The five most interesting stories, rumors and notes in the NBA:
1. Hoisted with their own petard: Remember the summer of 2010, when rumors were flying about Chris Paul wanting to be traded, and the Blazers were mentioned as a team making a run at him?
If that trade had come off, Portland fans today would be having the headache that New Orleans fans are suffering.
Chatter is everywhere in the NBA about Paul, the Hornets' All-Star point guard who has a player option for 2012-13, meaning he could become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Obviously, the Hornets will try to sign him to an extension as soon as a new collective bargaining agreement kicks in. But if Paul does not sign an extension -- considering the team's ownership uncertainty, would you? -- New Orleans would be forced to shop him during the season, or it would risk letting him go and getting nothing in return.
The Hornets' season could become the kind of unpleasant, morose exercise the Nuggets' 2010-11 turned into, with everyone waiting for the inevitable trade of Carmelo Anthony. The league, in fact, tried to institute what many called a "Carmelo Anthony rule" that barred extend-and-trades. But players resisted, and it is not in the agreed-upon CBA.
A player in Paul's situation (that will include Magic center Dwight Howard and Nets point guard Deron Williams this season) can basically dictate where he goes by making clear what teams he would be willing to sign an extension with. No team's executives, in their right minds, would give up assets for a player if they know he will just leave at the end of the season.
So where might Paul end up? ESPN's Chris Broussard reports that Paul would be willing to sign an extension with the Knicks or Clippers. Broussard writes that a deal with Oklahoma City involving Russell Westbrook might be possible, although the chances of Paul signing with the small-market Thunder are slim.
What makes all this so complicated is that the Hornets are owned by the league, which took over from George Shinn last December. The league continues to try to find a buyer, preferably one who would leave the team in New Orleans.
Awkward? You bet. Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix concluded on Twitter: "I've been told any deal involving [Paul] is unlikely as long as the NBA is the de facto owner of the Hornets. They don't want that PR mess."
Also, Paul is a member of the players union's executive committee and might not be in the mood to do the league any favors.
What a mess -- and it would have been Portland's if the Blazers had pulled off that trade in 2010.
2. Legal steps ongoing: Lest we forget, the lockout is still on, and the two sides are going through the legal processes to officially end it.
On Monday, the players sent a letter asking a Minnesota judge to hold off court proceedings on the players' antitrust lawsuit. At some point this week, the National Basketball Players Association will be officially re-formed.
The first sign will surely be that the organization's website will go back on line. When the union filed a disclaimer of interest, nbpa.org turned a plain-white page with the words, "Error 404: Basketball Not Found" on it.
Meanwhile, some of the exhibition games that had been planned are being cancelled, including Jamal Crawford's Dec. 15 game in Seattle. That one would have featured LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy.
3. NBA's most wanted: This year's free agent class isn't close to the one from 2009, and depending on what happens with trades, probably won't be close to next summer's, either.
If there's one player most consider the top of this year's class, it's Nene, who played all nine of his NBA seasons for the Nuggets. He's never been an All-Star, but he's had solid seasons, and in 2010-11 he averaged 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds and shot 61 percent from the field.
Should the Nuggets open their purse strings and re-sign the 6-11 center? The Denver Post's Mark Kiszla says no, writing:
Nene is a solid basketball piece. Denver coach George Karl would miss Nene if the Nuggets let him go and fail to reinvest the money they have pocketed to upgrade the roster in some meaningful way.
But here's the bottom line: While his statistics are easy on the eyes, anybody with basketball savvy can see Nene is not a money player.
1. Hoisted with their own petard: Remember the summer of 2010, when rumors were flying about Chris Paul wanting to be traded, and the Blazers were mentioned as a team making a run at him?
If that trade had come off, Portland fans today would be having the headache that New Orleans fans are suffering.
Chatter is everywhere in the NBA about Paul, the Hornets' All-Star point guard who has a player option for 2012-13, meaning he could become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Obviously, the Hornets will try to sign him to an extension as soon as a new collective bargaining agreement kicks in. But if Paul does not sign an extension -- considering the team's ownership uncertainty, would you? -- New Orleans would be forced to shop him during the season, or it would risk letting him go and getting nothing in return.
The Hornets' season could become the kind of unpleasant, morose exercise the Nuggets' 2010-11 turned into, with everyone waiting for the inevitable trade of Carmelo Anthony. The league, in fact, tried to institute what many called a "Carmelo Anthony rule" that barred extend-and-trades. But players resisted, and it is not in the agreed-upon CBA.
A player in Paul's situation (that will include Magic center Dwight Howard and Nets point guard Deron Williams this season) can basically dictate where he goes by making clear what teams he would be willing to sign an extension with. No team's executives, in their right minds, would give up assets for a player if they know he will just leave at the end of the season.
So where might Paul end up? ESPN's Chris Broussard reports that Paul would be willing to sign an extension with the Knicks or Clippers. Broussard writes that a deal with Oklahoma City involving Russell Westbrook might be possible, although the chances of Paul signing with the small-market Thunder are slim.
What makes all this so complicated is that the Hornets are owned by the league, which took over from George Shinn last December. The league continues to try to find a buyer, preferably one who would leave the team in New Orleans.
Awkward? You bet. Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix concluded on Twitter: "I've been told any deal involving [Paul] is unlikely as long as the NBA is the de facto owner of the Hornets. They don't want that PR mess."
