Jim Buss is in over his head. Of course, with the Lakers’ predicament, Jerry Buss, his father, would be in over his head, too. Actually, that remains to be seen. But it goes back to their last time at such a crossroads, after trading Shaquille O’Neal to keep Kobe Bryant, when I wrote, “Mitch Kupchak is in over his head,” adding, “Jerry West would be in over his head, too.” Amazingly, Kupchak and the Buss family tunneled out of that one and were
Last week’s edition of The Bernucca List was correctly solved by Mike, who determined that all 20 players listed were active and had exactly one All-Star berth. Nice job. The latest list is below. See if you can determine the common threads among every player on the list. First correct responder gets mentioned in next week’s list. You can answer via the comments or send me a Tweet. The Bernucca List Andris Biedrins Jason Collins DeMarcus Cousins Al Harrington Dwight Howard Kurt Thomas Jason Thompson
Wednesday’s column mentioned a handful of players who need to be traded by the March 15 deadline. Apparently, NBA GMs are feeling the same way. No less than three players mentioned – Michael Beasley, Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson – saw their names dotting the interwebs as Wednesday became Thursday and February became March. There is some significance to that calendar observation. March 1 is the first day players signed to free agent contracts in the abbreviated offseason can be traded. So that
The rumblings we’re hearing out of Orlando seem to say that the Magic are leaning toward holding onto Dwight Howard and trying to figure something out in the summer. Of course, that can change if the right offer comes along. Frankly, if I’m the Magic I’d take what the Nets are offering Lopez, + role players a mountain of picks or what the Lakers are offering Bynum possibly Gasol. Either one is better than the end game of losing Howard for
There’s still more than two weeks until the March 15 trading deadline, but the rumor mill already is churning. Most of the buzz is around Dwight Howard, whom the Orlando Magic don’t have to trade. Really. However, there are a handful of players who have to be traded for the greater good of their teams. Whether it be removing a problem, creating financial flexibility or moving someone one year early rather than one year late, some big names will be changing teams
Tuesday was not a good day for the Dallas Mavericks, or their master plan. The defending champions opened the second half of the season with a 93-92 home loss to the New Jersey Nets. Dallas played without forward Lamar Odom, still away from the team as he tends to a personal issue. Despite their championship pedigree, the Mavs played with little urgency, trailing for most of the night and turning on the switch only when the game needed to be reeled in.
We are going to learn a lot about the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Clippers in the month ahead, especially in the week ahead. What we learned last night is that the Wolves are a lot deeper than many give them credit for. After trailing for most of the first three quarters, reserves Michael Beasley and Derrick Williams led the way the as the Timberwolves made their first 10 shots of the fourth quarter and rallied to defeat the Clippers 109-97
Scott Howard-Cooper: Warriors continuing push for Dwight Howard deal even without DH commitment to re-signing. Not backing off from risky move, source says. Twitter Chris Broussard: Nothing’s changed in Phoenix: Suns still not trading Steve Nash unless he asks for it, sources say. And he won’t. Twitter Dwyane Wade said he was sorry. To Kobe Bryant. So as far as the Miami Heat guard is concerned, it’s case closed when it comes to his hard foul that broke the nose of the Los Angeles Lakers guard during