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Gilbert
Arenas and his former agent are discussing how to proceed
if the Washington Wizards try to void the remaining $80 million
on the suspended guard's contract Wall
Street Journal
But
there’s an interesting angle to this. Several teams
with big time free agents have questioned the league about
Washington’s ability to void Arenas’ contract.
Because if
the Wizards can void it, they suddenly become a player in
2010 free agency and another team that can steal a free agent
by getting well under the salary cap. In that case, you figure
they’d keep their two best players and not risk going
all the way to the bottom NBA.com
Bryant
can opt out his contract at the end of the season, and though
he announced during the summer his intention to sign an extension
with the Lakers, he has yet to do so. Is there a chance he’ll
now join LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh in this summer’s
heralded free-agent class? Not likely. Though
neither the Lakers or Bryant or his agent, Rob Pelinka, would
comment on negotiations, all indications are Kobe could have
his extension signed by the All-Star break, provided a few
issues are resolved Yahoo!
Sports
Bryant
knows no other franchise could give him the type of supporting
cast he has in L.A. The biggest question going forward is
whether Phil Jackson will return after this season to continue
coaching them. “It
set us up nicely,” Bryant said. “Everyone is pretty
much locked in. Now, it’s a matter of just staying focused
and staying the course.” Yahoo!
Sports
The next
step is getting Bryant’s signature on a contract extension.
“It
sends a positive [message] for him to re-sign with the team
and continue to build on the group that we have,” Gasol
said. “The window is pretty big. We have to make sure
we take advantage of it Yahoo!
Sports
Devin
Harris’ name has been rumored, though I
heard only if the Nets can get expected No. 1 pick John Wall NBA.com
Josh
Howard’s name comes up as the Mavs always are talking.
GMs say they’re like fantasy players, always coming
up with wild combination deals for various teams without mentioning
their guys much NBA.com
McGrady
is the big name, and the last I heard the Rockets believe
the 76ers in falling out of it and 29th in attendance (Memphis
is last) might break up their team and trade them Andre Iguodala NBA.com
One
GM I was talking to said he believes Houston will hang onto
McGrady’s expiring deal and save the money and then
extend Yao’s contract at a lower salary next season
(Yao can opt out or make $16.38 million next season) and give
him extra years NBA.com
Most
GMs say the most active team trying to deal has been the Cavs
in offering Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ expiring contract of
$11.5 million in trying to get another scorer to give them
a chance to make the Finals and hang onto James NBA.com
I believe
that Derrick Rose has the potential to be a superstar in this
league. He is very talented and is also being marketed as
a superstar so that helps. Adidas has focused many of their
projects around Rose and that helps him become a household
name and make him a superstar off the court. In a few years,
he'll be one of the best point guards in the game so I believe
he can be a legitimate superstar. As
far as the Bulls offseason goes, I've heard Joe Johnson is
the guy they're pursuing the hardest. While they would love
to get the hometown guy, Dwyane Wade, it seems they're being
more realistic and focusing primarily on Johnson. It would
not surprise me if Chicago landed him this summer. That would
pair Rose and Johnson in the backcourt and, as you said, it
would likely make them contenders down the road HoopsWorld
The
Milwaukee Bucks have signed guard/forward Jerry Stackhouse
to a contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today NBA.com
Stackhouse
worked out for the Bucks coaching staff on Sunday at the Toyota
Center and made a strong impression. "He
looked good," Skiles said. "He's not in mid-season
shape or anything, but considering he's been out so long,
he was in surprisingly good shape, we thought. "We're
hoping he can do what he's done in his career, come in and
score some points Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel
The versatility
of Stackhouse's game appealed to the Bucks, who have struggled
to get to the foul line throughout the season and are ranked
29th in the league in field goal percentage. "He's
always been good in the post," Skiles said. "He
possibly could be our second-best post-up player if not our
best post-up player. "I don't want to put too much on
him Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel
With
the arrival of Fotis Katsikaris, Jerome Moiso was back to
the court with the Basque team Sportando
Defending
champion Nate Robinson will return to the slam dunk contest,
trying to become the first three-time winner ESPN.com
Brian
Mahoney: Nate didn't want to talk about it pregame. Either
he's trying to show he's focused on the game, or he isn't
thrilled to be dunking again Twitter.com
Orlando
Magic center Dwight
Howard is a lock to be the Eastern Conference’s starting
center in the All-Star Game on Feb. 14, but Howard will not
participate in the league’s slam dunk contest on all-star
weekend Orlando
Sentinel
It’s
no surprise that Howard won’t compete this year. He’s
said the contest takes up a lot of energy that could be used
later in the season and in the playoffs. “I’m
getting old, man,” Howard told the Orlando Sentinel
in December. “They’ve got to stop grabbing me
in the games so I can jump. I’ve got to keep my legs.
