Speaking of other injured stars, Dwayne Wade — currently hobbled himself — had plenty to offer on the subject of Derrick Rose while the Heat are preparing to play the Chicago Bulls tomorrow night in the windy city. More from the Chicago Tribune: “When Derrick is ready … no one knows his body like he does,” Wade told the Tribune on Tuesday. “We can all speculate on whatever we think, but I think he’s doing the right thing. He’s taking his time to come back. I mean, he’s a young guy.”- More from Wade: “Obviously, the city of Chicago and the Chicago Bulls are going to lean on him a lot. He’s going to do some amazing things. You don’t want him to not be 100 percent. From afar I have been proud of how he has handled this situation, not rushing back until he’s ready.”
- The Los Angeles Lakers have an overwhelming amount of difficult contract decision to make this offseason. For better or worse, Metta World Peace may make one for them, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com: “In a move that would be so Metta World Peace, Metta World Peace is not ruling out the possibility of terminating his contract after the season against all logic, telling NBA.com he would consider the move in the summer if it meant he could remain with the Lakers longer.”
- More from Howard-Cooper: “World Peace has a player option for 2013-14, the final year of his contract, at $7.7 million. He said his agent, Marc Cornstein, will approach the Lakers about an extension, but that will be a very short conversation unless the 33-year-old small forward is willing to take a severe pay cut. And it may be short no matter what. If World Peace does not terminate the deal, he immediately becomes a candidate to be cut under the amnesty provision. If he does terminate, likely (one would hope) after conversations with team officials to gauge the chances of getting more years at a lot less money annually, it is nearly impossible to imagine the Lakers committing more than two seasons on a new deal to maintain the possible cap room in the summer of 2014.”
- One player that is not going to be willing to take less money to remain with his team is John Wall of the Washington Wizards. Wall is on the record saying that he believes he is a max player, and expects to be paid like one. After his career-high 47 point outburst Monday night and the torrid pace he has been playing at over the last month, it is going to be hard for the Wizards to disagree with him. More from Brandon Parker of the Washington Post: ““I think he’s showing you right now what he can be,” Wittman said when asked if Wall was a franchise player. “You don’t really understand what he went through this year. It’s tough to sit for three and a half months and not do anything. And then I get him, the doctor says I can play him and I throw him to the wolves.”
One team that is not lacking a franchise player is the Miami Heat, who have three of them. When the Big-Three assembled in Miami nobody could deny their talent. They could, however, deny their mental toughness. SheridanHoops’ Chris Perkins says not anymore: “I’m not sure whether the Heat will tie or surpass that mark. But I know that if they do it, it’ll be because of their mental toughness more than their physical skill. Yes, the Heat is more talented than almost every other NBA team. But right now this streak is as much a mental test as it is a physical test.”- More from Perkins: “But this is different. It’s not staying focused long enough to win a best-of-seven series, it’s staying focused long enough to win, every night, for more than two months. This is staying focused every game.”
- After missing the last 20 games due to suspension for violating the leagues drug policy, Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu has returned to the team, but according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, he faces an uncertain future: “On the other hand, he also knows and accepts that the season’s final 11 games and upcoming offseason could be equally difficult. He might not play at all, and it would make financial sense for the Magic to waive him during the summer.”
- More from Robbins: “He recently turned 34 years old, his production has declined in recent seasons and the team already has promising young players at his position. So why pay $12 million to Turkoglu, who doesn’t fit into the franchise’s long-term plans, when the team instead can waive him over the summer and only pay him $6 million?”