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10 Feb ' 09:36
Friday, February 10
» 12:31 PM ET Update» 09:59 AM ET Update » Update: 12:31 PM ET
Stefan Bondy: Nets will not waive anybody to make room for another signing, Nets GM Billy King said. They're going with what they have, injured and all
Stefan Bondy: As I tweeted yesterday, Nets want to retain D James' Bird Rights to fill out roster around Lopez, D-Will and Howard
After the ESPN story came out, Jennings tweeted: "Just because I said I'm keeping my options open dont mean I'm leaving Milwaukee.... And idc about the market part!" I asked Jennings after shoot-around if he sees positives with the Bucks franchise in the long term. "I can't say I haven't seen any positives," Jennings said. "The fact we made the playoffs my first year. The second year we were what, two games out of the playoffs. "Right now we're in eighth place."Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Bogut is out with a fractured left ankle and was hampered last season by right hand and right elbow injuries suffered the previous year. "It's something he can't control," Jennings said. "The fact he came to training camp healthy; he was 100% and in some of the best shape he has been in a long time. The fact he went down I'm sure is just killing him right now. "But I know Andrew. He's a tough guy and he'll get through this and he'll come back and be ready whenever he can." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed guard Ben Uzoh from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League, Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced today. The signing of Uzoh marks the 22nd GATORADE Call-Up of the 2011-12 season. Uzoh will wear No. 6 for the Cavaliers and is available for tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. In 12 games (all starts), Uzoh has averaged 16.8 points on .525 shooting, 6.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 steals in 34.4 minutes per game with the Vipers. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound point guard was named the D-League Performer of the Week for games played Jan. 16-22 after averaging 22.3 points on .651 shooting, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds in 37.0 minutes and leading Rio Grande Valley to a perfect 3-0 week.
JR Smith and his Zhejiang Chouzhou Golden Bulls lost today against Guangsha in the 32nd round of Chinese Basketball Association and are mathematically out of playoffs. JR Smith scored today 32 points with 7 rebounds and 4 assists. The news means that JR Smith will be able to return to the NBA when the regular season ends, in two rounds, on February 15.
Kobe Bryant didn't know what the heck we were talking about. When the Los Angeles Lakers star guard sat down for postgame interviews following his team's 88-87 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday, he faced a barrage of questions -- not about the game, but about Harvard grad and the New York Knicks newest sensation, Jeremy Lin. "What? I have no idea, I mean I know who he is, but I don't really know what's going on too much with that," Bryant said when asked about Lin and what he's done in the past weekSB Nation
During Bryant’s senior year, Nash scouted Kerry Kittles at Villanova practices and then watched Kobe play about five miles away. At the end of the season, Nash was let go by Washington, but then hired by John Calipari, who had just joined the Nets as coach and president. “I started there about two weeks before the ’96 draft and Kobe had already worked out for them twice,” Nash said. “I was delighted to learn Calipari really liked him. I echoed John’s feelings and we arranged to bring him in a third time, which sealed the deal.”
The draft that year was at the Meadowlands, and on the night before, Nash and Calipari had dinner with Joe and Pam Bryant. “John asked Joe what he expected for his son,” Nash said. “He said he thought Kobe would start as a rookie and be an All Star in his second season.”
“Kobe’s representative called me. Even though Arn Tellem had been excited to know we were going to select his client, he now claimed Kobe did not want to be in Jersey and might not sign. I knew he was bluffing about signing. He had already renounced his collegiate eligibility by hiring an agent and Europe was no longer paying big money. “At the same time, Kobe placed a call to Calipari and basically said the same thing,” Nash continued. “Why the sudden change of heart? I told John I believed someone behind us was angling to get Kobe. West previously offered us Vlade for No. 8. In the meantime, David Falk, who represented Kittles, had become aware of the situation and he called Calipari and pressured him to select his client. “Calipari was concerned Falk would hold a grudge if we passed over Kittles. By 6 p.m., I had learned a deal had been arranged between L.A. and Charlotte involving Vlade and Kobe. I still lobbied hard to stay the course, but the combination of Joe Taub, Kobe, Falk and Tellem had worn away Calipari’s resolve. It was a tough spot for a rookie coach and top decision maker.”New York Post
Cavs rookie Kyrie Irving will miss tonight’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks and tomorrow’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers because of the concussion he suffered earlier in the week. Coach Byron Scott said Irving will be re-evaluated after the weekend games before another decision is made on his availability. Irving was held out of Friday morning’s shootaround and watched in street clothes. He was not made available to reporters. “We all know how serious this thing can be,” Scott said. “That’s why we are taking such a cautious look at this to make sure when he comes back, he’s OK. We don’t want to put a young man at risk and that’s the biggest thing.” Akron Beacon Journal
But all Bryant wanted to talk about was Austin Rivers. Bryant and Doc Rivers were captured by television cameras talking and smiling as the teams came out of a timeout late in the Lakers’ 88-87 overtime victory on Thursday. “I told him his son’s got some big cojones,” Bryant said, according to a tweet from Sean Deveney of The Sporting News on Thursday nightLost Lettermen
While Houston celebrates its third NBA All-Star Game bid with the league's announcement Wednesday that the city will host the 2013 festivities, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and team president Michael Reinsdorf said they do not want the game to return to Chicago. Chicago hosted its last NBA All-Star Game in 1988, when Michael Jordan, still with a head of hair, won both the slam-dunk competition and the game's MVP honors. But 24 years later, the Reinsdorfs said the cons outweigh the pros in having the game in Chicago. "They'd have to force me to take the All-Star Game," Jerry Reinsdorf said. "They take over the building, your season-ticket holders have to be in a lottery to see if they get tickets and then they don't get a good ticket. Really, no good can come out of it and all it can do is upset your fans."
» Update: 09:59 AM ET
Brandon Jennings, the Milwaukee Bucks' leading scorer, told ESPN.com Thursday he will strongly consider leaving Milwaukee for one of the league's larger markets once his rookie contract ends. "I am going to keep my options open, knowing that the time is coming up,'' Jennings said in an email interview. "I'm doing my homework on big market teams.''
Jennings' exciting style of play has invigorated the Bucks' fan base and Milwaukee's management views him as a building block. But the point guard is not ready to commit to the franchise long-term. "I'm not saying I won't (sign an extension with the Bucks) and I'm not saying I will,'' he said. "I'm just keeping my options open.''
While Jennings is not in the class of those players, he said their decisions have influenced him. "When you start seeing other players like Dwight Howard or CP3, you start thinking,'' said Jennings, who is averaging 18.9 points and 5.3 assists for the Bucks
"It has nothing to do with the city of Milwaukee or anything like that because that's where I started my career,'' Jennings said. "They've been nothing but good to me. (Coach) Scott Skiles and (general manager) John Hammond have been good to me. It's just that I'm understanding the business of basketball now.''
"I'm going to keep playing hard every night for the Bucks as long as I'm there,'' Jennings said. "I'm not promising that's where my future will be. I will make sure me and (agent Bill Duffy) look at all the best options.''
The Houston Rockets still have a longing for Gasol, but the Lakers would want a player the Rockets are most reluctant to part with: point guard Kyle Lowry. The Lakers could probably pry a combination of Kevin Martin and Luis Scola for Gasol, league sources said, but it’s doubtful they’ll move Gasol without solving their point guard problem. Lowry has developed into one of the league’s finest point guards, but Rockets general manager Daryl Morey isn’t trading him.
So, the Lakers will keep probing the market, waiting. Bryant has patience, because he believes in GM Mitch Kupchak. Nevertheless, there’s fear the Buss boys are dictating basketball policy now, and that’s been apparent in the glumness front-office peers and agents sense from Kupchak when they speak to him.
For now, the Lakers have been looking over some recent workout tapes of free agent Gilbert Arenas and will likely watch him work out in person in the next few days. Still, Bryant mostly speaks about his belief in the Lakers’ frontline and the need to clean up the sloppiness and missed execution in fourth quarters
It's so tough that Udrih wouldn't say whether he'll exercise his option to play another season with the Bucks. The 29-year-old Udrih, who is making $7.3 million this season, has a player's option for $7.8 million next season. "I just want to see how this year turns out," said Udrih, who planned to play in Russia if the NBA lockout hadn't ended. "Whatever I say right now would be out of the blue. I would just be guessing."Racine Journal-Times
The 12-year veteran, who averaged 7.2 ppg and 2.5 apg with the Bucks last season, was invited to training camp by several franchises, but with no guarantee that he'd make the final roster he decided to wait at home for a good fit. Boykins confirmed reports that he came close to signing with the Orlando Magic last week and says he's now in conversations with other clubs. "We're talking with a couple of teams and hopefully something will get done. I don't want to say the names because I don't want to jinx it."
Puerto Rican team Indios de Mayaguez are interested as well in Allen Iverson. Guaros de Lara wants Allen Iverson from next Saturday.
UPDATE: Guaros de Lara informed that they will have a press conference at 2pm (Venezuelam time) without revealing the reason for that press conference. It seems that Allen Iverson is even closer to move to Venezuela. UPDATE 2: "The deal is 80% done. We have to finalize few details before the contract will be sealed. Our offer is way better than the one from Puerto Rican team" said Morris to Lider ed Deportes. Guaros hope to sign Iverson tomorrow.
Rivers said he ran into Rasheed Wallace at the Duke-UNC game. Wallace has been contemplating a comeback. Boston Globe
Scott Schroeder: Golden State Warriors-owned Dakota Wizards picked up Darington Hobson. Jerome James went unclaimed, unforch
Four years ago, Marc’s rights were traded to the Grizzlies for Pau, and people called it the worst, most one-sided trade in history. Now, Marc’s an All-Star and, yes, Pau was privately seething over the coaches leaving him out. Still, the Lakers didn’t deserve three All-Stars, and they knew itYahoo! Sports
Hawks forward Tracy McGrady offered his support for Smith in a Twitter post. “Real upset that my man JSmoove got snubbed for the AllStar game!” McGrady wrote, referring to Smith by his nickname. “Josh Smith is one of the best forwards n the East and deserves to be there!” All four analysts on the “NBA on TNT” studio show included Smith on their list of All-Stars. “Josh Smith deserved to make the All-Star team [because] he’s been the best player on the Atlanta Hawks this year,” Charles Barkley said on the air.
The 22-year-old Jennings is shooting 42.6% from the field and 35.8% from three-point range and has attempted the most threes on the team (57 for 159). Jennings tweeted after hearing the news: "Just gotta work even harder now."Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
In recent weeks, he has been bombarded with phone calls, text messages and e-mails from family, friends and complete strangers, all of whom wanted to know what he thought about his a push for a spot on the Eastern Conference’s roster. The questions got old, and Varejao concedes he needed some relief. “At the same time, it’s a good thing when you hear stuff like that from a lot of people,” Varejao said. “It means you’re doing a good job and you’re helping the team.”Akron Beacon Journal
“I am very honored to be selected to this year’s All-Star game,” Wiliams said through his Twitter account Thursday night, “and I would like to thank all of the coaches in the Eastern Conference.” Bergen Record
Luol Deng: Words can't describe how happy I am to make my first all star. Thanks to all my supporters especially the coaches who voted for me. #Honored
While Love acknowledged that his suspension was warranted, he seems ready to put it behind him and is looking forward to continuing his tremendous season. Ranking in the top five in the NBA with averages of 25.0 points and 13.7 boards, Love was added to the Western Conference All-Star team Thursday. "It's a lot of joy," he said. "It's really a respect thing. I've had a great season thus far and we've had some success as a team. For me, it's definitely a big deal. I put in a lot of work these last three and a half seasons and I don't intend on stopping."Fox Sports North
Darren Collison: Just got off the phone wit my all star center.humble & hungry.@Roy Hibbert is a worker. Very deserving for a good dude.Congrats.Hib Hib!Lol
Hibbert was named a reserve on the Eastern Conference All-Star team by coaches Thursday. The All-Star Game is Feb. 26 in Orlando, Fla. "I wouldn't be here without my teammates," Hibbert said about the first of what he hopes will be numerous All-Star appearances. "They deserve just as much credit for helping me get here."Indianapolis Star
Heading into the 2008 draft, the Houston Rockets, who had the No. 25 pick that year, told him something he hasn't forgotten. "Houston said if they drafted me, they would send me to the D(evelopment)-League for a year or two," Hibbert said. "That was motivation."Indianapolis Star
Kevin Garnett had been voted into the last 14 All-Star Games, playing in 13. Ray Allen has participated in 10 All-Star Games, three as a Celtic. “Not at all,’’ Garnett said when asked if he was disappointed. “The All-Star Game is for the privileged. I haven’t even looked at the list [of All- Stars], but the first-timers, I’m always proud for them to get the opportunity to go and experience the All-Star festivities. Lord knows I’ve had enough. So I get to actually take me a vacation and see what that’s like and actually rest these bones a little bit. I’ll be watching at home.’’ Boston Globe
But with the shortened season, he has no problem having a few days off with no games or practice. "It's always nice to have some days off," Allen said. "All-Star weekend, if I had my druthers, as a player I would make it all week. It wouldn't be All-Star weekend, it would be All-Star week with the last game played on Monday. At least if you're playing in the game, you'd have at least Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to do something with your family. The festivities would be held throughout the weekend, so you kill two birds with one stone. So you get everybody rest."