It’s kind of tough. I don’t know. I’ve thought
about it, but I think it’s time for us to see more guys
get out there and show their stuff Orlando
Sentinel
No
official announcements or press releases yet, but photos of
the 2010 NBA All-Star jerseys were posted/accidentally leaked
online Monday afternoon Yahoo!
Sports
Yes, these
days, even in spite of his numerous injuries, in spite of
the Lakers’ inconsistency, Kobe has it good. “I’m
set up to have a good run here,” Bryant said. “I’ve
been very fortunate. I went through seven years of hell. Management
decided that it was time to spend the money to bring in the
players here.” Yahoo!
Sports
What is
your favorite moment as a Laker? (Hint: It has nothing to
do with championships.) Kobe:
“When I got the phone call telling me that I was being
traded from the Charlotte Hornets to the Lakers.” Orange
County Register
What did
you want to be growing up? Kobe: “A professional basketball
player. When I was a kid, a counselor gave me a paper that
asked what I wanted to be … and I made my own little
box and marked it ‘professional basketball player.’
The counselor said, ‘No, really son.’ I said,
‘That’s really what I want to be.’”
What’s
the deal with Ron Artest’s (shorter-than-others) shorts
(asked by host George Lopez) Kobe: “Man, I don’t
know. I told him ‘Please come into this decade. He said
he can’t defensive slide with longer shorts. They hurt
the way he defensive slides.” Orange
County Register
What
do you learn playing against Marc Gasol in practice? Hamed
Haddadi: Before the game, in the warmup, we play one-on-one
with Marc. He is smart. He's really, really smart. He can
shoot, his hook shot is very good, his discipline is very
good. His foot (speed), the leg is so fast. It's hard to stop
him. It's hard to stop him NBA.com
For you
personally, what did that give you in terms of confidence?
Hamed Haddadi: I don't understand this word ... what is confidence?
Me:
Did you feel after that, that you could play against anybody?
Hamed Haddadi: Oh, yeah. Before we play, like 2007, we play
most of the teams, like Serbia, like Argentina. We play Olympic
Games (Iran lost all five of its games in Beijing), all the
big teams . The team in Asia Games, Asia teams
is not good enough. But you have China. China's big, too.
You have joining up, you have some international players,
different countries. Lebanon and Qatar. But I'm very happy
for the next summer, we play big, big teams. U.S., same group.
I think this is chance for me. NBA.com
What was
your feeling when you shook hands with Casspi? Hamed Haddadi:
Just play basketball. I don't talk about ... what's the name?
Me: Politics? Hamed
Haddadi: Politics. My English ... last year, I couldn't ...
I'm sorry. But I don't think about politics. I want just to
play my basketball, you know? He's a basketball player, and
basketball players, you just say hi. You don't talk about
politics or anything NBA.com
Marc Berman:
Eddy
Curry will undergo knee surgery to remove loose cartilage.
Will be out six weeks . Twitter.com
Portland
Trail Blazers guard Brandon
Roy will miss his second straight game because of a sore right
hamstring. Roy hoped to play Monday afternoon against the
Washington Wizards AP
Jonathan
Givony: Kendall
Marshall has been invited to the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland Twitter.com
Derek
Fisher joined Stephen A. Smith on Fox Sports Radio to talk
about what he and the Player Association is planning to do
about the whole Gilbert Arenas situation, how concerned he
is as the President of the Player’s Association in regard
to Arenas, and what his role is in this situation. On what
he and the Player’s Association is planning to do about
the whole Gilbert Arenas situation: “Right
now we are in position where we want the Federal Investigation,
the D.C. police, the legal aspect, the law enforcement aspect
to flush out and play itself out before we either respond
or make a formal statement saying ‘this is our position
in support quote unquote of Gilbert.’ Sports
Radio Interviews
Fisher:
When we feel something has gone over the line or stepped beyond
what it states in our CBA, then we have a duty to step in,
not because we feel the decision that the player made was
right or wrong, but we have a duty as union members and in
particular as President of the Union and Billy Hunter as Executive
Director, we have to represent the entire body not just in
2010 but we have to think out beyond to make sure that in
the future if a player does make a questionable or wrong decision,
he still should not be punished more than what the laws of
the rules say. That’s what our responsibility is just
to make sure there is not any piling on. At the same time,
we all believe, as a union that our members have a responsibility
to carry the torch that was passed along to us by the generation
of players before us and we know that that means making smart
and wise decisions that will help our game and not hurt our
game. I
think Gilbert understands that. He understands that he made
a poor decision. Hopefully this can really flush itself out
so that the right decision can be made based on the facts
of the case and then we can all move on in a direction that
will hopefully help everyone avoid this ever happening again.” Sports
Radio Interviews
The
Detroit Pistons, one of the NBA’s most valuable franchises,
are not for sale but could be in the not-so-distant future Detroit
Free Press
The
NBA handed out sales awards during its annual marketing meetings
held recently in Brooklyn, N.Y., to eight teams having full-season-ticket
sales of at least 10,000. Last year, 11 teams were recognized
for hitting the 10,000 full season sales mark, a benchmark
sales goal set by the NBA Sports
Business Journal
Mike
Miller will be available against Portland this afternoon,
after missing the past three game when his strained right
calf flared up. Coach Flip Saunders said Miller had some fluid
removed from his calf last week, but added that he would bring
Miller off the bench. Miller
is teaming up with Wizards Care and UNICEF and has pledged
to donate $1,000 for every three-pointer that the Wizards
make against the Trail Blazers. Fans can also text $5 donations
by sending "wizards" via text message to 50555.
