Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports explains why Emeka Okafor is such an attractive player in the market right now: “As momentum gathers for the NBA’s Feb. 20 trade deadline, the Phoenix Suns hold one of the league’s most valuable assets for deal partners wanting to save themselves several millions of dollars: the expiring – and insured – contract of injured center Emeka Okafor. Once Phoenix reached the midway point of its season on Wednesday with Okafor still sidelined with a neck injury, an insurance policy began to take over payment on 80 percent of the remaining $14.4 million on his 2013-14 contract, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Whoever deals for Okafor before the trade deadline will receive an insurance payout of $5.7 million – roughly $141,000 per game.”
La La Anthony provided her opinion on what Anthony may do in the offseason and gave Denver a reason to dislike her, from ESPN New York: “La La Anthony “definitely” thinks her husband, free-agent-to-be Carmelo Anthony, will re-sign with the New York Knicks this summer. “I definitely think he will stay,” La La Anthony said in an interview with Bravo TV’s “Watch What Happens Live.” “I know that he wants to stay, and I support him wherever he wants to go. “Listen, I used to live in Denver with him. If I can live in Denver, I can live anywhere. I just want him to be happy.”
- The New York Knicks have lost their player development coach over internal matters, according to Ian Begley of ESPN New York: “New York Knicks player development coach Idan Ravin, the personal trainer to Carmelo Anthony, has left the team due to philosophical differences with the coaching staff, league sources told ESPNNewYork.com. The Knicks hired Ravin earlier this season to work closely with players on shooting, fitness and general development. Prior to the Knicks, Ravin worked as a personal trainer to some of the top players in the NBA, including Anthony and Chris Paul. He also has worked extensively with Knicks guard J.R. Smith.”
Mike D’Antoni admits he still can’t believe Anthony failed to produce in his system, from Begley of ESPN: “So D’Antoni admitted Sunday that it was a bit confounding that he couldn’t get Carmelo Anthony to thrive in his “Fun and Gun” offense. Before the tip-off of Sunday’s Knicks-Lakers game, D’Antoni was asked if it was “shocking” that Anthony — one of the best offensive players on the planet — didn’t perform well in his system. “Yeah, shocking,” he said. Anthony and D’Antoni had a falling out when D’Antoni coached the Knicks. When D’Antoni “stepped down” in March 2012, it was widely reported that the poor relationship between the two contributed to D’Antoni’s departure.”
Marc Berman of New York Post takes a look at the advantages of not playing Andrea Bargnani: “Bottom line: The Knicks are 2-0 minus Bargnani and 15-27 with him. Mike Woodson didn’t seem all that broken up about it when he announced the news about Bargnani’s status. He’s a decent scorer, but doesn’t bring enough intangibles on the court and isn’t emotional. For certain, the Knicks played with emotion in both games. The Bargnani injury is giving Woodson a long look at Cole Aldrich and Jeremy Tyler, the two young bigs on the roster. There they were on the court together late in the first quarter. In 21 combined minutes, Aldrich and Tyler combined for nine rebounds.”
Jason Lloyd of Beacon Journal questions whether Kyrie Irving will actually be deserving of a max contract: “Something changed within Irving last season, and it coincided with his return from All-Star weekend. It was evident to anyone around the team, particularly former coach Byron Scott, who told me in the days before he was fired, “I haven’t changed, but he has.” Irving spoke all summer about growing up, about becoming more of a leader and committing to defense under Mike Brown. It sounded good, it has even looked good at times, but the Cavs are still floundering in the East and Irving is still getting beat by too many mediocre point guards in the NBA… He has the opportunity to sign a max contract this summer, and the Cavs will certainly offer it. I wonder, however, has he actually earned it?”
James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.
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