Change is coming, because these teams are no longer constructed, constituted, for the championship chase. “It’s always a brawl whenever we fight,” Bryant said. “It’s ugly. It’s physical. I’ve enjoyed competing against them. …We’re old school. Ray, Paul, Kevin. So is Rajon [Rondo]. How they prepare for the game, how much it means to them, the emotion they put into the game. You don’t really that see that much from the young guys out there.” Yahoo! Sports
Kobe Bryant on #Lakers beating #Celtics: "Any win right now is our best win of the year. We did ok, we did well. Our execution in the fourth is still very poor in terms of what we need to accomplish. But all in all I thought it was a good defensive effort."
As soon as Lin entered the room, the herd closed in. Billy Walker smiled, pointed and shouted from the other side of the room: “There he is! There’s Jeremy Lin!” Landry Fields, who had just finished explaining that Lin slept on Landry’s couch the night before and declared Lin was an “inspiration,” jokingly joined Walker in directing the media traffic to towards the man of the hour. “There he is, everybody! It’s Jeremy Lin!” The pack converged and within seconds people were leaning all over each other trying to capture every word that came out of Lin’s mouth. “This night, it just hasn’t really sunk in yet to be honest,” Lin said. “It’s like I’m still kind of in shock about everything that happened but I’m just trying to soak it all in right now.”HoopsWorld
Longtime Harvard coach Frank Sullivan deserves credit for recognizing a potential standout in Lin and bringing him east to the non- scholarship Ivy League. A source said Yale was the only other Ivy with eyes on Lin. “I think people are very interested in stories like this where there’s a player who seems to have excelled at every level, but for whatever reason has not gotten the opportunities you’d hope he would get,” said Paul Okada, a co-founder of the active fan site JeremyLin.net. “It happened to him coming out of high school, and now we’re seeing it again on the pro level.” New York Post
Rusty Simmons: This is pretty cool: @David Lee set up @Jeremy Lin with his old Manhattan apartment. Maybe the couch-sleeping days are over
Alan Hahn: Per Wash Post: Lin’s followers on Sina, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, rose from 190,000 to a quarter of a million in one week
Udrih has yet to start a game and is playing about half the minutes - 16.9 minutes - than he did in Sacramento. He is also averaging a mere 5.2 points and 3.2 assists. No, this isn't what Udrih had in mind when the trade went down. "I didn't expect to play 15 minutes a game here," Udrih said. "I thought it would be like between 25 and 30 minutes and maybe play with Brandon (Jennings) a little because Brandon likes to move to the shooting guard, too. "But it hasn't happened as much as I thought it would. It is what it is." Racine Journal-Times
Udrih's last name has been mispronounced so often that it's gotten to the point where Udrih doesn't even bother correcting the offenders. More often than not, Udrih said he's been called "Ooh-drick." "If you check my last name with Kirk Hinrich's last name, it's totally different," Udrih said of the Atlanta Hawks guard. "But people keep saying my name like his with ‘rick' at the end. "I don't why people say it, but I've gotten over it. It's been happening so long now."Racine Journal-Times
Murphy reflected on his brief stint in Boston prior to Thursday's game, including why he was unable to live up to the expectations that were set. "I mean, I think just coming in here, I hadn't played in a long time," said Murphy, who had a falling out with the New Jersey Nets in the opening months of last season that kept him out of game action for an extended period. "And then coming in here, it was towards the end [of the season]. I didn't perform the way I feel like I could have and I think not being healthy and everything like that had a lot to do with it." ESPN.com
Murphy sprained his right ankle just three weeks into his tenure with Boston, which kept him out of six consecutive games and further derailed his entire acclimation process. "I look back on it because I look at a team that I really wanted to [play well for] when I was there," said Murphy. "I wanted to really contribute, and physically, I wasn't right and I wasn't able to do it, and there wasn't enough time to kind of get there. It's like a missed opportunity. It's a great organization, and there's really nothing you can do about it. It is kind of what it is." ESPN.com
Toronto Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani is not expected to return to the lineup until after the All-Star break. Bargnani has been sidelined for the past eight games after aggravating a strained left calf. “His timeframe is extended, whether it is two weeks or three weeks, whatever it is,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said after Thursday’s practice. HoopsWorld
Fred Kerber: King sed MarShon "progressed faster" than expected so he is a gametime decision after what happens at shootaround
Keith Bogans underwent an MRI exam yesterday on his left foot and the results drove the situation from bad to worse. Bogans was diagnosed with a complete tear of the left deltoid ligament as well as a fractured left ankle in a freak on-court accident in Wednesday’s 99-92 loss to Detroit and will be lost for the season. New York Post
Avery Bradley explains shoulder injury: "I banged it up and it’s just been hurting me lately. I really didn’t [decide not to play tonight]. If Doc (Rivers) put me in, he was going to put me in. But I told him I was ready, he knew I was hurting so he was just looking out for me, didn’t want me to injure it anymore." Sulia
Isaiah Thomas still showed some swelling Thursday night around the third metacarpal head (knuckle) of his left hand. He sustained a small chip fracture in the knuckle Monday night in New Orleans. The Kings' rookie guard said he can deal with the pain. What bothers him is the lack of flexibility in the finger. "It's tough to catch and shoot," he said. "I've been trying to adjust it by shooting a lot and seeing how I can do a little different. Once the swelling goes down, it'll be all right."Sacramento Bee
The 2012 London games are still six months away, but the trash talk has already started between the two. "[We’ve talked about it] here and there," Gasol said after the Lakers practiced in Boston on Wednesday. "Obviously, he likes to talk trash a little bit about it. The bottom line is the Olympics is always a special tournament for any athlete. The USA team has a very strong team and they’re going to go for nothing less but the gold. We have a pretty good team too. We’re an ambitious team with a lot of talent. So, we’ll give it a shot." ESPN.com
Gasol would like a rematch. "It was a really good game [in 2008]," Gasol said. "It was close. Unfortunately we couldn’t finish it. A couple of shots that we missed, a couple of shots that they made, and they took the game. They took the gold medal. But, it was a fun game, fun to be a part of that game and we’ll see what happens next time." ESPN.com
To Portland coach Nate McMillan, the cold aftermath of Sloan’s resignation is simply “life.” Like Corbin, McMillan said everything moves on and nothing waits. Especially not in the win-now NBA. “It’s going to happen to all of us one day, where the career’s going to be over and it’s going to be time to do something different. And that seems as what has happened with coach Sloan,” McMillan said. “I’m sure if he wanted to get back into coaching, there would be a number of teams that would be interested in him. But [the Jazz] have moved on. … And, unfortunately, it’s part of life.”
Jerry West is plenty busy these days as a consultant for the Golden State Warriors and executive director of the Northern Trust Open, which tees off next Thursday at Riviera Country Club. But he has also kept an eye on the Lakers, the franchise for which he became a Hall of Fame player and, later, general manager. West conceded that many of the Lakers' performances had been "spotty" and "looked like exhibition games," but insisted there were better days ahead. "The Lakers will be very dangerous in the playoffs," he said in a phone interview Thursday with The Times. "They need rest between games. The way they're playing now on the road, they haven't had the kind of success they need. But they're still very capable."
Roland Lazenby: Wojnarowski says other GMs're talking about the doom+gloom in Kupchak's voice these days. Hmmm. Didn't I get waylaid for saying that in Jan?
Roland Lazenby: At first it was thought Jim Buss would merely be a cloud over the franchise. Seems he's coming to be viewed around the NBA as a wet blanket
Jeremy Lin is making the Knicks must-see TV in Asia. The NBA says Thursday its Asian TV partners have added Knicks games to their broadcast schedules following the emergence of Lin, the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. Sina in China will show Friday’s game against the Lakers, while stations in Taiwan will televise Knicks games this month against Toronto, Sacramento, New Orleans, New Jersey and Atlanta. ESPN Philippines also added the Feb. 17 Hornets game in New York. Yahoo! Sports
Did you miss Thursday's NBA rumors? check them out in the Rumors Archive
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10 Feb ' 03:22
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09 Feb ' 20:52
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09 Feb ' 14:50
» 04:08 PM ET Update» 01:04 PM ET Update» 09:16 AM ET Update » Update: 04:08 PM ET
Miguel Angel Paniagua: Sixers front office tells Andre Iguodala he's an All-Star. Twitter
Fans picked the starters and the Eastern Conference coaches choose the reserves. A coach can't select his own player. “I think it would be a good experience but it won’t be like a heart breaker or like a bomb dropped on me,” Iguodala said after today’s practice at PCOM. “Hopefully we get good news but there will be no bad news.” Yes there will bad news if the Sixers aren’t represented according to coach Doug Collins. “I woke up at 4 o’clock this morning and hope and pray we’re represented,” Collings said. “…I wish we could get two but right now I am praying for one.”Philadelphia Inquirer
Collins said he has talked to a number of fellow Eastern Conference coaches about the voting. “I had 4-5 text messages from guys who said they voted for Dre and some said they voted for Lou (Williams) so let’s see,” Collins said. Philadelphia Inquirer
Miguel Angel Paniagua: Wolves PR confirms Kevin Love is an All-Star. Twitter
Marc J. Spears: While Dirk has said he's not deserving of being an All-Star, a source says Mavs coach Rick Carlisle lobbied on his behalf to West Coaches. Twitter
Rich:: "Are you here apartment hunting?" Gasol: "Uhhh…" Rich: "Oh sorry, man. I'm just joking about that crazy Rondo rumor." Gasol: "Umm, which one is that?" Rich: "Oh, you didn't hear? They have you being traded for Rondo now… Never stops, right?" He finally lightened up and let out a smile Gasol: "Haha. Oh yeah. There are a lot rumors. But no, I'm not apartment hunting."CSNNE.com
"I'm sure they'll do something," Bryant said. "They'll tweak something. I don't know what. But I'm sure they'll do something." Bryant balked at the chance to address specifically what roster moves would be necessary to fortify the Lakers' championship aspirations, but he supported the approach made by Lakers' management to improve the team. ESPN.com
Magic owner Richard DeVos Sr. says he wants disgruntled center Dwight Howard to stay in Orlando. "I don't want to trade him," the 85-year-old DeVos said of Howard, who is eligible to become a free agent at the end of the season. ESPN.com
"We like to think we're making headway," DeVos said of talks with Howard and his representatives. "But I don't know. He probably won't know until the end and I won't either." When asked if he could put a percentage chance on Howard staying with the team long-term, DeVos said he wouldn't put a number on it. "I don't gamble on that, I just plan on him staying," the owner said. DeVos said that he talked to Howard recently, but that his son, Dan DeVos, was in charge of talks with Howard. "You never give up," DeVos said of the negotiations. "We've got a great talent, a great young man. He's got to look at his options (and) what's best for him and I have to tell him what I think is best for him. I'm selfish." ESPN.com
Venezuelan team Guaros de Lara, after the signing of former NBA Smush Parker, made an important offer for Allen Iverson. The negotiations with Greg Moore, Iverson's agent, are going further and the offer is better than the one from Indios de Mayaguez, the Puerto Rican team interested in A.I, according to the Venezuelan team. Sportando
"We are competing with a Puerto Rican team for Allen Iverson. There is a big chance for us to land him" said Jorge Hernandez, owner of Guaros de Lara, to El Nacional. "Our offer to the player is very imporant but we are not revealing it until the deal is close. All the coaching staff is excited to have Allen Iverson in the roster" added Hernandez. Sportando
Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey regrets letting go of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin. "We should have kept (Jeremy Lin). Did not know he was this good," Morey wrote on his official Twitter account on Thursday. "Anyone who says they knew misleading U." ESPN.com
New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin — who recently took the NBA by storm — is reportedly moving off his brother’s couch. The Harvard grad was approached about his new digs as he stepped onto his team bus in Washington D.C. Tuesday, TMZ.com reported. “Yeah, I’m gonna get my own place soon,” he told a reporter. New York Daily News
Like Yao, Lin also has carried himself with dignity in the wake of racial epithets too many to mention. It happened often, Lin has said, during Ivy League games, when he heard, “Open your eyes,” “Go back to China,” and other narrow-minded heckling. “It’s humbling, a privilege, and an honor,” Lin said in an interview with AOL Fanhouse’s Elie Seckbach. “I’m really proud of being Chinese. I’m really proud of my parents being from Taiwan. I just thank God for the opportunity.” Washington Post
