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» Update: 06:40 PM ET |
 The Lakers have already been informed that Howard won’t sign a long-term deal in Los Angeles, according to sources close to the situation. If the Lakers were to trade for Howard, he would opt out and test free agency. Howard’s interest in Los Angeles has always been overstated, mainly because he doesn’t want to follow in Shaquille O’Neal’s footsteps and he doesn’t want to go through another rebuilding process anytime soon. With Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol is their thirties, Howard would be reaching his prime just as his All-Star teammates are declining. HoopsWorld Multiple sources believe Howard will force his way to the Nets and he certainly has leverage, just like Carmelo Anthony had last year when he would only agree to sign an extension with the New York Knicks. Howard wants to team up with Deron Williams, loves the idea of playing in Brooklyn and knows that the front office will involve him in the decision-making process. HoopsWorld  At the start of today, Chandler’s team was in fourth place, seemingly a certainty to make the playoffs. His agent, Chris Luchey, told me that he learned about Martin’s letter of clearance at about 2 a.m. this morning, after getting a message on Twitter. He said he was waiting to see if the N.B.A. allowed Martin’s transfer to go through, despite the apparent protests from the Chinese league. The situation could place the N.B.A. commissioner, David Stern, in a tricky spot. “At this time, Wilson has not made any request to be released,” Luchey said. New York Times Sources close to the situation say that the Clippers initially wanted to make a run at shooting guard J.R. Smith as well but conceded that frontcourt depth is the bigger priority and have focused on Martin. It's the opposite approach to that taken by the Knicks, who also had interest in both ex-Nuggets but have a greater need for Smith's perimeter shooting than Martin's defensive know-how and are thus focused on trying to land Smith when he returns from China in the next month. ESPN.com The New Orleans Hornets are considering taking center Chris Kaman off the trade market and permit him to return to the team. Hornets officials declined to say if their decision has been finalized, but they plan to have something to announce regarding the situation later Friday afternoon. New Orleans Times-Picayune With the Hornets hoping to acquire draft picks or other young assets for Kaman, Houston showed the strongest interest in the 7-footer. ESPN.com But sources said that interested teams -- Cleveland and Indiana were also among those that inquired -- balked at the asking price established by the league officials (Stu Jackson and Joel Litvin) who, along with NBA commissioner David Stern, essentially function as New Orleans' ownership committee until the team is sold. ESPN.com The Nuggets are said to be fuming that the league's new labor agreement wouldn't allow them to sign-and-trade Kenyon Martin to his new team -- thereby positioning Martin to make a little more money in the deal and score an asset for Denver in the process -- but the Clippers' offer of $2.5 million for the rest of the season trumped all other suitors because of the role they can offer with it. Word is that Martin prefers to play in the West because the proliferation of quality power forwards throughout the conference should translate to more playing time. That's especially true with the Clippers, who desperately need another big man to join Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Reggie Evans. ESPN.com  The Wizards have been working hard to move disappointing forward Andray Blatche, but a calf injury expected to sideline the favorite target of D.C. boobirds for three to five weeks won't make it any easier. Sources close to the situation say that the Wizards had been trying to engage Charlotte on a Blatche-for-Tyrus Thomas swap. ESPN.com The Lakers are indeed on the long list of teams interested in Cavs point guard Ramon Sessions, but sources say that Cleveland would expect at least one first- round draft pick from L.A. in exchange. Although the Lakers have their own first-round pick and Dallas' first-rounder in 2012, it's believed that L.A. prefers to hold off on using either of those picks or its $8.9 million trade exception (created by the deal that sent Lamar Odom to the Mavs) until Dwight Howard's situation plays out in Orlando. ESPN.com The Bucks are looking at Kyrylo Fesenko and Joel Przybilla, according to sources. Fesenko is an unrestricted free agent who has three years of NBA experience. Przybilla lives in Milwaukee and started his career with the team. HoopsWorld  The Grizzlies, sources say, were weighing the merits of calling up Greg Ostertag out of the D-League as a spot-minute addition to their tag team filling in for the injured Zach Randolph when the 38-year-old decided to end his comeback Jan. 19 because of unshakeable knee soreness. ESPN.com Marc J. Spears: Glen Davis to meet with SVG & GM Smith on Monday after serving 2-game suspension, source says. GD & SVG got in heated argument at morn shoot Twitter John Denton: #Magic coach SVG wouldn't go into great detail, but incident with @Glen Davis happened this morning. Nothing physical at all, just verbal. Twitter  Oden will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. During games he currently sits at the end of the bench, in a suit, mostly look disinterested. Most of Portland wrote Oden off long ago, when it became clear that he'd rehabilitate on the Blazers' dime this season, and then probably try his NBA career somewhere else. Oregonian The Blazers said Friday what any decent basketball organization would say about an injured player under contract. Acting general manager Chad Buchanan said the team would "continue to stand by Greg and support him." Oden's camp, too, confirmed the surgery and said the big guy is just trying to get his knee healthy. Oregonian Nothing personal with Oden. Injuries are what injuries are. Much of what's happened to him isn't his fault. But he cuts a far less empathetic figure than other chronically injured Blazers, Bowie, Bill Walton and Brandon Roy. Especially when you consider the biggest Oden news this season was his decision to sign a one-year deal with the Blazers and also, today's knee surgery, sandwiched between photographs that surfaced online last week of Oden posing with a pair of exotic dancers. People shrugged when they saw it. The Blazers didn't bother to scramble for damage control on that one. They know, down deep, that the clock is ticking and that Oden will be someone else's 7-foot headache in a year. Oregonian Oden wants to be 100-percent next summer. I see his logic. He doesn't want to risk any hit of further injury now. His Portland experience has been a drag. He wants to be able to provide prospective teams clean MRI's and sell them on his potential. He'll