, such as the Colonels (Kentucky), were awarded lump sums of money for putting an end to their operations.  Colonels owner John Y. Brown came away with about $3 million, which may seem like a lot… until you consider the revenue generated by the agreement between the NBA and Spirits Of St. Louis owners Dan and Ozzie Silna—as much as $240 million.  Via ESPN…

NEW YORK — The NBA asked a Manhattan judge on Thursday to side with the league in a legal battle with origins in the bygone era of short shorts, low-top sneakers and big Afros.

The dispute stems from a sweetheart deal that’s enjoyed by the former owners of a defunct American Basketball Association team — and despised by current owners of four NBA franchises.

It all began in 1970, when future legends like Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek and Bill Bradley filed an antitrust lawsuit challenging the NBA’s then-proposed merger with the ABA.

As part of a settlement reached in 1976, the St. Louis Spirits of the ABA agreed to fold. In exchange, the NBA was required starting in 1980 to pay Spirits owners Ozzie and Dan Silna a portion of the television revenue earned by the four ABA teams that survived the merger: the Indiana Pacers, now Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs.

Because the four teams must share with the Silnas as long as the NBA exists, the brothers have quietly made a killing off league’s explosion in popularity in recent decades — by some estimates, around $240 million so far.

“Every year, when it came down to take a look at the budgeting process we would all just shake our heads,” a former Nuggets executive once told the Los Angeles Times.

But the brothers have now called a technical foul: Last year, they asked the court to reopen the old antitrust case, claiming that the league has unfairly cut them out of revenue from international broadcasts and cable packages.

The judge who had originally presided over the case in federal court in Manhattan died last year. But a current judge, Loretta Preska, agreed to take a look.

NBA lawyer Jeff Mishkin argued on Thursday that the revenue-sharing provision applied only to national broadcasts by traditional TV networks.

Mishkin said the agreement makes clear that, “You get network television revenues — and that’s all you get.” The NBA, he added, “has never not met its obligation.”

The brothers’ attorney, Michael Carroll, countered that wording in the settlement referring to revenue from “all broadcasts” should be interpreted to include more modern TV offerings like NBA League Pass, which allows viewers to see out-of-market games.

Preska told the parties she would review their court filings before making any ruling. In the meantime, she suggested they should try to find a way to share the wealth without one.

“I think you people ought to sit down and talk about this,” she said.

While I’m sure that not even the Silna brothers could’ve foreseen the sort of riches they’ve come into, this has got to be one of the savviest business maneuvers I’ve ever read about.  One of the dumbest, too, I suppose.  I know TV revenue wasn’t then what it is now, but come on, NBA!  How the hell, in a changing world, can you agree to do something FOREVER?! Terrible mistake.

I bet these dudes will get that League Pass money, too.

On June 6th, 2001, Allen Iverson dropped 48 on the Lakers in Los Angeles to put the Sixers up 1-0 in the Finals.  Eleven years later, he’s still steppin’ over Tyronn Lue on our new t-shirt.

This shirt has been printed to coincide with Reebok’s re-release of the Answer IV, the iconic sneaker Iverson wore during his MVP campaign of ’00/01.  RBK dropped a white/black colorway just weeks ago, and other versions are set to become available over the course of the holiday season.

Only 25 of these shirts have been made, so don’t miss out!

Buy it right here for just $20 (plus $5 shipping).

What he’ll make of it is yet to be determined, but it appears that Andray Blatche will get his second chance.  According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, Blatche will sign a one-year deal for the vet’s minimum with the Brooklyn Nets.  ESPN says the deal won’t be guaranteed, essentially making this a paid tryout… but assuming Blatche is in shape, he ought to be able to crack the roster for a Brooklyn squad with a frontcourt so thin they’ve been forced to consider options like Hilton Armstrong and Eddy Curry.

The Nets are obviously looking at this as a very low-risk signing, especially if the contract isn’t guaranteed.  If that truly is the case then there is really no argument to be made that this doesn’t make sense.  As big a knucklehead as he’s been, Blatche is arguably the most talented player left to be had, and he’s also 6’11.  While many would argue that talent has never been the issue—and they would be right—Blatche has been working out in Houston, he did leave some sort of positive impression in his meeting with Avery Johnson, and he has been saying all the right things since the Wizards let him go earlier this offseason.

In August, ‘Dray stated that his preferred destination would “be back on the court,” and that “it doesn’t matter if it’s the Heat or the Spurs or the D League.”

Say what you will about Blatche, but this statement reflects the humble attitude a player in his situation needs to maintain.  While I’m not ready to anoint the dude a changed man based on a little posturing, I will say that this: if these words continue to resonate in the approach he takes throughout this experiment, Andray Blatche will make it with the Nets.

And the quest for the triple-double will continue.  (I’m sorry, Andray, but you can be a saint for the remainder of your career and I’m still gonna give you the lifetime Ricky Davis treatment for that sh!t)

Unlike Javaris Crittenton, most of us have never faced a murder charge.  That being said, I think we can all agree that it’d probably be a rather stressful experience, right?  I mean, if I was dealing with a situation that’s essentially life or death, I’m not exactly sure if anything could lift my spirits… even if anything included an expensive luxury vehicle full of beautiful women.

I must admit, I’m pretty impressed with these ladies’ NBA knowledge. There are NBA bloggers out there that wouldn’t recognize Javaris Crittenton.

As for the aforementioned murder trial, Crittenton is currently free on $230,000 bond. He’s since been through the arrest/bond process again. After refusing to get out of his Porsche and autograph a speeding ticket, Crittenton was apprehended and forced to cough up a couple grand. There was also the locker-room standoff with Gilbert Arenas that preceded all of this, of course. That pretty much put him out of a job.

So here is Javaris Crittenton… jobless, a defendant in a murder trial, talking to a cameraman about people killing people. And how he’ll be back in the NBA. And how everything is great.

Yeah.