The Boston Celtics head into Staples Center on Sunday to play the Los Angeles Lakers where the heated rivals finally have a mutual enemy: the NBA rumor mill. Thursday’s trade deadline is fast approaching and both Boston’s Rajon Rondo and L.A.’s Pau Gasol have been linked to multiple trades. On Friday, Gasol’s name was mentioned as a done deal to the Houston Rockets, for the second time this season. Gasol will suit up for Sunday’s marquee matchup, just as he did Friday, scoring
Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio’s compelling rookie season is over, ended by a torn anterior-cruciate knee ligament that ends his season, a team source said this afternoon. Minneapolis Star-Tribune On the Howard front, the Magic clearly need to make the decision to trade him or risk losing him in free agency. League sources maintain the Magic will hold out and not deal if they see any glimmer of hope Howard will choose to remain with them. But with the Nets suddenly feeling a renewed
One man started the rumor of a Pau Gasol trade on Twitter in the afternoon and it had swept the globe by tipoff. Possibly distracted, Gasol had 12 points and 11 boards in the Lakers win, though Andrew Bynum (26 & 10) did the heavy lifting and Kobe Bryant scored 34. Kevin Love was a very late scratch with a sore back, but the return of Nikola Pekovic (25 & 13) and a great effort by rookie Derrick Williams (22
Traditionally, Kobe Bryant has enjoyed playing against Minnesota: he has yet to lose to them in 17 tries in the span of five years, the longest active winning streak by one team against another. That streak could come to an end if the Lakers (23-16) continue to drop winnable games away from home. They look to avoid a fourth straight loss on the road visiting the surging Minnesota Timberwolves (21-19) in Friday night’s best game. The Lakers are a force to be
Counting down to… zip? If some players may go every which way by the trade deadline, they’re not likely to include any Dwight Howards, Deron Williams or even Pau Gasols. All three are, indeed, in play, but their destinations are a lot likelier to be revealed in June, no matter how much pure unadulterated BS you hear between now and March 15. Hey, it’s better than waiting to see if Ric Bucher thinks the Lakers should trade Kobe Bryant, the Bulls should trade
// csprtContainer(); // ]]> What can people take from the Lakers’ decisive victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday? How about the difference Metta WorldPeace made, both defending LeBron James and putting up one of his better stat lines of the season (17 points, seven rebounds, four steals). It also tells you the Lakers aren’t all that bad, but it also can’t mask the fact that they eventually need to get some younger pieces and some production off the bench — which is
Adrian Wojnarowski: Atlanta had talks with Minnesota during draft on Josh Smith for No. 2 pick, but Hawks haven’t been aggressive in trying to trade Smith. Twitter Rajon Rondo might be leaving, too, with the Lakers and Utah seen as possible destinations. New York Daily News Adrian Wojnarowski: Atlanta did express an interest to Boston about Ray Allen or Kevin Garnett, but purely exploratory conversations, sources said. Twitter Gasol did acknowledge to ESPN.com that he has received a level of clarification about his status from Lakers general manager Mitch
// csprtContainer(); // ]]> Kevin Durant isn’t exactly taking over the league, but he certainly would be if he were playing in a larger market. For now, we’ll have to appreciate the performances like the one he put on Thursday night at Orlando in the same arena where he was named the MVP of the All-Star game last Sunday. He enters the weekend trailing Kobe Bryant (28.5 ppg) by a half-point for the league lead in scoring, but Durant is hitting at