New Jersey Nets guard Keith Bogans has been diagnosed with a complete tear of the deltoid ligament as well as a fractured left ankle, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. The injury occurred during last night’s contest versus the Detroit Pistons. Bogans will undergo surgery on Monday, February 13. NBA.com
Jonathan Feigen: Kyle Lowry, wearing a compression sleeve to daily team meeting, will be game-time decision vs. Suns tonight with strained right elbow. Twitter
Nearly one week after sustaining a concussion from a pair of blows to the head in a loss to the Detroit Pistons, New Orleans Hornets starting power forward Jason Smith is scheduled to be re-examined on Friday as part of the NBA's new concussion policy. Smith has been away from the team all week, protocol mandated by the newly implemented concussion program. "I'd much rather have him here because his spirit and who he is, he's been our natural leader this year," Coach Monty Williams said Thursday following practice at the Alario Center. "I miss having him around. "I talked to him for a long time (on Tuesday) and he was worried about me. That's who he is. It was 'Coach, how are you doing?' " New Orleans Times-Picayune
Tommy Beer: Jared Jeffries, on ESPN radio, says D'Antoni "is the only coach in the league without an ego or an agenda."Twitter
Tom Ziller: Let it be noted that this week 'maloofs broke' has surpassed 'jimmer fredette' atop the @sactownroyalty search keyword rankings. Twitter
Scott Hoard-Cooper: Indications are Lakers will retire @Shaq uniform No. 34 next season. Brief delay due to rush of schedule, not any doubt it would happen. Twitter
Shavlik Randolph explains why J.R. Smith's people constantly get in fights in China: "The other teams are told to have a player that tries to play physical with him and rough him up... He's sitting there playing against double & triple teams the whole game. I think his family is just protective & they don't like to see players play that physical with him. He's over here scoring 35 or 40 points a game & someone is in the game specifically to try to play hard against you or foul you." Sulia
» Update: 01:04 PM ET
Brian Schmitz: Dwight Howard to writer who asked if Magic are good enough to win a title: "Slick...that's real slick. Ya'll trying to trick me again."Twitter
Sam Amick: Atlanta has signed Erick Dampier to a 10 day contract, the team announces. Twitter
Puerto Rican team Atleticos de San German are on the market looking for a big man to add to the frontline. The team has to replace Jaime Lloreda who won't be able to join the team for March, when the season starts. Two are the hottest names for Atleticos de San German: Garret Siler and Josh Davis. Siler has spent his rookie season with Phoenix Suns averaging, in 21 games, 2.1ppg and 1.3rpg in 2010-11. Josh Davis has played in the Islands with Cangrejeros de Santurce. The other two imports of the team are Marlon Garnett and Mike Harris. Sportando
Lin, now with his third team and suddenly blowing away the league and lighting a spark under the New York Knicks, actually outplayed Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones at point guard that summer and quickly became the talk of the tournament. So much so that Nelson and the Mavs offered the 6-foot-3 long shot a one-year guaranteed contract. Lin turned it into two years from his hometown Golden State Warriors. "When we offered him the one-year guarantee we felt like he was ours, but there's no place like home," Nelson said Thursday during an appearance on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM's Ben & Skin Show. "I’m just always attracted to smart point guards. Jason Kidd and Stevie Nash and J.J. [Barea], they’ve all got their individual slants; J.J. is a little bit more of a scoring point guard, obviously a guy like Jason is a once-in-a- lifetime-type Hall of Famer, but with Jeremy I really, really liked the way he saw the game. He was kind of a stock that really hadn’t been exposed very much at Harvard."ESPN.com
Mary Schmitt Boyer/Tom Reed: Regarding Irving and concussions, there is no timetable for his return. He must be symptom free to return to practice. Twitter
Mary Schmitt Boyer/Tom Reed: For those asking, sources close to Kyrie Irving say this is the first concussion he's suffered. Twitter
In his attempt to quickly return to the court, Kidd has been utilizing cryotherapy. Similar to an ice bath, cryotherapy involves a person standing in a cylindrical chamber while cold air is released around their body, bringing the temperature down to as low as 300 degrees below zero, according to NPR.com. "I think cryotherapy is excellent for anybody and not just athletes," Kidd said Tuesday on The Ben and Skin Show [KESN-FM], according to SportsRadioInterviews.com. "I did buy into it at the end of the season. It came April and [head athletic trainer Casey Smith] asked me to try it out and I felt great throughout the playoff run. I thought, hey, this could be something that could help me throughout my career. It’s not as bad as getting in a cold tub. It takes you at least 3-4 minutes to get into the cold tub. This is a process that you step in the tub and you’re in there for about 2-3 minutes and you’re out and you feel great." FOXSports SouthWest
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09 Feb ' 08:20
Thursday, February 9
» Update: 09:16 AM ET
Restricted free-agent forward Wilson Chandler plans to re-sign with the Denver Nuggets once he finishes playing in China, his agent told Yahoo! Sports. Chandler signed with Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association during the NBA lockout and is committed to stay with the team until China’s season is over. Chandler is drawing “significant interest” from other NBA teams, Chandler’s agent, Chris Luchey said, but he wants to re-sign with the Nuggets for either the rest or the season or a longer-term deal.
“Wilson likes their direction and the stabilization of their roster in Denver with the young talent,” Luchey said in a phone interview from China. “He wants to see how they develop as a team. It’s a unique situation. The ball is in their court. If Wilson is comfortable, he will be a part of their core group.”
“Our goal is to re-sign Wilson Chandler,” Ujiri said. “We like everything about him. Wilson was one of the key players we got in the trade with New York and he’s a phenomenal player, shooter and defender.”
“Wilson could help us right now – Wilson is a quality NBA player who can play 30 minutes of basketball every night,” said Denver coach George Karl, whose team is 15-11 and could use Chandler’s versatility, especially with all of the recent injuries. “When he gets here, we’ll try to incorporate him very quickly.”
When asked about Cleamons’ role in Chandler’s decision Guanghsa, Heard said, “I had met Jim in previous years. He is a great person, a great leader, and a proven winner. It was a good opportunity for Wilson to be coached by him. He has helped Wilson grow as a player and a person.” Yet as the season approached, Cleamons still did not have a complete coaching staff. As the focal point of the team, Wilson lobbied for Heard to join Guangsha. “I told Chris it would be good if he were here working me out.” Luchey agreed, “It made sense. It’s a short season, both of them are familiar with each other, and having coached in China before, Heard is familiar with some of the issues we would deal with.”
Reflecting on his time With Guangsha, Chandler said, “I won’t forget this experience. I didn’t know what to expect. I came with these guys and it gave me a comfort zone. I got a chance to be with people I know and care about in another country,” said Chandler. “That will probably never happen again in life for us as a group. I don’t think any of us would be able to last without all of us. We need each other.”
He returns to Cleveland on Wednesday for the first time since being traded to the Clippers last season, and he says he never wanted to leave here. Spend five minutes here, and all you think about is leaving. Now he wants to stay with the Clippers, he says, "But that's the one thing that bothers me the most; I don't know where I stand." He's making $8.5 million to play for the Clippers and has a contract for next season that will bring him another $8.5 million. From this vantage point, it appears he's standing on pretty firm ground.
So does he want the Clippers to tell him every day they love him? "The way they tell you they love you every day is by signing you to a contract extension," Williams says. So much for all the Clippers playing as if just for the fun of it
The Clippers are not even at the halfway mark this season, he has another year on his contract and he's bellyaching about wanting to be paid more? "This has nothing to do with money," Williams says. Any time an athlete says it has nothing to do with the money, it has everything to do with money. "You misinterpreted what I said," Williams says. "This has nothing to do with money; I just don't know where I stand. "I could be traded tomorrow. I could be traded next week or before March 15, [the trade deadline], or before next season. They aren't going to trade Blake Griffin."
I help him out again. "You are not in the same class as Blake Griffin," and he seems surprised. "I'm not looking for anything," he says. "I'll approach every day the same and be prepared to play, but in a month I could be gone. I'm just answering your questions now." If he's as good as he thinks he is, the contract extension becomes almost automatic, so why so eager now to force the issue? "It's a reality, man. It's reality," he says, and I have no idea what he's talking about. How about going out and proving yourself worthy of an extension? "I don't have to prove anything," he says.
Lang Greene: #Hawks center Jason Collins on retirement: I don’t even think about that. I just try to take it season by season and work extremely hard
Sonny Weems will not be allowed to leave Euroleague team Zalgiris, owner Vladimir Romanov has told RIA Novosti. Weems joined Zalgiris during the lockout, but wrote on his blog Tuesday that he would seek to leave unless Zalgiris beat Barcelona on Thursday to keep alive the Lithuanian team’s hopes of reaching the Euroleague Top 8. “I don’t know what Weems is writing, but he will serve out his contract to the end and will be going nowhere from this club,” Romanov said Wednesday. RIA Novosti
Weems, 25, has not responded to Romanov’s comments, but wrote Tuesday that he had had talks with Romanov, who also owns Heart of Midlothian football club in Scotland. “I've been in discussions with my agent Roger Montgomery and owner Vladimir Romanov and see where the future lies. We've had strong discussions with the owner to see what can we do if we don't make it [to the Top 8], but I don't think I will stay around for the end of the Lithuanian League,” Weems wrote. RIA Novosti
The Rockets officially signed Smith to a three-year contract on Wednesday, and the deal is guaranteed for the remainder of the season and worth the pro-rated portion of the rookie minimum, $480,000. It is partially guaranteed next season and at the team’s option in the third season. “Greg’s been playing really well down in the D-League,” McHale said. “We liked him in training camp. I think he’s got a bright future.”Houston Chronicle
Are the Griz on the verge of adding a 15th man? No. Memphis released journeyman center Josh Davis Monday following a loss against San Antonio purely for salary-cap reasons. Instead of guaranteeing Davis' $854,000 for the rest of this season, the Griz cut Davis in a move toward getting under the NBA's luxury-tax threshold. Memphis Commercial Appeal
Brian Windhorst: LeBron on Larry Bird picking Kobe over him on @Bill Simmons podcast: "Kobe has 5 rings and I have none. I'm an easy target."
Brian Windhorst: LeBron said he seems to get blamed for a lot of things these days, including when the store runs out of milk
Arash Markazi: Lebron James: "You could be watching cartoons with your kids and you don't like it, you say, 'Blame it on LeBron.'"
James said he certainly never "called out" Perkins. "I can see why he may have felt embarrassed," he said. "I don't think I was the only one that reacted to that unbelievable play by Blake, and that's what it was all about, me acknowledging how great of a play it was. If Kendrick Perkins had dunked on somebody else on the other end, I would have done the same thing. "I'm an easy target, let's leave it at that." South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Tom Haberstroh: SVG on LeBron/Wade: "If there was a game plan to lock those guys down, No. 1: Everyone would use it; No. 2: They wouldn't be who they are."
James, who marinated in the Perkins report until commenting on it after the loss, was stunned by the reaction it generated. "For me, social media and Twitter is all about connecting with your fans," James said. "From day one, that's why I got to Twitter, to connect to my fans. "I would never apologize for anything like that when I'm connecting with my fans."South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Robertson on the Heat's title chances: "I want LeBron to win. It felt like the whole country was against him last year. But I've always said this: To win championships, you need to have a center who can get you 12 points, 10 rebounds. The Heat don't have that." TCPalm.com
Why cut Mickell Gladness and keep Juwan Howard, at 39 years old? -- Arnaldo, Miami. A: Because you have no idea how much respect Juwan commands in that locker room. He is a stabilizing veteran presence, much the way Jamaal Magloire had been. Look, you don't play 15 players, and it's not as if Gladness was playing or truly showed enough to be viewed as a legitimate prospect. If he was, they would have kept him. South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Rudy Fernandez: I am happy to be part of Denver Nuggets we try to get better everyday and fight everygame. Thanks for ur continuous support DENVERFANS
Frank Isola: Jeremy Lin on his dunk: "I think (the Wizards) messed up on their coverage." So then Lin went Ivy League on them. Ooooohhhhhh
Tina Cervasio: #Knicks @Jeremy Lin response to @Tyson Chandler saying chemistry starts w/Lin: "Chemistry can't only come from one person, it's a 5 Man game."
