With the basketball world abuzz on the eve of college basketball's Selection Sunday and more than half of the NBA in action tonight, here are the topics that have been circulating as of late:
- Stephen Litel of HoopsWorld examines the impact the Ricky Rubio injury will have on the rest of the Timberwolves' personnel, and speculates, as we did earlier, that this may precipitate a Michael Beasley trade.
- The TrueHoop Network on ESPN.com discussed the how Rubio's injury affects Minnesota's involvement in the trade market, and the consensus appears to be that the Timberwolves will be able to make do with Ridnour and Barea in the meantime.
- NBA.com's John Schuhmann looks at the effect the new collective bargaining agreement is having on trade talks. The more punitive tax that is set to kick in during the 2013/14 season, restrictions on cap exceptions, and limits on sign-and-trades and max contracts are forcing GMs to adjust how they value players in trades.
- Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer believes that the value of the expiring contract has depreciated because of the new CBA.
- During a road trip that included disappointing losses to the Pistons and Wizards, the Lakers cancelled practice on Thursday and held a meeting between the coaches and players instead. The main message from the assistant coaches to the players appeared to be a request to "curtail external chatter," according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- HoopsWorld's Derek Page chatted with fans this afternoon and discussed a variety of ideas, including the suggestion that Chris Kaman would be a nice consolation prize for the Mavericks should they fail to land Dwight Howard.
- The Spurs have rarely engaged in deadline deals over the last 16 years, but Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation thinks that the team could be willing to shop their first round pick this time around if the right deal comes along.
- Although the Pistons are just four games out of the eighth seed, Lawrence Frank does not want to pay attention to the standings and would rather focus on taking things day by day, according to David Mayo of MLive.com.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel quotes Erik Spoelstra by saying that the Heat do not have any personnel moves pending after deciding not to renew the contract of Mickell Gladness. (Twitter link)