So, that Warriors/Hawks game.
First of all, it lived up to the hype. One of the most fun regular-season games you’re ever going to find.
Second of all, go back in time ten years and tell me that in 2015, the Warriors and Hawks would be the consensus two best teams in the NBA and I’d probably assume they’d drafted a pair of generational superstars or something. Greg Oden and O.J. Mayo, probably.
It’s incredible how quickly the NBA has changed. Not in terms of which teams are good and which aren’t, but how quickly the need for “true superstars” has faded. Not only have team-oriented rosters like the Warriors’, Hawks’, Blazers’, Wizards’, etc. succeeded, but the superstar collections that teams like the Nets, Lakers, and the Knicks of a few years ago built have failed miserably.
I don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb when I say that the Warriors/Hawks/Spurs brand of basketball is fun to watch, and that it would be nice if this trend continued for a while.
Here’s the latest news from around the NBA:
NUGGETS WANT FIRST-ROUND PICK FOR AFFLALO
Afflalo’s skillset is something a lot of near-contenders could use, but last year’s Bucks showed the dangers of trading off future assets to improve a team that’s still destined for a first-round playoff exit. Think they’d like to have that Tobias Harris for JJ Redick trade back?
Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post:
The Nuggets are holding firm to seeking a first-round pick from teams wanting to trade for shooting guard Arron Afflalo, according to NBA sources.
There have been no takers, although interest remains high for Afflalo’s services. Teams don’t want to relinquish a first-rounder for a player that might walk on them at the end of the season. Afflalo has a player option for the final year of his contract.
It is a snag that prevented Afflalo from being dealt to Charlotte, sources said. The Hornets had been interested in acquiring Afflalo to add firepower to a team that ranks 27th in the NBA in scoring, at just more than 94 points per game. The trade deadline is Feb. 19.
KINGS MAKING PUSH TO HIRE GEORGE KARL
It’d never happen, but you wonder if Sacramento should maybe just apologize to Mike Malone and offer him the job back.
The Sacramento Kings are seriously considering making another midseason coaching change and bringing in longtime head coach George Karl, according to three people with knowledge of the situation.
One person who is involved in the process described the situation as “not in the red zone just yet” but said it had recently advanced to the point where a hire could be made in the coming days. As of early Saturday evening, however, a significant gap remained between the two sides when it came to salary and length of contract. If a deal is going to get done, it’s likely going to take place on Sunday or perhaps Monday. The people spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the process.
It has been nearly eight weeks since the Kings made the ill-timed decision to fire coach Michael Malone and promote his lead assistant Tyrone Corbin to the top spot, and matters have only grown worse since. With the Kings having lost 18 of 24 games since making the move, including 10 of their last 11, general manager Pete D’Alessandro – who spent his recent years working with Karl while in the Denver Nuggets’ front office – is known to be advocating for his hiring. D’Alessandro, who traveled to Denver in recent days to discuss the job with Karl, is clearly determined to get this deal done.
VAN GUNDY RIPS MAGIC MANAGEMENT
This beef is anything but new, but with the Magic just having fired another coach, it might be worth bringing it up again.
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:
“We were trying to get our hands around the inconsistency we were seeing on the floor,” Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said at a news conference. “There’s a lot of reasons for that. Jacque’s not the only reason for that.”
Not surprisingly, Van Gundy finds the situation of absurd — particularly the way organizations bend over backward to not publicly blame a coach, but the coach is the only sacrificial lamb in such instances.
“All those things are the same,” Van Gundy said today. “You get in the press conference, they loved Jacque. He did a great job. You listen to all that, and then I listen to Rob say it doesn’t fall on Jacque, but he takes full responsibility. I laugh, obviously, because that’s not true.
“You’re still sitting there with a job, and Jacque doesn’t have one, so I don’t know what full responsibility means. But I would say they left the full responsibility on Jacque.”
Van Gundy also said of the Magic: “They’re an organization that turns over coaches a lot. I don’t know if anybody coached there longer than I did. There’s no such thing as a longtime Magic coach.”
MAVS WOULD BE INTERESTED IN AMAR’E IF RELEASED
Is Mark Cuban’s goal to prove that he can build a winner with Phil Jackson’s castoffs? Because he’s doing a pretty good job of it if so.
Tim MacMahon and Marc Stein of ESPN.com:
The Dallas Mavericks would be considered front-runners to sign Amar’e Stoudemire if the 13-year veteran opts to pursue a contract buyout from the New York Knicks, according to league sources.
Stoudemire made it clear in his public comments that he’s not yet sure if he wants to seek a buyout from the Knicks to join a contender for the stretch run, but sources told ESPN.com that Dallas has quickly emerged as a prime landing spot if he becomes a free agent.
The Mavericks remain keen to sign Stoudemire’s fellow former All-Star big man Jermaine O’Neal, sources said, and are prepared to make the needed roster room to accommodate both O’Neal and Stoudemire should they become available.
Stoudemire, who is in the final season of a five-year, $99.7 million contract with the Knicks, told Yahoo! Sports this week that he would spend the All-Star break pondering his future, specifically whether to ask the last-place Knicks for a buyout to give himself an opportunity to join a team in the playoff hunt.
“It’s not an easy decision to make,” Stoudemire told Yahoo! “Over time, we will see how things pan out. You give yourself a break during the All-Star break. You think about it with your family. … That will give me a good solid week on how to weigh out the rest of the season.”
Dallas has been exploring various options to add frontcourt depth after giving up key reserves Brandan Wright and Jae Crowder in the December trade with Boston for Rajon Rondo.
NBA TO MAKE CALL ON SANDERS SUSPENSION
If the Bucks can get a healthy, motivated Sanders back, they could make some real noise in the East. But that doesn’t seem imminent.
Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
It’s up to NBA officials to determine whether Bucks center Larry Sanders is complying with his treatment program after being suspended for a minimum of 10 games Jan. 16.
The 10th game of the suspension period was Friday night as the Bucks met the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. But the suspension will not end until he is in “full compliance” with his treatment program, a league spokesman confirmed Friday.
When Sanders is determined to be in full compliance, the team will be notified by the league and be able to publicize that, the spokesman said.
Sanders was suspended without pay for a fourth failed marijuana test, but before that he had missed 11 games because of illness and personal reasons. He has not played since the Bucks met Charlotte at home Dec. 23.
If the league clears Sanders, he will go back on the Bucks roster and another player would have to be released. But that does not mean Sanders would return to the court immediately.