“When you heard all rapturous chants of “Je-re-my” and “M-V-P”, what were you feeling?” Lin：”It was an unbelievable experience and I’m just thankful to God for the opportunity to play at Madison Square Garden and thankful to the fans for their support.” SH: “You have such a great performances the last two games. How do you comment on that, and how did your coach and teammates comment on that? Lin：”The team was really happy in general because we really needed the win, and it was a total team effort. We played really hard, especially defensively and we’re glad to get the wins.”
Lin might have been anonymous a week ago, but at least he had a firm grasp of his name. Now because of three basketball games it has been tossed into the swirling sea of public consumption. "Part of me is worried about the Tebow comparison," said Lin's college friend and former Bible Study partner, Eddie Lee, who stood outside the Knicks locker room as a crowd swelled in the hallway. "I hope the media doesn't take that and turn it into something."
When asked if Lin reminded him of any past or current player, D’Antoni said, “That’s pretty easy, but I’m not going to go there,” refusing to mention two-time most valuable Steve Nash, whom he coached in Phoenix. “He plays the game at a high level and we’ll try to keep him there,” D’Antoni said. “He’s just starting his journey and he has a long way to go. He stays grounded, and keeps going, having fun like this, there is no reason he can’t get better.”
“If you love sports you have to love what Jeremy Lin is doing. Getting an opportunity and exploding!!” Nash posted on Twitter.
“It was shocking but I’ve seen him do it in practice, and warm-ups,’’ Fields said of the Lin dunk. “The man’s doing it all right now. He’s a shoo-in for all-stars. Get him in there. Late addition.’’
After his sophomore season, Chandler entered the NBA draft and hired Luchey as his agent. At the time, Heard was working for the Knicks as a scout and advised then-GM Isiah Thomas to draft Chandler as the 23rd pick. “We worked him out for the New York Knicks before the draft. I had worked him out in the summers at different camps — ABCD or Reebok camp, so I was seeing him developing and getting better every summer,” recalled Heard. “He puts in a lot of hard work and is very focused. He doesn’t have a lot of miles on his body. A lot of guys have a lot of miles from before AAU and high school. There is a lot of untapped potential. He could one day potentially be a multiple-time All-Star.”
If he were to get injured, he would potentially lose out on a huge payday. On the other hand, playing overseas would allow him to stay in shape and get play a lot of minutes. “I thought it would be a great opportunity for him to grow because he is still developing,” said Heard. “Guys like Carmelo [Anthony] or Amare [Stoudemire] don’t need to come over, but Wilson still needed game experience.”
Marc Stein: NBA coaches, I'm told, have indeed already cast their All-Star reserve votes. So tonight's games can NOT factor in before tomorrow's results
In a hardly scientific poll, HoopsHype asked five NBA executives and five players - a rookie and four veterans - who would they select if they had a chance to vote for the reserves at this year's All-Star Game. Thunder guard Russell Westbrook was the only consensus pick and a lot of familiar faces were chosen. If the executives and players that took part in the poll had their say, only two guys would make their All-Star debut in Orlando next February 26: Sixers guard Andre Iguodala and Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge.
Jeremy Lin: Congrats to @Landry Fields for making it to the rookie soph game!! Can someone tell me why @i_am_iman not in it???
Iman Shumpert: Make sure y'all congratulate @Landry Fields for making the rookie/sophomore game...#KnickNation
Wallace and Hollins went to visit Rubio soon after they learned the Griz won the right to select second in the 2009 draft. "We didn't leave that meeting saying we can't take that guy," Wallace said. "He was very much in our conversation. He was definitely a consideration. We were trying to get Rubio in for a workout and he wouldn't do it. I don't know whether he would have come. It can be difficult with a high pick waiting on a guy for multiple years. But the reality is we didn't make a decision that we were definitely taking (Hasheem) Thabeet until late that afternoon." Memphis Commercial Appeal
Jason Friedman: Rockets' medical staff clarifying lowry's injury; saying it's officially being labeled a "strained right elbow."
Sacramento city leaders have long said the private investment would be around $130 million towards the $400 million for the total project. Sources said by using Kansas City's paradigm, if A.E.G. contributes $50 million, that will leave $80 million for the Maloofs and the NBA to put towards the private investment portion for funding the arena. "We don't know for sure what A.E.G. will be doing," said Jeremiah Jackson of Think Big, the group charged with getting the project done. "It was $53 million in Kansas City, but the deal terms haven't been finalized. However, that's certainly the model that we're trying to emulate." news10.net
Another source close to the talks said a few options have been laid out for the Maloof payment, but the one that keeps coming up is a 30 year lease, paid up frontnews10.net
David Stern said Wednesday that Hawks ownership has committed to pay the luxury tax should they exceed the league’s salary cap. Stern said he remains confident in the Atlanta Spirit following the group’s attempt to sell the Hawks and the operating rights to Philips Arena that fell through last year. “They’ve committed to pay the luxury tax, which not many teams in our league do these days,” Stern said. “They are committed to hire the personnel to demonstrate to the fans that this is a franchise worth supporting. I think they are committed to Atlanta, and I’m committed to them.”
Stern said the sale of the Thrashers, the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement (including revenue sharing of which the Spirit will benefit) and joining the league-wide credit facility make the Hawks “a desirable asset.” “It could be sold if they were interested in selling it,” Stern said. “But without naming names, they are well down my list of current worries. ... They are doing pretty well on the court and I do know, because we talk about it a lot, they are committed to give it the business support.”
Michael Heisley, the billionaire owner of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, has emerged as one of the remaining bidders for the Dodgers. If Heisley were to buy the Dodgers, Lakers legend and former Grizzlies executive Jerry West probably would join the team in some capacity, according to a person familiar with the sale process.
Heisley leads one of 11 bids that survived the initial cut in the Dodgers' ownership derby. His bid, which had not previously surfaced publicly, was confirmed Wednesday by three people familiar with the sale process but not authorized to discuss it. The remaining bidders can merge, and late entrants can emerge, but for now the field appears set, according to one of those people.
Ronald Tillery: A source confirms LA Times report that Heisley is bidding to buy LA Dodgers. It's a long shot. story coming at http://www.commercialappeal.com
As the Nets prepare to move to their new home in downtown Brooklyn, Jay-Z will headline the Barclays Center's grand opening in September with a concert. And while the team declined to disclose his ownership percentage, which is considered to be small, this much is clear: His influence, particularly when it comes to style and branding, far outweighs his financial stake in the franchise. "I don't tell Jay-Z to do anything," said Brett Yormark, the CEO of Barclays Center and the Nets. "I mean that. He tells me what to do. Listen, when it comes to our engagement, let's just say he's the CEO."
The Nets are celebrating the role that he's played in everything from revamping the logo ("He's refreshed it," Yormark said) to designing new uniforms ("His fingerprints are all over it") to coming up with a new color scheme ("A bold redirection"), all of which the team plans to unveil this spring. In addition, the Nets are set to begin marketing 11 luxury suites that will be known as "The Vault at Barclays Center," a small, high-end space on the event level of the arena. Yes, Jay-Z chose the forks—in addition to offering his input on the Champagne ($300 bottles of Armand de Brignac), the layout (asymmetrical) and much of the décor (lots of black and shimmering metallics).
The question is: By creating and marketing such an exclusive space within the arena, does the team run the risk of alienating—pardon the expression—the 99%? Or, in this case, the 99.9%? "I think there is a concern that everyone is being stratified: 'Oh no, you can't go in there,'" said Andy Dolich, a sports-marketing consultant and former chief operating officer of the San Francisco 49ers. Luxury suites, of course, are nothing new, with pro franchises depending on them for up to 20% of their revenue. (Yankee Stadium has 68 of them.) And Nets officials say they're being careful to appeal to a wide collection of fans. For example, 2,000 tickets will be priced at $15 or less for each game—which, in theory, would buy you 1 minute, 48 seconds in The Vault. Dolich said he has long considered sports to be "the last town square in our society where everybody gets together and has a common experience." But he wonders if that concept is one of growing nostalgia. Sports, he said, seem to be as much about ancillary entertainment—the music, the lights, the plush accommodations—as they are about the games themselves.
Excerpts from The Salt Lake Tribune's interview with NBA Commissioner David Stern on Monday at the league office in New York. Expansion into markets such as Seattle, Kansas City or Las Vegas: I don't see it, honestly. There are franchises that might turn out to be candidates for moving through relocation. I won't rule it out because the owners always consider it. But we don't consider that we need to have an even number [of teams]. We had 23. But, really, economically given our prospects — which are very bright — for a new television contract, significant digital revenues and expanded international operations, what we end up doing is we take in cash but we give away a lot of our revenue stream. And so that would be looked at very, very intensely and I'm not sure there's a majority of owners that would want to go for expansion in the near future. Salt Lake Tribune
Expansion into Europe: That's a different kind of expansion. That's a — we decided that's something I should start talking about again. Because I said at first, 10 years ago, I said in 10 years. Now I've got to start it again in 10 years. [Laughs] Because, and the reality is, you cannot do this stuff free of discussions about the economic situation in the world. So, Athens wouldn't come to mind as a city for an NBA franchise right now. It might in some future time. It's a great place. They have an arena that's left over from the Olympics. They probably can't afford to carry it, OK? But I guess what I would say is, you could step back and see where we played our last exhibition games in Europe. And they were in London in the O2 Arena; they were in Paris at the Bercy, which is the subject of some discussion about a total renovation; they were in Barcelona with FC Barcelona, which is one of the world's most wealthy and well-run basketball clubs; and they were in Milan, where the mayor of Milan suggested that they would be in connection with the 24-team World's Fair. Salt Lake Tribune
Did you miss Wednesday's NBA rumors? check them out in the Rumors Archive
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08 Feb ' 20:49
» 09:46 PM ET Update» 07:31 PM ET Update » Update: 09:46 PM ET
DeVos made a surprise appearance in the Magic locker room tonight before their game against the Miami Heat, and he came right out and said what I believed he was thinking: He does not want to trade the best center in the NBA. “I don’t want to trade him,” DeVos declared to reporters. “You never give up,” DeVos said of the negotiations. “We’ve got a great talent, a great young man. He’s got to look at his options (and) what’s best for him and I have to tell him what I think is best for him. I’m selfish.”SheridanHoops
As Dwight Howard sat at his locker perhaps 10 yards away, DeVos acknowledged that he is trying to convince the superstar center to remain with the team for years to come. "We love him, and he respects us, so we talk," DeVos saidOrlando Sentinel
DeVos said he has tried to tell Howard that, if he goes to a new city, he might never match the bond with that team's fan base that he currently has with Magic fans. "Listen to the fans tonight, cheering," DeVos said. "He's respected. You have to move in life, but the loyalty you develop in a community is always remembered. But if you leave, you don't pick it up in the next town. It's not an add-on, you know, because you lose what you had. Maybe you gain some new [loyalty], but maybe you don't. Maybe the net gain isn't as good you think. We just talk about stuff."Orlando Sentinel
DeVos also dispelled the notion that — if the team's front office determines it must trade Howard — he would veto a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers because the Lakers signed Shaquille O'Neal to a free-agent deal years ago. "I don't have any emotion on that," DeVos said. "I never talked about where he would go because I don't want him to go. I don't discuss where he might go."Orlando Sentinel
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has agreed to terms with free-agent forward DeMarre Carroll (pronounced Deh-MAR-ay). Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released. Carroll originally began the 2011-12 NBA season with the Denver Nuggets. He is expected to join the Jazz prior to practice Thursday morning. NBA.com
Smart took over for the fired Paul Westphal Jan. 5 and said Cousins has grown up a lot in a month's time. "Everything I'd seen or heard about him I've seen a complete personality shift," Smart said. Sacramento Bee
So even though Smith is having another good season, he’s not counting on enough coaches including him on their All-Star ballots that were due Wednesday. The NBA will announce the reserves Thursday night for the Feb. 26 game in Orlando. “I’ve had a chance the past two years, so I don’t want to get my hopes up [now],” Smith said. “I just have to concentrate on really getting off this skid we are on. Everything will take care of itself.”Atlanta Journal-Constitution
That still may not be enough for Smith to make his first All-Star team. He’s only 26 years old despite playing eight NBA seasons, but eventually the opportunities to earn the honor will start to dwindle. “I am just putting it in God’s hands and if I do make it, I am going to be ecstatic,” Smith said. “If not, I will take advantage of the off time.”Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dave McMenamin: Something I found interesting: Kobe said today that he's never met Larry Bird. "Our paths have never crossed"Twitter
