Odds & Ends: Howard, Lakers, Durant, Nash
With the likes of Chase Budinger and Jeremy Evans among the Slam Dunk contestants set to do battle on Saturday evening in Orlando, let's take a look around the league to see what else is happening:
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Twitter) says he's having a hard time with Dwight Howard's constant line of wanting to push aside distractions and focus on winning. It's Howard, not anyone else, who has created such distractions by making trade demands and by telling his agent to ask for permission to pursue possible deals.
- Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com is looking forward to the NBA trade deadline (March 15) and wonders if the Lakers should blow up their roster now or simply wait until the summer. He says that the Celtics are in a similar situation, but is excited to see another group of aging players in the Spurs continue to do well and perhaps threaten for an NBA Finals appearance.
- Kevin Durant believes the Hornets can rebuild their franchise through the draft in a similar fashion to his own team, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune. ''Losing C.P. and David West was tough for the Hornets, but they have Trevor Ariza and I like Gustavo Ayon. You know it's just a matter of time before everything starts to click. But losing your point guard in a lockout shortened season is tough. I love Monty for what he does and stands for.''
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com says Steve Nash believes Jeremy Lin is the type of player that can succeed in any type of NBA system. While Lin is expected to re-sign with the Knicks this summer, such an endorsement from a marquee player may go a long way to drive up the asking price for the restricted free agent.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Bryant, Clippers
With Andrew Bynum conceding the fact that he is not a sneaker guy while also making demands for the ball late in the game, let's take a look around the rest of the Pacific Division to see what else is going on:
- The city of Sacramento and the NBA continue to make progress toward reaching a financing deal for a new arena, reports Ryan Lillis of The Sacramento Bee. The topic of discussion for today has been agreeing on what the Maloof family, the owners of the Kings, should be contributing monetarily to the project. While Saturday's talks have extended beyond the expected two hour meeting and delayed a press conference on the arena discussions, USA Today's J. Michael Falgoust reports (via Twitter) that the Kings are going to be asked to provide between $70MM and $90MM to help fund the arena.
- After skipping out on Friday's All-Star media availability due to illness, Lakers star Kobe Bryant met with the press on Saturday and discussed Dwight Howard's uncertain future. Bryant conceded that there has been a sense of awkwardness surrounding Howard's situation during All-Star Weekend in Orlando, but also empathized with how he perceives Howard must be feeling, writes Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com. "He just wants his team [to win]… with players, sometimes there's a certain level of frustration when we don't feel like we're moving in the right direction."
- The Clippers' trade to acquire All-Star point guard Chris Paul just prior to the start of the season has done wonders for the franchise both on and off the court, says Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Not only does the team occupy the top spot in the Pacific, the Clippers are also selling out all of their home games, have doubled their regional television ratings and seen merchandise sales sky-rocket since Paul's arrival.
Wilson Chandler’s NBA Return Delayed
According to Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), free-agent forward Wilson Chandler may have to continue to wait before he can sign with a team thanks to the China Basketball Association. The CBA is refusing to provide Chandler with a letter of clearance, which would grant him the ability to play in the NBA. While Chandler will file an appeal with hopes of reaching a resolution within a week, there is a possibility that an agreement may not be reached until mid-March.
Chandler had reached an agreement with his team, the Zhejiang Lions, to release him from his contract once he helped the squad secure a playoff spot. Unfortunately for the former first-round pick, the CBA has full control over the letter of clearance rather than his team. Currently a restricted free-agent, the fifth-year player out of DePaul is being recruited heavily by the Raptors but is expected to return to the Nuggets.
After arriving in Denver via the Carmelo Anthony trade just over one year ago, Chandler averaged 12.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG during 21 regular season games before struggling during the playoffs.
Odds & Ends: Howard, Knicks, Kaman, Przybilla
In an action-packed Wednesday night of basketball, the Thunder and Knicks have stolen the show so far with impressive victories over quality opponents. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook led the Thunder to 72 points in the first half as the squad held on to beat the Celtics 119-104 in a box score seemingly from a different era. Let's take a look around the league to see what else happened on a night where Kevin Love and the Timberwolves climbed to .500 on the season:
- In what was potentially a preview of things to come, Magic center Dwight Howard did not disappoint the Nets faithful with his 20-point and 17-rebound performance Wednesday night in Newark. Jake Appleman of The New York Times says the Nets organization gave Howard a special welcome by displaying new signage promoting their Brooklyn arena and shooting off fireworks prior to the start of the game. When asked about playing for the Nets, Howard said he was humbled by the way the crowd of over 15,000 received him, reports Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).
