Luol Deng’s upcoming free agency cannot be ignored: “For fans in Chicago, it could be hard to fathom, but Deng might be the league’s most coveted and heavily pursued free agent next summer. Miami’s LeBron James, the player widely acknowledged as the best in the game, is expected to opt out of his current contract and re-sign with the Heat, while Carmelo Anthony — one of the purest scorers in the game, though his luster fades with each increasingly ugly Knicks loss — if he doesn’t follow suit and remain in New York, on the off chance he’s open to relocating, would likely only move to the NBA’s second-biggest market, Los Angeles, most observers believe. Deng, on the other hand, is regarded throughout the league as being wide open, in the wake of not agreeing to — or being offered — a contract extension by the Bulls this past offseason.”
“If I said I’m not, then I’d be lying. I’m being realistic. It’s not greed, it’s not anything. First of all, the first thing I do when I play this game, is be the best I can be. Money-wise, not money-wise, that’s the best thing I want to be. Playing, the fact that I know it’s my contract year, I have to show people what I can do. It’s not a selfish thing, and it’s not the only reason. If it wasn’t my contract year, I’d still be playing hard to show people.”
Eric Gordon is banged up again: “Gordon suffered a hip contusion during the third quarter of Monday night’s 113-100 victory against the Sacramento Kings after he was undercut by Kings guard Isaiah Thomas as Gordon drove through the lane for a layup attempt. “It’s very sore and I’m going to get it checked out and see what goes on from there,’’ Gordon said after Friday morning’s shootaround at the New Orleans Arena. “I want to see those results first.’’ During the portion of the Pelicans’ shootaround Friday opened to the media, Gordon only watched his teammates take shots and didn’t participate in drills. Gordon also walked with a slight limp, appearing as if he felt slight discomfort. “It was something that I had no control over,’’ Gordon said about getting undercut on his drive in the lane. “I was already going up in the air and I’m already higher than him. It was just an uncontrollable break.’’”
Utah’s Gordon Hayward is prepping for his upcoming free agency: “The Jazz had an opportunity to lock Hayward up to a long term deal before the deadline for extending the 2010 rookie class expired on October 31, but both sides couldn’t come to an agreement. The Jazz did however, extend Favors to a four-year $49 million deal. Hayward, who was reportedly seeking a deal in the $12 million per season range, was disappointed a deal couldn’t be reached initially, but has now shifted his focus to next summer where he’s virtually a lock to hit the market as a restricted free agent. “It was unfortunate that we didn’t get a deal done,” Hayward told HOOPSWORLD on his previous contract negotiations with the Jazz.
“You wish something could get done but I’m just playing basketball and I’ll let my agent and our front office deal with that next summer. Hopefully we can get something done.”
Paul Pierce admits Nets aren’t a good team right now: “But over the next three weeks, beginning with Friday night’s game against the Bucks in Brooklyn, the Nets will face seven teams with winning records over their next 10 games — including games against the Pacers, Spurs and Thunder on the road and Warriors and Heat at home. It’s a stretch that, if this team doesn’t start to play better than it has during its current four-game losing streak — including blowout losses to the Pacers and Bulls after losing Brook Lopez for the season — could easily put the Nets several more games below .500 and make a playoff push, even in the dreadful East, an unlikely proposition.”
“Well, our record shows we’re not a good team right now,” Paul Pierce said after Wednesday’s 95-78 loss to the Bulls. “When you’re 9-19, you have a lot of work to do. Our goal is still to improve, but when you’re 9-19, your record speaks for itself.”
Why Reggie Jackson is vital to the Oklahoma City Thunder: “Oklahoma City is 23-5, and Jackson is averaging four more points per game in wins (13.0) than losses (9.0). That’s worth noting but it isn’t the most drastic disparity out there. Jackson’s game log, however, does a better job of proving his value. In each of the Thunder’s five losses, Jackson has failed to meet his scoring average (12.5 points). Meanwhile, in 80 percent of OKC’s wins, Jackson has scored in double digits. His scoring and its direct relationship to his team’s success has an undeniable resemblance to Eric Bledsoe’s positive impact for the Clippers last season. It’s pretty clear Jackson has the skills necessary to become a quality starting point guard in the near future, which presents somewhat of a problem for the payroll-conscious Thunder. Jackson is still on his rookie deal, but a projected extension would begin in 2015-16, when GM Sam Presti also will have to make decisions on whether to re-sign bigs Kendrick Perkins and Nick Collison. The last time Presti had a hotshot sixth man due and a big man to re-sign, he traded James Harden and extended Serge Ibaka. It will be interesting to see how he handles Jackson’s situation.”
Zach Randolph blasts refs after Grizzlies/Rockets game: “Houston pulled off that expected win, downing the Grizzlies 100-92, and guard James Harden scored his expected 27 points along the way. It was the way both Harden and the Rockets went about their typical totals that boggles a bit, though, as Harden shot just 2-of-9 from the field and yet still managed a points output that would rank second in the NBA in scoring if kept up throughout the year. The Rockets All-Star hit 22-of-25 free throws in the win, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 27 or more points while hitting two or fewer shots. An oddity like that doesn’t come without some help, but Harden was modest about what he nearly termed as an off night. From the Associated Press“
“It’s obvious, it was the refs tonight. Eight against five. The game, in the second half, the man was shooting free throws every time. We’re out there playing hard. They’re dictating the game. It can’t be like that, man. We’re out here playing too. It was horrible refereeing — a horrible game they reffed tonight. Awful. They dictated the game. Plain, point simple. They dictated the game. We’re out here working as hard as them. Come on, man.”
- Al Horford has suffered a complete tear of his right pectoral muscle: ” Horford left with 1:35 remaining in the first overtime with what was initially called a right shoulder injury. Horford, who missed all but 11 games during the 2011-12 season with a left torn pectoral muscle, was injured when he got tangled with the Cavaliers’ Anderson Varejao. Horford was not available to speak following the game. The center did not take part in practice to go off-site for an appointment with Hawks team physicians. Coach Mike Budenholzer had no new information earlier Friday as the team prepared to play the Bobcats Saturday. The coach did say adjustments will be made. The Hawks also lost starter DeMarre Carroll with a right thumb injury in the fourth quarter.”
“The idea is we have a goal and a system that we play and we trust,” Budenholzer said. “Obviously, Al is one of our best players and invaluable to us but there won’t be a huge, significant change and that we will have a comfort level defensively and offensively. It doesn’t matter who is there. As best as possible, we’ll be able to function without Al.”
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.