Kevin Durant said he is tired of being second in everything, and that he tries to destroy LeBron James every time they face each other, from Ben Golliver of SI: “I’ve been second my whole life,” Durant tells SI‘s Lee Jenkins in a profile that will hit newsstands on Thursday. “I was the second-best player in high school. I was the second pick in the draft. I’ve been second in the MVP voting three times. I came in second in the Finals. I’m tired of being second. I’m not going to settle for that. I’m done with it.”… “People see two young black basketball players at the top of their game and think we should clash,” Durant says. “They want the conflict. They want the hate. They forget Bird cried for Magic. A friend was getting on me about this recently, and I said, ‘Calm down. I’m not taking it easy on him. Don’t you know I’m trying to destroy the guy every time I go on the court?’ ”
Ryan Wolstat wrote a piece about Andrea Bargnani being an Italian albatross: “Colangelo’s refusal to recognize the obvious with Andrea Bargnani — that the “enigma of enigmas” could never be relied on as a key building block — and his total misread of the Chris Bosh situation have resulted in three playoff wins in seven years, including five years without a playoff appearance, when things could have been much different. Sure, drafting Jonas Valanciunas was a coup and acquiring Rudy Gay was a strong play, but the roster that has been built is one that is capped out and limited in where it can go, unless Valanciunas becomes a superstar. By convincing himself that Bargnani would one day repay his faith in him, Colangelo failed the franchise he has been paid handsomely to direct. Instead of dealing him when he had solid value, Colangelo hung on to the Roman and now, according to league sources, an asset would likely have to be included just to dump the $22.5 million remaining on his contract.”
The pain in Joe Johnson’s foot may be bad enough for him to miss Game 3 against the Chicago Bulls, according to The AP: “Johnson said Wednesday that he was hurt in the first quarter of the Bulls’ 90-82 win Monday that tied the first-round series 1-1. Johnson did not practice Wednesday. Game 3 is Thursday in Chicago. Johnson scored 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting in 39 minutes in Game 2. “It’s sore, but there’s no excuse,” he said Wednesday. “I have to find a way to get through it. It’s the part of the season where I can’t have this happen. We’ve fought so hard to get to this point.” Johnson missed several games during the regular season with a heel injury. “Mentally, I think I could play if the game was today, but physically, I honestly don’t know,” he said. “We’ll have to see.” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo didn’t know about Johnson’s injury until he arrived at the practice facility Wednesday morning. “I’m concerned,” Carlesimo said. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. It’s unfortunate that things happen like this in playoff time, but injuries are part of the game. Hopefully, he’ll be OK. If he’s not, then we have some others who can pick him up. We won’t have just one player who would have to replace Joe. They all will have to pick it up for him.”
Mike Dunlap, who has been fired as the coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, was apparently not so popular among his players, from Scott Fowler of Charlotte Observer: “Turns out he isn’t – at least not according to the team that hired him only 10 months ago. The Bobcats on Tuesday consigned Dunlap to the embarrassing corner where Sam Vincent’s NBA head-coaching career ended up, firing him after a single season. A source close to the team told me that in the team’s annual season-ending exit interviews that Dunlap received a number of negative evaluations from current Bobcat players – not only for those occasional long practices but for his general demeanor. Dunlap was a demanding guy who tended toward the negative. He was smart with Xs and Os and didn’t mind letting you know that, but he was also snappish and hard to relate to. He was, simply, a boss who many of the players didn’t like.”
Are the Minnesota Timberwolves looking to trade Kevin Love in the next year or two? According to Bill Simmons of Grantland, the answer is yes: “If we’re measuring players by trade value, we’re really measuring them by the probability that they’d ever be traded. And Kevin Love WILL be traded. It’s inevitable. It might happen this summer, it might happen during next season, but it’s going to happen. What should you do if you’re Minnesota? If you’re smart, you’d build around Rubio (about to get an extension), Pekovic (about to get paid) and whatever you can get for Kevin Love. The blueprint: In February 2011, the Jazz shrewdly dealt Deron Williams 17 months before he could bolt Utah for a high lottery pick (Derrick Favors) and a future lottery pick (that became No. 3 overall: Enes Kanter), maximizing any and all leverage they had.”
Mike Malone and Brian Shaw are the top candidates to replace Doug Collins in Philadelphia, according to Dei Lynam of CSN Philly: “According to sources, Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Malone is high on the Sixers’ list to replace Collins as head coach, as is Indiana Pacers associate head coach Brian Shaw. Some background: When the Sixers’ search for Eddie Jordan’s replacement took place in the spring of 2010, the list included Jeff Van Gundy, Dwane Casey, Tom Thibodeau, Monty Williams and Mark Jackson. On a list of dark horse candidates was Malone, then an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers under Mike Brown. Fast forward to 2013 and look where those past candidates are. Van Gundy has remained in the broadcast booth, where he likely will stay. Casey became head coach of the Toronto Raptors. Thibodeau, after 18 years as an assistant coach, landed with the Bulls. Williams is head coach of New Orleans, and Jackson jumped from the broadcast booth to the sideline as head coach of the Golden State Warriors.”
