Steve Nash believes he will play next season: ““I want to come back for sure,” Nash told reporters on Monday. Nash is 40, and has only appeared in 10 games this season because of a number of injuries. But he’s maintained that he wants to play next season. Maybe because the Lakers owe him $9.7 million. There has been talk about the Lakers using the “stretch provision” on Nash’s contract, which essentially allows them to waive him and then stretch his $9.7 million out on their cap over a number of years. But if he’s planning on playing next season, the Lakers might as well keep him and see if they could get something in return for his expiring contract. Nash doesn’t want it to end like this. Beat up, banged up and in pain while struggling to make it through 25 minutes on the floor. He’s desperate to get healthy, but at 40, that’s not very easy to do.”
Jimmer Fredette finally has his chance to find his game in Chicago: “Fredette, in hindsight, never had a chance. He was acquired by the Kings in a draft-night trade in which they moved down and exchanged a veteran point guard (Beno Udrih) for a veteran scorer (John Salmons). This occurred right before the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, which meant no acclimatizing summer-league games or training camp for Fredette. Instead, as a volume shooter suspected of being overhyped, he swan-dived into a Kings squad short on leadership or distributors and long on already established, overhyped volume shooters. If that weren’t unstable enough, the Kings fired their head coach, Paul Westphal, seven games into the season. Everything else changed as well during Fredette’s time: ownership, management, coaching staff and damn near where the team called home (to Seattle). To make it all worse, Kings fans slobbered over Fredette the way Indiana Pacers fans once anointed homegrown star Damon Bailey as their savior, one difference being that Pacers GM Donnie Walsh waited until the second round to take Bailey. When knee issues effectively ended Bailey’s career after one season, the franchise still had its former first-round pick, Reggie Miller, as a, um, fallback.”
Joel Embiid of Kansas may miss the entire Big 12 tournament: “”We’ve made a decision that since we are so close to the postseason, we will re-evaluate him on Sunday,” Self said. “If the discomfort ceases, he should be able to practice on Monday and participate in the Big 12 championship. If he’s still having symptoms of tightness and soreness, then we will look at sitting him longer through the postseason conference tournament.” The Jayhawks, who have already wrapped up their 10th straight Big 12 championship, play host to Texas Tech on Wednesday night. They finish the regular season Saturday at West Virginia. They’ll have a first-round bye in the Big 12 tournament, which starts March 12. “There is no reason why he should not be feeling much better by the NCAA tournament,” Self said. “The doctors feel that amount of time off should do him wonders for how he is feeling.””
Goran Dragic has gone from All-Star snub to elite in the eyes of many: “Hornacek credits Dragic for being “able to fly up and down the court,” but adds that the point guard’s success is also due to the fact that his teammates are producing at a high level as well. “For him to be able to get some of the things that he does with his drives, it means that everybody else is playing well too,” Hornacek said of Dragic. “If they leave somebody, then they’re going to be wide open. It’s really kind of the togetherness of our team, and everybody is playing really well. Teams can’t just focus on one player because then we’ll do something else and get open shots that guys will knock down.” Dragic was perhaps the most surprising All-Star snub this season, but he has put it behind him. “I don’t think about that, I just want to play,” Dragic said when asked about his All-Star snub. “That’s already behind me. What happened, happened. I just try to play my best every single night.””
- Whatever happened to Derek Anderson: “It’s just that rather than wait and wait and wait for things to happen, I go out and get things done again and again. It’s all about hard work. That’s me believing in myself. I learned everything. My first NBA check was $250,000 and I didn’t know anything about taxes but I learned how to do my taxes. I’ve always tried to educate myself. As long as I’m alive and I can learn, that’s what I’ll do. That’s why I think I’ll always be in a position to win. How’s your typical day? DA: I get up in the morning and I check my e-mails, send some e-mails, take my protein shake, I go to work out, I come back and work all day, write a movie script or write my book for example, then I do some family time around 5 pm when my sons get home. Then I put them to bed around 9.30 pm and I get to sleep around midnight at the latest. What do you do to stay in shape? DA: I hit the swimming pool, I do yoga. It keeps me really in shape and in good health. So no more basketball…DA: Nah… I’ve played a couple of times here and there but nothing too serious in five years.”
- The Charlotte Bobcats have signed Justin Hamilton to a 10-day contract: “Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed center Justin Hamilton to a 10-day contract. Hamilton joins the Bobcats from the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA D-League, becoming the 29th Gatorade Call-Up this season. He will wear No. 41. The Bobcats roster now stands at 15 players. In 37 games played for the Skyforce this season, the 7-0 Hamilton is averaging 19.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 assists in 35.8 minutes, while shooting .491 from the field (269-for-548), .385 from beyond the three-point line (30-for-78) and .812 from the free-throw line (147-for-181). He has scored in double figures 34 times, including 21 games of 20 points or more and three contests with 30 points or more, and recorded 16 games with double-figure rebounds, tallying 16 double-doubles. Hamilton leads in the D-League in offensive rebounding, while ranking fifth in blocks, sixth in rebounding and 16th in scoring. He played for the Futures team in the 2014 D-League All-Star Game, scoring 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 2-for-4 from beyond the three-point line, and 2-for-2 free-throw shooting.”
The significance of Jason Collins cannot be overstated: ““I’m sort of getting used to this,” Collins said cheerfully. “Over time, it will go down.” It has been a little more than a week since Collins signed with the Nets and became the first openly gay player in any of the four major North American sports. Interest remains high. “I’m sort of getting used to this,” Collins said cheerfully. “Over time, it will go down.” It has been a little more than a week since Collins signed with the Nets and became the first openly gay player in any of the four major North American sports. Interest remains high. “The idea that it’s rather boring is a good thing,” said Jim Buzinski, a co-founder of Outsports.com. “This is kind of what it should be, the reaction.” This is a form of progress, but not the final word. “We’re not at that point yet,” Buzinski said, “because we have one guy in the entire league, and nobody else in the other three sports.” The significance of Collins’ return could be seen last week in Denver, where he met with the parents of Matthew Shepard, who in 1998 was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime. Collins chose the No. 98 to honor Shepard. His jersey instantly became a best-seller last week, with the NBA donating proceeds to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.”
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
Pages: 1 2
I wouldn’t be aware that the way I ended up here, nevertheless i assumed this particular article was previously beneficial. I would not acknowledge whom you will be nevertheless unquestionably ensure any famed blogger for people who may not be previously. All the best!