All donations will go directly to UNICEF. "I think everyone
can see what's going on and the struggles they are going through.
I think this can help Washington
Post
It’s
just life. Growing
up one of my best friends -- I hung out with him every day
-- was murdered. And you always want to say “Why?”
“Why did it have to be him?” It’s so random.
But they all go to a special place. I believe in God and I
believe in heaven and they all go to a special place. As far
as the earthquake, I know people who are directly affected
by it. I know people in the league like Samuel Dalembert,
he’s from Haiti Boston
Globe
After
my experience, I was really appreciative of the care I received
at Tufts Medical Center. Because I had minimally invasive
surgery, I was able to get back on the court a month later,
so I worked with them and we opened the Paul Pierce Center
for Minimally Invasive Surgery and I sit on the hospital's
Board of Governors." You wish you didn’t have to
learn that way. But it could happen to anybody. You
say to yourself, "I wish I was a little more cautious."
But you don’t know. Who knows? Who knows when an earthquake
is going to hit? Who knows when a tsunami’s going to
hit? Who knows when something tragic might happen? Who knows? Boston
Globe
The
Haitian earthquake relief fund founded by Alonzo Mourning
and Dwyane Wade has received initial pledges of well over
$800,000 from at least 27 professional athletes, including
LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Michael Vick and Gilbert
Arenas AP
Dalembert
joined WIP in Philadelphia to talk about his reaction to the
horrific news back home, what it was like growing up in Haiti,
how he plans to continue helping however he can in the immediate
and longterm relief efforts, and how others can get involved
as well. On
if he’s talked to his family since the earthquake: “Yeah,
through email I talked to my dad and he’s still looking
for a couple of family members, my uncle and godfather. But
you know, one cousin has a broken leg, but thank God most
of my family is okay besides minor injuries Sports
Radio Interviews
Dalembert
on his initial contribution to the relief effort and on his
charitable offer to match any donation made by 76ers fans
this past weekend: “Yes what I did was, as I was in
touch with UNICEF and they were talking to me, they said we
still need as much help over there and stuff like that. So
I made a quick initial $100,000 donation and everything after
that I will match. But we still need as much money as possible,
and thank you to all the people who hit my website (his website
can be found here) and donate money.” Sports
Radio Interviews
A
half-century ago, the Minneapolis Lakers narrowly averted
a disaster when their pilots battled a raging blizzard and
frozen instruments to make a desperate impromptu landing in
an Iowa cornfield Minneapolis
Star Tribune
That day
began like so many others -- with a loss, to the St. Louis
Hawks -- and ended with a night unlike any other for 22 people
aboard. Blinded by an electrical failure and a raging blizzard,
their chartered plane flew high, frozen and by the stars and
the moon for nearly five hours before it made a forced, off-course,
fabulous landing into an Iowa cornfield. Cornfields were apparently
very dangerous places back then. Eleven months earlier, musician
Buddy Holly had died when his small plane crashed into a cornfield
100 miles to the northeast. The Lakers walked away from their
plane unscratched on a night when their unexpected arrival
was met by hatchet-carrying firemen and the town's mortician.
