SH Blog: Rose refers to his doubters as fools, George Karl takes a jab at Anthony’s inability to win

Byron Scott isn’t necessarily surprised by the Kidd-Lawrence breakup, from Fred Kerber of NY Post: ““It does surprise me a little that it happened so quickly,” Scott told The Post, admitting he had not been aware of Tuesday’s bombshell move when Kidd demoted his former lead assistant Frank because of philosophical differences. “But it’s safe to say that I’m not [surprised] it happened at all because of the personalities involved.” “When I’m putting a staff together,” said Scott, “the key point of emphasis for me is, ‘I want you to be open and honest, I want your input but at the end of the day, I’m going to do what I think is best.’ “In Jason and Lawrence, I detect two very strong-willed people who don’t back down,” Scott said. “I could easily see maybe Jason getting to the point where he felt Lawrence was over-stepping his bounds.”

Here is the latest update on Jeremy Lin’s knee situation, from Jason Friedman of Rockets.com: “Jeremy Lin went through an extended shooting session Thursday afternoon – his first since suffering a grade one right knee sprain and contusion November 27 during Houston’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. “I’m just trying to get my rhythm back,” he said following his workout. “I did a little bit of rehab earlier today, a little bit of treadmill work. “I’ll know a lot more tomorrow with how (the knee) responds. I pushed it today and then hopefully tomorrow it feels good. I haven’t really gotten to cutting or running, sprinting, any of that – it was all standstill. We’ll see. I don’t really know.”… “(The training staff) told me it’s going to be a lot depending on how you feel. Before I try to get out on the floor, I want to be able to help my team out there, so I’ll make sure my conditioning is right before I get out there. “When I feel right, I’ll play. Obviously I’d love to play, but I’m not going to put any date, any time. When I feel right, I’ll be out there as soon as I can.”

Gerald Wallace doesn’t pay attention to other teams, but he does know that both New York teams are bad right now, from Jay King of MassLive.com: “I don’t really know how the East is, really. Once I leave here, I don’t pay attention to basketball. I don’t know who’s winning and who’s losing, other than I know Brooklyn and New York are real bad right now,” Wallace said after Thursday’s practice. “I don’t really know what else is going on. Obviously the East is getting off to a slow start. It’s early, a lot of changes were made, but I’m pretty sure the East will catch up.”… “The first month is always going to be hard, especially with a new coach,” he said. “They’ve got a new system, new players, everybody’s trying to fit in and learn their roles. I think the main thing for them was getting everybody healthy, and right now I don’t think everybody’s healthy for them.”

Remember Keon Clark? His life after the NBA has been a difficult one, and the latest on him is that he will be in jail for the next eight years, from The News-Gazette: “Former NBA player Keon Clark was sentenced to eight years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to weapons and driving under the influence charges in two separate cases.”I, uh, did a lot of stuff in my past,” Clark said at his plea hearing in Vermilion County Circuit Court, tears streaming down his face. “I have to own up to it.” The 38-year-old Danville native faced 10 weapons, drugs and driving-related charges stemming from one 2012 case and four 2013 cases. Edgar County Circuit Judge Matthew Sullivan, who heard the case after Vermilion County judges recused themselves, signed off on Clark’s agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to one count of unlawful possession/use of a firearm by a felon/parole in the 2012 case and one count of aggravated DUI/license suspended or revoked in his most recent 2013 case and drop the other felony and traffic charges.”

Danny Ainge doesn’t think Rajon Rondo is close to returning, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston: “Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Thursday that Rajon Rondo continues to make progress in his ACL rehab, but that the All-Star point guard is “not close” and still needs to build strength in his right knee before he’ll get clearance to return to full-contact activities. Making his weekly appearance on Boston sports radio 98.5 the Sports Hub, Ainge detailed how Rondo is playing in competitive 2-on-2 situations, but still has a slight limp, suggesting that the surgically repaired knee is not healthy enough yet to take the next step in his rehab. “I don’t think he’s close,” said Ainge. “Meaning, I don’t think [his return is] going to happen the next few weeks. We’re not on pins and needles about it. We’re being very cautious with Rondo. I think he’s still got a little bit of a limp, his strength is not quite there, but he is making progress. We’re not close.”… “He’s just not himself yet, but he’s getting there and he’s pushing himself to get there. Listen, we’re going to be very cautious with him and make sure he’s right before he comes back. There’s just a little bit of a limp still. He’s gotta get that strength back in the knee up to 100 percent before they’ll let him back out on the court.”

Mark Cuban had plenty to say about the Nets’ situation, from Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas: “That appears to be the scenario for the Brooklyn Nets, who have stumbled to a 5-13 start despite a veteran-loaded roster with a bloated payroll that will cost owner Mikhail Prokhorov $190 million including the luxury tax this season. “That’s exactly right,” Cuban said Wednesday night. “You get stuck. That’s exactly what I thought. … That was definitely a fear.”… “Those two go hand in hand,” Cuban said. “If we were [a team full of 25-year-olds], the massive luxury tax bill is nothing. But when you know as you get older, you get stuck. … It’s not just that you’re stuck for a week or a half a season, you’re stuck. Now that the rules got even more stringent, you’re even more stuck.”… The Nets did manage to make bold moves last summer, acquiring 37-year-old Kevin Garnett, 36-year-old Paul Pierce and 36-year old Terry in a trade with the Boston Celtics. Their contracts are worth a combined $33.4 million plus luxury-tax penalties this season. Garnett and Terry are signed through next season. “There was a reason they were trying to get rid of them,” Cuban said of those contracts… Asked if he had any advice for Prokhorov, Cuban cracked, “Drink more? I don’t know.”