Cavaliers rookie Kyrie Irving has his first NBA injury — a concussion. The star guard, who has lived up to being the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, was kept out of Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers with a head injury. The team did not disclose Irving’s concussion until moments before tip-off. There is no immediate timetable for his return. The Cavaliers said in a release that Irving was kneed in the head during the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game at Miami. He complained of a headache after the game and that it worsened overnight and while he warmed up on the floor Wednesday. Times Reporter
For instance, Durant is pretty into rapping, which he's shown in a joking Nike ad and on various freestyles. Now, he's getting a little more professional. In the video above, you can check out Durant's track "Worried About Tomorrow" with his friend and colleague Privaledge. It's not bad, as far as NBA forays into music go. There's room for growth, but we're certainly not dealing with a "K.O.B.E." sort of embarrassment. Yahoo! Sports
Nick Friedell: Will Ferrell introductions went about the same way you thought they would. He said Carlos Boozer still lives at home with his mom. Twitter
The Phoenix Suns have become the first NBA team to license Android tablets across all the company's operations. In an agreement with Verizon Wireless and Samsung Mobile, the Suns will use the Galaxy Tab 10.1 as playbooks on the court (and off) and also in their business operations. AfterDawn
» Update: 07:31 PM ET
Chandler’s camp understands this and hopes to sign a long-term contract with the Nuggets. If the two sides can’t work out a deal, Chandler is prepared to sit out the remainder of the season and test free agency in July. He would still be a restricted free agent, but he would be able to sign an offer sheet and more teams would have money to throw around. HoopsWorld
Jerry West on whether the Warriors will be active leading up to the March 15 trade deadline ... "I think you're probably going to see very little player movement for a while, right until the trade deadline. Because the way the season has been condensed, I think people in the front office are really at a disadvantage when you're trying to add players of caliber who can make a significant difference in your team. I think the one player that we made an offer on would've made a wonderful difference for us, and that's DeAndre Jordan. He's a rising center, he's the brand of basketball that would be beneficial to the Warriors. SI.com
Scott Schroeder: While we're waiting on SB Nation to get back up, here's a scoop: Darington Hobson signed with the D-League yesterday, too. Twitter
But with All-Star rosters set to be announced Thursday and the Thunder boasting an NBA-best 20-5 record, the third-year shooting guard said he believes he should be one of the seven reserves voted in by coaches for the Western Conference. "Oh, yeah, definitely -- yes, sir," he said when asked if he should be an All-Star. "I'm not confident, though. I can't control that. I'll just keep playing hard, winning basketball games and having fun with my guys."SI.com
Ryan Wolstat: Ed Davis says he won't be losing any sleep about not making rookie-sophomore game, but definitely will use it as motivation. Twitter
It is not a popularity contest. It is not a vote on who is the “best” player. It is not a reward for your team having the best record. It is about value to your team, and that is always the determining factor when I cast my annual postseason awards vote. “Oh, I totally agree with that,” coach Rick Adelman told SheridanHoops on the Wolves’ team plane after their 86-84 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday night. “And that’s your argument: Kevin has an unbelievable impact on our team. He’s scoring, he’s rebounding, and more attention is coming his way. This two-game suspension is kind of telling him where you’re at — everybody’s coming at you. And with the best players, that’s what happens. “It (the MVP award) could be the player who puts up the numbers, but I think it’s the guy who has the biggest impact on your team and whether they can win. We’re competitive, and we’re trying to reach another level,” Adelman said. SheridanHoops
So locker room opens and there on big screen, PTI is debating "Perk/LeBron." LeBron James was in training room at time, but other players buzzing about how almost the entire league "clowned" Kendrick Perkins after he was dunked on by Blake Griffin last week. Sulia
Isiah Thomas said he met Rose last year after a game in Detroit and that Rose contacted him after the Bulls' season had ended. "He was pretty down," Thomas told ESPNChicago.com by phone on Wednesday. "He asked me 'How did you do it? How did you win back- to-back championships at this size?' And my response to him was that once you understand your opponent and know your opponent better than you know yourself, you'll win." ESPN.com
But while some question the price Rose is paying in pursuit of an NBA title, Thomas, a 6-1 Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons, said he watches from his home in South Florida and applauds it. "He's very courageous," Thomas said of his fellow Chicago native. "You've got to be courageous and you've got to make sacrifices in terms of your body to have success as a small man in the NBA and to win championships. "And I emphasize win championships, because you can pile up statistics and great numbers playing a non-aggressive style and have a great career. But if you want to win championships, you have to pay the price and Derrick is definitely paying the price." ESPN.com
Jeremy Lin has created a lot of work for his agent and fresh broadcast opportunities for the New York Knicks in Asia since a 28-point performance in his first NBA start two days ago. “I haven’t slept in three days,” Roger Montgomery said in a telephone interview Tuesday between calls and e-mails offering congratulations and endorsement opportunities. “It’s hard to find an agent that doesn’t know what to say but I’m kind of speechless at how all of this is playing out.”Toronto Star
The result is at least one weary believer in Montgomery. “Jeremy just doesn’t look the part,” Montgomery said, eventually finding the words to describe his client’s rise. “It’s part of our world. People underestimate people a lot of times. That’s what makes the story so good.”Toronto Star
He takes no satisfaction in proving he wasn’t a one-hit wonder, because he could be “like a two-time wonder.” And no, he doesn’t consider himself all that smart, regardless of that Harvard education. “That’s a stereotype,” Lin said Tuesday. “(Former Golden State teammate) David Lee would be the first to tell you, he always calls me the dumbest smart guy he knows. Depends on who you ask I guess.”Toronto Star
Michael Lee: John Wall on summer league battle with Jeremy Lin in '10: "He scored a couple of points & everybody started going crazy..but we got the win"Twitter
Eric Koreen: Jennings on his Toronto love: “I just love the city of Toronto, man. ... The people are great here. There’s always something to do." Twitter
Eric Koreen: Drew Gooden laughed his ass off in Bucks room as the McGee sprint-back-on-D incident was rewound for him by a teammate. Twitter
At long last, the Spurs have a game targeted for injured guard Manu Ginobili to make his long-awaited return. Saturday in New Jersey appears to be the day. Speaking before tonight’s game against the 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center, coach Gregg Popovich called Ginobili “likely” for the game against the Nets. In fact, Popovich said Ginobili — who will miss his 22nd game since fracturing his shooting hand Jan. 2 in Minnesota — tried to bargain his way onto the floor in Philadelphia. “I think it’s too early,” Popovich said about the prospect of Ginobili playing against the Sixers. “We’d like to get him into a 5-on-5 situation before he plays. I think we’ll be able to do that this week. “Probably New Jersey is the first time he’ll be allowed to play, I think,” Popovich said. “I think it’s likely.” San Antonio Express-News
The much maligned Los Angeles Lakers bench could receive an unexpected boost Thursday against the Boston Celtics. Lakers guard Steve Blake was medically cleared and returned to practice Wednesday and will be a game-time decision for the Celtics game after being out of the lineup since Jan. 11 with a costrochaondral fracture, which is the a fracture of the cartilage connecting the rib to the sternum. "I've just been patient with it, trying to let it heal," Blake said. "I really had no preconception of when I was coming back. I didn't know if it was going to be sooner or later. I really had no idea. To me, it's on time."ESPN.com
Jerry West on the Warriors job he took in May, which reportedly included stake as a minority owner ... "First of all, you have to consider my title -- advisor -- OK? I've been up there quite a few times, and obviously I communicate with [assistant general manager] Bob [Meyers], [general manager] Larry [Riley] and [owner] Joe [Lacob]. ... I watch all the games, watch the team, try to look for areas where I think there's maybe glaring areas of help needed and try to convey that to everyone up there. "I think you have to be objective, to understand that there's a process to building a team that can endure for a while. And I think it's very obvious to me since I've been there that we need more assets as a team. ... You have owners up there who really want to accomplish something, and they're not going to leave a stone unturned in getting that. But every time we have an opportunity to draft, every time we have an opportunity to sign a free agent that's signable -- and signable means restricted and/or teams that may not match other players offers -- I think we have to do that to create the talent pool up there." SI.com
Pau Gasol: We, the Spanish sportsmen, don´t win by chance.. it's true. Write down the keys of our succes: talent, effort, perseverance and humilityTwitter
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08 Feb ' 14:43
» 04:51 PM ET Update» 01:34 PM ET Update» 09:45 AM ET Update » Update: 04:51 PM ET
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak is awaiting word on details of a workout Gilbert Arenas is planning in Los Angeles later this week and is open-minded about attending, two people with knowledge of the situation told CBSSports.com Wednesday. Although the Lakers have publicly been noncommittal about whether to pursue the three-time All-Star, Kupchak has nothing to lose by evaluating Arenas as a potential solution to the team's point guard woes. The workout date has not yet been set, but Kupchak is said to be willing to attend depending on timing and logistics. CBSSports.com
"The Lakers are going to take a look at him," one of the people familiar with the matter said. Arenas, 30, was waived by the Magic via the amnesty clause after averaging 8.0 points in 49 games for Orlando last season, including two starts. In a total of 70 games for Orlando and Washington in 2010-11, Arenas averaged 10.8 points -- his first full season since serving a 50-game suspension for bringing guns into the Wizards' locker room in December 2009. CBSSports.com
In fact, Utah is really starting to feel like home for Jefferson, who has never really felt like he was at home on a team before. “I want it to be my home for a long time,” Jefferson tells HOOPSWORLD. “It’s going to be up to Kevin O’Conner to decide that, but I want to be here. It’s a great group of guys, everybody here gets along, everybody plays for each other, nobody’s trying to go out and do it for himself. If C.J. (Miles) goes out and scores I feel like I scored. I’ve never been around a team that’s like this. We’re handling the success. I hope I can make this my home because I’m tired of having to get adjusted to different teams. This is my third team and I hope the third ones the charm.” HoopsWorld
Venezuelan team Guaros de Lara announced the signing of Smush Parker. Former NBA player comes from Petrochimi in Iran where he has played the WABA League averaging 10.7ppg, 3.3rpg and 4.7apg in 3 games. Sportando
NBA commissioner David Stern doesn't think Dwight Howard's uncertain future will overshadow the All-Star Game in Orlando in three weeks. The commissioner spoke Wednesday in Houston, where he officially announced that the All-Star Game would be held there in 2013. Houston hosted the league's All-Star Weekend in 2006, and the city also hosted the game in 1989, in the Astrodome. Howard, a six-time All-Star, has asked to be traded, and he'll be a free agent after the season. This year's game will be played Feb. 26, and Stern says he still expects a high TV rating and large global audience. ESPN.com
Charles Barkley said last week that Dirk Nowitzki’s “days of being the man are over” and added that the Mavericks are “too old and too slow” to repeat as NBA champs. Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd, who turns 39 next month, disagrees with Barkley’s opinion. The 17-year veteran was asked about Barkley’s comments during a Tuesday radio interview and defended his teammate. “Well everybody is different,” Kidd said on The Ben and Skin Show on 103.3 in Dallas [KESN-FM], according to SportsRadioInterviews.com. “I think Dirk is far from done. I think we all have gotten off to a slow start, but look we are right there at 6th place I think. We still haven’t played anywhere close to good basketball. We have to go into the break being positive and feeling good about ourselves, but the biggest thing is we all understand with our health coming into the second half – we all want to be healthy and ready to play and again have the opportunity to defend our title.” Dallas Morning News
With the Knicks missing their two all-star forwards, who combined to score 50 points, in the win last month, Booker is looking at the rematch as an opportunity for the Wizards (5-20) to win back-to-back games for the first time since last April 9-11. “I mean, we should, with Amare and Melo out, it’s a game that we should win,” Booker said. “We was close with them last time and they had both of them. I feel we definitely should get it. It’ll boost our confidence. Amare and Melo is out, so it’s a good opportunity to take advantage of.”Washington Post
Reigning Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, the Cleveland Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft, and Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Ricky Rubio, who ranks third overall in assists, lead a list of 18 players selected for the 2012 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge to be held on Friday, Feb. 24, in Orlando during NBA All-Star 2012. Joining Griffin from the Sophomore class are: DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings), Landry Fields (New York Knicks), Paul George (Indiana Pacers), Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz), Greg Monroe (Detroit Pistons), Tiago Splitter (San Antonio Spurs), Evan Turner (Philadelphia 76ers), and John Wall (Washington Wizards). NBA.com
Irving and Rubio are joined by fellow first-year players MarShon Brooks (New Jersey Nets), Brandon Knight (Detroit Pistons), Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs), Markieff Morris (Phoenix Suns), Tristan Thompson (Cleveland Cavaliers), Kemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats), and Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves). NBA.com