"Fifty
years later," said Hot Rod Hundley, who lived on that
night to broadcast NBA games for more than 40 years, "and
I could tell you now where everybody was seated on that plane." Minneapolis
Star Tribune
Nineteen
members of the Lakers' traveling party -- including wives,
sons and a daughter of team personnel -- gathered at an airport
gate to hear interim coach Jim Pollard, a forward on the franchise's
championship teams, announce the flight would be delayed while
the flight's three pilots considered the forecasts and discussed
whether the weather was fit for flying. "Gate
13," center Jim Krebs wrote in a 1969 Sports Illustrated
account of that night. "When you lose as often as we
did, you get over being superstitious." Minneapolis
Star Tribune
The passengers
cloaked themselves with blankets, overcoats, newspapers in
an unsuccessful attempt to stay warm. A few became ill because
of turbulence and altitude, but all remained outwardly calm,
if only because of the women and children aboard, as the plane
rattled along. "The
hard part was being up there so long, knowing we were in serious
trouble," said guard Bobby [Slick] Leonard, who still
broadcasts Indiana Pacers games. "Hot Rod was huddled
in a seat, scared to death. I remember him asking, 'Slick,
you think we're going to die?' And I said, 'Hell, no. But
if we do, we sure got a smell of the roses.' " Minneapolis
Star Tribune
After
nixing the highway and a lake, the pilots chose a cornfield
-- unplowed during a wet autumn -- because the standing stalks
gave them visual reference and, having grown up on farms themselves,
they knew it'd be free of rocks and ditches. "If we hadn't
found that cornfield, we'd have found our destiny out there,"
Gifford said. The stalks and the accumulating snow provided
cushion Minneapolis
Star Tribune
Services
are in Chicago Monday for one of the vital figures of the
NBA, Mary Thomas, the mother of Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas.
“So many of these single mothers work two and three
jobs so players can have food and buy gym shoes and shorts
and jocks so they can go and develop their talent that leads
to them becoming stars,” says former Bull and 76er star
Chet Walker NBA.com
“My
mom, Regenia, did the same things,” recalled Walker,
who found inspiration for the story from his own humble beginning
in Benton Harbor, Michigan NBA.com
Twice
NBA All Star point guard Stephon Marbury will become the highest
profile American to play in the Chinese Basketball Association
(CBA) after he agreed to join China's Shanxi Club Washington
Post
With the
trade deadline a month from today, the conversation about
trading Stoudemire continues - externally and internally.
Interest in trading for Stoudemire remains as tepid as it
was last season, when the Suns passed on moving him because
of a lack of quality offers. "It's
been quiet," said Stoudemire, who unlike last summer
has kept it that way by not fanning flames with comments about
a possible trade. "But I'm pretty sure it's going to
heat up in a second as far as trade rumors and different scenarios." Arizona
Republic
"There
are a lot of big names," Stoudemire said of this summer's
potential free agents, contingent on other players exercising
their options. "I
think of myself as one of the top four of the bunch. Obviously,
LeBron (James), (Dwyane) Wade, myself and (Chris) Bosh are
on the top of most teams' lists. We all know that Arizona
Republic
Suns General
Manager Steve
Kerr and Managing Partner Robert Sarver will meet with Stoudemire's
agent, Happy Walters, this week for their first formal discussion.
Walters declined comment. "We'll definitely talk about
it," Kerr said of an extension Arizona
Republic
His health
history and willingness to sign could be stumbling blocks
in trade talks, because any team acquiring him would want
to secure him long term. When the Suns nearly made an off-season
deal with Golden State involving Stoudemire, he made it clear
he did not want to play for Golden State because it is not
a contender. "It's
always about what's the best situation for the Suns organization
and myself," Stoudemire said. "Wherever there is
an equilibrium or common denominator, we can settle on that.
Winning is the most important thing to me. Being a contender.
If we can do it here, then I would love to stay." Arizona
Republic
Still,
many questions persist. With the trade deadline just one month
away speculation about his future is running rampant. However,
even in the midst of the storm Boozer insists that his long-term
future is not on his mind. "I
don't think about it to be honest with you," said Boozer.
"I just take it one day at a time and go kick butt. I
go do my job, go have fun, play the games, try to win, and
take everything in stride. I don't think about the summer.
I don't think about the trade rumors HoopsWorld
When this
point was brought to Boozer's attention, he replied: "It's
one of those things where I'm in the last year of my contract,
I'm going to be a free agent this summer and a lot of teams
want me. The Jazz I'm sure is getting a lot of calls from
other teams trying to trade for me. I'm
sure there's a lot of buzz out there, but that's out of my
control. I can't do anything about that. All I can do is go
do my job, and I do it well. The rest of it is out of my hands.
