To the chagrin of many fans around the league, especially in Chicago, reports surfaced Tuesday that Derrick Rose is “far” from returning, according to the AssociatedPress: “Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose still has no target date for his return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and he even indicated he might sit out the season. In an interview with USA Today posted on Tuesday, the three-time All-Star point guard said he’s ”far away” from being ready to play. Rose has been practicing and traveling with the team, but he has no specific timetable for a return from an injury he suffered in the playoffs last season.”- More from Rose: ”I don’t have a set date,” Rose told the newspaper. ”I’m not coming back until I’m 110 percent. Who knows when that can be? It can be within a couple of weeks. It could be next year. It could be any day. It could be any time. It’s just that I’m not coming back until I’m ready.”
- Rumors of Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith being traded to the Brooklyn Nets cooled down Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean the Nets aren’t still in hot pursuit of a deadline deal. More from Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News: “It’s also looking as if they won’t have Josh Smith or Ben Gordon by the time the NBA’s trading deadline passes in eight days. According to league sources familiar with the Nets thinking, they’re still searching to add a big man, but don’t believe that they are going to wind up with Smith or Gordon, despite having recent trade talks with Atlanta and Charlotte.”
- Instead Lawrence reports, the Nets have shifted their focus towards Paul Millsap of the Utah Jazz: “Still, the Nets are focusing on Utah’s Paul Millsap or another power forward to add by the trading deadline. The Nets and Jazz have been trading partners in the past, highlighted by the Nets’ bold move to get Williams at the 2011 mid-season deadline. But King also insists he hasn’t given up on this group.”
- While Smith may have been put on the back-burner by the Nets, he is still on the radar of many teams around the league, more from Sam Amick of USA Today: “According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Smith’s representatives have made calls to other teams and have indicated he’s not likely to re-sign in Atlanta.”
- One of the teams interested in Smith might very well be the Spurs, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports and Hoopsworld.com: “For the second time in a week’s span, the San Antonio Spurs have been linked to a big name on the trading block. Last week it was Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson and now this week they’ve been mentioned in association with Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith. Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears is reporting that the Spurs are the latest team to try and enter the sweepstakes for Smith. The Spurs and Hawks, just like the Spurs and Jazz, have a very good relationship based on the fact that Hawks GM Danny Ferry was a long-time Spur.
- If the boss wasn’t convincing with his MVP rankings earlier, Michael Scotto of RealGM will convince youof why Tony Parker is having an MVP season: “With the loss of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to injuries, Parker has shouldered much of the offensive load for the Spurs. Parker leads the Spurs in points (20.7), assists (7.7) and minutes (32.9).“Fortunately, Tony Parker has been playing beyond an All-Star level,” said Popovich. “He’s been unbelievable carrying the burden.” Playing beyond an All-Star level implies that Parker has ascended to an All-NBA and MVP level.”
Speaking of MVP’s, LeBron James continued his wildly impressive streak Tuesday night. The three-time MVP recorded his sixth consecutive 30-point game on 11-of-15 shooting to go along with nine assists and six rebounds. SheridanHoops’ Chris Perkins believes that James is deserving of his fourth MVP award: “I’m not a Durant hater. He’s an incredible player and he’s having a spectacular season. Statistically, Durant’s season might be better than James’. It’s just that LeBron, overall, has to do more for his team to win. James is averaging 27 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.6 fouls per game, and he’s doing that while playing 38.4 minutes. He’s also shooting a career-best 56.2 percent from the field.”
- Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas reported Tuesday that the Dallas Mavericks are working hard to make a trade before the February 21st deadline. In other words, the bank of Cuban is open: “President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and coach Rick Carlisle have both gone on the record recently with predictions that the Mavs will stand pat. Cuban acknowledges that could be the case, but he continues to actively search for opportunities to upgrade the roster of a 22-28 team while keeping the Mavs’ future in mind.”
- According to ESPN’s trade guru, Marc Stein, the Mavericks have an interest in Milwaukee Bucks’ guard Brandon Jennings, should be become available before the February 21st trade deadline:
Mavs, I'm told, do have interest in Brandon Jennings and will be in mix for him if Bucks opt to make RFA-to-be available b4 Feb. 21 deadline
@ESPNSteinLine
Marc Stein
Mavs NOT after Josh Smith but PG clearly been big worry in Big D. Trade targets, Cuban said Monday, must be worthy of "top three" on roster
@ESPNSteinLine
Marc Stein
- It might sound like this is becoming a reoccurring theme in this section, but the Boston Celtics received more devastating injury news Tuesday morning when they were told that Leandro Barbosa will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, more from Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: “The Celtics are preparing to be without guard Leandro Barbosa for the rest of the season after their fears from last night were confirmed today with the diagnosis that the veteran has a torn ACL in his left knee. The Celtics were already in the market for players to fill out their roster in the wake of injuries to Rajon Rondo (ACL) and Jared Sullinger (back), and the loss of Barbosa simply accelerates the process as the February 21 NBA trade deadline nears.”
- It’s getting to that time of the year for 76ers’ Center Andrew Bynum to make his long-awaited debut with the team, but according to Jason Wolf of USA Today, Bynum continues to have knee pain and is unsure of his debut: “Andrew Bynum has eased up on his workouts after experiencing “a lot of pain” in his left knee and is unsure if he’ll make his Philadelphia 76ers debut this month. There is no official target date for Bynum to join full-team practices, or for him to play in a game. But earlier this month, the one-time all-star center told reporters that he was hoping to appear in his first game with the Sixers “around the all-star break.”
- And finally, it wouldn’t be right to end this report without a tidbit of Lakers news. Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesdaythat Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni is not pushing management for roster moves: “Coach Mike D’Antoni downplayed the notion of adding a player to the Lakers’ roster, even with forward-center Pau Gasol out for at least six to eight weeks with a foot injury. The big concern for D’Antoni with a new player would be finding the opportunity to work them into the team’s rotation given the Lakers’ urgency to win each and every game.”
Ben Baroff is a sports journalist and marketing professional who blogs and writes columns for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.
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