Kobe Bryant told me after Lakers practice on Wednesday the torn ligament in his right wrist is completely behind him. “I got through it,” Bryant said. When I asked him if he would use the term “healed,” Bryant said: “Yes.” Bryant said he stopped using the pregame injection that would numb the wrist to pain two games ago in Utah on Saturday night. He then played in Philadelphia on Monday night without the supportive tape he has used all season on the wrist. Without the tape, Bryant can return to his usual shooting mechanics with full follow-through, which is particularly helpful to him on 3-pointers. “I’ve got more flexibility on the shot,” Bryant said. Orange County Register
Bryant said he doesn’t even have to do any specific rehabilitation anymore, referring to the maintenance now as “nothing to speak of.” “If you can play through injuries and heal while you’re going through them, that’s the best-case scenario,” Bryant said. Orange County Register
Mike Trudell: Lakers got good news: Steve Blake practiced today and is a game-time decision for tomorrow at Boston. Twitter
Mike Bresnahan: Kobe says he's "definitely" playing for Team USA in the Olympics this summer, even if he's fatigued and ends up w/ an assortment of injuriesTwitter
As if Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose didn’t already have enough incentive to start Wednesday night in New Orleans, here’s more motivation: Actor Will Ferrell will handle the player intros at New Orleans Arena. Ferrell is in town shooting a film called “Dog Fight,” in which he and Zach Galifianakis play rival politicians trying to win an election to represent their small North Carolina congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Chicago Tribune
How much will the Sacramento Kings and NBA pay in the effort to construct a new arena in California’s capital city? Although exact figures are yet to be established, a source has shared with Cowbell Kingdom that the city is looking for roughly $80 million from the league and team. Not over time, but in advance. When reached via e-mail for clarification on this figure, NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league would not comment at this time. On this week’s Cowbell Kingdom podcast, Think Big Sacramento project manager Jeremiah Jackson shed some light on the commitment the city wants from the NBA and Maloofs. “We’re talking about an upfront lease payment,” said Jackson on Monday. “So it’d essentially be, they’d pay upfront for the rights to be the tenant for that 30-year period.” Cowbell Kingdom
This means that the price tag of paying in advance to be the arena’s anchor tenant would cost the NBA and Maloofs less than $3 million a year. Where does the $80 million figure come from? According to CK’s source, the city is looking for approximately $130 million in “private financing.” AEG, the stadium operator involved for much of this process, supplied Kansas City with $53 million upfront to build the Sprint Center. CK’s source confirmed that a similar number is being floated for the rights to run a new downtown arena, leaving roughly $80 million for the Kings and NBA. Cowbell Kingdom
» Update: 01:34 PM ET
The far more preferred teams for Howard’s camp are the Nets, the Lakers and the Mavericks, with the Knicks, the Clippers and maybe the Bulls and another team or two in there as Howard considerations. The Warriors are nowhere on that list. Not as a secondary option, not anywhere. The Warriors know this. That would put the GSWs at risk of moving 3 or 4 of their best players (and they have a limited supply of valuable ones) and still watching Howard leave for nothing this summer. But 2% is more than no chance; it is Dwight Howard, GSW owner Joe Lacob is a man who wants to be in on the action. I think it’s good for Lacob to be aggressive on this one. I can see Lacob’s point. He has a good relationship with Dan Fegan, Howard’s agent, and this thing will certainly have a lot of twists and turns, so it behooves the Warriors to follow along aggressively. San Jose Mercury-News
Yes, the Warriors want to be in the Howard trade market and have told this repeatedly to the Orlando Magic–whether it’s now, tomorrow or right at the March 15 trade deadline. In fact, it’s becoming clear that Lacob and the GSW management puts Howard on a much higher tier than they put Chris Paul back in December. That’s when Paul was very much available to them (if the Warriors would have given up Stephen Curry) and the GSWs declined because they had no assurances Paul would remain past this season. San Jose Mercury-News
The Warriors, I’m told, are realistic about their chances here, but they like the idea of sitting Howard down, and giving him the Lacob/Guber/Jerry West/Mark Jackson spiel. Then they’d see what happens. Also, one source indicated that Lacob wouldn’t want Howard to walk away for nothing, but is at this point willing to consider letting that all happen–as a last option–to clear out the Warriors’ cap situation and re-start. San Jose Mercury-News
Magic GM Otis Smith, a former Warriors exec, has some interest in several of the Warriors’ players and, according to two NBA sources, has indicated as much to the Warriors. It’s probably a safe assumption that Orlando likes the match with the GSWs better than it does with New Jersey, which, to date, is the team making the strongest trade play for Howard. (But doesn’t have a ton to offer after trading so much to get Deron Williams last year.) San Jose Mercury-News
Mets de Guaynabo confirmed that they received a call from Greg Moore who offered to the team Allen Iverson. The Puerto Rican team said NO to the former NBA Star. Allen Iverson was ready to accept the maximum salary allowed in Puerto Rico ($5.000 per week) asking just a chauffeur. "He asked just a chauffeur. We were tempted to sign him. We are talking about a super NBA star. But our roster is full, even for a talented player as Iverson. We turned down the proposal saying thanks to Moore" said Loubriel of Mets de Guaynabo. "Iverson would be a great addition for our league but we should check also his conditions". Sportando
The New Orleans Hornets announced Wednesday that they have signed guard Donald Sloan to a 10-day contract. Sloan, a Texas A&M University product, appeared in five regular-season games with the Atlanta Hawks this season before being released Jan. 27. Signed by Atlanta on Dec. 9, 2011, Sloan averaged 1.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 4.0 minutes of play with the Hawks New Orleans Times-Picayune
As reported in the Inquirer this morning, the 76ers have assigned second-year forward Craig Brackins to their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. Brackins had appeared in eight games this season. “He actually asked for that; I respected that a lot," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "He just said, ‘You know, I’ve made a position change and we’re winning and there’s really no place for me to play, and I’d like to go down and play.’ I was proud of Craig. He wants to play and he wants to be in this league and there just weren’t any minutes there for him this year.” Philadelphia Inquirer
As part of its All-Star Game activation, the NBA said that marketing partner State Farm’s 26 Seconds campaign would be the presenting sponsor of the 2012 NBA Development League All-Star Game. State Farm launched the 26 Seconds campaign to “address the dropout issue by empowering teens to not only be aware of this startling statistic, but to make a personal commitment to graduate.” The campaign is supported by the education community, particularly the America’s Promise Alliance and NBA All-Star LeBron James. The Big Lead
Mike Tokito: On the day Rockets come to Portland, NBA announces that Houston has been awarded 2013 All-Star Game. Twitter
A few days after saying he didn't intend to defend his slam-dunk contest title during NBA All-Star weekend, Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin on Monday left open the possibility that he will compete in the event after all. "I'm not even really worried about it right now or thinking about it, to be honest," Griffin said after the Clippers finished their shootaround for their game tonight against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. "I haven't been approached yet, so we'll see what happens with that. We'll see what they're going to do, and I'll guess I'll make a decision." Orlando Sentinel
David Locke: Jeremy Lin, who dropped 28 on the Jazz Monday, has been sleeping on his brother's couch in New York for housing -(via @Howard Beck ) Twitter
J. Michael Falgoust: Tyson Chandler on Jeremy LIn: Right now he's allowing players to get back to their natural position #Knicks #nba #wizards @Jeremy Lin Twitter
The Sixers today announced MRIs were negative on the back and Achilles tendon of Sixers center Spencer Hawes, but he will still miss a second straight game tonight against Tim Duncan and the Spurs. The Achilles' issue has become chronic, and the Sixers worried that a disk problem in his back was the root of it, especially since Hawes battled back soreness earlier this season. The exams, performed Tuesday, showed neither a disk problem nor any tearing of the Achilles'. Philadelphia Inquirer
Winning campaigns have been hard to come by for Toronto over the last six years, but in that time the playmaker has helped Spain win the 2006 FIBA World Championship and EuroBasket 2011, while also picking up silver medals at EuroBasket 2007 and the 2008 Beijing Games. "With the national team, we try to win for our country," Calderon said. "That's why I think we're successful; because we don't care who plays or doesn't play, who plays more or who scores more. "We want to be with the national team because it's like family. We don't see each other for a long time so we want to spend time together for that month and a half (during the summer)." "Every time, we try to get that (gold) medal. It's been like that since 2001." FIBA.com
Roland Lazenby: Jerry Krause was the kind of scout Moneyball discounted. I recall him telling me a scouting key was the chin, the shape of a guys' faceTwitter
Former Blue Devils players have earned a combined $809 million in the NBA since 1985, according to research by the Wall Street Journal. That ranks second of all college programs, $44 million behind UNC. Duke is $71 million ahead of third-place Arizona. CBSSports.com
Madison Square Garden Co.'s fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 22% as the National Basketball Association's work stoppage hurt the media- and-sports company's revenue. The NBA work stoppage delayed the start of the professional basketball league's regular season by about two months, cutting the combined number of preseason and regular season games to six from 40 a year earlier. The former component of Cablevision Systems Corp. has continued to post a profit since it went public early last year. Cablevision spun off MSG to separate its cash-rich cable businesses from its more financially volatile entertainment properties. Wall Street Journal
Janis Carr: NuVo condom company sending condoms to NBA players with the most blocks "to honor their protection efforts." Can't make this stuff up Twitter
Amar'e Stoudemire is not expected to rejoin the Knicks until Monday, head coach Mike D'Antoni said on Wednesday. Stoudemire left the team on Monday after his older brother Hazell died in a car accident in his home state of Florida. "This is a tough time for him," D'Antoni said. New York Daily News
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08 Feb ' 09:43
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08 Feb ' 04:32
Wednesday, February 8
» Update: 07:05 AM ET
David Aldridge: And before you ask...Clippers have "zero" interest in Gilbert Arenas, per source.
His contract with the Clippers runs out after this season. Billups said he wants to return to the Clippers — if the feeling is mutual. "I've really enjoyed it," Billups said. "The movement that the team has going on, it's fun and I love it. Obviously I feel like there some unfinished business there. Of course they've got to move on without me and try to replace me. I respect that too. "And I'll be around. It's not like I'll be gone."
The Clippers said it will be up to Billups to determine if he's willing to go through the long recovery process to come back and play a 16th NBA season. "He's got to have surgery and rehab and see where he's at," Del Negro said. "Those are all questions that will be answered here as he moves forward with the severity of it."
After finding out there is no escape from the contracts they signed in China, Wilson Chandler and Aaron Brooks could soon find out there’s also no escape from restricted free agency when they return to the NBA. Many of the players who signed overseas during the lockout were still under contract to their NBA team, but were able to receive necessary FIBA letters of clearance as long as their overseas contracts allowed their return to the NBA once the lockout ended. As a result, players such as the Nets’ Deron Williams played part of the Euroleague season, and then were given their release to return to the U.S. in time for the start of the NBA season.
The trade deadline would be creeping up in a couple weeks and an avalanche of speculation would already be crashing down on the Mavericks. This year? Nothing. So when do we start hearing every realistic and unrealistic name in the league getting attached to the Mavericks? If you answered “it won’t happen,” you have learned well. Consider yourself capable of running your own fantasy team. The Mavericks “will not jeopardize our flexibility for this summer,” in the words of president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson. He also said Tuesday that while this team hasn’t clicked yet, it will get every opportunity to do soDallas Morning News
The Clippers on Tuesday waived forward Solomon Jones, trimming their roster down to 14 players. That gives the Clippers room to sign a free agent — perhaps someone like former Denver guard J.R. Smith once he becomes eligible to play in the NBA after the season is over for his Zhejiang Golden Bulls team in the Chinese Basketball Assn. "We're trying to continually improve the team," Del Negro saidLos Angeles Times
Sonny Weems: I've been in discussions with my agent Roger Montgomery and owner Vladimir Romanov and see where the future lies. We've had strong discussions with the owner to see what can we do if we don't make it, but I don't think I will stay around for the end of the Lithuanian League. I want to keep playing with Zalgiris and make the Top 8. We'll see if I stay playing the Lithuanian League and the VTB League, which is competitive but it's not like the Euroleague. I came over here to play the Euroleague and there's no more Euroleague... If we don't make the Top 8, I will probably go back to the NBA, but you never know. We'll know in about two weeks or so. HoopsHype
Sonny Weems: Some people ask me about the Raptors. Well, Toronto is not my team. They don't mention me in their future plans or anything like that. A couple other NBA teams are really interested in me and that's what I'm looking for. I'm not just focused on Toronto because you read articles about the team and my name never comes up. I'll just focus on finishing this season and find the best possible team. I have some overseas teams also interested, but my main goal is going back to the NBA. If it's not possible, I'll stay in EuropeHoopsHype
Sam Amico: Malcolm Thomas, waived by Spurs Tuesday, to sign w/D-League's LA D-Fenders after clearing waivers. Likely to join team in Reno this weekend.
Roger Mason: Sad to see my lil bro @Hamady Ndiaye waived today. It's a part of the biz, but he got too much work ethic and drive to let it keep him out!
The Year of the Dragon, that’s how. According to Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! Sports, Martin’s clearance was sent from FIBA to the CBA in late January. As Andrew Robotham, a spokesman at FIBA’s headquarters in Geneva who spoke with the New York Times’ Jim Yardley over the weekend, the process was handled just like the thousands of other requests they receive each year. Like every other FIBA application, the international organization formally notified the CBA of Martin’s request. Per FIBA rule, they had seven days to respond. If there was no answer within that period, then FIBA would grant his clearanceNiuBBall.com
But with the Chinese New Year falling on January 24th this year, nobody was in the office to receive that request. Like everybody else in China, the CBA completely shut down for a about a week to go home and celebrate the country’s most important holiday with their families. While officials were on vacation, Martin’s letter sat untouched, unread and unanswered and by the time they got back from their break, the seven day period had already passed, giving FIBA the right to open Martin’s road back to the NBANiuBBall.com
Not surprisingly, CBA officials are upset that the letter was sent in during New Year, a move that they are deeming unethical due to what they feel was a deliberate attempt to take advantage of the Chinese holiday. Using Martin’s signed letter of commitment that was turned into the CBA when he was bought out from Xinjiang in late December, the league originally considered appealing the decision. According to a top CBA official, Gong Luming, the letter stated that Martin promised not to play in any other professional competition until after Xinjiang’s season was overNiuBBall.com
“Who cares how [Martin's release] happened. Our team and the rest of the other teams [with NBA players] are now in a tough spot. Once this precedent is set, what can we do?” asked Ye Xiangyu, general manager of the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions, the team Wilson Chandler plays for. “There’s nothing we can do.” “About this, I can only say we are very angry,” she added. “Before the season we made a lot of preparations. We talked for a long time about all the different steps we would need to take to make this work. Now this whole thing has been blown wide open. This year our team invested a lot of money. We had big plans for this season. We spent human and material resources to make it happen. But if this is how this situation is going to be handled, we’ve spent everything for nothing.” NiuBBall.com
Walker Russell Jr.'s agent told the HoopsHype basketball website today that the Detroit Pistons intend to keep his client for the rest of the season. Although the Pistons have made no such announcement, that decision would come as little surprise, given Russell's success since his D-League call-up. Friday is the deadline for teams to guarantee contracts of players who are on non-guaranteed deals.
Giovanni Funiciello, Russell's agent, told HoopsHype that the Pistons have made a decision to keep his client, too. Russell later thanked the Pistons, via the Twitter social-media website, for making him a “Piston for the rest of the season.”Booth Newspapers
The Orlando Magic did not waive rookie combo guard DeAndre Liggins by Tuesday's 6 PM deadline, confirming the Kentucky product will remain on the team's roster for the rest of the regular season and fully guaranteeing his salary. Orlandoinstripedpost.com
The NBA announced Tuesday that Kevin Durant's basket with six seconds remaining in regulation Monday at Portland should not have counted. Durant was awarded two points when an official ruled that a blocked shot by LaMarcus Aldridge was goaltending. “With the benefit of slow motion replay following the game, it has been determined that Aldridge made contact with the ball just before the ball hit the backboard,” the statement read. “Therefore, this should have been ruled a good block and goaltending was the incorrect call.”
But if Griffin challenges him again, Perkins doesn’t plan to run for cover. “If I was in the same position, in the same rotation, I’m going to jump again and again and again,” Perkins told Yahoo! Sports. “I don’t care. A lot of people are afraid of humiliation or don’t know how to handle embarrassment or would even get embarrassed. I don’t care. “I’m the same Perk you’re going to see. I’m still going to sign autographs the same way. I ain’t going to change. The people that move out the way and stuff are the people who have insecurity problems. “That’s my job. How will my teammates look at me if next time I just back out the way and just let him dunk when I’m supposed to be defensive-minded, a shot-blocker? That would be a coward move on me. He’d just have to dunk on me again.”
Shortly after the dunk, James tweeted, “Dunk of the Year! @blakegriffin just dunked on Kendrick Perkins so hard!!! Wow! I guess I’m No. 2 now. Move over #6.” James was referring to his alley-oop dunk he threw down after jumping over Chicago Bulls guard John Lucas III a day earlier. “You don’t see Kobe [Bryant] tweeting,” Perkins said. “You don’t see Michael Jordan tweeting. If you’re an elite player, plays like that don’t excite you. At the end of the day, the guys who are playing for the right reasons who are trying to win championships are not worrying about one play. “They also are not tweeting about themselves talking about going down to No. 2. I just feel [James] is always looking for attention and he wants the world to like him.”
“There are sorry defenders, the guys that don’t want to defend or the guys that run away because they don’t want to put themselves in position like that,” Brooks said. “Perk is not going to run. If it happens again, hopefully it will be a different result. But he is going to put himself in that position again. “That’s what he is about.”
Former teammate LeBron James and Heat star Dwyane Wade believe Varejao should join them in Orlando. “I thought Andy was an All-Star in the past and he never got the nod,” James said Tuesday morning. “There’s not many players in the Eastern Conference playing good ball like he’s playing. If he does get an opportunity, it will be well-deserved. I know how hard he works.” Wade said he believes this could be Varejao’s year. “You have to game-plan for him. He’s not one of those guys you can say, ‘Just box him out.’ You’ve got to do other things,” Wade said. “That’s the kind of player you look for. “I heard something about role-player slots in the All-Star Game. He would be high on the list.” Akron Beacon Journal
Varejao is flattered by the recent attention. “It makes me feel good about myself, it makes me feel like I’ve been doing a good job helping this team,” he said. “If I’m there, I’m there. If I’m not there, what can I do? It’s a good motivation.” Asked if he was anxious about the announcement, Varejao said, “I’m not going to say I’m not, but it’s not my priority. If it happens, I’ll be really happy.”Akron Beacon Journal
KG's thoughts on someone telling him & Pierce as teenagers they'd be where they are today - together: "I would totally believe them. I would totally believe them. I’d be like, you’re crazy as hell but I believe you. It’s good that we can sit back and joke about holes in our shoes and playing with itty-bitty shorts and all this other stuff, and then to be full circle right here, it’s great. So congratulations to The Truth." #Celtics
Mickael Pietrus: "The game is like a fiesta. People deal with so many issues at home and for me, to play in front of 20,000 people, they don’t understand that I’m trying to transcend a message. Life is short -- enjoy it. I’m here to enjoy it with you. Bad time or good time, I’m here to enjoy it with you. I see the smiles on all of the kids’ faces. Every time I’m out on the floor, enjoy it with me, ride with me."
Fisher, 37, has helped the Lakers win two games, hitting a last-second three-pointer against Dallas and diving for a loose ball late against Denver. His stats, though, are down to 5.4 points and 26 minutes a game after he averaged 6.8 points and 28 minutes last season. His three-point touch has also suffered, down to 27.5% after 39.6% last season. "I don't feel that I'm physically struggling and having a difficult time playing," Fisher said. "I have a particular role with my team and I try to fill it to the best of my ability. We could win some more games regardless of how I'm playing. Then things would be a lot better."Los Angeles Times
In the past five games, he's averaged 7.0 points. Karl said that he felt Afflalo, who missed most of camp because of contract negotiations, was "taking little steps" until he pulled a hamstring at Washington in late January. But Karl then pointed out Afflalo's workout regimen. Now, Afflalo is famous for working hard and Karl agreed that his shooting guard indeed does. But, as Karl explained, "He was getting better and more comfortable (before the injury) with how we were using him, where we were using him. People think it's easy to fit in and get a comfort zone. But I kid Arron all the time, I say, 'You sat on your butt for nine months.' Some of these guys, because of the lockout -- and Arron had the free agency -- he probably wasn't going up and down the court because he didn't want to get hurt. I call them Club Med workouts. "That's the hand we were dealt -- that's the hand he was dealt. I love him, I think he's very important to the team, but we need to get him back."
Karl added: "He likes to work out by himself. I know his workouts and he works hard, don't get me wrong. But to play basketball, you've got to play five-on-five, you've got to get into instinctive reads. A workout can't tell you how to make a play."Denver Post
The pressure was quite clear to Pierce and anyone else in the arena as he stood on the verge of passing Larry Bird for No. 2 on Boston's career scoring list. He needed only 10 points to overtake Bird when the Celtics hosted Charlotte on Tuesday night and those final three seemed as if they would never come. They did early in the third quarter, then Pierce and the Celtics celebrated the milestone by increasing their season-best winning streak to five with a 94-84 win over the Bobcats. "It was a relief. So much was hanging over me the last couple of days. Just hearing about it and knowing that you've got a game to play," said Pierce, who finished with 15 points. "Just to be mentioned with him, with this organization, is a great honor."
Bryant and Chamberlain have already been linked through their penchant for points in the past, as Bryant broke Chamberlain's Pennsylvania high school scoring record by finishing with 2,883 points to Chamberlain's 2,252. Bryant's 81-point game on Jan. 22, 2006 also happens to be the second-highest single scoring game in league history, trailing only Chamberlain's 100 scored on March 2, 1962. "It's a lot of points. It's a lot of points," Bryant said, looking back on Chamberlain's feat as the 50th anniversary of The Big Dipper's historic game approaches next month. "I think it was just one of those nights for both of us where there was really no explanation for it. You just kind of get into one of those zones and one of those moments and things happen. ... I was doing mine on jump shots, though. I didn't have to bang with too many guys down low. I was just catching and shooting."
While it took more than 40 years for another player to score 80 points or more after Chamberlain scored 100, Bryant said his and Chamberlain's scoring totals are achievable. "I believe so," Bryant said when asked if any player would ever join him and Chamberlain with a matching single-game scoring outburst. "One day it will happen."