I can't control what they do. It's a business, and it's their
team. I just play for them." HoopsWorld
The Nets
flew west Sunday as their season continues to go south and
with the players not knowing where they will end up. "Nobody’s
safe," Devin Harris said. "But that’s the
way the business goes." Bergen
Record
They made
two trades in the last two weeks and are expected to make
more before the Feb. 18 deadline. Veteran big men Josh Boone
and Tony Battie are the likeliest to go next, but don’t
rule out the possibility of the Nets moving Harris. They traded
Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson over a 16-month
span, and those three did much more for the organization than
the oft- injured Harris has. "It’s
not something I worry about," Harris said. "I think
the toughest trade to go through is midseason. I did that.
I heard the rumors for a month; worried for a month. I’m
past that. If it happens, it happens. "It is a business
at the end of the day and they’re going to do what they
see is best." Bergen
Record
But if
they could get someone who would speed up the rebuilding process,
they would do it. Realistically, second-year center Brook
Lopez is the only untouchable Net. "With
their record, no one should be untouchable," one league
executive said Bergen
Record
Saw Henry
Thomas, Chris Bosh’s agent, in the bowels of the Air
Canada Centre before the game but I’m
assured by those who know these kinds of things that it was
nothing more than a regularly-scheduled visit that agents
make to key clients throughout the season Toronto
Star
Wilcox
admitted it was tough when he wasn't getting minutes, although
he faced a similar situation last season when he was traded
from Oklahoma City to the Knicks. "It's
tough because you look at the situation like I should be playing
and I need to be on the court and different things like that,"
Wilcox said. "And then you just got to stay professional,
as hard as it is Detroit
Free Press
Sloan
later questioned his team's collective basketball I.Q. saying:
"When you study guys, if you have a book on players you
should know that the first two months of the season, whether
a guys is right handed or left HoopsWorld
Later
Sloan added: "How much do we like to play basketball?
That's the bottom-line. It's not whether you get beat or not
because you're going to get beat in this league and you're
going to lose in life. It's how you fight back HoopsWorld
"Oh,
me and Jerry are great," Boozer explained. "It's
not me and Jerry. We have a great relationship. We've been
together for six years and know each other really well HoopsWorld
Sloan
agreed that the relationship between the coach and his All-Star
power forward is just fine. "There's been a lot of talk
about Boozer and that situation," Sloan admitted. "That
started off when I sat down with him when he came back and
I said, 'You've got to play and I've got to coach. We'll support
you any way we can.' HoopsWorld
It might
have been Toronto's most complete effort of the year, and
a lot of the credit for that goes to the men that ran the
show. "This is the kind of the way I kind of put it in
perspective," Jack said. "A lot of people might
say, ‘Both of those guys are just OK, maybe Toronto
needs a superstar point guard.' But if you look at most teams
that have that prototypical one point guard, he pretty much
averages around 18 points, nine assists, and the backup averages
maybe two points, two assists, something like that. Pretty
much all the production you're getting is coming from that
first guy. "But we're giving you the same production
from two people." National
Post
"It's
always been more of a competition thing," Jack said of
his prior relationships with his point guard teammates. "I
don't think either one of us look at it like that. It's definitely
fun when we both go out there and play together. I think we
just both understand that we're both capable guys, sharing
the load." "It
doesn't matter when you're coming on the court and when your
name is called, from the beginning or coming from the bench,"
Calderon added. "You've got to do the same thing.
National Post
So Bynum
is sure to be juiced up for another matchup with Howard on
Monday night, looking to continue a recent renaissance after
a fast start this season and then a lull. I
asked Phil Jackson on Sunday if he was satisfied with Bynum
so far this season. “No, I’m happy with what he’s
accomplished, but not satisfied,” Jackson said Orange
County Register
Van
Gundy realizes players talk about it, but believes it leads
to energy-sapping frustration and disappointment given the
expectations heaped upon his team. "They got to get rid
of the whole last-year thing," Van Gundy said. "It's
been a negative Orlando
Sentinel
The Magic’s
players had to walk right under that window on their way to
the bus on Sunday and admitted that the visions all around
the gymnasium reminded them of the pain from last June. And
it stoked their edge going into Monday night’s Finals
rematch between the Magic (26-14) and the Lakers (31-9). ``You
look at all of these banners around here and see that this
is where we want to take our organization,’’ Nelson
said. ``We stayed out there on the bench during the Lakers
celebration because wanted that feeling stuck in our heads.
