- Brook Lopez is expected to miss 3 weeks with a sprained ankle.
- Rip Hamilton is day-t0-day with a shoulder injury.
- The fresh-faced CEO of the Orlando Magic tries to speak to Dwight Howard daily, pushing hard to accelerate a relationship with the franchise’s most important asset. He’s late to the job, to the recruitment and understands 7½ years are difficult to replicate in his personal window of 90 days. Outside, everyone else tells Alex Martins: Give in to the inevitable, find an acceptable package and trade Dwight Howard. “It seems that way, doesn’t it?” Martins told Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo! Sports
- Several teams believe the Magic won’t trade Howard, and that’s why those teams won’t bother getting involved in talks with them. The New York Knicks refuse to engage the Magic, if simply because they don’t want players like Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler affected by talks that organization officials privately believe would go nowhere anyway. Yahoo! Sports
- The Nets are counting on Williams staying with them and recruiting Howard on July 1, but Dallas does represent home to Williams. It is appealing to him. Still, the Nets can pay the most money for Williams and Howard and, ultimately, that counts for so much. Now, the Magic promise to make everyone keep waiting on them, on the recruitment of Howard, because Plan B and Plan C and Plan D are so unappealing in Orlando. The reason’s simple. “We have to use as much possible time as can we before making a final decision,” Martins said. Yahoo! Sports
- There’s nothing left to tie Diaw and the Bobcats except the remaining guarantee on a $9 million salary. Diaw’s contract expires after this season and the chances of him playing here beyond that are slightly better than me guessing Wednesday’s winning Powerball numbers. I’m sure he’d love a reunion with former Phoenix Suns coach Mike D’Antoni, as a New York Knick. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind returning to Phoenix, where I believe he still owns a home. Charlotte Observer
- I also been told by league sources that the Ridnour trade is a backup plan for the Blazers, who are still hard after another point guard. That could be Nash, Rajon Rondo or Jose Calderon.CSNNW.com
- Andray Blatche, the recipient of many of the jeers, admitted that the heckling negatively affected his game. “Every time I touch the ball I’m second guessing, I’m trying to avoid the boos. I’m just trying to play a perfect game so I don’t have to hear it,” said a noticeably shaken Blatche. “When you’re home and people are supposed to have your back, and don’t have your back…instead of encouraging you to get better they actually push you down and hope you do worse, in the long run it’s not only hurting me, it’s hurting my teammates.” Washington Times
- So Ainge would be out of his mind not to see what every player in his employ would fetch. It’s also fair to assume he’s been doing that all along — and according to multiple league sources, there just hasn’t been much call for the Big Three. Boston Herald