This whole thing with Dennis Rodman going to North Korea shouldn’t really be much of a surprise, right? I mean, Kim Jong-Il had a ball signed by Michael Jordan that was one of his most prized possessions, and it seems natural that the Glorious Leader’s son would also be a fan of those ’90s Bulls teams. And if there’s one player on those teams who you’d expect to be the first to go on an unofficial diplomatic mission to North Korea, it would of course be Rodman.
Still, the line “There is nobody at the CIA who can tell you more personally about Kim Jong Un than Dennis Rodman” is not something you ever expect to read.
If you want something more directly related to basketball games that don’t end in ties, we’ve got a column from Chris Sheridan about yesterday’s Knicks-Heat game and the disappearance of Amare Stoudemire in the final 8 minutes, and also a fresh new set of MVP rankings. Oh yeah, and a whole bunch of the latest NBA news, right here:
Draft gurus have kind of assumed this for a long time, but this is about as close to formal confirmation as we’re likely to get at this point that UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad will be in the NBA Draft this summer. Writes Peter Yoon of ESPNLosAngeles.com: “Muhammad is a projected NBA lottery pick and it long has been assumed he’d leave college after one season, but Howland confirmed the obvious after his team moved back into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 Conference. The Bruins finish the season with road games next week at Washington State and Washington, meaning Saturday was the last home game for UCLA. “That was his last game in Pauley, no doubt about it,” Howland said.”- If you’re a Blazers fan enjoying the Damian Lillard show, remember to thank the Nets. It was their #6 pick that they traded for Gerald Wallace that Portland used to draft Lillard. That sort of thing isn’t happening this year, says Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal, and the new CBA is the reason why: “But the dramatic drop from 11 first-round picks traded two years ago to just one this year illustrates the impact of the escalating luxury taxes that will take effect next year. Players making less are suddenly worth more. Much more. “Teams right now are scared of money,” one league executive said recently. The days of general managers playing fast and loose with first-round picks are over. Guys like Gerald Wallace, who was dealt at the trade deadline in consecutive years, don’t hold the same value that they did just 12 months ago.”
- Big Baby Davis will be shopped this summer or before next trade deadline. Best move for retool and for Baby, with more losing up ahead.
@MagicInsiderBrian K. Schmitz
- Saturday night marked Brandon Roy’s return to Portland, though he is still injured and thus didn’t play for the Timberwolves. Jason Quick of the Oregonian wrote about the event: “It felt like Saturday was a symbolic passing of the torch from Roy to Lillard. It has been interesting to watch Lillard this season. Not since Roy has a Blazers rookie garnered so much attention, so much hype throughout a season. And like it was with Roy, not once have I seen it go to Lillard’s head. He has been the same well-mannered, humble kid who knocked the socks off owner Paul Allen that early June day during his workout. The money, the fame, the expectations – none of it has penetrated him. “When you keep the same circle of people around you, you tend to do the same things,’’ Lillard said. “My family and the friends around me, they want the best for me, so they encourage me to do what I’ve always done. I mean, I do the same stuff I always have. I haven’t changed.’’ When Roy was a rookie, he was the same way – family oriented, never caught up in the money, women and partying that can lure many in the NBA.”
Here’s Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe on Paul Pierce’s neck injury: “The first time Paul Pierce’s neck injury revealed itself to the public was Feb. 22 in Phoenix, when the pain was so strong that Pierce left the game against the Suns. Pierce went to the sideline with a stinger and a grimace. He did return, though. And then this past week, he acknowledged that he has actually been playing in pain for the better part of two months and he expects that pain to linger the rest of the season. “I’m about as healthy as I’m probably going to be in the regular season right now,” Pierce said. According to guard Courtney Lee, Pierce has a standing offer from coach Doc Rivers to sit out a game if he needs it, but, of course, Pierce has continually declined that offer. “He’s a tough player, he’s our leader, he’s our captain,” Lee said.”- Woody says #Knicks will keep Kenyon for at least another 10-day deal. Barring injuries/roster issue, he'll prob be here for rest of year.
@IanBegleyIan Begley - More on Rodman from Kari Rea of ABC News: “In his first interview since returning to the U.S. from an unprecedented visit to North Korea last week, former NBA star Dennis Rodman said he bears a message for President Obama from the country’s oppressive leader, Kim Jong Un. “He wants Obama to do one thing: Call him,” Rodman told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on “This Week.” “He said, ‘If you can, Dennis – I don’t want [to] do war. I don’t want to do war.’ He said that to me.” The athlete also offered Kim some diplomatic advice for potential future talks with President Obama. “[Kim] loves basketball. And I said the same thing, I said, ‘Obama loves basketball.’ Let’s start there,” Rodman said. Rodman’s comments come just days after the basketball star shocked the world with an unexpected trip to Pyongyang, North Korea, becoming the first known American to publicly meet with the mysterious Kim since he assumed command of the totalitarian nation after the death of his father,Kim Jong-Il in 2011.”
- #Cavs waive Josh Selby, obtained from Memphis with Speights/Ellington. But NBA source says team not using roster spot to sign Oden now
@PDcavsinsiderM.S. Boyer/J. Valade - Click through here for a gif of Serge Ibaka’s low blow on Blake Griffin on Sunday, courtesy of Matt Moore at CBSSports.com. Here’s what Moore wrote about the hit: “Now, he is battling for a rebound there, and he is trying to get his arm. But he has to know, making that motion, what he’s doing. You know that if you swing your arm between a guy’s legs what you’re going to hit. There’s no accident here. The officials hit Ibaka with just a Flagrant 1, though, allowing him to stay in the game. He then drew a foul on Griffin, scored on an and-one — and blocked a late shot by the Thunder. So, you know, good job as always, guys. This one will unquestionably will be reviewed by the league. It would be more of a surprise if he wasn’t suspended for this one.”
- Several NBA teams have inquired about FA Eddy Curry. In China, Curry averaged 23 points and 10.1 boards in 29.6 minutes for a playoff team.
@AlexKennedyNBAAlex Kennedy
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Dan Malone is a third-year journalism student at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He blogs, edits and learns things on the fly for Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on Twitter.