The Chicago Bulls tell Carlos Boozer that he will not be traded: “Although Carlos Boozer started all 46 games he has played this year, he is down to a career low 2.8 minutes in the 4th quarter. And after Luol Deng was traded to Cleveland earlier this year, Boozer began to wonder about his own future with the team. He told me tonight that he has been assured that he will not be traded by next week’s deadline, nor will the team buyout the final year of his contract this summer UNLESS they can land a superstar which is too good to pass up. Not so much the trade part, as though I do find it strange that any executive would make such ‘assurances’ to a player, it’s just sensible to think a Boozer trade won’t happen. While no player/contract in the NBA is untradeable, Boozer can be called such under the Bulls parameters: they don’t want to take on money this year (luxury tax), and don’t want any players signed through next year (in case they need cap space…more on that soon). No team is going to take on Boozer’s $16.8m salary next year in that scenario, even if they traded the Bulls effectively nothing (like Phoenix giving an injured -and expiring contract- Okafor), without the Bulls adding sweeteners in the form of pick or other assets. You’d hope they wouldn’t do that when amnesty is just as effective in getting Boozer off the books.”
James Harden will take Kobe Bryant’s place as a starter in Sunday’s All-Star Game: “Harden, who is averaging 23.9 points and 4.7 rebounds for the Houston Rockets, will start in place of the Lakers’ Bryant, who has not played since Dec. 17 because of a knee injury. Bryant’s Western Conference roster spot was awarded toAnthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans. Bryant, however, was voted into the game as a starter, finishing second to Golden State Warriorsguard Stephen Curry among Western Conference guards in fan balloting. The Western Conference will be coached by Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks, who coached Harden with the Thunder from 2009 to 2012.”
In a strange turn of events, Screen Actors Guild executive director David White has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Billy Hunter: “There had been debate within the NBPA’s executive committee about whether there will be a vote taken on Saturday at a Players Association meeting on a new executive director, but sources briefed on Saturday’s meeting agenda told Yahoo Sports that no vote is scheduled to be taken.It is possible that White could be presented to the team player reps – along with one or more candidates – for discussion. The NBPA’s president, Chris Paul, and the executive committee’s members have interviewed White about the position, sources said. White recently led a reorganization of SAG’s union. He was awarded a three-year extension in May 2012 on his current SAG contract. He was appointed as SAG’s interim executive director in 2009, where he had served as general counsel from 2002-06.”
Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated takes a look at how All-Star Weekend has lost its luster for GM’s: “”You see a lot of offers texted now,” said an Eastern Conference GM. “It’s like, `Would you consider your this for our that?’ If you don’t know someone pretty well, you wouldn’t do that; but if you know someone pretty well, there might be a lot of that.” Some GMs are either too old fashioned or cautious to put trade offers in writing, much less on a cell phone whose contents may be lost, hacked or in some other way made public. “I wouldn’t text somebody a trade proposal because I wouldn’t want any evidence of me offering a player,” said a GM from the Western Conference. “Usually it’s the younger guys. They’re more comfortable with sending that stuff out; they’re playing the odds, I guess.” One of those GMs knows he shouldn’t be texting trade proposals, but he says he can’t help himself. “There’s definitely a danger, I agree,” he said. “But if you call and they don’t answer, you might send one. A lot of times you’re looking for a simple answer — ‘Hey, we’ll look at something like this’ — just so you’re not wasting people’s time.””
How about some midseason reports for the Knicks and Nets: “The Knicks were coming off the team’s first season with at least 50 or more wins and a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals since the 1999-2000 campaign, when Jeff Van Gundy patrolled the sidelines, Patrick Ewing wrapped up his final season in New York and Allan Houston was in the prime of his career. The Nets were coming off their first trip to the playoffs in six years and considered the winners of the offseason after landing future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, along with Jason Terry, in a blockbuster trade with the Celtics. However, neither team has lived up to the hype with the All-Star break now upon us. With that in mind, it’s time to break down the season into four sections for both teams: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Future. The Knicks enter the All-Star break with few bright spots and many unanswered questions about the present and future that have derailed the team throughout the season.”
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
Melo is FULL of it. He’d have to sign for nothing to bring Knicks team salary under 70 million. That’s the only way he could help with future.
Some how I don’t see Lala Vazquez going along with that. She’d probably prefer warm LA.
Knicks don’t have any flexibility to get better. They’ve already forfeited picks. Someone should teach Melo about the new CBA. If Melo wants to have chance for a championship, he should tell Dolan now, that he will go to Phoenix in free agency, if he isn’t traded to a contender before the 20th.