The Warriors didn’t get Jordan because the Clippers matched the four-year, $42.7 million offer. But in the process, they also lost Lin. “It’s a stretch, it’s a stretch,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said of those comparing Lin to Robinson. “The fact is Jeremy Lin was let go so we could clear money to get DeAndre Jordan. So, it’s not fair to say ‘Why did you go get Nate?’ That had nothing to do with Jeremy Lin. Jeremy Lin is playing great. “I wish him nothing but the very best. I hope he continues to play great basketball because in my short time with him, he was class and quality.”CSNBayArea.com
Harvard graduates have spent the last 300 years conquering the Manhattan job market. They've been doctors and lawyers and bankers and senators. One of them, however, did something this week that they've never managed to do before. He saved the Knicks' season. Jeremy Lin, the 23-year-old Knicks guard, has ascended from afterthought to New York folk hero in half a week. He is now the Knicks' starting point guard, leading them to two straight wins and scoring 25 and 28 points, respectively, this after topping 10 points just twice in a two-year career. He's also combined for 15 assists in the two games—no other Knick is averaging more than 4.2 assists per game this season. Just 19 days ago, Lin was playing a game for the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA's Developmental League. Wall Street Journal
"He's got these moves—he's so fast and he's not playing high, he's playing so low that he's attacking your knees with this dribble. It's in a place where as soon as you make a move he just blows past you," Shumpert said. "To be that low, to have it that far out with your arms, it's pretty rare. I've never seen it." Wall Street Journal
Lin, who holds an economics degree, said he spent most of his summers working on dribbling, but cannot pinpoint when he developed the stealth movements he's burning the league with. "I'm working on trying to make it more deceptive," Lin said. Lin's actual genius is that he does things the rest of the Knicks do not do. While star Carmelo Anthony's game focuses on long shots, Lin drives to the rim consistently for high-percentage shots. Anthony's performance on Saturday, when Lin became a sensation, was a case study in inefficiency. Anthony took just two shots at the rim and made both, according to hoopdata.com. He took seven from 16-23 feet and missed all of them. Lin took eight shots at the rim and made six of them. In Monday's win against Utah, he took seven shots at the rim and made six of them. Lin's role will only increase. On Tuesday, Anthony was ruled out for one-to-two weeks with a groin injury, and Amar'e Stoudemrie said he'd take more time off in the wake of his brother's death. Wall Street Journal
“It’s really quite amazing what he’s done,” said Glenn A. Fine, the former inspector general of the Justice Department, who was drafted out of Harvard in the 10th round by San Antonio in 1979 but did not try out because he won a Rhodes scholarship. “And after these two games, it looks like he has a pretty good chance to stick.” At least 10 Harvard players have been drafted by the N.B.A., according to university records. Five were drafted in the 1970s, including the sportscaster James Brown, one of the nation’s top high school prospects in 1969. Brown was taken by the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth round in 1973, but did not earn a roster spot. In 1985, forward Joe Carrabino was drafted in the sixth round by the Denver Nuggets and guard Bob Ferry, the brother of the Duke star Danny Ferry, was taken in the seventh, by the Hawks. And in 1987, Keith Webster was drafted in the seventh round by the Utah Jazz. New York Times
None of them made a roster, and for some time, it appeared that Harvard’s lasting contribution to the N.B.A. would be a nonstudent, Tom Thibodeau, the current coach of the Chicago Bulls, who was an assistant at Harvard from 1985 to 1989. Webster came close. He tried to make the Jazz as the team’s third point guard, behind the starter Rickey Green and John Stockton. He was one of the last three players cut, a victim of stiff competition and guaranteed contracts, but not before playing the entire preseason. The first time Webster saw Lin play, against Cornell in Lin’s senior season, his seat was near a group of coaches. The consensus among them was that Lin was not N.B.A. material. “I stuck my neck out and said, ‘I think he’s going to make it,’ ” Webster said. “He’s 6-3, really athletic, has good hops and long arms. And his best attribute is his vision. Fundamentally, he leaves his feet a lot and his jump shot’s kind of funky, but he gets to the rim with his crossover and he’s a great finisher. In some sense, it doesn’t surprise me that he made a team and he’s doing well. It just goes to show what you can do if you work hard.” New York Times
Postgame meals in the Pistons' locker room when the team is on road are a personal trainer's nightmare. Fried chicken strips, pizzas and french fries are just a few of the calorie-filled snacks players gorge on well past recommended dining hours. Jason Maxiell tries to eat healthy, and he credits his fitness coming into training camp as the reason Pistons coach Lawrence Frank routinely calls him "one our most consistent players all season." "That's a setup, right there -- can't do that," Maxiell said Tuesday of the late-night smorgasbord. "At times when you really want to splurge for yourself on a nice little meal, you got to watch your intake." Detroit Free Press
But Maxiell, who is listed at 260 pounds, entered training camp 20 pounds lighter than in previous years, and Frank has noticed Maxiell's improvement through the season. "It just talks about his commitment," Frank said. "Max has made as much progress as any player from the start of training camp until now. It's the work he's put in, not just in the off-season, but from the time training camp started." Maxiell, who averages 5.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game, provides interior scoring and offensive rebounding alongside standout center Greg Monroe. "The minutes are the minutes," Maxiell said. "No matter when they come -- starting or off the bench -- I have to provide energy, and that's what I'm trying to do." Detroit Free Press
Stoudemire’s status remains up in the air for Friday’s game against the Lakers and Saturday’s game in Minnesota — his agent, Happy Walters, said more would be known in “a couple of days” — but the Knicks know they will be without Anthony for the rest of the week and perhaps next week as well.
After a basketball life of comebacks upon comebacks, Los Angeles Clippers guard Chauncey Billups is determined to make the greatest of his career: a full recovery from a torn Achilles tendon. “I will be back,” Billups told Yahoo! Sports by phone. “I’m not done. I’m not retiring. I will definitely be back. This has been the story of my career, coming back, fighting, scrapping and I will play again.”Yahoo! Sports
Billups has spoken with doctors who have told him a rehabilitation period of six to nine months is possible. He’s resolved that his illustrious career won’t end with this injury. He plans to reach out to several athletes who have suffered the Achilles injury – including Isiah Thomas, Dominique Wilkins and David Beckham – to gather information and advice. “I’ve talked to a couple different doctors, gotten some opinions and I’m going to get a couple of more,” Billups said. “This injury is not what it was 10 or 12 years ago. It’s not an easy injury, but it’s gotten a lot better and easier to come back from. I’m telling you: I will definitely be back.”Yahoo! Sports
Before Billups hung up the phone, he wanted to be clear of this: No one needs to write the obit on his pro career, no one had better count him out. “I’m focusing in a major way on coming back, and, without a doubt, my career is not over. You will see me again,” he said. “I know that. You will see me playing again.”Yahoo! Sports
Billups was examined at the Cleveland Clinic and he will return to Los Angeles on Thursday for further evaluation. No date has been set for his surgery. But it is expected that Billups will be sidelined at least eight months while recovering from the injury. "I'll get it taken care of and get back the best way I can. That's exactly what I'm going to do," he saidLos Angeles Times
Chris Paul: Toughest day to date for me as an NBA player losing the best backcourt mate I've ever played with, my big bro, and gr8 teammate C. Billups...I know they say everything happens for a reason but I'm having a hard time understanding this one...what he did for our team is immeasurable... Its not ideal but for the time being I'll have to settle for my son running around the house yelling "CHAUNCEY B-B-BILLUPS for 3!!!" Plz keep him and his family in your prayers, LOVE that guy!tmi.me
Jonny Flynn: My prayers go out to Mr. Big Shot for a speedy recovery. Good dude right there
With point guard Baron Davis (back, elbow) and forward Josh Harrellson (wrist) already on the shelf, Jared Jeffries got his first start of the season at power forward Monday, and Anthony’s injury likely thrusts Billy Walker into the lineup at small forward and Steve Novak and Jerome Jordan into the rotation. “One-to-two weeks, I guess — we’ll see,” coach Mike D’Antoni said of Anthony’s absence. “With the attitude and effort playing as well as we did [Monday], we’ll come up with some wins. “You’re definitely not happy that he’s out, or Amar’e. But we just have to understand our limitation and play even harder. If we do that, there are other areas of the game we can pick up and try to get a win.’’
Mavericks guard Jason Kidd, who has been out with a strained right calf muscle, did not practice with the team today, though he did some light running on the side. Kidd also shot with teammates after practice. "Day-to-day," Kidd said of his statusDallas Morning News
Center Spencer Hawes had an MRI exam of his lower back on Tuesday and is doubtful for the Spurs game. Starting power forward Elton Brand, who did not play in the Sixers' impressive 95-90 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, might miss his second game in a row because of a sprained thumb. "He's a little sore," Sixers coach Doug Collins said of Hawes on Tuesday during the team's practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
The MRI, according to the Sixers, was conducted to determine whether there is some connection between the injuries. "His Achilles is sore again, and that's what I was worried about," Collins said. "I was worried about wear and tear. You knew looking at this season there were going to be a ton of injuries and how you were going to be able to survive them and how much depth you had was going to be important."Philadelphia Inquirer
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo says he doesn’t plan to replace Chauncey Billups on the Olympic team’s training camp roster, even though the veteran guard likely won’t be healthy enough to participate. Billups will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his left Achilles tendon in the Los Angeles Clippers’ overtime victory over the Orlando Magic on Monday. He told Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski that doctors said he’ll need six to nine months to recover. Even the shortest timeframe would extend well beyond Team USA’s deadline to set its 12-man roster for the London Olympics. Yahoo! Sports
Billups is one of 20 players on a camp roster that also includes Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Eric Gordon, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams. Billups helped the U.S. win the 2010 world championships. “I really feel terrible for him in every way,” Colangelo said about Billups. “Not just for the Olympics, but because it is career threatening. There is no guarantee we’d replace him [on the roster]. My gut tells me probably not. “We have a lot of guards. I will check with coach [Mike Krzyzewski], but probably not.”Yahoo! Sports
Larry Bird on the possibility of Bird ever leaving the Celtics (and touching on the Peyton Manning situation in Indy): "Red [Auerbach] knew I wasn't going anywhere. ... I would have never left Boston, unless they traded me. I like to see guys come in, especially the elite players, and stay in one place. I think it's very important for the city, because we don't have a lot of great ones come through here, and Peyton Manning is by far the greatest athlete to ever come through [Indianapolis]. If he's healthy, hopefully he stays and finishes out his career. "If you have an elite player come through, especially a small market, you've got to hold on to them players. They're not born every day."
Larry Bird on the NBA becoming less physical due to new rules: "They needed to put a stop to a lot of it. In the '80s, when I played, there were a lot of cheap shots. If you go back and watch the Pistons... Scotty [Pippen] getting pounded... a lot of it happened after the whistle. ... Guys where getting hurt, and it takes a toll on your body. They had to clean it up some, but they've taken it too far, especially with the flagrant fouls and stuff."
Larry Bird on his -- and the Celtics' -- ongoing feud with the Detroit Pistons' Bill Lambeer, on and off the court: "It's because he was a dirty player. He had to do what he had to do, I understand that, but -- like Ricky Mahorn, he'd hit you and all that... but he didn't try to maim you. Bill tried to hurt you. He was one of them guys who, you'd shoot a jumper and he'd slide his foot under your ankle so you'd twist your ankle. That's why Parish always went down. If you watch any of our old games, Parish was always twisting his ankle against the Pistons."
So her youngest son, Trail Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge, never saw his mother cry. Never heard it, either, on the many phone calls from Portland to Dallas. "I couldn't be soft," Georgia said. "When it comes to my sons, I like to be strong. I try to be tough. I don't like them to see that side."
On Thursday, that emotional and soft side threatens to be exposed. Georgia Young is expecting a phone call from LaMarcus. And if all the reports and speculation hold true, it will be him telling her that he has been chosen as an NBA All-Star. "That," Georgia said, "would mean everything to me. If he calls me and tells me that, I would cry. I wouldn't let him hear me, or see me, but I will cry. Because this is something he has worked so hard for."Oregonian
The disappointment of last year's snub. The night she attended a game in Dallas against her doctor's orders, only to collapse afterward. And her constant research and obsession with it this season. It has become yet another bond between the two, both of whom say they are much more than mother-son. "He's my best friend," Georgia said. "It's not a traditional mother-son relationship," LaMarcus said. "It's a best-friend relationship. We can tell each other anything."Oregonian
Aldridge admits he can barely stand the suspense. The angst is not for him, but for his mother. "I don't want her to be hurt like last year; she was so destroyed," Aldridge said. "It was such an emotional dropoff for her. She was like, mad. So I'm trying to control that dropoff in case I don't make it." Georgia will hear none of it. "He is going to make it. I know it. Because he has given his all." Oregonian
“I’m humbled by all of the thoughts and prayers I have received. Thank you for all of the support,” Stoudemire said. “I’m going to take a few days to be with my family and grieve the loss of my big brother, Hazell Stoudemire. Although it is not clear to me now, I hope to make some good come from our tragedy.’’
Amare Stoudemire: My people say Crying is a Revolutionary Act. Well in that case I AM A Revolutionary
Tyson Chandler, who said he left a message for Stoudemire on Tuesday, said, “At this point I just really want him to take as much time as he needs. Basketball is one thing. Life and family are completely another thing. I hope [for] the best out of the situation with his family.” Bergen Record
No charges will be filed against Bryant over an alleged incident in August at a church in San Diego, the city attorney's office announced. A young man had alleged that Bryant assaulted him while both were attending Sunday services at St. Therese of Carmel Church in the upscale Carmel Valley neighborhood. The accuser said that Bryant aggressively pulled on his arm because the Lakers star thought the man had taken his picture. Thomas Hagos, 20, later went to a hospital because of a minor wrist sprain, police said. Los Angeles Times
After the incident, Bryant denied that he had hurt the man. "Mr. Bryant is aware of the baseless allegations asserted against him," said a statement issued by attorney Mark Campbell, "and is prepared to defend against them fully."Los Angeles Times
Did you miss Tuesday's NBA rumors? check them out in the Rumors Archive
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07 Feb ' 22:41
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