- The Knicks are a team bound to benefit from the All-Star break, writes Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday. Having only played two games together as a team with the current roster, the Knicks will utilize their time to schedule five practices with hopes of better acclimating players like J.R. Smith to the offensive scheme.
- Hornets center Chris Kaman continues to add to his trade value as he scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 89-84 victory over the Cavaliers. Over the last five games, Kaman is averaging 16.0 PPG and 8.2 RPG and has notched two double-doubles. Thanks to Kaman's strong play, the Hornets have won four of their last six games after starting the season 4-23.
- Jason Quick of The Oregonian tweets free-agent center Joel Przybilla said he was thinking with his heart when he decided to sign with Trail Blazers instead of the Heat.
Atlantic Notes: Calderon, Lin, Celtics
With the Knicks scorching the Hawks through three quarters thanks to strong play from Landry Fields, let's take a look around the Atlantic Division to see what else is going on:
- Hasan Alanam of Canada.com suggests five possible destinations for Raptors guard Jose Calderon to end up prior to the trade deadline. A trade to the Trail Blazers may be a good fit for both teams as Raymond Felton has struggled immensely since arriving in Portland from Denver last June. The 30-year-old Spaniard has spent his entire seven-year career with the Raptors and is currently averaging 11.2 PPG and 8.8 APG on the season.
- On the heels of becoming the first New York City athlete to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated two weeks in a row, Nike announced that they will release a shoe for Knicks guard Jeremy Lin. According to Nina Mandell of the New York Daily News, the shoe will feature the Knicks' orange and blue colors with "Lin" appearing on the back. The 23-year-old star out of Harvard joins Pistons center Ben Wallace as one of the few undrafted NBA players to score a signature sneaker deal.
- Celtics head coach Doc Rivers and team general manager Danny Ainge will discuss adding a big man over the All-Star break, says Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. The Celtics have suffered from depth issues due to injuries to Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Wilcox among others. Former Lakers forward Derrick Caracter may become an option as he is set to join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League (via Twitter).
Rose Rejects ‘Trade Blessing’ Claim
When asked about a report that he gave the Bulls his blessing to pursue a trade for Lakers forward Pau Gasol, Bulls star Derrick Rose vehemently denied any involvement. The initial rumor of Rose approaching the Bulls front office about bolstering the roster for a playoff run came on Sunday from Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com. According to the article, Rose alluded to the fact that he would like to play with Gasol and hoped the organization could acquire him in exchange for Bulls forward Carlos Boozer and another unnamed player.
In a press conference before Wednesday's game against the Bucks, Rose said he would never go out of his way to try get rid of a teammate. Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times says Rose met with Boozer to discuss the report and said that his teammate understood that the rumors were untrue. "I'm good with the teammates I have," Rose said. "I've been saying that. We've been winning games. We're not in position to trade anyone right now."
A former Blue Devil, Boozer is in his second season with the Bulls and has started in all of the team's games this season. After missing time in his first year with Chicago, Boozer's improved health has led to steady production from the 10th-year veteran as he's averaging 15.6 PPG and 8.3 APG. Signed as free agent after spending time with the Cavaliers and Jazz, Boozer has $47.1MM remaining on his contract over the next three seasons.
Sacramento Arena Deal Making Progress
The latest news out of Sacramento suggests the Kings shouldn't pack their bags for Seattle just yet. According to a report from Tony Bizjak and Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee, the NBA and the city of Sacramento are calling conversations surrounding arena negotiations constructive as they released a joint statement on Wednesday. The two parties have crafted a two-week timeline with hopes of finalizing a financing plan for a new arena before the league-mandated deadline of March 1.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and NBA Commissioner David Stern said that they, along with their negotiating teams, will continue to work on a deal even with the NBA's All-Star Weekend set to begin Friday in Orlando. As such, a planned city council hearing scheduled for February 28 was moved to March 6 in order to give the council an ample amount of time to digest a proposal before voting. If an agreement is reached by the deadline, both sides expect to make a public announcement on that day.
