Are Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson feuding over the Lakers’ recent struggles? Are the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls possibly trading for Kings sharpshooter Omri Casspi? How serious is the recent injury Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari sustained? Are the Mavericks looking to make a splash after learning Caron Butler may be out for the season?
I’ll examine these rumors and a couple more in today’s edition of “NBA Rumors” for January 3, 2011.
According to various reports, one of which I’ll cite below, the Kings are shopping Casspi and both the Bulls and Knicks have expressed interest in him for both his outstanding three-point shooting ability and his versatility on the defensive end. The Bulls have also been rumored to have an interest in Stephen Jackson or O.J. Mayo but maybe Casspi is a better long-term choice than either of them.
As far as Kobe is concerned, he apparently is upset with Jackson for making blunt, pointed comments regarding his attempts to take over last night’s game circa 2005 against the Grizzlies instead of working within the offense. Jackson appears to blame him for the loss and Bryant claims he doesn’t want to hear any “Zen BS”.
Where is Shaq to mediate when you need him?! You don’t want to fall even lower in the NBA Power Rankings do you, Mr. Bryant?
In other news, Amare Stoudemire had his recent technical rescinded by the league, which I find pretty amusing considering what it was handed out for in the first place. What do they expect? This isn’t pee-wee basketball here, Stern!
Here are the NBA rumors and news items I’m going to share below:
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Are the Knicks and Bulls after Omri Casspi?
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Are Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson feuding?
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Will Danilo Gallinari be out for long?
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Are the Mavericks looking to make a deal to replace Caron Butler?
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Amare Stoudemire had his technical rescinded - why is this important and what was it for?
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Did LeBron James destroy the integrity of the MVP award?
Let’s get started!
As usual, please click on the bold headlines to view each column in its entirety from the original source
(NOTE: To view the past five days of “NBA Rumors” please scroll to the bottom of this column.)
The Knicks and Bulls are apparently interested in Kings forward Omri Casspi. Via CBS Sports:
Reportedly the teams that have raised their hands in regards to Casspi are the Bulls and the Knicks. Chicago, who missed out on J.J. Redick this summer when Orlando matched on his restricted contract, has been intent on adding another shooter to the rotation. Kyle Korver obviously is a marksman, but he’s a one-dimensional marksman. Casspi, the Bulls believe, can be more of a well-rounded player that can defend, shoot and even create a little. The Knicks, who couldn’t seem to get Rudy Fernandez over the summer, would like Casspi for the same reasons. Good shooter, good scorer and a lengthy versatile defender. Honestly, the Knicks have a higher need, but because of the ever-complicated Carmelo Anthony situation, might balk at giving up any assets to seal the deal. As mentioned in the original report, there are hurdles to jump for any potential suitors though. The Maloof brothers love Casspi not just as a player but as a diplomat. Having Casspi, the first Israeli-born player ever in the NBA, broadens your fanbase immediately. That’s a nice perk on top of having a nice player. The Kings would likely attach a long-term contract to any deal involving Casspi who’s earning a slim $1.25 million this year. Naturally that could dismiss the Bulls and Knicks who likely want to hold on to cap space like grim death.
After their 104-85 loss to the Grizzlies at home on Sunday, both Bryant and Jackson let out some steam. “I just felt like we had no energy,” Bryant told the Los Angeles Times. “So I tried to generate some of that and just get us started, but we weren’t able to carry it through.” In trying to generate some offense, Bryant went on to take 12 of the team’s 22 shots in the third quarter. Needless to say, Jackson wasn’t happy with Bryant’s decision-making and selfishness. Picking up his fifth technical foul in his last six games didn’t help, either. “Kobe had to screw up the game and start energizing the team by going one-on-one,” Jackson said. “That takes the rest of the guys out and as a consequence, that didn’t bring us back in.” Jackson also believes that a recent day off is partially to blame for their latest loss. “One of the things about having a day off with this team is that they lose focus,” Jackson explained. “They had a day off [Saturday], and I’ll learn better from that.” Bryant disagrees. “We’ve had days off and blown teams out, so I’m not buying any of that Zen [expletive],” Bryant told Fox Sports. “I think we’re looking too far down the road instead of looking just at the game that’s right in front of you. You start skipping steps if you look too far down the line.”