end up in Chicago or Miami, or somewhere else. Portland paid Oden $20.8 million over the past five seasons. That's $253,658.54 per game played. That's $71,724 per basket made. And now, he's presumably done in Portland. Everyone knows it. But nobody on the inside will say it. Oregonian  Blake Griffin's dunk over Kendrick Perkins has everyone scrambling to try to figure out where it ranks all time, and naturally your dunk over Frederic Weis at the Olympics is a big part of that discussion. What goes through your mind when you see footage of that dunk now? Vince Carter: I hope I can explain this the right way. It was a moment that I'm very proud of. But people always ask me: "What's your favorite dunk?" And it's hard for me to say. I do them for other people to enjoy them. But I will say that dunk [over Weis] was an out-of-body experience. That's not something I set out to do. If you would have asked me, even when I was jumping my highest, I would never, ever in my life have said that I would have jumped over somebody. People are still talking about a dunk that was 10, 11, 12 years ago. So that's a great feeling. It's something that can never be duplicated. I tried it [later] and couldn't really accomplish it again. ESPN.com Alex Kennedy: Stan Van Gundy said he'll consider selecting Kyrie Irving as an All-Star reserve. "I never consider rookies, but he's the real deal." Twitter Ethan J. Skolnick: Norris Cole has not been notified about All-Star rookie game, but hopes to get an invite. Twitter Greg Oden's statement, via his Facebook page: "I'm sure you've all heard the news by now that I'm having a scope on my knee today. Unfortunately after months of intense rehab and training, the doctors discovered that a scope is necessary at this time. Thankfully this should be a quick recovery and I'll be back to training soon. I'm committed as ever to doing everything and anything to get back on the court and be a part of the team's success." Read here: http://www.facebook.com/gregoden Sulia Andrew Perna: Hearing that George Hill's ankle injury isn't as bad as the #Pacers initially feared. Still to miss time. Twitter Ettore Messina: I have to admit that before coming over here I, like many fellow Europeans, wrongly believed that we were much better shooters as compared to NBA guys. The truth is shooting percentages here are mostly the result of outstanding athleticism and savvy of the defenders. Otherwise, if you give an average player an open shot, he’ll hit it with the same consistency as your European guy. Sports.ru Ettore Messina: Finally, there’s no avoiding the fact that we’re going through a special season in terms of importance of every single game. You know this common European perception that regular season NBA games sometimes lack intensity with players sleepwalking through the first two or three quarters? Well, you don’t see anything like that in a 66-game season. Every game is important. Every loss can affect your chances of making playoffs or getting a high enough seed for a long postseason run. And with the Lakers having a new head coach, new staff and new system, there’s no time for complacency. Everybody realizes we need to have a good season. I haven’t seen a single game so far where the intensity level wasn’t at its max from minute one, and one can assume it’ll only get tougher and more intense as we approach the end of the regular season and the start of the play-offs. Sports.ru  Jeanie Buss: Just confirmed my participation at the @SloanSportsConference March 2-3, 2012 in BOSTON. What are my chances of convincing Phil to join me? Twitter Lamar Odom may be struggling with the Dallas Mavericks, but he’s doing fine financially. Not only is Odom making $8.9 million this season, he also recently sued the Internal Revenue Service and won. Noah Sheer – the director of the Sports and Entertainment division at Cherry, Bekaert & Holland – describes how Odom was able to beat the IRS and what it means for other NBA players going forward. HoopsWorld |
» Update: 04:50 PM ET |
 The New Orleans Hornets have decided to take center Chris Kaman off the trade market and are bringing him back to the team, according to sources close to the situation. ESPN.com Marc Stein: Going up now on ESPN online w/@Chris_Broussard: Sources say Hornets ending Chris Kaman trade talks & bringing center back to team. Twitter The league-owned Hornets deactivated Kaman last week and told the former All-Star on Friday that he could wait at home while team officials tried to find a new trade home for him. But after discussions with numerous teams, sources said, New Orleans has decided to end those talks and recall Kaman, although it wasn't immediately clear what sort of role he'll have after Hornets coach Monty Williams announced last week that getting minutes for young players such as Jason Smith, Al-Farouq Aminu and Gustavo Ayon was the staff's priority. ESPN.com Sam Amick: For those asking about Chris Kaman, Houston & NO went back & forth quite a bit in recent days but talks backtracked as of yesterday. Twitter  Adam Zagoria: JR Smith is considering the #Knicks, Clippers, Lakers, Thunder and Bulls, league sources told SNY.tv. Twitter Several other Americans are still playing in China, including former Knick forward Wilson Chandler and former Nuggets and St. Benedict’s Prep guard J.R. Smith, who on Wednesday dropped 60 points in a Chinese league game, hitting 14 of 18 3-pointers. Smith is considering the Knicks, Clippers, Lakers, Thunder and Bulls, league sources told SNY.tv. ZagsBlog.com Sam Amick: On Wilson Chandler front, he's optimistic Denver will offer a long-term deal when he returns from China. He is Nugs' restricted free agent. Twitter Free agent Kenyon Martin has agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract to play with the Los Angeles Clippers, agent Andy Miller told Yahoo! Sports on Friday. Yahoo! Sports Marc J. Spears: .