James Harden Links: Martin, Thunder, Rockets
One of the most intriguing games on tonight's NBA schedule sees James Harden and the Rockets, coming off a Tuesday win over the Raptors, heading to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder. It was just a month ago that the two teams finalized the shocking trade that sent Harden to Houston, so plenty is being written today about that deal and the Sixth Man of the Year's return to OKC. Here are a few stories of note:
- Harden downplayed tonight's contest, calling it "just another game," as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. However, Daequan Cook, who changed teams along with Harden in last month's deal, thinks the Rockets' star cares more than he lets on: "I know this game means a lot to him. He’s going to want to play his best basketball. This game means so much right now to him. You’re going to see a different mindset with him."
- Kevin Martin has been a servicable replacement for Harden in Oklahoma City, but it's not clear how the team plans to replace that production when Martin's contract expires next summer, says ESPN.com's John Hollinger (Insider link). Hollinger's also wonders how the Thunder would have proceeded if Harden had accepted their $54MM extension offer, since even that non-maximum salary would have put the team well into luxury-tax territory next year.
- ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst looks at how the Thunder have adjusted to losing Harden, with Kevin Durant noting that the club's "chemistry is getting better each day."
- While the Thunder have played well without Harden, the team misses his pick-and-roll ability, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- Both ESPN.com and The Oklahoman surveyed several writers on burning questions relating to the Harden trade, including whether dealing him was the right move and whether Russell Westbrook or Harden will be the better player in the long-term.
Northwest Rumors: Budinger, Martin, Westbrook
A rematch of last year's Western Conference Finals was the only game on the NBA's slate Thursday night, but it certainly delivered. After hitting a game-tying three with 28 seconds left, Tony Parker hit a buzzer-beater to give the Spurs an 86-84 win over the defending Northwest Division champions. We've got a few Thunder-related links to pass along this morning as they regroup from last night's loss, along with a couple more Northwest notes:
- Despite not playing his first regular-season game with the Timberwolves yet, Chase Budinger tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities he can already picture himself sticking around Minnesota for a while: "I can definitely see myself here (long-term). It's a great city. You can already see how good the fans are here…. I'm excited for the season."
- Wolfson also tweets that Kenyon Martin's camp has checked in a few times with the Timberwolves, but the T-Wolves have said Kevin Love's recovery is going well and they don't have a need at power forward. Since K-Mart is reportedly seeking the mini mid-level, I'm not sure the Wolves are necessarily a match anyway.
- Noting that it felt "surreal" to be dealt to a championship contender like the Thunder, another K-Mart, Kevin Martin, tells Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld that he wasn't surprised by the trade. "With next summer being an unrestricted free agent and them in rebuilding mode," Martin said. "I knew it was going to come at some point."
- One "well-placed" NBA executive tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he would've preferred to trade Russell Westbrook than James Harden, if he were running the Thunder (Twitter link).
- Kevin Durant spoke to reporters last night about the Harden trade, and HoopsWorld TV has the video.
Nine Assured Of Team USA Spot; Odom Withdraws
TUESDAY, 11:41am: Blake Griffin is expected to take Chris Bosh's spot on the U.S. roster, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. As Goodman adds in a second tweet, that would leave five players competing for the final two spots.
Odds & Ends: Raptors, Bobcats, Wroten
With the eighth, 37th, and 56th selections in this upcoming NBA Draft, the Raptors could potentially draft three rookies in addition to bringing last year's draft pick, Jonas Valanciunas, into the fold for next season. Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld spoke with GM Bryan Colangelo, who is looking to explore multiple scenarios with his second round picks. Colangelo admits that bringing in three rookies may not be the best scenario, and that he will consider packaging picks in order to move up the draft board or possibly make a second round selection with the intention of developing that prospect in Europe for a few years. Here's more of what we're hearing from around the league this evening, including an update of the Bobcats head coaching search.
Odds & Ends: Celtics, Heat, Thunder, Spurs, Lakers
Let's go coast to coast to catch up on the latest news and headlines before King James and the Heat look to make it a series against Indiana…
- Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has been using whatever time off his team is afforded to allow them to rest and get healthier, reports the Associated Press (via the Boston Herald).
- ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst says Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra needs to make adjustments to his strategy if Miami wants to have any chance of winning against the Pacers.
- Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have matured and proven that they can co-exist in Oklahoma City, writes Sam Amick of SI.com.
- Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski believes the Thunder look like a team with legitimate title aspirations thanks to strong play by Durant and Westbrook.
- The Spurs relied on heavily-efficient play to overcome a 24-point deficit to the Clippers on Saturday, writes Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com.
- Tom Ziller of SB Nation says the Lakers should trade Andrew Bynum so that the 24-year-old center's talents don't go to waste in Los Angeles.
- Gregg Popovich's decision to sit Tim Duncan during the 2000 NBA playoffs proved to be the right decision 12 years later, contends J.A. Adande of ESPN.com.
- A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com believes the Celtics need to find a better balance in terms of getting Kevin Garnett more involved in the game on Monday evening against the Sixers.
Odds & Ends: Rose, Perkins, Smith
One interesting note about NCAA championship as it relates to the upcoming draft: The last time the winner had a player that would subsequently go on to become that year's number one pick was in 1988, when Danny Manning of the Kansas Jayhawks was selected first overall by the Clippers. With a win tomorrow, Kentucky's Anthony Davis (currently projected to go first among several draft boards) could have a chance at ending the 23-year streak.
Should Kentucky lose, Davis could join Derrick Rose, Greg Oden, Elton Brand, and Chris Webber as number one picks who had been on the runner-up team that season. With less than 24 hours until tip-off, here are a few interesting notes to think about from the basketball news wire:
- As per Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times, Derrick Rose's injury could be worse than initially thought.
- Kendrick Perkins' has had a profound impact on Russell Westbrook this season and can be credited for the young guard's further emergence as a special player, writes Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK.
- In an exclusive interview with Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype.com, Kenny Smith indicated that he feels he'll "inevitably be coaching someday."
- Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer provides a more in-depth look at Donald Sloan, the Cavaliers reserve guard who has begun to find minutes under Byron Scott.
- According to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel, Bucks forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. believes that teammates' trust in each other will be key in Milwaukee's pursuit of New York for the eight and final playoff spot.
- Mavericks guard Jason Terry is alarmed by Dallas' habit of falling behind in the third quarter, only to rally in the fourth but come up short, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram.
- The Toronto Sun's Richard Zussman gives a primer for tomorrow's NCAA Title game and what to expect.