If you haven’t been watching Golden State basketball recently, why? Seriously, why? They’re just as fun to watch as they were last year, only now they play defense as well (fourth in defensive efficiency). They just knocked off two of the East’s three decent teams in the space of two nights.
The Blazers have made the West a little more crowded at the top, but Steph Curry and Co. are showing that they belong right up there with those top teams. With Chris Paul out for a little while, this could be their chance to surge past the Clippers in the Pacific Division.
Also, while I’m throwing out compliments, can the Raptors get some applause for dragging their record above .500, thereby making the Atlantic seem slightly less miserable? Of course, they’re ruining their chances for hometown hope Andrew Wiggins in the process, so maybe this is the worst outcome for the Raps, since the East is still very much a two-team race and even if the third and fourth place teams win 50 games, that’s not going to change. Still, as a Canadian and a University of Maryland fan, it’s nice to see both Toronto and Greivis Vasquez in the race.
Now let’s get to the latest news from around the NBA:
- The Knicks and Clippers have internally discussed a Carmelo Anthony for Blake Griffin trade, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard: “Sources say Clippers management also has had internal discussions about such a deal but that the clubs have not yet spoken to one another about a potential trade. As of now, neither team is certain it would make an Anthony-for-Griffin trade, the sources said. The Clippers appear to be the more apprehensive of the two teams because Griffin is having a terrific season, especially of late. The 24-year-old power forward has averaged 26 points and nearly 11 rebounds in his past 10 games. One source close to the situation said the Clippers’ latest internal discussion ended in favor of keeping Griffin. New York’s top priority, meanwhile, appears to be re-signing Anthony to a long-term deal this offseason.”
Also from ESPN, Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst look at the Cavs’ options regarding the Andrew Bynum situation: “Sources said Utah Jazz veteran swingman Richard Jefferson has emerged as a new trade target for the Cavaliers after ongoing talks with the Los Angeles Lakers on a deal centered around the swap of former teammates Pau Gasol and Bynum remained at an impasse Friday. A deal with Utah that would send Jefferson to Cleveland and likewise allow the Jazz to acquire and waive Bynum before the other half of his $12.3 million salary this season becomes guaranteed is one of three primary options for the Cavaliers. The other two, sources said Friday, are continuing talks with the Lakers this weekend in hopes of hashing out trade terms both teams can stomach, or electing to keep Bynum beyond Tuesday’s deadline and then reshopping him as a trade asset before the Feb. 20 trade deadline, or, if necessary, again in late June and early July.”-
In talking to a source w/ Cavs their preference in dealing Bynum is to get a big back in order to keep Varejao minutes limited.
— Probasketballdraft (@Probballdraft) January 4, 2014
A couple weeks ago, stories came out that said Thaddeus Young had asked for a trade. Now Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News looks at what it’s like for him to be the best veteran on a terrible team: “As one NBA executive said recently, “Any team in the league would love to have Thaddeus Young.” And that just might happen. He is the team’s biggest commodity as far as trade value, and this roster undoubtedly will be turned upside down the next few years. “I’ve been patient since Day 1 in ’07,” Young said. “I can keep trying my best to be patient. I’ve been doing it so far. When stories came out about being disgruntled, I look at the stories and I laugh, and then I keep going out and playing basketball. This is my craft, this is my job, this is what I love to do, and I’m not going to let anything stop me playing the game. We had this conversation before coach [Doug] Collins came in, about the stability issue. I feel that’s something that every player wants, that he can be comfortable, that he doesn’t have to be having to prove something each and every year. I felt like I had to prove something since the year I came in, especially with all the different coaches I’ve had. When you get a coach and get more and more comfortable with him and then he’s gone, I have to start all over again. Then I have to prove that I can be a star forward in this league again, and that I can do this, I can do that. It’s always been that situation.”- Interesting news on the Bulls from Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News: “The Bulls’ game-plan for the immediate future is coming into focus. League sources with knowledge of Chicago’s plans say that they’ll definitely be looking to deal Luol Deng before the Feb. 20 trading deadline. Deng is a free agent this summer and the Bulls don’t want to pay him anything close to top dollar. The second part of their house-cleaning: They intend on using their amnesty move this coming summer to part ways with Carlos Boozer. Boozer is scheduled to make $16.8 million next season. As we reported earlier, Derrick Rose has caught wind of the plans and is none too thrilled about being part of a rebuilding project. Tom Thibodeau won’t be very happy with it, either.”