We don’t want anybody ever celebrating on our homecourt
again. ``I
don’t know if you ever get over losing in The Finals
until you win a championship. You get so close and you don’t
accomplish your goal, that’s tough. We know we’re
still a good team and we plenty to still strive for.’’ NBA.com
``I’ve
tried to not even look around here. I’m trying to keep
my focus on getting us back to playing well and playing good
team basketball,’’ Howard said on Sunday. ``It’s
hard to say that we’ve gotten over losing to the Lakers,
but I know I haven’t NBA.com
Among
the most noteworthy elements of Crawford's game-winner and
the Hawks' string of recent wins is how they have highlighted
the dilemma Hawks opponents face by having two established
finishers on the floor. Oklahoma City, which plays the first-place
Hawks Monday, deals with this next. "They
have Joe Johnson and now they have Crawford as well, so they
have two closers," Boston coach Doc Rivers told reporters
last Monday, when the two combined for 37 points in the second
half of the Hawks' come-from-behind road win. "That makes
it really tough, especially when we get in a one-point game
with them Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
This is
the week Leon Powe gets to see whether all of his hard work
has paid off when he begins to play five-on-five drills. The
Cavs acquired Powe as a free agent when the Boston Celtics
didn't offer him a contract after he tore his anterior cruciate
ligament in a playoff game last season. ''I'm
good. I know the first one [repair] didn't really work out
that great because I still felt a lot of pain,'' Powe said.
''The second one kept me out on the court for five years.'' Akron
Beacon Journal
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Moreover,
Hughes revealed before the game that he had met with Walsh
on Thursday and had been encouraged by their conversation.
The fact that he met with the Knicks' president and two days
later was given a chance to play could give the perception
that Walsh lobbied D'Antoni to play Hughes. In fact, Walsh
addressed that specific issue even though he was not asked
about it. "Mike
and I are on the same page with this team," Walsh said
Sunday. "He coaches the team. He makes the substitutions.
I understand why he does it. We talk about it New
York Daily News
Hughes
makes just about everyone in Knicks management uncomfortable,
save Walsh. The Cleveland media gave him its "Good Guy
Award" when Hughes played for the Cavs. The
Knicks, however, frown upon their players being media-friendly.
In the weeks after Hughes told the Daily News in October that
he doubted his good friend and former teammate, LeBron James,
would sign with the Knicks next summer, he had two media relations
employees listening in to all his conversastions New
York Daily News
It's no
secret these weak finishes have been a problem for Beasley.
The mystery is why it's happening. Beasley tends to dismiss
the trend, saying the fourth quarters are usually reserved
for Dwyane Wade to do his damage. ``It
just depends on the situation,'' Beasley said. ``If we're
in the game, we've got No. 3. He makes all the plays, and
he makes great plays. So there's really no complaining there.'' Miami
Herald
His
coach says it might have something to do with fatigue, but
not the typical type. ``He's in good condition, but mental
condition, to be able to fight back after fatigue and keep
on focusing and concentrating and playing hard,'' coach Erik
Spoelstra said Miami
Herald
Those
29 minutes were not easy ones, either. Lee is an athletic
center who keeps defenders moving. He finished with 26 points,
17 rebounds and nine assists, but he had just 10 points after
the first quarter. "Ben
Wallace is a warrior, man," Atkins said. "He's been
doing his thing for a lot of years. I think a lot of other
people make more of the age thing than we do. This guy's a
top athlete. He knows what his body can do and what he can't
do. "I think coaches sometimes and the media make more
of the age thing than us players do Booth
Newspapers
Holly
McKenzie: Dirk
said Andrea is more athletic than he has ever been and "the
sky is the limit" for him Twitter.com
But the
big Italian is gaining notice around the league for slowly
but surely raising his game. "He's
getting better and better all the time," said Cuban,
chatting while sitting on an exercise ball in the Dallas dressing
room before the game. "He's getting more aggressive.
He's taking advantage of his athleticism instead of just settling
for threes Toronto
Globe and Mail
With the
All-Star break roughly a month away, it’s that time
of the season when Rivers will start calling his fellow coaches
to lobby for his own players. This
year’s list of deserving Celtics will be longer than
usual. “I think all of them should make it,” he
said. “You assume Kevin and Paul, and the other three
you have to call for, and get lied to. Of course I’ll
vote - I think every coach tells you that Boston
Herald
Rivers
said he likes the process even if, by opening the vote up
to China, he admits that the process has been “skewed.”
“It’s a powerful vote,” he said with a laugh Boston
Herald
It’s
about playing the young kids, and getting them experience.
