Ray Charles', interpretation of America, The Beautiful is so soulful. Charles is obviously giving props to the United States of America. I concur but want to also send a shout out to the game of basketball. From Brian Cardinal to LeBron James ... I just love the game. Bang the link people.

Lang
Lang.Greene-at-gmail.com
http://twitter.com/hoopsvine… Continue

Free agency has begun and players are looking to get paid. So we decided to look at some guys around the league that are relatively inexpensive for the amount of work they put in. Rookies have been excluded.

Ronnie Brewer, Utah Jazz, Shooting Guard
2009 Salary - $1,834,680

After… Continue

The Lakers lose Trevor Ariza to the Rockets. The Rockets lose Ron Artest to the Lakers. Surely you agree that Los Angeles is the winner of this free agent signing swap – right?

As a role player, I love Ariza’s game. But what is Houston’s plan for him with Yao Ming… Continue

The Miami Herald reported earlier today that the fifth overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft is headed back to Spain for the next two seasons.

Rubio will rejoin his Euroleague team – DKV Joventut. Further, El Periodico, a Barcelona newspaper is reporting that R… Continue

“Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped” – Elbert Hubbard

This week’s throwback takes us back to the 1998 NBA Draft to refresh your memories on one of the worse trades in NBA history.

The referenced trade involved the Milwaukee B… Continue

We recently caught up with ESPN Analyst Jay Bilas to talk a little NBA Draft and his early favorite to win the NCAA Tournament in 2010.


Lang: What's up Jay? Welcome back to the Vine.

Jay Bilas: Great to be back! Thanks for having me.

Lang: I wanted to get your thoughts on t… Continue

While it has become the “in” topic to discuss the summer of 2010 class which contains megastars, I believe that this year’s free agent crop has a few guys that can add firepower to playoff contenders. However, this list only contains guys that had player options for the upcoming season… Continue

After one turbulent season at the helm in Detroit, the Michael Curry era has come to an abrupt end. Even after earning a playoff berth.

Say what you will about Joe Dumars, the Pistons President of Basketball Operations, does not hesitate pulling out the axe on coach… Continue

Were you surprised that Carlos Boozer decided not to opt out of his contract to return for his sixth season with the Utah Jazz? If you were, you shouldn’t have been.

Think about it. Boozer is coming a season in which he only suited up for only 37 games. In th… Continue

If we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusion - Noam Chomsky.

Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Yao Ming could be out for the entire 2009-10 season due to the re-fracture of his navicular bone (foot) suffered in the Western Conference Semifinals… Continue

Marvin Gaye‘s interpretation of the American National Anthem at the 1983 NBA All-Star game is one of my personal favorite versions of the song. It reminds me a lot of Hoops Vine. Classy, soulful and strong.

Lang
Lang.Greene-at-gmail.com
http://twitter.com/hoopsvine… Continue

Soft, overrated, underachiever, unappreciated, underrated or taken for granted. Whatever label you want to give Vince Carter (I go with underrated), even haters must respect that he's arguably the best dunker of all time. Any doubt ... surf You Tube.… Continue

The real season has begun and the Magic have countered moves by San Antonio and Cleveland as they attempt to build on last season’s postseason run.

The Magic have acquired a legit superstar in Vince Carter and a promising young big man in Ryan Anderson… Continue

1. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers, PF
No brainer. Griffin, at least initially, is the cream of this year’s crop. However, there is now a logjam in the Clippers’ frontcourt, with Zach Randolph not expected to hit the bench – especially with the money he makes.

2.… Continue

The Atlanta Hawks dealt Acie Law and Speedy Claxton to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for high scoring guard Jamal Crawford.

Atlanta is obviously trying to insert more firepower into their lineup. Joe Johnson is a top level talent… Continue

Don’t you miss the 80s & 90s where guys entering the NBA still at least appeared like they were waiting for their first huge payday? Nowadays guys hit the draft stage ready for the boardroom.

So with the 2009 NBA Draft upon us, I figured we would bring back an oldie ... that still hasn't lost its luster.

In my opinion, nothing tops Jalen Rose’s bright red pinstriped suit. I don’t know how anyone close to him co-signed that monstrosity, but learning from past trans… Continue

Another professional athlete, another DUI charge. Tarence Kinsey can’t be one of the sharpest tools in the shed. How else could you explain his reasoning for sipping on the good ole rocket fuel and getting behind the wheel – especially with Donte Stallworth’s DUI case domi… Continue

Hindsight is 20/20 they say, but honestly can anyone justify with a straight face why Michael Olowokandi and Raef LaFrentz were selected ahead of Paul Pierce, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki?

The NBA Draft is a yearly… Continue

If anyone doesn’t believe the old saying that the “rich get richer,” need only to reference the San Antonio Spurs ability to reload for Tim Duncan’s swan song years without giving up top tier (at this point) talent. I wrote a piece about two weeks ago that asked the question “… Continue

The Minnesota Timberwolves have acquired the 5th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, sending Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Washington Wizards.

The Wizards also sent forwards Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila and Oleksiy Pecherov to the… Continue