Originally Posted by
Bigmike23
A select few of Knicks fans this week said they'd prefer Wade because of it.
we all know the knick fan base is a bunch of dumb %#+!$+$ idiots tho
just look at those trade offers they come up with
COUGH
%%$!$.
http:// [h3]Cap won't drop so much?[/h3]
10:31AM ET
[h5]2010-11 NBA Salary Cap[/h5]
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[img]http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2007/0720/nba_logo_65.jpg[/img]
ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan spoke to a few teams about the salary cap number for next season and wrote the following:
"The
Miami Heat are the most conservative in their estimates, basing their planning for next summer's cap at $52 million. The
New York Knicks are using $53 million as their operating number, and the
New Jersey Nets are being the most optimistic, expecting the cap to come in between $54 and $55 million. The league office told teams at the Board of Governors meeting on the eve of the season opener to expect the cap to come in somewhere around the $52 million range, but agents who have been briefed on updated financial receipt figures now are using $54 million as their operating number."
http:// [h3]Lee playing his way out of New York?[/h3]
10:16AM ET
[h5]David Lee |
Knicks[/h5]
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The Knicks want to keep
David Lee and sign a top-flight free agent next summer, but they may not be able to do that. Lee is playing so well it's a possibility the Knicks won't have enough money under the cap to keep him.
Lee wants to stay with the Knicks if the money from them and another team is close.
"All I can do is keep coming out, competing and showing if they decide to move forward and a sign a guy like me, they're going to get the best effort every time I get out here," Lee told the
New York Post. "That's all I'm trying to do. So no matter where I end up, you know I'm going to come out and compete and get better and better each year."
http:// [h3]Chandler out at least a week[/h3]
10:14AM ET
[h5]Tyson Chandler |
Bobcats[/h5]
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The Charlotte Observer reports:
"The
Charlotte Bobcats have lost center
Tyson Chandler for at least a week to a stress reaction in his left foot. A magnetic resonance imaging revealed the injury Wednesday, after Chandler left Tuesday's victory against the
Detroit Pistons in the second half. The injury is in the fourth metatarsal, the bone supporting the toe second from the outside of Chandler's foot."
http:// [h3]C's will stand pat[/h3]
10:06AM ET
[h5]Boston Celtics[/h5]
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Paul Pierce may be out two weeks, but the Celtics won't make a roster move. Owner Wyc Grousbeck says the Celtics aren't going to release a player to sign another one because they already have 15 players on the roster.
"We've got a roster of 15 players. We're not going to be cutting anybody," Grousbeck told
The Boston Globe. "We don't have any open roster spots. We've got guys to practice. I'm glad to see
Tony Allen's playing very well and we'll have to have people like Tony to step it up."
http:// [h3]T's reduced, but Sheed still not happy[/h3]
10:00AM ET
[h5]Rasheed Wallace |
Celtics[/h5]
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Rasheed Wallace had his technical fouls reduced to nine after he successfully appealed one from a game at Miami last month.
"No, I'm not happy," Wallace told
The Boston Globe. "Because there are still some more that, hopefully, they can look at. That was the only one we were talking about and that one got rescinded that fast because of the referee [Bennett Salvatore]. As for the outcome of the others, I know it won't be no time soon because of the simple fact it's on the backburner because of the [collective bargaining agreement] meetings and all that stuff. So I'm not worried about it, yet."
http:// [h3]Magic in T-Mac's future?[/h3]
9:32AM ET
[h5]Tracy McGrady |
Rockets[/h5]
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=532Tracy McGrady will be a free agent next July. His preference is to re-sign with Houston, but he has not ruled out a return to Orlando. His main goal is to play for a winning team.
"If I was to come back, I was going to rent out (cousin
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=136Vince Carter's) guest house," McGrady told the
Houston Chronicle. "It is good to see him home, to keep the family in a Magic uniform. A lot of great memories here. The four years I played here were unbelievable years, some great games, great nights, a lot of memories I'll never forget."
"I'm excited about becoming a free agent, very excited about that," McGrady said. "It's a time in my career it's all about winning. Stats and all that stuff don't really matter to me. I'm all about trying to get a chance to win a championship. My first option is definitely Houston over any team. Houston is where I want to be. My wife and kids love it there. It's home for us. But you can't ever rule out coming back."
http:// [h3]Why Kobe is better than LeBron[/h3]
9:31AM ET
[h5]Kobe Bryant |
Lakers[/h5]
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Yesterday
David Thorpe of Scouts Inc. wrote why
LeBron James today is better than
Kobe Bryant.
Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News disagrees with Thorpe and wrote the following today:
"Don't believe the hype or numbers. Kobe Bryant is the best player in basketball and no one, not even LeBron James, comes close. ... One Eastern Conference scout said there's no comparison between Bryant and James, noting the difference in how they perform in the clutch. Bryant has numerous game-winners, while James has a handful. 'Kobe is a killer, and to be that, you must be selfish,' the scout said. 'Kobe has a level of arrogance that he doesn't give a (darn) what anyone thinks. LeBron has always had to share, ever since his childhood. It's not in him to be selfish. Whatever that 'it' is, Kobe has it and LeBron doesn't yet. (James) can get to a point where he's dangerous, but to Kobe's level? I don't think so.' "
http:// [h3]Good news for Griffin[/h3]
9:16AM ET
[h5]Blake Griffin |
Clippers[/h5]
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The
Los Angeles Times reports
Blake Griffin received medical clearance Wednesday, which will allow him to run on an anti-gravity treadmill.
If all goes according to plan, Griffin will be cleared to resume basketball-related activities in three weeks.
http:// [h3]Kobe next?[/h3]
9:08AM ET
[h5]Kobe Bryant |
Lakers[/h5]
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Now that
Pau Gasol has inked his extension with the Lakers, is
Kobe Bryant far behind.
"We continue to have dialogue with Kobe and his representative," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told the
Los Angeles Times. "I do anticipate continued discussions."
http:// [h3]Love wanted Curry[/h3]
8:49AM ET
[h5]Stephen Curry |
Warriors[/h5]
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The Timberwolves passed on
Stephen Curry twice in the 2009 NBA draft.
Kevin Love, according to the
San Francisco Chronicle, went on the Dan Patrick radio show Wednesday and said he wishes they had drafted Curry.
"I will tell you why that (would have been) a good pick, too," Love said. "We are toward the last spot in three-point percentage in the league, and he would have just been great in the triangle.
"He would have been dynamite coming off screens and shooting that three ball. I love his game."
http:// [h3]Blazers seek another exemption[/h3]
8:25AM ET
[h5]Portland Trail Blazers[/h5]
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The injury ravaged Blazers were granted the ability to sign a 16th player when
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=3225Greg Oden was lost for the season. They will ask the league again for that exemption now that
Joel Przybilla is in all probability done for the year, too.
Tom Penn, vice president of basketball operations, told
The Oregonian the team must wait until Przybilla has missed three games to ask for the exemption.
Pryzbilla will undergo a full examination today to determine the extent of the injuries to the knee and a timetable for his return.
http:// [h3]Brand's frustration growing[/h3]
8:04AM ET
[h5]Elton Brand |
76ers[/h5]
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Elton Brand is not happy these days for several reasaons. First, he's not starting. Second, the team continues to have slow starts to begin games. Third, he believs some of teamamtes,
Marreese Speights for one, are playing even though they make a lot of mistakes.
"It's happening every night," Brand told
The Intelligencer. "We have to fight and claw back to get a lead. It's tough playing like that."
"Certain guys got a longer leash than others, so they played longer and the mistakes were shown," he said. "No one should be on a long leash if you don't box out, don't rebound or play 'D'. You shouldn't be out there."
Brand also said, "when Speights gets the ball you know he isn't going to pass. He doesn't pass."
http:// [h3]Brutal setback for Marks[/h3]
7:21AM ET
[h5]Sean Marks |
Hornets[/h5]
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Sean Marks has been out with a sore right shoulder. He was hoping to come back in the next few days, but that won't happen after he strained the plantaris muscle in his leg. He will be sidelined for an indefinite period.
"This is not one of the best days that I've had," Marks told
The Times-Picayune. "It's a strange little muscle, which is great, but Mark (Cranston, Hornets' director of athletic performance and rehabilitation) said, 'What do you want, the good news or the bad news?
"'The good news is it's an insignificant muscle, not your gastroc (gastrocnemius) or one of your main muscles in your calf, the bad news is you're going to be out.' I'm going to see the doc, but it's real painful walking around on it right now. It's just really frustrating. Brutal. I was feeling great, itching to get back on the court. Having practiced the last few days with the guys, now this setback is brutal. You feel you're letting them down, everybody down. These last two years have been pretty tough."
http:// [h3]Why Del Negro's job is safe this season[/h3]
6:29AM ET
[h5]Vinny Del Negro |
Bulls[/h5]
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There is a lot of speculation about
Vinny Del Negro's immediate future with the Bulls. Mike McGraw of the
Daily Herald thinks Del Negro won't be around next summer and explains why he may not be fired.
