All-Star weekend and the Garden
//Recent performances at the Garden have cemented its reputation as the greatest basketball court in the world. There is little question that every player in the NBA would welcome a move to NY at some point in their career. The question however is whether a free agent is willing to leave 30 million dollars on the table in a max contract with their native club? Solution? Do the Vince! Get your native team to max you out, start telling your opponent what plays you are running, get your mom a plush parking spot with the players, fly into the country just before tip-off of the biggest playoff game of your team’s existence, and then force a trade by not trying anymore.
The difference between Coaches K and D is pretty enormous. Duke plays with a discipline which allows it to compete on any night with any team. It has been proven in recent Olympics, that some of those international teams must be taken seriously, and any USA team will require that discipline. If Lebron and Bosh are in New York in 2010 and win a title… maybe.
In order to truly gauge Vince’s value, you need only speak to the fans in Toronto. He has also been voted as the most over-rated player in the league, by his peers. It is surprising that the Spurs would be interested in Vince, especially for the playoffs?
Could Shaq finish the season with the Lakers? If he did, they would win the title. The real question however is how things in Phoneix have gotten so bad so fast… that everybody wants out? Is it Porter? Is it Kerr? Maybe it’s Nash?
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Sounding like a man with a plan, LeBron James hopes to join forces with fellow All-Star Chris Bosh when the pair become free agents in 2010. The only question is, where? Friday, James didn’t exactly disagree with the idea that he and Bosh could wind up in New York. “I would definitely love to play with Chris Bosh,” James said during the Eastern Conference All-Star team’s media session. “Being around him last summer (in the Olympics), I got to see how smart he is. His basketball IQ is unbelievable. He’s a very, very good player.” NY Daily News
“I don’t know. … I don’t know,” James said, chuckling, when asked about a scenario that would bring him and Bosh to the Garden. “I’m very happy with the team I’m on right now. We’re playing great basketball. The Cavaliers have been great to me. So I have no reason to even think about leaving, right at this point.” NY Daily News
U.S. basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo told The Post David Lee is on his radar as a 2012 Olympian and said Mike D’Antoni would be considered as Team USA head coach if Duke’s Mike Krzyzewkski passes. Colangelo said Lee likely will be invited this July to Las Vegas after summer league as part of a 24-player pool of young standouts “to keep the pipeline going.” Colangelo will select from that young group a roster for the 2010 World Championships. NY Post
The Pistons are among a handful of teams interested in acquiring All-Star Amare Stoudemire from Phoenix, which is asking for at least one expiring contract. Detroit can deliver Rasheed Wallace and his $13.68 million contract that comes off the books this summer. Michigan Live
What’s somewhat surprising, though, according to league sources, is that the leading team in the hunt to acquire Carter is one that would not seem to be a natural fit: San Antonio. “They would have to package a lot of salaries,” an Eastern Conference team official said. “But as long as they don’t have to give up any of their Big Three (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker), it seems like that’s the most likely spot for Vince.” Sporting News
According to various league officials and player agents at the scene, the Nets have spoken to numerous teams to gauge Carter’s value, but the most likely scenario — as of Friday night — was a complicated 4-for-1 deal with San Antonio that would bring back two young pieces and two players the Nets would probably let go. In this scenario, which was reported last Friday on NJ.com, sharp-shooter Roger Mason and rookie point guard George Hill would come to New Jersey, along with center Fabricio Oberto and Bruce Bowen. Newark Star-Ledger
The NBA’s Rules and Competition Committee met Friday and approved a rule change that would disallow baskets if it was determined after the play that the team scoring the basket had six men on the court, CBSSports.com has learned. The NBA Board of Governors will vote on the recommendation next week, and if approved by owners, the rule will be implemented for the rest of this season. CBS Sports
The change was brought to the attention of the committee – comprised of current and former general managers, coaches, and players – in response to a game Dec. 30 in which Portland scored a basket with six men on the court against Boston. Under the old rule, the referees were permitted to assess a technical foul, but couldn’t disallow the basket. The technical foul will still be assessed, but any points scored while the extra man was on the court will be taken off the scoreboard. CBS Sports
Amare Stoudemire thinks he is going to be traded. But he can’t be 100 percent sure. “I would say it’s 60-40,” Stoudemire said Friday afternoon. “Who knows? They might keep me.” Stoudemire wore a mischievous smile as he spoke of the Suns keeping him, seeming to indicate that he’d be pretty surprised if he were not moved by Thursday’s trading deadline. Sporting News
But, later, Stoudemire explained that the Suns’ choice of direction did not make sense to him. “I don’t understand it,” he said. “They’re doing this because they want to fix the team. So you’re talking about trading a young All-Star big man. How is that rebuilding? There seems to be two different directions here. Is it about money? Or is it about making the team better?” Sporting News
In Toronto, the Raptors repeatedly have denied that they’d consider trading big man Chris Bosh. But, Bosh says, he is well aware of the chatter. “Of course you hear things,” Bosh said. “But I like talking about basketball. I don’t like talking about trades and free agency and all of that. I am just not interested.” Sporting News
Amare Stoudemire’s agent: “I feel he’s a (maximum-salary) player,” Grantham said. “A place that may be a real good deal for them may not be the best place for us. In that case, we would not be interested in signing an extension. I would think most teams would not want to rent him for a year and a half. They would want him to sign for more years and know that he’s interested in staying.” Arlington Heights Daily Herald
When told of Jackson’s comments, O’Neal laughed heartily and said, “He’s right,” then sent another compliment Jackson’s way. “He (Jackson) was great. He let us do what we did. His thing was, we’re winning and we won the championship, so he’s not going to mess with it. That’s what it was about.” There is a chance of course, this is just another marketing campaign. Or, that Jackson was a bit weary from the Lakers’ recent travels. He was never wild about the idea of having to be part of the party during this four-day break, after all. LA Daily News
Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant scored a Rookie Challenge-record 46 points to lead the NBA’s sophomores to a 122-116 victory over the rookies on Friday night. Durant shattered the record of 36 set by Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire as a sophomore in 2004. Durant helped hold off a late charge by the rookies with a three-point play, an emphatic dunk and two free throws in the final minutes. AP/San Francisco Chronicle
A 17-point play in a boys basketball game in Sacramento was erased this week after the league heard an appeal and agreed that the referees in the game had assessed too many technical fouls and awarded too many free throws. Ahead by 5 points in the game’s final seconds, Bella Vista High School appeared to have the game won. But a flagrant foul on a player from Rio Americano High School with 12.3 seconds left sent players and coaches from both teams’ benches onto the floor. NY Times