@Blake Griffin was a big Kenyon Martin fan dating back to his college days at Cincinnati. Remember, KMart had Blake bounce in early days. Twitter  JaVale McGee finished runner-up to Los Angeles Clippers all-star forward Blake Griffin in the slam dunk contest last season, despite arguably having the most creative dunks, and said on Friday that he might be open to competing again if asked participate. “I thought about it, of course. It’s possible,” McGee said before shootaround in Toronto. “Always possible.” Washington Post Charles Barkley actually argued in favor of Bosh for an East forward starting spot, over fan choice Carmelo Anthony. Shaquille O’Neal, until pressed, didn’t even include Bosh as one of his reserve picks. “I thought it was something else,” Bosh said of the way his friend described it. “It was funny.” Did Bosh ever think Barkley would support him? “No, no,” Bosh said. “To be honest with you, no. But it’s cool. I must be doing OK.” Palm Beach Post And what about Shaq? “I don’t know, man,” Bosh said. “I never read too much into TV. You have to keep it interesting. Who knows what the people upstairs are saying? So I just don’t worry about all that stuff, and concentrate on what I’m supposed to do.” Palm Beach Post And then we call our next guest, Nuggets forward Al Harrington, who is prepping for the third of three games in as many days, and flew home late last night after a West Coast game. And we wake him up. At least, I'm pretty sure we did. Because the first time we called, he didn't answer, and the second time we called he had that groggy sound. But he woke up fast, and told us all kinds of stuff. He's having his best NBA season ever, but is not on the All-Star ballot, which he admits to having noticed. He also says the Nuggets are definitely contenders. ESPN.com That's why Bucks coach Scott Skiles pulled sardonic out of his toolbox for a pregame chat in Chicago the other night. The topic was luck, which he and his team know about in the same way the 99 percenters know about wealth. "We're all pretty foolish if we don't realize the effects of luck in life," Skiles said. "Pretty lucky the Bulls got Derrick Rose when you look at the percentages [in the 2008 Draft lottery]. That's very, very lucky. Very lucky that David Robinson went down that year ... that allowed the Spurs to get Tim Duncan [in 1997]. So there's always things out of people's control. "We've been on the wrong end of that and it's obviously hurt us. We're the type of team, we need all of our guys healthy and able and playing well to win our share of games. It is a little tiresome to always have to overcome guys being out. But it is what it is -- that's exactly what we have to do, try to overcome it." NBA.com Three hours later, Milwaukee general manager John Hammond was all stiff upper lip on the same subject. No matter how many ways a fellow tried to get him to grouse about his club's misfortunes, Hammond held back. "Standing here, that's kind of what I'm thinking about," Hammond said. "I can talk about injuries, I can maybe come up with excuses, I can maybe come up with reasons. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. No one's going to care. And to be honest with you, it's the world we live in. It's a results-driven business. Even with injuries, people want you to win." NBA.com Sitting, watching, replaying and studying has taken on a greater priority through six weeks of this hectic 2011-12 schedule because, let's face it, there's been such little time for anything else. No time for a full-scale practice or often a shootaround in the middle of back-to-backs on the road. No bounce-back from actual games. Time has been on no one's side. You want to pause for anything, really, you'd better have a remote control in your hand. NBA players have their noses stuck in video games at a rate that would alarm their teachers and parents, if these guys were all 15 or 20 years young. "We're on video all the time," the Chicago Bulls' Kyle Korver said. "When you have time off, you're not doing anything. I'm not walking the dog, I'm not doing anything like that. When I've got time off, I'm on the couch." NBA.com Trail Blazers center Greg Oden will undergo an arthroscopic procedure today in Vail, Colo. to remove debris from his right knee, the team announced. It is his fourth knee surgery since becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft. The right knee has not given Oden problems since 2007, when he had microfracture performed before the season started. Oregonian The Portland Trail Blazers have made it known that center Greg Oden will undergo an arthroscopic procedure later today in Vail, Colo. to remove debris from his right knee. That's not all. Trail Blazer acting general manager Chad Buchanan confirmed an earlier report by CSNNW.com that Oden has been experiencing discomfort in his ankles and further testing revealed he has a blood clot in his left ankle. He could be taking care of that in Colorado as well. "It's accurate that they found a blood clot in Greg's left ankle," Buchanan said. "Out of respect for Greg, I don't want to release further details but up we have the utmost confidence in the doctors in Vail that they will do what's right for Greg." CSNNW.com Ben Golliver: Blazers Acting GM Chad Buchanan: Oden is "still considered out indefinitely" Twitter Jason Quick: Blazers interim GM Chad Buchanan says it's too early to say if this will end Oden's season. "That would be speculation at this point.'' Twitter Jason Quick: Buchanan said it's possible that doctors will take a look at Oden's left knee as well, which has an issue w/ a non-weight bearing ligament Twitter The Blazers said what any decent basketball organization would say about an injured player under contract. Acting general manager Chad Buchanan said the team would "continue to stand by Greg and support him." Oden's camp, too, confirmed the surgery and said the big guy is just trying to get his knee healthy. While we wait, it's time for everyone to drop the act and deal with the truth. Oden is done in Portland. We all know it. Nobody is saying it. And while the team requires Oden to sit on the bench during the games, and to do his contractually obligated NBA appearances, I don't think Blazers fans would mind a bit if the organization excused him from the rest of the season and sent him home. Oregonian  While there's still no official word yet, all indications are that Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo will return to the Celtics' lineup tonight against the New York Knicks. Rondo, who has missed the last eight games with a right wrist injury, was an active participant in the team's morning shootaround. Earlier this week, coach Doc Rivers said tonight's game was a likely target date for the two-time all-star to return to action. CSNNE.com Dave McMenamin: According to @Benjamin Hochman, Corey Brewer will likely miss the Lakers game for personal reasons. Derek Fisher can rest easy. Twitter Gomes, admittedly, has been struggling of late. Take away the time he scored 11 points in a January 20th loss to the Timberwolves (missing two-thirds of his shots in the process), he's managed just six points in his last 100 minutes of actions spread out over seven games. That's incredible, and just as unfortunate, and some jerkball Clipper fans (who probably couldn't pick Loy Vaught out of a lineup) decided to go after the guy's wife on Twitter. She responded, as you'll see after the jump, with some NSFW retorts on her Twitter account: Yahoo! Sports Former NBA player Oliver J. Miller is scheduled to be sentenced Friday afternoon, after he admitted last year that he pistol-whipped his girlfriend's brother after an argument at a cookout in Arnold. Miller, 41, pleaded guilty last fall in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to first-degree assault and carrying a handgun. The allegations stemmed from a family argument at a cookout last April, and prosecutors said Miller was seen hitting his girlfriend's brother in the head and face with a handgun after he left the gathering. Baltimore Sun |