McGraw writes: "No matter what happens the rest of the way, there is very little chance Del Negro is still the head coach next summer when the Bulls launch a free-agent quest for
Dwyane Wade,
Joe Johnson,
LeBron James and whomever else. This was the case even before the season started. The most important factor facing the Bulls right now isn't whether they can rebound to snag the seventh or eighth playoff seed. It's whether they can land one of those stellar free agents in 2010. So it's possible management is thinking, 'Why change coaches now if we're likely to do it again at the end of the season?' "
http:// [h3]Benching shocked Salmons[/h3]
6:18AM ET
[h5]John Salmons |
Bulls[/h5]
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Bulls coach
Vinny Del Negro was not happy how the Bulls were playing against the Knicks Tuesday, so he benched
John Salmons and
Brad Miller at the start of the second half. Salmons was shocked by Del Negro's decision.
"The first thing I had to do was put my pride to the side," Salmons told the
Chicago Sun-Times. "Now I just have to try to continue to focus on trying to help the team. It was a shock without a warning."
Now Salmons doesn't know if he'll start or become a backup.
"Nothing was told to me, so I don't know if it's permanent," Salmons told the
Chicago Tribune.
"It was said (Tuesday) that I'm pretty much the reason we're losing. I have to stay with it and hopefully help the team win. I haven't been playing up to my potential. It's something you got to deal with. We're losing, I haven't been playing well, I just got taken out of the starting lineup. So put two and two together."
http:// [h3]Pistons getting healthy[/h3]
6:01AM ET
[h5]Detroit Pistons[/h5]
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From
MLive.com:
"According to FSN Detroit sideline reporter Eli Zaret, the Pistons are about to get an injection of talent returning from injury. During a segment before the opening tip of the
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=detDetroit Pistons /
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=torToronto Raptors game on Wednesday evening Zaret said, 'The next time out, Sunday in Toronto,
Ben Gordon and
Richard Hamilton will be back and very likely,
Tayshaun Prince will be too.' The return of the three players would mark the first time this season that the Pistons would have a full roster."
http:// [h3]Can a Love-Jefferson tandem work?[/h3]
5:41AM ET
[h5]Minnesota Timberwolves[/h5]
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Kevin Love and
Al Jefferson are the starting PF and C combination. Both are natural PF's. Some think they can't play together and won't make the Wolves successful because the frontcourt is too small, but their head coach thinks it will work out.
"They'll get better together as time goes by," Wolves coach
Kurt Rambis told the
Star Tribune, "but when you compete against some of the elite teams, basically they're both power forwards. And you could argue they're on the small side of power forwards. They don't have the height or the length or athleticism that a lot of power forwards have in this league."
Rambis says the Wolves have to pass the ball and execute their offense.
"That's when we're at our best and lack of size doesn't seem to hurt us," he said. "It shows, and becomes glaring, when longer teams can reach right over the top of us to secure defensive rebounds. They don't even really have to jump. They just can get their hands on the ball. That's something our team will have to learn, how to block out."
http:// [h3]Nowitzki a MVP candidate?[/h3]
5:26AM ET
[h5]Dirk Nowitzki |
Mavericks[/h5]
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Dirk Nowitzki, as usual, is carrying the Mavs. He has kept the team in the playoff hunt, despite injuries to some of the key players.
Shawn Marion thinks Nowitzki should be a MVP candidate.
"He's having a hell of a year," Marion told
The Dallas Moring News. "When you're talking MVP, what do you determine it from? Wins? Right. Points? Yeah. So I guess he's got to be there.
"He's quietly doing what he does to take care of business. And there's nothing wrong with that."
http:// [h3]T-Mac wants more time[/h3]
5:03AM ET
[h5]Tracy McGrady |
Rockets[/h5]
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Tracy McGrady's knee is feeling fine he says. He is limited to 8 minutes a game, but he wants to increase that.
"I just try to play my role, my little cameos I make," McGrady told the
Houston Chronicle. "Obviously they are looking out for my best interests, trying to monitor my minutes. At the same time, I feel it's time to really increase them. I think that's what's going to happen in the next few games.
"I feel right now, it's time to really increase the minutes. I think that's what's going to happen over the next couple games. I do know my body. I feel fine. It's time to start increasing. I was cool with the plan they had me on, but I think it's time to start increasing."