Shawn Marion made headlines on Friday when he told reporters that he wouldn't show up if the Mavericks traded him to a bad team. However, as Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News observes, Marion's recent play on the court, which includes four double-doubles in his last five games, certainly should attract interest.
"I’m just playing ball," Marion said after scoring 26 points last night. "When (trade) situations arise, I’m going to let it take care of itself. But right now, I’m a Dallas Maverick and that’s what it’s about."
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Asked after today's game about trade rumors involving Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony told reporters, including Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter), that the Knicks "shouldn't even be in trade talks right now."
- Members of the players union's executive committee who are allies of embattled executive director Billy Hunter weren't involved in the decision to put him on leave, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
- In a Sulia post, Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game wonders why Hunter's ill-advised decisions as executive director aren't receiving more attention.
- A pair of 2012 Rockets draft picks, Jeremy Lamb and Terrence Jones, top Joe Kaiser's list of young prospects who could be moved at this year's trade deadline, in an Insider-only piece at ESPN.com.
- Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News assesses the returns thus far from the offseason's two most significant trades: the Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum mega-deal and the James Harden swap.
- Discussing the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement, commissioner David Stern argues that management, not market-size, is the most important factor for teams to be competitive and profitable. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune has the details.