» Update: 02:11 PM ET |
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The Clippers and free-agent forward Kenyon Martin have agreed on a mini-midlevel deal that will be finalized as soon as Martin passes a physical, according to an NBA individual familiar with the negotiations. Los Angeles Times Martin, who played for the Xinjiang Tigers in China and had been required to wait until their season was over before rejoining the NBA, was cleared to return to the NBA by FIBA, the international basketball federation, Thursday. Martin is an 11-year NBA veteran who, at 6-foot-9, is expected to bolster the Clippers' inside strength and rebounding performance. He averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in his 11 seasons with the New Jersey Nets and Denver Nuggets. Los Angeles Times The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to a deal with free-agent forward Kenyon Martin, a source told ESPNLosAngeles.com. The former Denver forward, who reached a buyout agreement with the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers on Dec. 21 and was cleared by FIBA to return to the NBA two weeks ahead of schedule earlier this week, will make $2.5 million. ESPN.com Free agent Kenyon Martin has agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract to play with the Los Angeles Clippers, agent Andy Miller told Yahoo! Sports on Friday. Martin joins a frontcourt rotation that includes All-Star forward Blake Griffin and promising young center DeAndre Jordan. Most NBA contenders had been in pursuit of the rugged forward. Martin, 34, spent part of the season playing in China, and could still have his Clippers debut delayed until the middle of this season as Chinese Basketball Association officials petition FIBA and the NBA to honor his signed agreement. FIBA gave Martin a clearance letter to play immediately in the NBA this week after China officials were slow to respond to a request made over the Chinese New Year. Yahoo! Sports Martin had visited with several NBA teams interested in signing him before deciding on the Clippers. “The Clippers are probably the best place for [Martin] to showcase himself for his next deal,” one rival front-office executive said. “He’s clearly the third-best [big man] without competition from anyone on their roster.” Yahoo! Sports The Hawks met Thursday with a representative for center Kenyon Martin, according to a person with knowledge of the team’s thinking. Martin, 34, averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds in 48 games for the Nuggets last season. The 11-year veteran signed a one-year deal to play in China with Xinjiang during the NBA lockout last summer. He is eligible to return to the NBA following the Chinese season in several weeks. Atlanta Journal-Constitution I personally think Howard was joking when he said that given recent speculation that he doesn’t want to play with Rose because they endorse the same sneakers. The reporter from the Chicago Tribune who asked Howard wasn’t a basketball writer, so Howard probably didn’t know him. I’ve seen Howard in such situations and he’ll make up stuff, though as I wasn’t there I have no idea the context. Though in invoking God to determine his fate also suggests Howard has no destination he plans to go, which belies his agent asking the Magic if they can talk with Dallas, the Lakers and Nets. Which is why I didn’t take seriously any change in Howard’s views toward Chicago. Everything I hear is he still has no interest in playing for the Bulls, and to me that only changes when he says he wants to resign with the Bulls. I haven’t heard that yet. NBA.com Marc J. Spears: Bucks waive guard Darington Hobson. Twitter The Bucks released guard Darington Hobson on Friday morning, bringing their roster to 14 players, one shy of the league maximum. But coach Scott Skiles said no move was imminent to fill the empty roster spot. "We're always looking but it's not, right at this moment, leading to anything," Skiles said after the morning shoot-around at the Palace of Auburn Hills. "It's just a decision we made and it does free up a roster spot. "But as of today it doesn't have any relevance on any other move." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel  Jonathan Feigen: Marcus Morris returning to the D-League. He wanted to stay w Rockets, but he has practiced once in three weeks because of sprained ankle. Twitter The NBA doled out double fines Friday morning, penalizing Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for $75,000 for his criticism of the officials to ESPNDallas.com after Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. ESPN.com  No need to use Google when Shane Battier is standing nearby. If Miami Heat players need a question answered, they turn to Battier, their versatile forward — versatile, that is, with his knowledge. “He’s probably the No. 1 smartest basketball player and person I’ve been around,” said Heat forward LeBron James. “He knows everything.” FOXSports Florida During a recent practice, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was drilling his players. He asked if anybody knew the width of the court. After seeing some blank stares, Spoelstra turned to Battier. “He said, ‘I don’t know.’ And he goes, ’50?’ Spoestra said. “And the guys gave him a hard time that even when he doesn’t know the answer he gets it.” FOXSports Florida Chris Tomasson: Carl Landry thinks Shane Battier could be president of the US some day-'I would vote for him. He cares about people. Definitely president' Twitter Trail Blazers center Greg Oden will undergo an arthroscopic procedure today in Vail, Colo. to remove debris from his right knee, the team announced. It is his fourth knee surgery since becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft. The right knee has not given Oden problems since 2007, when he had microfracture performed before the season started. His left knee was the knee in question during his December visit in Vail, Colo., when the team deemed he had suffered a setback because of an issue with a non-weight bearing ligament in his knee. Oregonian For four hours last Friday, Malone co-hosted my radio show and talked about many topics, the way only Malone can. His signature point: He said the Jazz botched the Williams-Sloan situation, giving the player too much power, and essentially blamed Kevin O’Connor and Greg Miller for undermining an icon who had coached the Jazz for 23 years. “On the whole handling of that, I would have to give [them] a D or F, and I would lean more toward an F,” said Malone, who has remained close to Sloan since his own retirement in 2004. Salt Lake Tribune Trouble had been stirring between Williams and Sloan for months. Sloan admitted that the two “got into it.” Malone said the Jazz had empowered the point guard to go directly to O’Connor when he disagreed with Sloan and that was, as Karl called it, “the perfect storm.” “I know for a fact that [Sloan] was overridden on practices sometime on the road because Deron was calling our G.M. at that time,” Malone said. “ … You give a guy that much power, and he’s the kind of player you think he played hard all the time, but if he wanted to sulk he could sulk. … I never went to Larry [Miller] to talk about Coach Sloan. … It’s not one time, in my gut and heart, that I would go over his head.” Salt Lake Tribune The Jazz have stayed with their company line that Sloan simply got tired and decided the time was right to jump aboard his John Deere and ride off into the sunset. Malone, who regularly talks with Sloan, called B.S. on that. “That defining moment when [management and ownership] should have stood up for Jerry Sloan, they chose Deron Williams,” he said. “And Coach Sloan, being the coach I know and love, said, ‘You know what? We should part ways.’ And he said what he said. And once Coach Sloan says something, it’s history.” Salt Lake Tribune O’Connor, who heard what Malone said on Friday, agreed to come on the show on Tuesday, and he called B.S. back. “Karl wasn’t in the room, I was in the room,” O’Connor said, “and the only thing I can tell you is, I’d like you guys to go ask Jerry. … Greg was in there. He did everything possible with Jerry to make him stay, to have him finish off the season. [Sloan] had complete autonomy to do anything he wanted to do, as far as any kind of punishment. Salt Lake Tribune “The next morning, we’d asked him to sleep on it, and Gail [Miller] came in and both Greg and Gail asked him. So, I can honestly say that there’s nothing farther from the truth than those kinds of comments. “The minute [Sloan] said [he was quitting], we said, ‘Don’t do it.’ … What I know is, I was in every meeting. I heard every sentence, every word, and I can tell you what transpired. I would love for you to go speak to Jerry and to Phil Johnson … and ask them these questions.” Salt Lake Tribune  Dan Steinberg: Ted Leonsis refers to us as "the local pixel maker," says The Post is "harboring criminals now." http://www.tedstake.com/2012/0… Twitter |
» Update: 08:39 AM ET |
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Chinese Basketball Association officials are fighting FIBA’s decision to allow Kenyon Martin to immediately return to the NBA, demanding that Martin be forbidden to play until later this month, sources told Yahoo! Sports. China has forwarded an affidavit to FIBA and the NBA – signed by Martin upon his departure in late December – that stipulates he wouldn’t play in the NBA until his Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers’ season had ended. China is demanding the contract be honored and Martin have to wait until the Flying Tigers finish their season. Yahoo! Sports Chinese Basketball Association officials are insisting the clearance letter request was deliberately sent to their office over the New Year when they wouldn’t be available to respond. After seven days without a response, FIBA’s guidelines allow it to issue the letter of clearance that all international leagues – including the NBA – need to validate that a player has fulfilled contractual obligations elsewhere. Yahoo! Sports “Right now, it’s a huge distraction for teams,” one international official told Yahoo! Sports. “Players are angry, want out now, and this is a huge investment that’s blowing up in the face of [Chinese] teams and owners.” Yahoo! Sports The Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks have all pursued the former Denver forward, who reached a buyout agreement with the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers on Dec. 21 and has been back in the United States ever since. It was expected that he would not be eligible to return to the NBA until Feb. 15, when that club's season was over. However Martin petitioned for an early release and FIBA officials surprisingly granted it. "It's a recruiting battle now, he's got like five playoff teams that want him," according to an executive with one of the teams in the running for the 34-year old. "He got clearance a lot quicker than anyone thought, including himself." ESPN.com Because he's been home for over a month, Martin has already met with several teams, including Atlanta on Thursday. He met with the Clippers in early January and was told to watch their games and see if he thinks he would fit in, according to a team source. Since then Clippers guard Chauncey Billups -- with whom Martin played in Denver -- has taken the lead in recruting him. "If the Clippers end up getting him, Chauncey should get all the credit," the source said. "Chauncey has been the guy talking to him, which is kind of ironic considering Chauncey wasn't happy when they claimed him. It shows you how much he's turned around." ESPN.com New York has faded from contention in recent weeks, sources said, because of more pressing guard needs. The Clippers can pay Martin the mini midlevel exception for a pro-rated $2.5 million for the season. Yahoo! Sports Kenyon Martin wasn't necessarily in the plans for the Nuggets, but now it's official: A league source said Thursday that the unrestricted free agent will not return to the Nuggets this season. The power forward played in China but is looking to sign with an NBA team. Yahoo Sports reported that FIBA has cleared Martin to sign with a team now. Originally, he would have had to wait until his Chinese team finished its season later this month or in March, depending on the playoffs. Martin had already left his team in December to return to the States. Denver Post Denver, who doesn’t want Martin back, is unlikely to be granted the chance to conduct a sign-and-trade agreement with his next team, league sources said. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, there’s a rule that limits teams from re-signing past players under contract to get value returned to them in a deal. Yahoo! Sports Several persons claiming knowledge of some of Howard’s thinking insist he does not look that favorably upon the Lakers because of the mega-shadow cast by Shaquille O’Neal, who left Orlando and won three titles in Los Angeles. Howard could do without following those footsteps, makingThat makes the Nets the heavy favorites among his preferred teams. Howard and his camp reportedly have warned teams about going the rental route, thinking they could deal for him, then convince him to stay. “To bring in a player of that magnitude without assurances he’d be staying would be professional suicide,” one team executive said flatly. New York Post The Nets have been quietly confident all along about Howard. As the Knicks thought about Anthony last year, the Nets and obviously believe if they land him they can keep him. And they believe they can land him. So some around the Nets have used those buzzwords “favorable … strong … good.” “We’re more than just ‘in the mix,’ ” said one