Steve Nash was promised an opportunity to work with Pau Gasol before signing with the Lakers, according to Ric Bucher’s source: “Source: Ignore any and all trade talk about Pau Gasol because the Lakers landed Steve Nash by promising him he would get to play with Gasol. Nash made it a prerequisite for passing on offers from Toronto and the Knicks that Pau would be around, the source said. Such prerequisites from an incoming star aren’t that unusual — Chris Paul made similar personnel demands as part of his agreement to be dealt to the Clippers. (In Paul’s case, he wanted assurance that LAC would do whatever was necessary to retain restricted FA DeAndre Jordan.) Conceivably, once Nash gets back and actually plays with Gasol, the Lakers could continue to struggle and Nash re-thinks his position. But as of right now, one of the enticements that brought Nash to LA was the big Spaniard and the organization would have much bigger problems than they already have if they backtracked on their promise to keep Gasol in the fold.
DeMarcus Cousins has surprisingly lost confidence in his game, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee: “One month into his third season with the Kings, the Big Cuz is in a massive funk. His numbers are down in all the pertinent categories. He isn’t running the floor with the same energy or commitment of last season. He repeatedly is finding himself in foul trouble and on the bench, or in trouble with his coach and on the bench. And he doesn’t have any answers. “I’ve been terrible,” Cousins said bluntly but softly. “We’re losing. I don’t feel like I made improvements from last year. I really don’t have any confidence at all. I’m just trying to think my way through it, but right now, I’m not finding anything.”
Chris Kaman had some interesting analysis on why Donald Sterling is so willing to open up his wallet now, from Dwain Price of Star-Telegram: “While I was there my first few four to six years, he was tight with everything,” Kaman said Tuesday. “He didn’t want to spend the money. “I think as he’s getting older he’s realizing, ‘Hey, I don’t know how much time I have left. Whatever it is, I’m older. You can’t win in the grave.’ ” Kaman, who played for the Clippers from 2003-’10, now is the starting center for the Dallas Mavericks. He said since Sterling, 79, has lossen the purse strings, the Clippers have become relevant in the NBA. “I think (Sterling is) like, close to 80 years old, and I think that he’s seeing like, ‘Hey, I’m getting older, “I’m not getting any younger, I want to try to win,’ so he’s putting that money out, ” Kaman said. “He built that practice facility, he’s giving guys more leeway on the road trips, he’s spending more money on the facilities. “I think he’s saying, ‘Hey, I’ve got to spend some money, I want to try and get a winning franchise going.’ And that’s what he’s done.”
Raymond Felton will play through some pain in his hand, according to Ian Begley of ESPN New York: “New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton will play on Wednesday against the Charlotte Bobcats despite suffering a bone bruise and contusion in his left hand. “It’s going to be tough, but I’m going to play,” said Felton. The Knicks are also optimistic that Jason Kidd (back spasms) will return from a four-game absence. Kidd says he’ll play against the Bobcats but might not start. Knicks coach Mike Woodson called Kidd “probable” and wants to see how the 39-year-old feels on Wednesday morning, presumably after the morning shootaround in Charlotte. “We’ll just have to play it by ear and see how he feels,” Woodson said. “It would be nice to have him back.”
Jerry Stackhouse analyzed the player-coach relationship of Deron Williams and Avery Johnson, from Stefan Bondy of NY Daily News: ““Both of them needed to find the happy medium,” Stackhouse adds. “Avery had to come back a little bit and kind of meet some of the maintenance of Deron, and Deron can’t go down that path where he’s looked at as a coach killer. Now they’re managing their relationship to the betterment of the team. Whether either of them is being who they truly are, it really doesn’t matter — as long as we’re winning games. . . . But at the same time, we are who we are. You’re going to have moments where who you are is going to rear its head. I think whenever that happens, they’re going to clash a little bit. I think the fact they’re both aware of it means it will always smooth itself out.”
Kobe Bryant showed great support for Pau Gasol, who will be out for an undisclosed period of time due to knee tendinitis. Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles has the story: “I love Pau like a brother,” Bryant told ESPNLosAngeles.com on Tuesday. “I really do. I want him to dominate like I know he can.” “I want him to dig in and be determined, not discouraged,” Bryant continued. “We should go to him more on the post because he can dominate from there as he has to the tune of two rings. I’m sure we will adjust and figure out a balance when he comes back healthy.” The Lakers announced Tuesday that Gasol would sit out the team’s game against the Houston Rockets with tendinitis in his knees. There is no set timetable for how long Gasol will be out. Antawn Jamison will start in his place. Bryant and Gasol had a lengthy summit Monday night at the team hotel in Houston. “I know his knees have been hurting and that can be frustrating because you can’t do physically what you are used to,” Bryant said Tuesday. “I just don’t want him to sulk about the change of things.”