Donald T. Sterling Sterling World Plaza Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210 Dear Donald, Well, you said to write again when I found work! As you may have heard, I’m no longer with the large, if not as large as it was once, metropolitan paper in Los Angeles. Of course, times are even tougher in newspapers than David Stern said they are in the NBA, although in our case, we have the casualties to show it’s not just woofing. But enough about moi, look at you! After all those years
Critics of the Oklahoma City Thunder often point to their occasional bouts with immaturity and lack of big-game experience. They can’t do that anymore. In perhaps the best signing of the release/buyout season, the Thunder on Wednesday signed veteran guard Derek Fisher, who was in uniform and scored five points in 19 minutes last night as is new team, the Thunder, defeated the fading Clippers by 23 points. Fisher has won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, who reluctantly traded him
Whether you want to call him “Hibachi,” “Agent Zero” or some other new nickname, Gilbert Arenas is on the verge of a return. The Memphis Commercial-Appeal is reporting that Arenas worked out for the Grizzlies this morning and the team is preparing to sign him to a deal for the rest of this season, according to sources close to the process. Beat writer Ron Tillery said Arenas appeared slender and shot the ball well during the workout, and he is scheduled to take
Milwaukee Bucks forward Drew Gooden and Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum were named Players of the Week for the period ending Sunday. Gooden won for the Eastern Conference, leading the Bucks to a 3-0 week by averaging 18.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists. He had a triple-double with 15 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in three quarters of a 115-105 win over Cleveland. Bynum won for the Western Conference, helping the Lakers go 3-1 and reclaim first place in
When he met reporters before Sunday night’s game, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was asked if the Orlando Magic are a title contender. “Absolutely,” the coach replied. “There is no doubt about it. Anytime you have an MVP candidate like (Dwight Howard) and then personnel that fits, you’re a contender.” Writers covering both teams took that quote and ran with it, but not in the way you might expect. In Orlando, Spoelstra was taken with a grain of salt. From Josh Robbins of the
For so many years, Monta Ellis had been the subject of trade rumors. Although he was always in discussions, the team could never find the guts to trade the face of its franchise. Until this season. Under the new leadership of owner Joe Lacob, changes were finally made when the Warriors broke up the small back court of Stephen Curry and Ellis. One of the final pieces of the Cohen era, Ellis was traded along with Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown to the
Derek Fisher will never wear a Houston Rockets uniform. Fran Blinebury of NBA.com is reporting that the Rockets will buy out the remainder of Fisher’s contract (he has a player option worth $3.4 million), making him a free agent and allowing him to sign with the team of his choice — as long as it is not the Los Angeles Lakers. Under new collective bargaining rules (insiders call this one the Ilgauskas rule), a player cannot be re-signed by a team that
Pencils down and papers forward, please. Here are my grades on how teams did at the trading deadline. We aren’t going to evaluate whether Dallas was helped or hindered by Thursday’s wheeling and dealing. The Mavericks – and 13 other teams – didn’t make a deal, so consider their grade to be incomplete. Or a withdrawal, if you prefer. No one got an F, although the Nets came awfully close. At the other end of the scale, the Rockets are officially the teacher’s