source. New York Post At least one person around the Magic feels Dallas is a bigger free-agency threat than the Nets. The speculated scenario has both Howard and Deron Williams landing there as free agents. The Mavericks trail in any trade scenario because they lack assets. Again, the Nets are favored. One possible reason for the Magic to let Howard become a free agent is the belief he won’t walk away from money in the $25 million range — what he could lose signing for four years with another club. But the thought Howard would risk that fifth-year cash for the lure of Brooklyn and its business opportunities could force Orlando to make a deal which would bring assets and also allow the Magic to unload Hedo Turkoglu’s $11.8 million contract. New York Post  According to former Los Angeles Lakers general manager Jerry West, teams needn't worry so much about a superstar demanding to be traded. West, being careful not to mention players by name, alluded to situations like the one the Orlando Magic currently faces with Dwight Howard, saying there's no reason teams should give into those demands. Asked what he would do as a lead executive in a situation where a superstar has made it known he wants out, the ex-Laker executive said it was fairly clear-cut. "I honestly think I'd call their bluff," West said in an interview on 710 ESPN's Mason and Ireland show Thursday, not mentioning Howard specifically. "I really would, because I don't think any agent or player is going to leave $30 million on the table. "I just don't believe that's going to happen." ESPN.com He cited that as the primary reason he wouldn't comply with a superstar's trade demands. And he also said he wouldn't want a player on his team who didn't want to be there and wouldn't want many of the players that would come back in a deal for a high-salaried superstar. "If I were an executive on a team where a player says he's going to leave, let him leave," West said on 710 ESPN's Max and Marcellus show earlier Thursday. "It would be better than saddling yourself with a bunch of players that are not going to fit in to what you're trying to do -- high-salaried players, in many cases overpaid players by today's standards, that would burden you going forward. "I'd almost rather start over again myself. You're not going to replace that player, but there's an enormous penalty there and it looks like to me like the inmates are running the asylum if you let that happen." ESPN.com JR Smith: How many people does staples seat? Twitter Smith is an unrestricted free agent, and Chandler and Brooks are restricted free agents, likely to re-sign with Denver and Phoenix, respectively. Smith has significant interest around the NBA, including the Lakers, Knicks, Spurs and several more potential contenders. Yahoo! Sports  If Indiana wants to retain Hibbert, an offer sheet from another team, potentially one that strikes out on Dwight Howard, could drive up his price for the cost- conscious franchise. A source close to the situation told Andrew Perna of RealGM that Hibbert could easily earn a deal with an annual value of between $9 million and $11 million based on how he plays over the remainder of the season. RealGM Mete Aktas: Donatas Motiejunas, the 20th pick in the '11 draft whose rights belong to the H.Rockets is on the verge of signing with A.Efes. Twitter Can Pelister: Anadolu Efes' first choice is Milan Macvan but source says, Efes had an agreement with Donatas Motiejunas and he might be in Turkey today. Twitter Emiliano Carchia: Source close to Motiejunas reports to Sportando that the player didn't reach any agreement with Efes yet. Two other teams are targeting him Twitter Jorge Sierra: Free agent guard Rafer Alston is headed to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, we're told. Twitter When the Nuggets visited New York on Jan. 21, Anthony sought out Karl in the visiting locker room before the game. The two hadn’t spoken since the trade. Karl called the discussion “good,” but said the two would benefit more from talking in the offseason. He said he might meet Anthony in Las Vegas this summer for dinner during Team USA’s Olympic training camp. “When it first started, I was like, ‘What are we going to talk about?’ ” Karl said of their Jan. 21 meeting. “He mentioned that we hadn’t talked and he wanted to get things on the table. “I said, “ ‘Melo, in times like this when it’s so emotional, sometimes it’s good to wait. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you. It’s a he-said, she-said thing. I don’t know what you’re really thinking. I’m not going to trust what’s in the paper. I respect you. You’re the best scorer I ever coached. What you did [in Denver] before I got here, and what we did once we got together, is a pretty good run. It doesn’t have a lot of playoff success, but it has a lot of good basketball.’ ” Yahoo! Sports  Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin was voted as a starter to the NBA All-Star Game on Thursday but said he doesn't plan on defending his slam dunk contest title during All-Star weekend. "As of right now I don't plan on being in it," Griffin said Thursday night. "Those dunk contests aren't my thing, I said that last year. There's a lot of guys that can put on a great show and do some good stuff." ESPN.com Last year Griffin won the slam dunk contest, played in the Rookie Challenge and played in the All-Star Game during a whirlwind All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. This year, Griffin, who will be a first-time starter, would like to simply enjoy the weekend and play in the All-Star Game on Sunday. "Last year was hectic and it kind of made it unenjoyable," Griffin said. "So this year, we'll see what will happen, but I will try to tone it down a bit and get a break instead of being so busy." ESPN.com Dwyane Wade is 30 now. That’s not the age, in basketball terms, to start experimenting with acrobatic slams, especially those that don’t help your team. Still, why did he never participate in the All-Star Slam Dunk contest in his 20s? “You don’t want to see me in that. I’m not a Slam Dunk kind of person. I’m a game dunker. I’m not creative enough. I don’t jump as high as those guys, or do all these things in the air that they can do. No one wants to see me in there. That’s why I have never raised my eyebrow to being in the dunk contest.” Palm Beach Post  Gasol, a four-time All-Star, finished third in the voting among Western Conference forwards behind Kevin Durant (1,345,566) and Blake Griffin (876,451) with 470,353 votes. “It’s tough, but I have a lot of competition at my position,” Gasol said. “I’ve been part of it for four times and I would love to continue to be a part of it because you are amongst the best and it’s something that’s a great recognition. “We’ll see. We’ll see what happens, see if the coaches pick me. It’s the most competitive position in the West.” Orange County Register Bynum, who earned his first All-Star