How seriously was Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari injured last night? Via The New York Post:
While the Knicks await MRI exam results on Danilo Gallinari’s sprained left knee, Mike D’Antoni said he’ll start Ronny Turiaf against San Antonio on Tuesday at the Garden in his stead. The Italian Stallion is expected to miss his first game of the season, but the Knicks have no timetable on his return until the medical staff determines if there is any further damage to Gallinari’s knee. Sprained knees can often take one to two weeks to fully heal, which means Gallinari could be in danger of missing at least the first two games of the West Coast trip that begins in Phoenix and Los Angeles. Turiaf will start at center against the Spurs, allowing Amar’e Stoudemire to move back to his regular position at power forward, with Wilson Chandler sliding to small forward. Gallinari sprained his left knee midway through the fourth quarter Sunday after Pacers forward Brandon Rush collided into it. The Knicks were scared enough to have him take an MRI exam because Gallinari told doctors he felt “stretch” and a “click.” Gallinari was able to walk Monday at the practice facility. He will take the MRI exam later this afternoon.
UPDATE: ESPN just reported that Gallinari will be out 2-3 weeks with a knee sprain.
The Mavericks don’t appear rushed to replace Caron Butler by trade. Via ESPN Dallas:
The Mavericks don’t plan to rush to the trade market in the wake of Caron Butler’s knee injury, according to sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking. They might have no choice eventually, but sources say team officials — convinced since the summer that they’ve assembled one of the league’s deeper teams — want to give the current roster an opportunity to respond to the loss of Butler before looking at more drastic moves. The Mavs, for starters, have to confirm the extent of Butler’s injury. They’re certainly bracing for word that Butler has indeed suffered a torn patella tendon in his right knee, given that Mavs coach Rick Carlisle didn’t hesitate to describe the injury as “potentially serious” after it happened Saturday night in Milwaukee. But a firm diagnosis wasn’t expected before Monday. If the injury proves to be a season-ender, as feared, Dallas will be able to apply to the league for a disabled player exception worth half of Butler’s $10.6 million salary. Such an exception — if granted after an examination by an independent doctor appointed by the league — would thus be worth $5.28 million and valid for 45 days to sign or trade for one player whose salary doesn’t exceed that figure.
Amar’e Stoudemire scored a minor victory Sunday when the NBA informed the Knicks’ power forward it had rescinded his technical foul from Thursday’s game in Orlando. The ruling is important because once a player accrues 16 technical fouls he must serve a one-game suspension. Stoudemire’s total, which was 10, has now been reduced to nine. Stoudemire was penalized for shouting “get that mess outta here” after blocking Gilbert Arenas’ shot. According to league rules, taunting can result in a technical foul. Stoudemire had contended that he wasn’t directing his words at Arenas or the referee. “It was a tough decision for the officials,” Stoudemire said. “The games are so emotional, so the reaction wasn’t trying to show up anybody. It was kind of a natural reaction play and I think they understood it. But we also talked about, just for future references, just to be more aware of the situation.”
The folks at Fanhouse are upset with LeBron for “destroying the MVP Award”. It’s definitely worth the read: It brings us back to the perennial question: what exactly is the MVP? And, if the Heat are cowards, are we to understand the individualism of the MVP as somehow more honorable? That’s the line we’ve been fed: LeBron and Wade lacked the guts to go out on their own. Oh, and they’ll be brought down by their need to be “the man.” But their inability to do so in this context makes puts them out of the running for the MVP trophy. Forget about destroying the NBA — the Miami Heat could be the riddle that, once and for all, brings this most august and incoherent of awards down. Suppose James and Wade put up muted numbers for a Heat team with a good shot at a championship. They will have sublimated their individual talents for the sake of winning, one of the hoariest ideals in the book. This will be seen by many as the spoil of gross indulgence and luxury. Maybe James will yet end up playing a point guard-ish role, the kind of transformation that might get him out of this bind. As long as players are different enough, they don’t overlap and can contend separately. Still, though, isn’t it axiomatic that MVP candidates on the same team take votes from each other? If the two end up with their usual eye-popping stat-lines for the season, then it’s essentially a toss-up, making the vote-splitting predicament even more of a deterrent.
PREVIOUS NBA RUMORS:
**01/02/11 - Are the Magic looking at either Boris Diaw or Troy Murphy? - CLICK HERE **
**01/01/11 - Are the Bulls interested in either O.J. Mayo or Stephen Jackson? - CLICK HERE **
**12/31/10 - Did Michael Jordan ask Patrick Ewing about coaching the Bobcats? - CLICK HERE **
12/28/10 - Is Yao Ming headed to Sacramento or Charlotte? - CLICK HERE
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