The team and its fans are just going to have to live with
the immediate results for now and trust that all this losing
is going to pay dividends somewhere down the line, when Brook
Lopez and Yi Jianlian turn into All-Stars. But
what about Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee and Terrence
Williams? Aren’t they young kids too? Don’t they
need to get shots, too? “Every other good team plays
from the inside out,’’ Vandeweghe said after practice
Sunday Newark
Star-Ledger
“Even
in the (Lakers’) triangle offense, where Kobe Bryant
is the best player, they go inside first,’’ Vandeweghe
said. “Name a team that’s any good, that’s
what you do. And we have two 7-footers (Lopez and Yi) that
have a chance to be real good Newark
Star-Ledger
The mark
is in mortal danger. The Nets — a hapless team trapped
between eras, abandoned by fans and its own management —
have won just three times in 39 games, for a sickly winning
percentage of .077. They are on pace for six victories. They
are threatening to steal Carter’s perverse sense of
pride. “It’s our record,” Carter insisted
in a recent telephone interview. “And we earned it,
one way or the other.” New
York Times
The Nets
present an unlikely threat to the record books. They have
an All-Star point guard, Devin Harris, and a rising star at
center, Brook Lopez. Their
shooting guard, Courtney Lee, started in the finals last year
for the Orlando Magic. No one around the N.B.A. thinks they
should be this feeble. “You’ve seen worse teams
do better,” said Kris Humphries, a veteran forward who
joined the Nets in a trade from Dallas last week New
York Times
Kobe
Bryant, recovering from back spasms, said of his back Sunday:
“It’s just stiff. Not painful.” Bryant’s
co-star, Pau Gasol, was in fine form after his first game
back Friday night from a pulled left hamstring. He got rest
Saturday and a good workout Sunday Orange
County Register
Pierce
briefly re-emerged with a heavy ice pack on the knee before
heading back to the locker room once practice ended. “He
got kneed in the exact same spot - it’s just amazing,
the luck right now with little things like that,” said
coach Doc Rivers. “That’s why he was so upset.
He was like, it was starting to feel good. So we hope that
he’s fine.” Boston
Herald
Trail
Blazers guard Brandon
Roy on Sunday evening said he is still experiencing soreness
in his right hamstring and is uncertain whether he will be
able to play Monday afternoon against the Washington Wizards Oregonian
But
whom will the Nets, Hornets and (pick a few teams) consider
when it comes time to make a permanent move later this season
or next summer? There are the usual suspects: Jeff Van Gundy,
Mike Fratello, Avery Johnson, Sam Mitchell, Byron Scott and
even, perhaps, Frank Yahoo!
Sports
Says
one general manager: “It is a fact of NBA life. Teams
are losing money. Teams are watching what they spend and it
has trickled down to the assistants, to the scouts, to the
assistant scouts. There is no question about it.” Yahoo!
Sports
But whom
might the next ones be? Here is a list of current NBA assistant
coaches who might well be on the short lists of several teams.
These fellows all have one thing in common – and it’s
not $$$$$. They have never been an NBA head coach. Elston
Turner, Houston: Other than the Utah Jazz’s Phil Johnson
and Jerry Sloan and the San Antonio Spurs’ Mike Budenholzer
and Gregg Popovich, there may not be a more solid relationship
between a head coach and his top lieutenant than the one between
Houston Rockets head coach Rick Adelman and Turner Yahoo!
Sports
Tyrone
Corbin, Utah: A former player for the Jazz (and eight other
teams!), Corbin is in his seventh season as an assistant to
Sloan. (Talk about job security: Work for Jerry.) Prior to
that, he worked in the Knicks’ front office as manager
of player development. Who
knows when Sloan will finally call it a day and go back to
his John Deere in Illinois? When that day comes, Corbin would
seem to be a logical successor, if some other team hasn’t
already gotten him. He is 47 Yahoo!
Sports
Two
nights after his team recovered from an early 19-point deficit
to force three overtimes in Houston, Rambis popped out of
the locker room into a FedExForum corridor only a couple of
minutes after the game's conclusion and delivered an eight-second,
21- word address on what he had just witnessed. "Our
defense was atrocious," he said as he leaned into reporters'
tape recorders. "I'm embarrassed about how our guys played.
There was no energy or focus at the defensive end." Minneapolis
Star Tribune
Then
he whirled back toward the locker room and pounded repeatedly,
angrily on the door that had just locked behind him Minneapolis
Star Tribune
Kevin
Love was asked what Rambis said to his team after the game.