spot, is rooting for his Spanish teammate. “Pau is always an All-Star but it’s going to be tough,” Bynum said. “I want him there and he deserves to be there but our record is kind of bad, so I don’t know if that’s going to weigh into it or not. It would be great to have him there.” Orange County Register So could the two Lakers starters — Bynum and Kobe Bryant — forge a temporary peace with the two Clippers starters — Chris Paul and Blake Griffin — and even pass to one another? "I think so. I think they want to win," Lakers Coach Mike Brown said. "I think the West wants to beat the East." Hugging, though, might be asking too much. Maybe just letting Bynum visit Lob City on a day pass might suffice. "I don't know if they'll hug it out," Brown said. "All those guys are competitive. I think this is going to be a very good team. I know it will be fun to watch." Los Angeles Times  Charles Barkley on All-Star prospects for LaMarcus Aldridge: "LaMarcus Aldridge, you are going to make the All-Star team this year. If you don't I'm not going back down there... I'm taking a stand. I'm not going to Orlando unless LaMarcus Aldridge is going as a reserve." Sulia There is definitely a case that can be made for Chris Bosh at forward over Anthony, and it’s a case that Kenny Smith, Chris Webber and even Charles Barkley all made on the show. O’Neal, of course, would have none of it. “Carmelo is doing more than Bosh,” O’Neal said. “There you go again,” Barkley said. There you go, Charles Barkley, voice of reason. Shaq further justified his preference by arguing that Bosh is only what he’s doing because the Big 2 takes pressure off him. Um, wait. Aren’t Bosh’s numbers much better this season without Wade? And wasn’t the previous criticism of Bosh his stat-padding on a mediocre Toronto team? So now the problem is that he’s producing slightly lesser — more efficient numbers — on a contender? Palm Beach Post  Adelman sounded as though he's getting a little frustrated with Milicic. "Sooner or later, they play or they don't play," he said. "You have to play with the people you have who are healthy. He's been really up and down, and has had different injuries." Minneapolis Star-Tribune He is seemingly at as much of a loss right now to explain his 43 percent shooting -- 17.8 percent from downtown -- through 22 games, the one-third point of this 66-game schedule and beyond the quarter point of a normal regular season. "I don't know what to tell you," Nowitzki said after scoring eight points in the 95-86 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. "I'm going to keep working. I'm not going to put the head down. I've just got to keep working." ESPN.com  “The thing about Perk is he's going to put himself in a position to contest everything around the basket,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. How many NBA players willingly would put themselves in harm's way? How many would risk embarrassment in the ever-changing social media age? Coaches and teammates of Perk say the answer is not many. “I've been around a lot of defensive-minded players,” Brooks said. “You're going to get dunked on. There's no way around it. There's tremendous athletes in this league. But it doesn't affect him. He's going to come out and do the same thing tonight and guard the basket. That's what he does.” Oklahoman “I'm a fan of the game and I appreciate what he did,” Brooks said of Griffin. “But I also appreciate what Perk does. He challenges baskets. That's what the good defenders do. The sorry defenders are going to back away because they don't want to be posterized. You put yourself in a position to get embarrassed, but by doing that you protect us from being scored on. And we're a pretty good defensive team because of Perk.” Oklahoman  Williams said several weeks ago he realized his frustrations had produced poor body language, and he would make an effort to improve that. Since then, he and the team have embraced the motto of, “I love it,” meaning they won’t allow themselves to feel sorry for themselves despite the schedule or injuries or whatever other challenges arise. “Early on in the season, I was letting (the losing) affect me too much, getting too down,” Williams said. “So I’m just trying to be positive. I know it’s a tough situation we’re in, with all these guys going down and getting hurt. I’ve got to take it upon myself as the leader on this team to step up and make plays on both ends of the court.” Newark Star-Ledger The play of Roddy Beaubois has opened the question of whether Jason Kidd's return from his calf muscle injury would mean Kidd will come off the bench. Don't hold your breath, Carlisle said. "No, I wouldn't," he said when asked if he would consider starting Beaubois over Kidd. "At this point, it's just something I wouldn't do. Jason is a starting player on this team at this time and that's my view of him. "Now if he came and begged me to do it, I'd probably listen. But you're talking about situations where we don't know when Kidd is coming back. It could be awhile. Or it could be next week. We're getting a little ahead of ourselves." Dallas Morning News Sam Amick: I caught up w/ @LaMarcus Aldridge as he left: "We've got to figure it out ASAP. If we don't start winning on the road, we aren't going nowhere." Twitter While Brown sees other teams and counts their playmakers in relation to his roster, Goudelock simply sees red. After finishing fourth in the NCAA scoring race as a senior, averaging 23.7 points per game, Goudelock waited and waited on draft night as nearly two teams passed on him for every point he averaged last year. "You try not to think about those types of things but that means 45 teams passed up on me," Goudelock said. ESPN.com The draft night snub has been a clear motivator for Goudelock. He couldn't help but smile when asked about what it meant to him to put up 12 points, three rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes while the guy he was matched up with, Charlotte's No. 9 draft pick Kemba Walker, finished with 12 points (on a worse shooting line), six rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes. "I think I’m just as good as everybody in that draft," Goudelock said. ESPN.com Metta World Peace: I can say anything and media picks up on it. You guys must be bored or boring!!! Anyway I wise man once told me "n..... Please" Twitter David Baumann: Jason Williams has been playing in the same rec league as Gilbert Arenas in Orlando. Which duo is better? Duhon-Ish Smith or J-Wil- Arenas? Twitter  There still is no timetable for the Knicks debut of point guard Baron Davis, who has been out with a herniated disk in his back. When coach Mike D’Antoni was asked if the problem was Davis’ long layoff or the injury, he said it was both. “Hopefully next week I’ll know more,” D’Antoni added. New York Post What isn't publicly known is that Mbah a Moute also has been coping with another injury, one that he and the Bucks hope