The projected cost of constructing the new arena is set to run the city of Sacramento and the Kings organization a total of $387MM. While the majority of the cost will be funded publicly, the city of Sacramento expects the Kings to contribute at least $85MM to the completion of the project. The Kings anticipate receiving $50MM from likely arena operator AEG, which the team hopes to use toward fulfilling their financial obligation toward arena construction. There is no word on whether the city of Sacramento has signed off on such an arrangement.
Magic: Kobe Needs To Talk With Buss
During a conference call on Wednesday to promote his new ESPN film, "The Announcement," former Lakers great Magic Johnson addressed the need for Kobe Bryant to meet with Lakers management to discuss a series of unresolved issues. Johnson made it clear that Bryant must speak with Jim Buss, the Lakers' vice president of player personnel, rather than general manager Mitch Kupchak as the chain of command has shifted within the organization. Kupchak and Bryant have been bantering back and forth through the media regarding Pau Gasol's future as a Laker.
According to ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin, Johnson believes any decisions related to trades or free agency run through Buss rather than Kupchak. The goal of a conversation between Buss and Bryant would be to keep the star informed on key issues that surround the team with hopes of keeping in-house bantering out of the media. Buss' father, Dr. Jerry Buss, was known to have taken Bryant out for meals to keep him up to speed on any important decisions that would affect the team.
When questioned by the media about Johnson's recommendation for a meeting between Bryant and Buss, Bryant responded by saying, "perhaps." Amidst all of the trade rumors surrounding the Lakers, Bryant has supported Gasol and said that he would like him to remain on the team along with Andrew Bynum. Regardless of his supporting cast, Bryant has stated on multiple occasions that his lone focus remains on securing a sixth NBA championship, which would tie him with Michael Jordan.
Odds & Ends: Heat, Thornton, Gordon, Gasol, Lin
With 10 games on the schedule for Sunday, let's take a quick look around the league to see what's happening:
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel responds to a reader's question wondering if the Heat are setting themselves up for NBA Finals failure by not beefing up their post play. Winderman points to LeBron James as a player who could utilize his unique size to provide the Heat with an option to slow down the game in fourth quarter by getting the ball in the paint.
- Former Warriors forward Al Thornton has signed to play with Puerto Rico's Brujos de Guayama according to Sportando. The former Seminoles star averaged 7.4 PPG and 3.0 RPG during the 2010/2011 season with time split between Golden State and Washington.
- The Hornets are playing a waiting game with injured guard Eric Gordon, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune. The former Indiana star was acquired prior to the start of the season in the Chris Paul blockbuster but has only played in two games thus far. He'll become a restricted free agent this summer with the Hornets holding hope that they can re-sign him for a manageable price.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPN.com says it's been an unique season for Pau Gasol as he awaits his fate amidst trade rumors that he'll be moved prior to the trade deadline. Kamenetzky concedes his affection for the Barcelona native but would trade him to the Nets in exchange for Deron Williams in a heartbeat.
- According to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter), Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is currently searching for Jeremy Lin's 2010 Mavericks summer league jersey so he can sell it on eBay. No word yet on the reserve price.
Atlantic Notes: 76ers, Pietrus, Lin
The rare feat of attending two games in one day has been made possible today thanks to bizarre scheduling by the NBA. With the Knicks taking on the Mavericks in one of the early games (1:00 PM EST), a die-hard fan with deep pockets could easily make it across the Hudson in time see the Nets battle the Bucks at 7:00 PM EST. Let's take a look around the Atlantic Division to see what else is going on before the Jeremy Lin versus Jason Kidd showdown occupies the early afternoon.
- The 76ers need to find some offense if they want to continue their early season success, writes John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mitchell points to the absence of injured 76ers center Spencer Hawes as a major reason why the team has struggled to score points as of late. While the team is balanced in featuring six players averaging double figures in scoring, the team's schedule becomes more difficult as they hit the road more frequently in the second half of the season.
- A late pre-season acquisition by the Celtics has proved to be an excellent move by their front office, says ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg. Mickael Pietrus, 30, has enjoyed success on the court, but his true value to the team may be his affable personality and his ability to mesh well within the organization. As the replacement for the now-departed Glen Davis, Pietrus is averaging 7.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG on the season.
- Chris Bernucca of SheridanHoops.com wonders if NBA commissioner David Stern played a role in steering Lin to the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden.