No tears. No fuss. No regrets.No more pain. That’s his main deal."The
Kings need to do whatever they can to help the team win," said Evans,
who played Monday after missing 11 games with soreness in his left knee.
"I just want to go out there and play every night. That visit to
(Lombardo)? That let me know that I wasn’t totally wrong. I just need to
get treated right. That was pretty much it."These next several
weeks will be interesting. Kings officials have no intention of trading
center DeMarcus Cousins despite rampant speculation to the contrary.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/09/5101590/ailene-voisin-evans-future-is.html

For proof, let’s read between the lines.

Doug Collins rarely goes a day without reiterating one simple fact: The 76ers’ coach has been brought here to evaluate talent, to decide which players are prepared for the journey ahead.

So let’s forget the team’s record, which is quite bad. Let’s forget the roster’s salary, which is quite high. Let’s forget the remaining sliver of hope which keeps some believing that by season’s end this squad – in its current incarnation – will be transformed into a playoff team.

And let’s state the truth without pump-faking or jab-stepping: The Sixers are reassembling, which is the NBA’s version of rebuilding.

You probably knew that. But there’s a chance you didn’t.

You’ve likely read the multitude of quotes from Collins commenting on his search for the right mix of guys, for the secret recipe that will produce the gourmet meal.

But when your ingredients are brown sugar and pickles, there is no gourmet meal. You might come up with a funky appetizer that a few people find interesting, but it’ll never be satisfying.

"I mean, I’m being ultra-positive. I don’t know what else I can do," Collins said after Friday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks. "I’m ultra-positive: ‘Let’s go, let’s do our jobs,’ and stuff like that. But if we’re going to judge ourselves after nine games, I mean, I would think that that wouldn’t happen."

Collins is smart enough and in tune with this challenge that he might get the Sixers to make a push, get them to 35 wins, but this season will not be a winning one.

Which brings us back to the opening premise: It’s time.

Let’s continue reading between the lines.

Iguodala has not formally requested a trade, and the Sixers are not actively trying to deal him. There is no "For Sale" sign in front of Iguodala, but the Sixers would listen if you fell in love with the place and knocked on the door anyway.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20101114_Inside_the_Sixers___The_time_to_deal_Iguodala_is_now.html

"That was actually an easier pass than a lot of the others,” Kidd said.

Yeah, the nerve of him. One turnover on a night when he had 18 assists.

Kidd wasn’t happy about that one miscue, but an 18-to-1 assist/turnover ratio puts Kidd on a record-setting pace, no doubt. He was masterful throughout the night during the Mavericks’ 101-86 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.

More importantly, he played less than 32 minutes, a number that should suit him well in his 17th NBA season.

"If I’m playing 31 minutes and we win, maybe we should have tried that a long time ago,” he said.

Meanwhile, Brendan Haywood said he’s adjusting to the notion of coming off the bench, with Tyson Chandler getting the start, in part because coach Rick Carlisle likes the way Chandler interacts with the first team.

http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/10/kidd-miffed-haywood-adjusting.html

It all seems to be part of a controversial marketing strategy that has been rolled out over the past week.

It culminated, at least for the moment, on Tuesday when ESPN announced it had made a deal with James to air his free-agent choice during a prime-time special from an as-yet-undisclosed location starting at 9 p.m. Thursday.

But that is only a part of some moves James has made that suddenly seem to be coordinated to increase his already large profile. They also cry out that James is changing, though the extent is not yet clear. But there is no stopping in sight. "

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/07/espn_reports_lebron_james_will.html

-Several NBA sources said over the weekend that the Warriors and
Minnesota are no longer having trade discussions about Anthony Randolph
heading to the Timberwolves.

“Not happening,” one league source said. “Dead.”

It’s unclear how serious the two teams ever got–ESPN.com first reported the talks earlier this month. And I’d heard for a while that Minnesota was very interested in adding Randolph in an effort to change-up their front-line chemistry and that, at the very least, the Warriors would listen.

It’s not out of the question that the Warriors could explore moving Randolph again, whether it’s to Minnesota or to another interested team.

But one source said that Warriors GM Larry Riley is telling the truth about being inundated with is-Randolph-available? calls from other teams once word broke about the talks with Minnesota.

As pointed out earlier, it’s also likely that the Warriors’ sale situation tangles every major trade discussion–how can Riley make a deal involving a potentially huge piece of the future without knowing what the next owner wants?

Conclusion: If so many teams want Randolph, Riley rightly doesn’t want to be known as the GM who traded such a valuable property a year or two before Randolph could potentially bloom into one of the most versatile big men in the league.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2010/06/20/warriors-minnesota-cool-off-randolph-trade-talks/

Baylor big man Ekpe Udoh — listed at 6-foot-10, 240 pounds — highlighted
a sextet of NBA draft candidates who worked out for the Warriors on
Saturday at the team’s Oakland practice facility, including Marshall
center Hassan Whiteside and Butler swingman Gordon Hayward.

