The trade deadline had passed at 3PM EST on Thursday afternoon. Everything seemed settled and players could finally take a deep breath and play basketball again. Not so fast. Moments after the official deadline had passed, word arrived out of Denver that they had traded away long-tenured Nene Hilario in a three-team deal, receiving JaVale McGee, Ronny Turiaf and a future second-round pick in the process. The loss of Nene turned out to be too much for George Karl and the Denver Nuggets
James and Wade heroes for Heat; Suns beat Grizzlies to stay in playoff race
LeBron James has been the subject of debate for much of the season due to his perceived inability to perform in the clutch, despite having a jaw dropping statistical season for one of the most dominant teams in the league. He has been referred to by many as a choker and a second-tier closer. On Saturday night at home against the Pacers, the opportunity to show late-game execution presented itself again as the world watched to see what James would do in the
Orlando and Phoenix end two types of eight-game winning streaks
A few nights ago, the Orlando Magic somehow managed to blow a big lead to lose to the worst team in the NBA. On Thursday night, they visited the best team in the league and found a way to come out with a victory. Such have been the ups and downs of a roller coaster season for the Magic and Dwight Howard, who continues to face questions about what may happen by the trade deadline. Against Derrick Rose and the Bulls, the Magic
Trade talk: Howard wants Magic to get Nash, Rondo on the block
Dwight Howard has asked the Orlando Magic for a lot, hasn’t he? Over the past couple of years, Howard has asked management to try to acquire a handful of players, including Monta Ellis and Deron Williams. During the preseason, he asked for a trade. Then he asked that any trade be limited to a handful of teams – the New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks — that his agent was given permission to talk to. Now, Howard apparently again is
Trade talk: Beasley, Ellis, Rondo being shopped
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
Notes from around the NBA: February 29, 2012
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
Notes from around the NBA: February 28, 2012
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
Notes from around the NBA: February 25, 2012
Adrian Wojnarowski: The China Basketball Association has refused to give Wilson Chandler a letter of clearance to play immediately in NBA, sources tell Yahoo! Twitter Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose has secured one of the richest shoe endorsement deals in history, a package that could pay him more than $200 million across the remainder of his career, a source told Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo! Sports Nash’s eighth All-Star trip at age 38 is remarkable as the oldest All-Star point guard — ever. But with a 14-20 Suns team, the