Also, Paul is a member of the players union's executive committee and might not be in the mood to do the league any favors.
What a mess -- and it would have been Portland's if the Blazers had pulled off that trade in 2010.
2. Legal steps ongoing: Lest we forget, the lockout is still on, and the two sides are going through the legal processes to officially end it.
On Monday, the players sent a letter asking a Minnesota judge to hold off court proceedings on the players' antitrust lawsuit. At some point this week, the National Basketball Players Association will be officially re-formed.
The first sign will surely be that the organization's website will go back on line. When the union filed a disclaimer of interest, nbpa.org turned a plain-white page with the words, "Error 404: Basketball Not Found" on it.
Meanwhile, some of the exhibition games that had been planned are being cancelled, including Jamal Crawford's Dec. 15 game in Seattle. That one would have featured LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy.
3. NBA's most wanted: This year's free agent class isn't close to the one from 2009, and depending on what happens with trades, probably won't be close to next summer's, either.
If there's one player most consider the top of this year's class, it's Nene, who played all nine of his NBA seasons for the Nuggets. He's never been an All-Star, but he's had solid seasons, and in 2010-11 he averaged 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds and shot 61 percent from the field.
Should the Nuggets open their purse strings and re-sign the 6-11 center? The Denver Post's Mark Kiszla says no, writing:
Nene is a solid basketball piece. Denver coach George Karl would miss Nene if the Nuggets let him go and fail to reinvest the money they have pocketed to upgrade the roster in some meaningful way.
But here's the bottom line: While his statistics are easy on the eyes, anybody with basketball savvy can see Nene is not a money player.
In an interview with Yahoo's Marc Spears, Nene seems to suggest he wants to leave Denver, expressing some bitterness about not being given an extension while he was patient with the team during the Anthony turmoil.
If the Nuggets don't keep Nene, where might he go? The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice writes that the Rockets are "going all out" to sign Nene. CBSSports.com's Ken Berger adds that Golden State, New Jersey, Indiana, Miami and Dallas also are interested. Spears has those teams and adds the Clippers and Blazers as possible suitors.
If the Nuggets don't keep Nene, where might he go? The Houston Chronicle's Richard Justice writes that the Rockets are "going all out" to sign Nene. CBSSports.com's Ken Berger adds that Golden State, New Jersey, Indiana, Miami and Dallas also are interested. Spears has those teams and adds the Clippers and Blazers as possible suitors.
4. All that Jazz: As I wrote yesterday, the Blazers are in serious need of big men. Utah has the opposite problem -- an unbalanced roster with too many post players.
The Jazz already had Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and Mehmet Okur (although Okur was injured most of last season) when they got Derrick Favors from New Jersey in the Deron Williams deal. They also drafted 6-11 Enes Kanter.
ESPN's Broussard reports that Utah is shopping Millsap and Jefferson. The Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz believes that Millsap would be a perfect fit with the Pacers, who have ton of salary cap space to use.
The Deseret News' Jody Genessy notes the Pacers director of player personnel, Kevin Pritchard, once made a "toxic" offer to Millsap when he was a restricted free agent and Pritchard was the Blazers' GM.
5. We're all alone, we're all alone: There's great news if you love preseason NBA basketball. But if you're in the other 99.9999 percent ... meh.
The New York Times' Howard Beck reports that the league has decided to have each team play two exhibition games, one home and the other away, against the same team. The games will probably occur from Dec. 17 to 24.
The point of the games? I supposed there's a basketball component of getting players some live action before games that count start. But let's face it, teams have lost a lot of money with a shortened schedule, and playing these games will generate a little make-back revenue.
Wouldn't it be nice, though, if the owners bit the bullet and opened these games up for free?
Beck writes that the pairings will be made regionally, with obvious partners such as the Nets-Knicks, Lakers-Clippers and Magic-Heat.
Where does that leave the Blazers? No team is more geographically isolated than Portland, with the Grizzlies and Sonics having abandoned the Pacific Northwest.
The Jazz already had Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and Mehmet Okur (although Okur was injured most of last season) when they got Derrick Favors from New Jersey in the Deron Williams deal. They also drafted 6-11 Enes Kanter.
ESPN's Broussard reports that Utah is shopping Millsap and Jefferson. The Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz believes that Millsap would be a perfect fit with the Pacers, who have ton of salary cap space to use.
The Deseret News' Jody Genessy notes the Pacers director of player personnel, Kevin Pritchard, once made a "toxic" offer to Millsap when he was a restricted free agent and Pritchard was the Blazers' GM.
5. We're all alone, we're all alone: There's great news if you love preseason NBA basketball. But if you're in the other 99.9999 percent ... meh.
The New York Times' Howard Beck reports that the league has decided to have each team play two exhibition games, one home and the other away, against the same team. The games will probably occur from Dec. 17 to 24.
The point of the games? I supposed there's a basketball component of getting players some live action before games that count start. But let's face it, teams have lost a lot of money with a shortened schedule, and playing these games will generate a little make-back revenue.
Wouldn't it be nice, though, if the owners bit the bullet and opened these games up for free?
Beck writes that the pairings will be made regionally, with obvious partners such as the Nets-Knicks, Lakers-Clippers and Magic-Heat.
Where does that leave the Blazers? No team is more geographically isolated than Portland, with the Grizzlies and Sonics having abandoned the Pacific Northwest.
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