Udoh might be considered a reach for the Warriors, who are drafting at No. 6. But the athletic big man said his game fits because he loves defense and runs the floor.

"I would love to be here," said Udoh, who averaged 9.8 rebounds and 3.7 blocks for Baylor last season.

If Randolph is gone, a spot would open up for another small forward. Reports have surfaced about the Warriors talking to Minnesota about a trade involving Randolph, the Timberwolves’ No. 4 pick and maybe one of Minnesota’s big men, Al Jefferson or Kevin Love.

General manager Larry Riley would not confirm or deny trade rumors, per team policy.

"My position all along on Randolph is that we aren’t trading him unless there is a really good player on the other end," Riley said. "Every time my phone starts ringing, people start asking about him. What does that tell you? I’m not rushing to make any rash decisions. But it’s my job to listen."

Riley said interest in the Warriors’ pick falls short of "solid." Because of that, he said, it appears the Warriors will use the No. 6 pick, though he acknowledged plenty discussions are still to come.

If Golden State uses its pick, Udoh is hoping he’s the guy. He said he’s had conversations and dinner with the Warriors staff. He’s been projected to go as high as No. 8 and as low as No. 16, depending on the online mock draft. But if the Warriors miss out on all the top prospects, as is expected, they may be left with choosing from the best of the second tier.

Udoh is a fit in the obvious areas. He blocks shots, plays defense and can run the floor. And while in most cases it is a knock for him to be 23 and four years removed from high school, he sees it as a sign of his readiness that he has three years of college experience under his belt. (He sat out a year after transferring from Michigan to Baylor.)

If Udoh — whose offensive game is still raw — impresses the Warriors enough, it isn’t unfathomable they could take him. It’s also possible the Warriors could trade down and draft him later at a better value.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/warriors/ci_15237031

The Portland Trail Blazers had a difficult decision to make a few years
ago when they had the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft: Should they take
Greg Oden or Kevin Durant?

After making Oden the top pick that year, the Blazers now have another
tough decision. For how long, and for how much, are they willing to
invest in Oden?

After two major injuries have limited the former Ohio State star to just 82 games over three seasons, it could be prudent to ask if Oden will ever be the player the Blazers — and everybody else in the league, for that matter — thought he would be. And if he is not, how long do the Blazers disillusion themselves into thinking he will be?

After all, these are not mundane injuries that Oden has suffered. He played zero games his first year in the league because he had microfracture surgery on his right knee. In his second season, Oden sustained a foot injury in his first game that kept him out for two weeks, then chipped his kneecap when he collided with Golden State’s Corey Maggette. He appeared in 61 games overall.

And just as Oden was beginning to play this season at the level the Blazers anticipated, he broke that left kneecap without even getting hit on Dec. 5 against Houston. He is expecting to miss the rest of the season (though Oden said last week that he hoped to return for the playoffs).

It appears as if Oden is a bust, the calamity of untimely injuries derailing his career before it even got started, the second coming of Sam Bowie, whose body betrayed him — and the Blazers — in the same fashion in the ’80s. But the Blazers don’t view Oden as the next Bowie, the player taken ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft, a time when Portland already had Clyde Drexler and did not want to duplicate the position.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/frank_hughes/03/12/oden/index.html

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Hawks believe Zydrunas Ilgauskas eventually will re-sign with Cleveland when he’s eligible to do so.

But the Hawks, unlike some other suitors for Ilgauskas, are not giving up hope. If Ilgauskas decides to play for another team, the Hawks feel they have the best shot at landing him, a person familiar with situation said on Monday.

The person said Ilgauskas is “leaning towards” re-signing with the Cavaliers after they traded him and then the Wizards subsequently released him. Ilgauskas officially cleared waivers on Monday.

Ilgauskas’ agent, Herb Rudoy, has said Ilgauskas wasn’t happy with the trade but his emotional ties to the Cavaliers make it a “very complicated decision” for the 7-foot-3 center. But Rudoy told the Akron Beacon Journal on Monday that a thumb injury suffered by Cleveland center Shaquille O’Neal would impact Ilgauskas’ decision “based on his loyalty and affection for his teammates.”

O’Neal is expected to miss six to eight weeks. Ilgauskas is eligible to re-sign with Cleveland on March 21.

A person familiar with the Hawks’ plans said if they don’t sign Ilgauskas, they would not pursue any other free agents for the 14th roster spot, barring an injury. Veterans waived on Monday (the final day for them to retain playoff eligibility) included Mark Blount, Michael Finley, Mike James and Travis Diener.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks/hawks-still-hopeful-on-340280.html