Mike D’Antoni’s seen someone like Kendall Marshall before. Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com has the story: “Just five days ago, before the Los Angeles Lakers played the Philadelphia 76ers, coach Mike D’Antoni was asked why Kendall Marshall had appeared in only two out of the five games (in garbage time) the Lakers had since the former college standout joined the team. “I don’t know him,” D’Antoni said at the time. “I’ve seen him play maybe two minutes. I don’t think we’re at the point where, ‘Oh, let’s experiment.'” Since then, however, both Xavier Henry and Jordan Farmar joined Steve Nash and Steve Blake in the ever-growing Lakers’ Injured Point Guards Club — and as far as experimenting goes, well, you know how they say necessity is the mother of all invention. … “I’m not making a comparison, but Jeremy Lin did the exact same thing,” D’Antoni said when asked about Marshall going from coughing up four turnovers in six minutes in his Laker debut just two weeks ago to becoming the first Laker player since Kobe Bryant in February 2002 to hit the 20-point, 15-assist plateau. “The first time he went out in Boston it was awful, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my gosh.’ Then, obviously it happened to him. It does happen to guys.” “Linsanity” was a once-in-a-lifetime basketball supernova that was as much a cultural touchstone as it was hoop dream. “Marshall Madness” has a nice ring to it, but what’s more important than Marshall becoming a favorite in the eyes of Lakers fans is Marshall becoming a reliable option in the eyes of D’Antoni.”- A guy who was once thought of as the presumptive #1 pick is now headed to the D-League after barely making it into the lottery. Here’s the AP story: “The Minnesota Timberwolves plan to send first-round draft pick Shabazz Muhammad to Iowa of the NBA Development League in an effort to get him some more playing time. Coach Rick Adelman says the seldom-used Muhammad will benefit from playing big minutes rather than sitting on the bench for the Timberwolves. The 14th overall pick in the June draft has played in only 11 of Minnesota’s 32 games this season. He has yet to play 10 minutes in a game. Muhammad is averaging 1.1 points. He was initially resistant to the idea of playing in the lower league. But Adelman and President Flip Saunders say it’s the best thing for his development.’
There was a little interest in Hedo Turkoglu, reports USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt: “If Turkoglu clears waivers, which is expected since it’s unlikely a team wants to pick up the $6 million still owed on his contract, he will be free to sign with the team of his choice. The Magic fielded calls from the Los Angeles Lakers and the Atlanta Hawks for Turkoglu, a person familiar with the team told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussion. The deal with the Lakers would have resulted in more salary long term, and the deal with the Hawks had no value, the person said. Neither options were palatable to the Magic.”- More on the Lakers’ cap situation, from Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com: “What does Nash think about making a comeback with a team that could be 10 to 15 games under .500 by the time he’s ready to return? “I don’t really think in those terms at all just because I really want to play,” he said. “I just want to play the game. I love playing. I really love the game, and I know that I’ve got a really short window of basketball in my life, so I just want to get out there and play and try to build a little bit of health and confidence and ability to finish out my career.” Even if Nash can sustain his health enough to get back on the court this season, the Lakers will have the option to waive him before 2014-15 via the stretch provision and pay the remaining $9.7 million on his deal over a three-year period with only about $3.2 million counting against the cap annually.”
Randy Wittman isn’t happy with the Wizards. Again. Here’s Michael Lee of the Washington Post: “Wizards Coach Randy Wittman scanned the box score at his news conference after the Wizards’ 101-88 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Friday. Wittman sighed, then explained that he was “shocked” and “disappointed” with his team’s listless performance, adding that some “selfish play” had crept in and contributed to an embarrassing defeat that was much more lopsided than the final score would suggest. When told of Wittman’s comments about selfish play, John Wall disagreed and credited Toronto with disrupting the offense and creating poor floor spacing. “I don’t think so. I think we try and play the right way. I just give them a lot of credit, they took away things from us and then we didn’t make a lot of shots,” Wall said. “They just outplayed us. They played with more sense of urgency. They played with more aggressiveness, they were pounding us on the glass and making open shots and we didn’t stick to our defensive concepts and we just give them a lot of credit for what they did and the game plan they had against us.””- By now you’ve probably heard of Dennis Rodman’s exhibition team to play in North Korea, but as a proud resident of Halifax, Nova Scotia, I’ve got to get this local note in, from the Halifax Chronicle-Herald’s Brian Freeman: “Halifax Rainmen coach Craig Hodges can now add “basketball ambassador” to his resume. The former NBA sharpshooter is headed to North Korea for a week to perform with a collection of former NBA players picked by Dennis Rodman to participate in an exhibition game in Pyongyang. Rodman leads a team that includes former NBA all-stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson and Vin Baker. Hodges, who was the champion of the NBA three-point shooting contest for three consecutive years, joins ex-Raptor Doug Christie and Charles D. Smith as other former NBA players on the squad. The team will play against a top North Korean senior national team on Wednesday, marking Kim Jong Un’s birthday.”
More on North Korea from Sheridan, who believes basketball and diplomacy do not make a good mix — in this particular situation. “Just my opinion as an American, but Rodman’s trip is shameful. (Unless Jackie Christie is on a secret CIA snuff mission). There is no place for positive p.r. masking as “diplomacy.”If anything, we should call attention to the fact that North Korea is believed to be holding 200,000 political prisoners, and let’s not forget that 3.5 million North Korean citizens starved to during the 1990s. Worst place on Earth? Hard to argue in anyone other country’s favor. Anyway, on a lighter note (or not), he’s a big basketball fan, this young Mr. Kim. And he sure does know how to execute his enemies. In his recent purge and execution of his uncle, the end was especially gruesome. He was reportedly stripped naked and fed to a pack of 120 dogs who had been starved for three days, along with five of his aides. The whole process lasted is reported to have lasted an hour, and as they were eaten, hundreds of officials watched.
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Dan Malone is in his fourth year as a journalism student at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and spent this summer as a features intern at the Cape Cod Times. He blogs, edits and learns things on the fly for Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on Twitter.