doesn't get worse. Mbah a Moute said he has a partial tear in the patellar tendon of the same knee. And it's been bothersome. "Yeah, it gives me problems," Mbah a Moute said. "It's going to give me problems consistently for the rest of the season. It's just how just much of a problem it'll be. "I just have to minimize the level of pain by taking medicine sometimes, massages, rehab, all that stuff." Racine Journal-Times And even that doesn't always do the trick. "It gets painful," Mbah a Moute said. "It hasn't gotten to the point where it's too painful to where I can't play, which is good. But it gets sore after the game sometimes ... it even gets sore in the game. "It's just managing that pain." Racine Journal-Times Charlotte guard/forward Gerald Henderson will miss 2 to 4 weeks with a strained right hamstring, a source told the Associated Press. The Bobcats (3-20) have not announced the injury, sustained in Wednesday's loss to Portland. Henderson, from Episcopal Academy, could be replaced in the starting lineup by Matt Carroll, from Hatboro-Horsham High. Philadelphia Inquirer  Karl says these Nuggets are a lot easier to coach than his previous teams. In fact, he’s enjoying coaching as much as he ever has. “We were on 2½ hours of practice killing them [in training camp], just killing them,” Karl said. “Never heard one moment of bitching. Not one word of complaining, just, ‘What coach wants, that’s what we are doing.’ After six years, we always did something wrong with the old crew. “It was refreshing but also motivating.” Yahoo! Sports Now working as an executive board member for the Golden State Warriors, West is keenly aware of the changing structure of the modern NBA, where superstars and their agents try to wrestle away the power to arrange deals from the teams themselves. He said that makes executives' jobs tougher, but not impossible. "You're dealing with a superstar and probably a high-profile agent who is trying to put that player's career, maybe, in an ancillary market where there might be more money available to you," West said. "Today, I think, you look at the real punitive damage when a player says, 'I want you to trade me somewhere else.'" "We have an awful lot of players who say I want to go here or I want to go there. And I think that's what takes some of the joy out of the game and particularly fans and cities that have supported teams." ESPN.com Nick Friedell: Interesting visitor in Bulls' postgame locker room in both Miami and NYC: Worldwide Wes. Twitter  More people are watching the NBA in China than when Yao Ming played. The league said Thursday that its schedule of games during its Chinese New Year celebration was watched by 96 million viewers in China, continuing its strong performance there even after the retirement of the country's greatest basketball star. The first Chinese New Year event ran from Jan. 21-28 and featured a 21-game broadcast schedule. The games attracted 79 million viewers on the NBA's television partners in China, while another 17 million watched games and special programming on digital platforms. CBSSports.com Greg Dickerson, the reliable sideline reporter on Comcast SportsNet New England’s Celtics telecasts, has never tried to hide his affinity for the team or his appreciation for his job. For him to miss a significant amount of time, as he has this season, viewers might presume it was because of a serious matter. It was. Two days before the Celtics’ Christmas Day opener in New York, Dickerson suffered a major seizure. After meeting with neurologists and other doctors, he was diagnosed with epilepsy. Upon returning to the sideline, he suffered a second, milder seizure Jan. 18 as the Celtics hosted the Raptors and had to leave the game. “It’s been tough,’’ said Dickerson. “I deal with other neurological illnesses that I live through. It’s not like it completely came out of the blue. Still, it was . . . “I’m not much of a hospital person, and to have an attack at a game, that was especially frightening. It’s kind of good to know what it is, that I can get medicated for it and take care of myself.’’ Boston Globe Dickerson returned to duty Tuesday night and expects to work a full schedule the rest of the season. He finds something of a silver lining in his situation. “I was tested for a tumor and multiple sclerosis,’’ he said, “so this is not the worst thing in the world, though it is troublesome.’’ Still, he acknowledges the cruel Catch-22 nature of his situation: His attacks can be triggered by anxiety, but how is he not supposed to worry about it? “It’s this mad circle,’’ he said. “If you don’t stress about it, you don’t think about it, you don’t worry about it, it helps, but of course you’re going to stress about it, think about it, worry about it.’’ Boston Globe It's not easy to keep kosher in the NBA, Omri Casspi said, but he does his best at home and on the road. "When you land at 1 o'clock at night at Indiana, for example, you need to have dinner," said the Cleveland Cavaliers forward. "So it's not easy, but it is what is. I'm proud of me and who I am and what I'm doing." When he's not traveling with the Cavaliers, Casspi gets most of his food from Jerusalem Grill in University Heights. Co-owner Oren Gahanian said more than anything, Casspi wants to feel at home in Cleveland. "He's looking for the home cooking," Gahanian said. "He's looking for something to keep him warm. He's not looking for fancy shmancy." One of Gahanian's friends at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland was acquainted with Casspi, Gahanian said. She promised to bring Casspi to Jerusalem Grill to sample the food. "He had a little dinner," Gahanian said. "He tasted some stuff, and he said, ‘OK, from now on this is what I want. I'll come every week.'" Cleveland Jewish News "Everything here is strictly kosher," Gahanian said. "I talked to his cook in Sacramento (where Casspi played before being traded to Cleveland) ... He basically told me what (Casspi) likes, how he likes his food. We organized it so (Casspi) picks up his food or I deliver it." Cleveland Jewish News  Danilo Gallinari: One of my favourite singer was at the game tonight..good seeing you outthere @rihanna Twitter NBA legend Bill Bridges claims he was left permanently scarred by a recent trip to a Marriott spa -- where the steam room allegedly seared his skin and eyes -- and now, he's suing the hotel for ruining his life. TMZ.com Bill -- who won a championship ring with the Golden State Warriors in 1975 -- filed the lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court, claiming he visited the steam room last year at the Le Merigot Spa in the Marriott Santa Monica ... and upon entering, a cloud of steam "engulfed Mr. Bridges' face." As a result, the 72-year-old Bridges claims he "suffered severe burns to his face and to his eyes, skin discoloration, and permanent scarring." TMZ.com |
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