OK, what was that all about? With the conductor striking up the band but no parade in sight, last week in the NBA was like “Planet of the Apes,” with the one of the lost astronauts escaping from the ruling species and gaining his freedom, only to find he’s on post-nuclear-holocaust Earth! Not that David Stern vetoing the trade sending Chris Paul to the Lakers was as dramatic as Charlton Heston ranting, “You maniacs. You blew it all up. Damn you all
NBA news roundup: What’s cooking? Lots
“Timing is everything. Chemistry is something that you don’t just throw in the frying pan and mix it up with another something, then throw it on top of something, then fry it up and put it in a tortilla and put in a microwave, heat it up and give it to you and expect it to taste good. You know? For those of you who can cook, y’all know what I’m talking about. If y’all can’t cook, this doesn’t concern
Kupchak says Lakers still pursuing “big deals”
Yes, the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers used the plural. And with Chris Paul still brooding in New Orleans and with Dwight Howard in damage control mode in Orlando, and with the Los Angeles Clippers dance with the Hornets suffering from fits and starts, we are sort of back in the same place we were six days ago when commissioner David Stern turned the NBA on its head. The Lakers no longer have one of the trade assets that would
Chris Paul fallout, and Deron Williams calls David Stern a “bully”
I am filling in for Chris Sheridan tonight. Hopefully this will go better than Brian Cardinal and Alex Ajinca filling in for Dirk Nowitzki. We applaud Deron Williams for his candor, but we also hope he doesn’t have to eat his words. Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star-Ledger has a story coming out of Nets practice today where Turkish legend Deron Williams called David Stern a “bully” and said he speaks to Dwight Howard “all the time.” “You’re fighting a bully, man,” Williams
Three-team Chris Paul trade is dead; D12 to LAL?
Time to start all over again, from scratch. Chris Paul to the Clippers? Chris Paul to Golden State? Dwight Howard to the Lakers? Dwight Howard to the Bulls? Yep, those rumors are all out there this morning after the three-team deal between the Lakers, Hornets and Rockets fell apart late Saturday night, with the Lakers making a different deal by sending Lamar Odom to the Mavericks for a first-round draft pick. The Mavericks were able to absorb Odom’s salary through the trade exception
Dwight Howard has requested a trade to the Nets
That is the news out of Orlando this evening, and now it is a question of whether New Jersey has enough pieces to get the deal done. It has been well known that New Jersey is willing to deal center Brook Lopez and two first-round draft picks to Orlando, taking back the contract of Hedo Turkoglu in the deal to give Orlando salary cap flexibility. But is that enough to get the league’s most dominant center? Also, can the Nets clear more
Howard’s agent talking to Lakers, Nets, Mavericks
“Right now, we’re here in Orlando. We just had practice, and that’s what matters. Nothing else matters beyond today and this moment.” — Dwight Howard, Dec. 9. That is what we call living day to day, or moment to moment, and that’s what we’ll all be doing today – whether we live in Jersey, central Florida, the BK, El Lay, the Metroplex or the Bayou. Somebody is going to trade for Howard and/or Chris Paul, be it today, tomorrow or the next
Chris Paul talks have been renewed; Nets deny Howard meeting
Here is the latest news. So far, two guys are getting amnestied: Gilbert Arenas and Chauncey Billups. Richard Jefferson was expected to be a third, but he showed up at Spurs training camp and participated. Vince Carter was bought out, as was Richard Hamilton, and Brandon Roy was told to retire. Also, Mark Cuban revealed that he was one of the five owners who voted against the new labor deal. He also came out in support of David Stern for vetoing the