- It appears the Philadelphia 76ers never planned on keeping their newest acquisition, according to Jake Pavorsky of Liberty Ballers: “The Sixers will indeed buyout Danny Granger, per source.”
- J.R. Smith just can’t seem to help himself, from SB Nation.
- Glen Davis has found a new team, according to B.A. Turner of LA Times: “Clippers make it official; Glen Davis has signed conrtact. He’s in New Orleans with team and available to play tonight vs Pelicans.”
Kent Bazemore is excited about his new opportunity with the Los Angeles Lakers, from Eric Pincus of LA Times: “How has Bazemore handled the transition from a sparsely used reserve with the Warriors to a full workload with the Lakers? “I feel great. I’ve been working hard all year, conditioning and extra workouts, going up and down,” said Bazemore after the loss to the Nets. “I’m pretty much used to the physical banging.” “Thank God I had been working,” he continued. “If I hadn’t … then I’d be dead tired and not taking advantage of this opportunity.”… Even while out of the Warriors’ rotation, Bazemore kept himself motivated. “I don’t have a relaxed mode. I’ve got to go, go, go,” he said. “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Man you’ve got to slow down a little bit,’ but I want to play it that way so I’ve got to get into that type of shape.” “It’s just showing that the work I put in prior to this moment is definitely paying off.”
LOOKING FOR LAKERS TICKETS? LOOK NO FURTHER.
Remember this ridiculous Kevin Johnson dunk over Hakeem Olajuwon? Johnson talked about it and what Olajuwon said to him afterwards, from Coro of The Arizona Republic: “Johnson acknowledged having “mixed feelings” about the commemoration of a dunk over Olajuwon that has wound up on greatest dunks videos but came in a devastating playoff home loss that was part of the Suns losing a conference semifinals series that began with two wins at Houston. Johnson, who is 47 and tried unsuccessfully to dunk on his 40th and 45th birthdays, said he saw Olajuwon at the past two All-Star Game weekends but did not approach him on either occasion. “I better not test my luck,” Johnson said. “I better just keep it the way it is. I don’t know what his thoughts were. I will tell you what he said to me at half court after the dunk. When I did the dunk and I was hopping all around and I was all excited, I’m at half court, and I could see this big shadow coming. I’m looking and I’m like, ‘Dang, it’s him.’ He gets to me and he says, ‘Little man, you got me this time but don’t do it again, little man. Don’t do it again, little man.’ And then you know me. I only had to do it once. I took off to the free-throw (line), and it ended that.”
Dwyane Wade was shocked to hear that he’s having a career-year from mid-range, from Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report: “Dwyane Wade, unlike some of his teammates, has never been an avid follower of advanced statistics. So, naturally, he wasn’t aware of a number that runs counter to his reputation: 43.1 percent. That’s what Wade is shooting from what NBA.com characterizes as “mid-range.” He’s never shot that well in any season. “Really?!” Yes, really. It’s really good. Last season, he was at 38.9 percent. But it’s not just a significant jump from 2012-13. It’s a rather large leap from earlier in his career, when he was lauded for his mid-range ability, not criticized for his supposed lack of it. “That’s very surprising,” Wade said. “Because I know I’ve had some years where I was, like, money.” Most consider 2008-09 to be his strongest overall season. He shot 41.6 percent from mid-range. Others would look at the season of his first NBA championship. He shot 38.4 from mid-range. “That’s interesting,” Wade said. “That shocked me right there.”
- Don’t expect Tom Thibodeau to leave the Chicago Bulls any time soon, according to David Haugh of the Tribune: “Thibs on speculation: “I’m with a team that I love. I’m not sure why that’d be a question..I’m under contract. I’m planning on being here.”
If you want to know a little history about Serge Ibaka and how he has gotten to this point, check out this piece from Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report: “”No one knew who he was,” Abunassar said of Ibaka, who was sent there by his Spain-based agent, Pere Gallego. “He was clueless. He was hilarious. We had a group at 9 (a.m.) and 10 and 11. He just stayed the whole morning. He kept saying (mimicking Ibaka’s African accent), ‘I want to work again. I want to work again.’ It was kind of funny because he spoke French and kind of broken Spanish at the time and obviously his native dialect. Very little English. He had no money. We were buying him lunch. He really didn’t have that many clothes.” Two years later, when Ibaka arrived in Oklahoma City—the franchise drafted him in 2008, but kept him in Europe one more year—his teammate Kevin Durant said he still couldn’t speak English well and didn’t know how to drive a car.”
Jamal Crawford says he’s best suited to come off the bench for the Clippers, from Arash Markazi of ESPN LA: “While most NBA players aspire to start, Crawford, in his 13th season in the league, realizes his value to a championship contender is as a scoring punch off the bench, and it’s a role he looks forward to returning to as soon as the injured J.J. Redick is ready to return. “I can’t wait until he comes back because I get a chance to go back to the bench,” Crawford said. “We’ll hold down the fort until he gets back and healthy, until then we’ll get as many wins as possible.”… “Our team is built for me to come off the bench and be that guy off the bench,” Crawford said. “Right now we’re a little undermanned and our second unit is struggling because of it.”
James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.
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