[h3]Alexander's future[/h3]
11:14AM ET
[h5]Joe Alexander |
Bucks[/h5]
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Joe Alexander hasn't played all season, but he's nearing a return from the hamstring injury that's sidelined this year.
Yet, he won't be coming back to the Bucks just yet; they've already signed
Jerry Stackhouse to take the spot of
Michael Redd, who is now out for the season with a knee injury.
Ridiculous Upside reports that Armstrong will be assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League. This by no means indicates Alexander won't be with the Bucks at some point this season, but if Alexander spends extended time with Fort Wayne, it may hurt his chances of ever grabbing an NBA contract again.
After being the eighth pick by the Bucks in the 2008 draft, the team turned down his rookie option for next year. If he's in the D-League the rest of the year, it may be harder to hook on with another team going forward.
http:// [h3]Milestone night for Duncan?[/h3]
11:11AM ET
[h5]Tim Duncan |
Spurs[/h5]
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If
Tim Duncan scores 15 points tonight he will become the 35th player in league history to score 20,000 points.
"It means I've been playing a long time. It means I'm old. It means I'm closer to the end than to the beginning," Duncan told the
San Antonio Express-News with a laugh. "It means a lot of things that are negative more than positive."
"It will mean something after I'm done. Right now, you're in the midst of things. It's hard to see it as an accomplishment or anything else."
http:// [h3]Nocioni for Tyrus Thomas?[/h3]
10:56AM ET
[h5]Andres Nocioni |
Kings[/h5]
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There is a lot of speculation about whether the Kings will trade
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2394http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2394Kevin Martin since many pundits don't think Martin and rookie
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=3983http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=3983Tyreke Evans can play together in the backcourt.
A Kings frontcourt player could also be on the move and we are not talking about
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=849http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=849Kenny Thomas.
The Kings have a plethora of small forwards and that will increase when
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2755http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2755Francisco Garcia returns in the near future. The player on the trade block and the most likely to be dealt is
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2456Andres Nocioni.
The Sacramento Bee thinks a deal sending Nocioni to Chicago for
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=3032http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=3032Tyrus Thomas bears watching since the Bulls still like Nocioni and Thomas has issues with his lack of playing time at power forward.
Yet, this deal makes little to no sense on the Bulls' end. Yes, they are open to trading Thomas, but not at the expense of taking back on salary, especially from a player of Nocioni's caliber. He's making $6 million the next two years with a team option of $7.5 million the year after that.
The Bulls are looking to unload Thomas and
Kirk Hinrich for expiring contracts to get further under the salary cap to be better equipped to perhaps make a run at both
LeBron James and
Chris Bosh this summer.
http:// [h3]Kobe to ink new deal?[/h3]
10:47AM ET
[h5]Kobe Bryant |
Lakers[/h5]
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Kobe Bryant is feeling good these days about the Lakers and the outlook for the future.
"I'm set up to have a good run here," Bryant told
Yahoo! Sports. "I've been very fortunate. I went through seven years of hell. Management decided that it was time to spend the money to bring in the players here."
Bryant could become a free agent this summer, but the Web site reports an extension could be signed by the All-Star break.
"It sends a positive [message] for him to re-sign with the team and continue to build on the group that we have,"
Pau Gasol said. "The window is pretty big. We have to make sure we take advantage of it. The organization is doing what it needs to keep the main pieces together, so we have a chance to win championships for a few years. How many years remains to be seen, but we've given ourselves a chance."
http:// [h3]Wright's bad luck?[/h3]
10:46AM ET
[h5]Dorell Wright |
Heat[/h5]
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The
Miami Heat can just get under the tax line if they trade
Dorell Wright by the Feb. 18 trade deadline. The team likes his talent, so they are conflicted about what they should do.
"It's just my luck my money matches what we are over the tax, Wright told
The Miami Herald. "I understand whatever Miami decides."
The Heat is about $2.81 million over the tax and would have to pay that to the NBA. They would get a rebate from the league for about $4.3 million if they get under the tax.
http:// [h3]No regrets for LeBron?[/h3]
9:32AM ET
[h5]LeBron James |
Cavaliers[/h5]
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Last year
LeBron James said he would participate in the 2010 dunk contest during All-Star weekend, but he decided against it. James has no regrets about going back on his word.
"I'm not a regretful guy," James told
The Plain Dealer.
"I'm not high on it," he told
The News-Herald. "It's an unbelievable event. All-Star Saturday is probably the biggest event we have. I'm glad for the participants who are in it. It's going to be really good. I'll give a lot of support to it."
http:// [h3]Celtics eye Nate Robinson?[/h3]
9:32AM ET
[h5]Nate Robinson |
Knicks[/h5]
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A reporter for Yahoo! Sports was a guest on a Boston radio show Tuesday and said the Celtics made an offer to the Knicks for
Nate Robinson.