He paused and then answered with one short word. "Oh,
sorry," Love then said. "I'm
just being honest with you. Can you just put an expletive
or something in there? He just had some choice words. Nothing
that we wanted to hear, but we knew it was coming." Minneapolis
Star Tribune
On
Dec. 29 Ms. Davidson—whose husband Bill Davidson, owner
of the Detroit Pistons, died last March at age 86—put
her property on the market. The asking price: $47 million,
making the estate, called Stony Creek Ranch, one of the most
expensive listings in the country, in a resort area that has
been hard-hit by the housing bust Wall
Street Journal
Framed
photos of various Pistons teams sit atop tables. In another
photo, Mr. Davidson beams at an infant grandson ensconced
in the bowl of the Stanley Cup, which his Tampa Bay Lightning
won in 2004. (He sold the Lightning in 2008.) Wall
Street Journal
She has
since assumed ownership of the Pistons—"Thank God
it's not baseball," she says—but continues to leave
the day-to-day management to Joe Dumars, the team's president
of basketball operations. On
a personal level, she said she's unsure what the future holds.
"Since Bill passed away, we've had two new grandsons.
There's a new generation," she said. "Life just
continues." Wall
Street Journal
The
NBA handed out sales awards during its annual marketing meetings
held recently in Brooklyn, N.Y., to eight teams having full-season-ticket
sales of at least 10,000 Sports
Business Journal
The
NBA will hold its first digital marketing summit Jan. 28-29
in Atlanta Sports
Business Journal
Washington
Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is all the talk these days. He
was suspended by the NBA and faces possible jail time after
pleading guilty to felony gun possession without a permit.
Some reports have him threatening a teammate. That same guy
has a tattoo that he calls Black Rushmore, featuring Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela and President Barack
Obama. And that about sums up a struggle of the NBA: Its players
have a heart for the right thing, and many do, but they are
mostly known for their ills and missteps. "You
know what I think it is," said Warriors legend Al Attles,
who is in his 50th season with the franchise. "A lot
of the young people really care about folks. The unfortunate
part is, the ones who are kind of on the fence, they are the
ones you hear about. So, consequently, people think they are
all like that." Contra
Costa Times
"For
the most part," Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford said,
"players of this generation try to treat everyone equal
no matter their color or gender. ... Try to respect one another.
There
are still situations in life we can improve on, but overall,
I think Dr. King would be proud of how far we've come."
Contra
Costa Times
"The
NBA has always been head and shoulder above," Attles
said. "And you've got to delineate even further back
to the individuals who hired people who look like me. Mr.
(Franklin) Mieuli. Red Auerbach Contra
Costa Times
Warriors
forward Corey Maggette is of the mind that the modern NBA
player carries out Dr. King's legacy not by speaking out on
issues, but by using their wealth to improve the lives of
others and rebuilding communities. "A
perfect example of one guy who does a whole lot is Kevin Garnett,"
Maggette said. "A lot of guys are like that. I think
the role of today's player is learning to, not forget about
the past, but put the past in the past and build on the future.
"This game, it's just a blessing Contra
Costa Times
Sixers
center Samuel Dalembert continues his amazing work to raise
awareness and money to help his native Haiti in the aftermath
of the earthquake. Dalembert
appeared on "Geraldo At Large" on the Fox News Channel
on Saturday night. “My message to everyone is continue
to open your heart and give to any foundation you feel at
ease," he said Philadelphia
Daily News
Ms.
Longoria Parker, a star of ABC's "Desperate Housewives,"
has become a big fan of Mr. Blair. When she is not working,
she is a fixture at Spurs games and prepares meals when Mr.
Blair visits Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
Any
rumor missing? E-mail us at hoopshype@hoopshype.com .
Derek
Fisher joined Stephen A. Smith on Fox Sports Radio to talk
about what he and the Player Association is planning to do
about the whole Gilbert Arenas situation, how concerned he
is as the President of the Player’s Association in regard
to Arenas, and what his role is in this situation. On what
he and the Player’s Association is planning to do about
the whole Gilbert Arenas situation: 
Mike
Miller will be available against Portland this afternoon,
after missing the past three game when his strained right
calf flared up. Coach Flip Saunders said Miller had some fluid
removed from his calf last week, but added that he would bring
Miller off the bench. 
Holly
McKenzie: 
It’s
about playing the young kids, and getting them experience.
The team and its fans are just going to have to live with
the immediate results for now and trust that all this losing
is going to pay dividends somewhere down the line, when Brook
Lopez and Yi Jianlian turn into All-Stars. 
Two
nights after his team recovered from an early 19-point deficit
to force three overtimes in Houston, Rambis popped out of
the locker room into a FedExForum corridor only a couple of
minutes after the game's conclusion and delivered an eight-second,
21- word address on what he had just witnessed. 
Sixers
center Samuel Dalembert continues his amazing work to raise
awareness and money to help his native Haiti in the aftermath
of the earthquake. 
