Has Michael Jordan talked with former Knicks legend Patrick Ewing about coaching the Bobcats? Were LeBron James’ comments about the current NBA being “watered down” compared to yesteryear slightly inaccurate? Is Steve Nash fed up with the Suns after last night’s rout at the hands of the 76ers?
I examine these questions and a couple more in today’s edition of “NBA Rumors” at TSJ for December 31, 2010.With the new year on the horizon it appears more and more likely that Carmelo Anthony might remain a Nugget until the very last second due to Denver’s extreme new trade demands and according to various sources the Nets have soured a bit on a potential deal.
Do you blame them?
As far as LeBron’s comments on contraction are concerned I can only assume now that he spoke out of turn and in a completely uneducated manner. I already came to this conclusion previously but I’m glad I’m not alone in my thought process and the team at Sports Illustrated has done a fine job illustrating this point.
The column is definitely worth checking out and I’m going to provide a link to Zach Lowe’s excellent piece on the matter via The Point Forward. CLICK HERE to read that piece.
Oh, and my opinion on MJ potentially hiring Ewing to coach the Bobcats? I’m surprised Ewing can even look Jordan in the eye, never mind potentially coach for him, after being POSTERIZED LIKE THIS - such a good sport, that Patrick Ewing.
That being said he seems to be doing a fine job in Orlando so I wish him luck.
Here are a few rumors and news items that I found particularly interesting this morning that we’ll touch on below:
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Patrick Ewing confirms he has spoken with Jordan about Bobcats coaching position
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Was LeBron James terribly wrong about the 1980’s?
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Steve Nash apparently went ballistic during last night’s loss to the 76ers
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Have the Nets soured on a potential deal for Carmelo Anthony?
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Could Tracy McGrady be the Pistons’ best playmaker this season?
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Hakeem Olajuwon to open clothing line? You bet!
Let’s get started!
(NOTE: 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.)
Patrick Ewing confirmed that he had conversations with Michael Jordan about replacing Larry Brown as Charlotte’s head coach but did not say if he was offered the job.
“I talk to Michael all the time, so there definitely was a phone call,” Ewing said Thursday. “It depends on what we talked about.”
Paul Silas was eventually named Bobcats coach but there is a possibility that Ewing, currently serving as an assistant with the Magic, could succeed Silas either after this season or in two years.
“My aspirations have never changed,” Ewing said of getting a head-coaching job. “We have two more years on our contract, so I’m happy.”
As my colleague Zach Lowe pointed out, the ’80s NBA wasn’t deep with great teams. Look at the Lakers’ dominance of their conference and you’ll realize what a joke the West was in the ’80s. Those Los Angeles teams endured one difficult postseason in the West — in 1988 the Mavericks and Jazz each pushed the Lakers to a Game 7, mainly because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 41 years old and on his way to a final championship. During their other eight runs to the NBA Finals around Magic Johnson from 1980 to ‘91, the Lakers went a preposterous 79-14 in the Western playoffs. Talk about a watered-down league: The best teams in the conference were losing to the Lakers at an 85-percent rate.
The league has expanded by six teams since the 1980s, but compensating for that expansion has been the creation of new international markets for NBA imports like Dirk Nowitzki, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Pau and Marc Gasol, Yao Ming, Andrew Bogut, Leandro Barbosa, Nene, Anderson Varejao, Nicolas Batum, Rodrigue Beaubois, Boris Diaw, Luol Deng, Omri Casspi, Andrea Bargnani, Danilo Gallinari, Andris Biedrins, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Kirilenko, Stojakovic, Jose Calderon, Rudy Fernandez, Jonas Jerebko, Thabo Sefolosha, Mehmet Okur, Hedo Turkoglu and so on. There are more teams but there is also a much larger market for player development — and many of the players from other countries are actually schooled in the fundamentals.
If James wants to create his vision of the glorious ’80s in which a number of teams each have three or four superstars, he needs to focus less on the number of franchises and more on a new salary system that enables each team to pay a larger number of stars simultaneously. But something tells me neither he nor his union wants to go there.
The frustration doesn’t end there. As anyone who watched Wednesday night’s game would tell you, Steve Nash was in a rage all night, usually at the referees. There were several instances where he could have been called for a technical foul for complaining (he only received one, and could have received another after his reaction at that particular whistle); and while the refereeing wasn’t exactly spot on, it wasn’t the problem.
The team is the problem, the refs were the scapegoat, and Nash is losing it, yelling towards Gentry after one particularly frustrating call. Pro Basketball Talk has the heavily edited quote:
“I’m going to [expletive] punch one of these [expletives] in the face.”
Just watching from my couch, there were many more F-bombs to be read from Nash’s lips throughout the loss to Philadelphia.
As a result of what one rival executive referred to as the Nuggets having “overplayed their hand” in negotiations with the Nets, frustrated New Jersey officials are in the process of “substantively” re-evaluating their pursuit of Anthony, a three-time All-Star who has refused to sign a three-year, $65 million extension with the Nuggets.
The Nuggets’ outward appearance of indecision could very well be a negotiating tactic, as a person with direct knowledge of Denver’s strategy has told CBSSports.com that the team has decided it wants to get young and accumulate draft picks if and when they decide to trade Anthony — not attempt to tread water with sub-par veteran replacements whose contracts would hinder the team’s future flexibility. The other wild card, of course, is Anthony’s reluctance to sign an extension with the Nets, which has been confirmed by a person with direct knowledge of his thinking.
In view of their frustration, the Nets have not yet gotten to the point where they’re ready to pull all their chips off the table. But it’s clear that the Nets are “sick of the whole charade,” according to one source and have “backed away,” according to another.
The last time a Piston missed a start due to a stomach virus, it was the first game in a much-needed lineup change. Perhaps Rodney Stuckey‘s third missed start of the year will finally lead the Pistons to acknowledge what has been becoming more obvious with each passing game: they are a much better team with Tracy McGrady running the offense. McGrady spurred a surprising and decisive win over Boston (albeit a hobbled Boston team missing Rajon Rondo already and losing Kevin Garnett to injury during the game), starting and scoring 21 points with 4 rebounds and 8 assists in Wednesday’s 104-92 win.
It took some guts for John Kuester to finally make the call to bench Rip Hamilton in favor of Ben Gordon, but eventually, he made the right decision. Giving McGrady more minutes at the expense of Stuckey, long viewed as a key part of the team’s future, will be an even tougher call. But even with Stuckey’s incremental improvement this season, he’s still clearly being out-played by McGrady and the Pistons are a more balanced, efficient team with McGrady running the offense.
Former Houston Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon is moving into the world of fashion, launching his own clothing range, myFOXhouston.com reported Thursday.
The Hall of Famer, who led the Rockets to back-to-back championships in the 90s, told how he had always loved designing clothes.
“I think it’s wonderful to be able to launch your own collection,” Olajuwon said. “I think it’s something that anyone that loves fashion, that would be the ideal, and it’s a real joy to be able to launch your own collection and to be able to express yourself through your clothing.”
He explained: “My passion for fashion has been there from the beginning. I’ve designed so many cool, nice clothes for myself that you want to take that public.”
And the 47-year-old is clearly not worried about being successful in a tough market.
“If you’re good, you don’t worry about competition,” he said.
His clothing range will be on display at the Toyota Center when the Rockets play Toronto on Friday.
PREVIOUS NBA RUMORS:
12/28 - Is Yao Ming headed to Sacramento or Charlotte? - CLICK HERE
12/27 - LeBron James swears he doesn’t advocate contraction - CLICK HERE
** **12/26 - Derek Fisher refutes LeBron James’ comments on contraction - CLICK HERE
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