NEW YORK (AP) — After 20 years in the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki can't be fooled.He knows when teams aren't giving an honest effort, when they are out there playing but not playing to win."It's pretty obvious," Nowitzki said.While easy to spot, tanking is not so easy to stop, the NBA is finding.It's a problem for the league office, which has fined owners, chastised teams and sent out league-wide memos on the topic. And with big brother watching, teams are abiding by the letter of the law, but arguably not the spirit of its intent.Tanking is viewed as a solution — sometimes the only one — for some teams and their fans, hoping something good can come from being bad if they cash in at the lottery and land a top draft pick.Nearly a third of the 30 NBA teams are brutally bad this season, and it's hard to believe some aren't losing on purpose. Phoenix, Memphis, Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas, Sacramento, Brooklyn, Chicago and New York are all on track to lose 50 or more games, and only the Nets aren't motivated... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — After 20 years in the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki can't be fooled.He knows when teams aren't giving an honest effort, when they are out there playing but not playing to win."It's pretty obvious," Nowitzki said.Easy to spot, the NBA is finding tanking not so easy to stop.It's a problem for the league office, which has fined owners, chastised teams and sent out league-wide memos on the topic. And with big brother watching, teams are abiding by the letter of the law, but arguably not the spirit of its intent.Tanking is viewed as a solution — sometimes the only one — for some teams and their fans, hoping something good can come from being bad if they cash in at the lottery and land a top draft pick.Nearly a third of the 30 NBA teams are brutally bad this season and it's hard to believe some aren't losing on purpose. Phoenix, Memphis, Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas, Sacramento, Brooklyn, Chicago and New York should all lose 50 or more games, and only the Nets aren't motivated to lose — they... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — After 20 years in the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki can't be fooled.He knows when teams aren't giving an honest effort, when they are out there playing but not playing to win."It's pretty obvious," Nowitzki said.Easy to spot, the NBA is finding tanking not so easy to stop.It's a problem for the league office, which has fined owners, chastised teams and sent out league-wide memos on the topic. And with big brother watching, teams are abiding by the letter of the law, but arguably not the spirit of its intent.Tanking is viewed as a solution — sometimes the only one — for some teams and their fans, hoping something good can come from being bad if they cash in at the lottery and land a top draft pick.Nearly a third of the 30 NBA teams are brutally bad this season and it's hard to believe some aren't losing on purpose. Phoenix, Memphis, Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas, Sacramento, Brooklyn, Chicago and New York should all lose 50 or more games, and only the Nets aren't motivated to lose — they... [More]

The Los Angeles Lakers signed guard Briante Weber on Monday, the team announced.Although terms of the contract were not announced, multiple media outlets reported last week that it would be a one-year deal. Weber, 24, appeared in 20 games last season with the Charlotte Hornets and Golden State Warriors, averaging a combined 3.1 points and 1.1 assists.The 6-foot-2, 165-pound Weber appeared in 27 games with the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Warriors and Hornets in his two NBA seasons, averaging 3.4 points and 1.6 assists.An NBA D-League All-Star selection in 2017, Weber was a three-time Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Virginia Commonwealth.

The Memphis Grizzlies signed guard Briante Weber to a 10-day contract Friday after he was called up from the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League.The 6-foot-2, 165-pound Weber has appeared in 22 games (nine starts) with the Skyforce and averaged 10.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.95 steals in 28.5 minutes in his first professional season. Weber, 23, ranks fifth among qualifying D-League players in steals per game.Undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft out of Virginia Commonwealth, Weber spent time on the Miami Heat's preseason roster.