A person close to Celtics head coach
Doc Rivers tells the New York
Daily News that Rivers wouldn't mind coaching Robinson, even if he's high-maintenance.
"Doc thinks he can connect with anybody," said the source.
http:// [h3]What will Iverson do?[/h3]
9:31AM ET
[h5]Allen Iverson |
76ers[/h5]
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Some don't think it's right that
Allen Iverson and
Tracy McGrady could be voted in as starters by the fans for the NBA All-Star game in Dallas, but Iverson doesn't care.
"It don't bother me at all," Iverson tells
The Philadelphia Inquirer. "If the fans want to see me, they want to see me."
So, will he play?
"That's an honor and a reward because without the fans there wouldn't be us," Iverson tells the
Philadelphia Daily News. "I think my situation is unique being that I haven't played as much as a lot of the other guys, but the fans want to see me play. That is a good feeling just to know that the people who support us ... want to see me play. That's a great feeling, but it's also a tribute to the teammates I've had and the coaches I have to help me get here."
http:// [h3]Twitter no more[/h3]
9:31AM ET
[h5]Deron Williams |
Jazz[/h5]
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From
The Salt Lake Tribune:
"
Deron Williams shut down his Twitter account (@D_will_8_4real) Tuesday, with Williams and his representatives at McClaren Sports focusing their efforts on the launch of deronwilliams.mobi. Williams is the first NBA athlete to work with a Plano, Texas, company that has developed technology compatible across all smartphone platforms. The hope is to expand the reach of deronwilliams.com to anyone with an Internet-enabled cell phone."
http:// [h3]Batum next to return?[/h3]
8:42AM ET
[h5]Nicolas Batum |
Trail Blazers[/h5]
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Nicolas Batum had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder on Oct. 30. He is traveling on the Blazers east coast swing and should return to the lineup next week.
"I'm ready to play right now, I'm good," Batum told
The Oregonian. "I'm in good shape, I can shoot pretty good. I don't know where I am in the game, because I don't play in the game right now, but I feel pretty good. We'll see next week."
Batum was the starting small forward for most of last season, but he'll be a backup when he returns.
"He'll come off the bench, certainly, and we'll go from there," Blazers head coach
Nate McMillan said. "We'll try to get him some minutes, maybe at power forward, maybe at small forward. We just have to slowly work him back into rotation and go from there."
http:// [h3]No underhand FT's for Biedrins[/h3]
8:04AM ET
[h5]Andris Biedrins |
Warriors[/h5]
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Andris Biedrins is a poor free throw shooter, but this season he has been really bad as he has only made 1-14 shots. He has terrible form and admits a lot of it is mental, but he won't try shooting them underhand like Rick Barry.
"I tried a couple times," Biedrins told
The Oakland Tribune, "but obviously there was no way it would work. ... I already don't have confidence on the line, so this thing would just kill my confidence, what I have left."
Last summer his national coaches from Latvia convinced him to change his form and that has been a disaster.
"Obviously that was my mistake," Biedrins said. "I never should have done that."
http:// [h3]Another 10 days for Martin?[/h3]
7:49AM ET
[h5]Cartier Martin |
Warriors[/h5]
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The Oakland Tribune reports the 10-day contract
Cartier Martin signed Jan. 10 expired Tuesday and Warriors head coach Don Nelson indicated the team will sign Martin to another 10-day deal.
http:// [h3]Evans sets return date[/h3]
6:09AM ET
[h5]Reggie Evans |
Raptors[/h5]
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Reggie Evans announced Tuesday that hopes to finally play Feb. 17, which is the Raptors first game after All-Star weekend.
Evans has been sidelined with ligament damage in his left foot.
"That's my goal, the game after all-star," Evans told the
Toronto Star. "My spirit's real high. My energy is getting there. ... But don't congratulate me just yet."
http:// [h3]Brooks better than Murphy?[/h3]
5:18AM ET
[h5]Aaron Brooks |
Rockets[/h5]
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The Rockets have had undersized guards in their past and the best of them, Calvin Murphy, believes
Aaron Brooks can be a better point guard than him.
"I don't think it's fair to him to put in a classification with me," Murphy tells the
Houston Chronicle. "That's not ego talking. I came in as point guard. Because of my ability to finish, I was moved to a two-guard. He has ability to be both. When they determine which, I would put him in anybody's class, mine, Nate Archibald's, anybody.
"I think he will be a great point guard. I was a real good point guard. I could never be a great point guard. My position was 'put the ball in the basket.' I was most comfortable with shooting. This young man can go anywhere he wants to go if they realize where they want him to be and help him work on it."
