The preseason is supposed to be a time for unbridled enthusiasm. Perhaps, with a new coach, new players, maybe even a new uniform, things are supposed to be better this year.
A season preview, on the other hand, is the time to squash that hope and bring you back to reality.
A number of teams will compete for the playoffs, but your team might not be one of them. There's nothing worse than hearing that the rut your team was in all last season is deeper than ever.
ESPN the Magazine's Ric Bucher says that it might take a while for Warriors GM Chris Mullin and new head coach Mike Montgomery to turn around the Warriors, who have been in one of the league's bigger ruts for quite some time. Today, Insider looks at five other teams that will struggle mightily to break out of their losing cycle.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Starting Five: Marko Jaric, Kerry Kittles, Corey Maggette, Elton Brand, Chris Kaman
Key Subs: Chris Wilcox, Shaun Livingston, Zeljko Rebraca, Bobby Simmons
Outlook: Here we go again. It has been seven years since the Clippers made a playoff appearance. By the end of this season, make it eight.
Clippers • Team page
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Predictions
Marc Stein: 15th in West
Chad Ford: 14th in West
Mag: Clippers capsule
It almost didn't have to be that way. Some still don't believe, but Kobe Bryant seriously was considering bolting the Lakers for the Clippers this summer. He was so serious that the night before he made his decision, the Clippers actually were confident they had the biggest prize of the offseason.
Oh, well. Like everything that touches the Clippers, good is never really good enough. This year the Clippers sport a roster filled with talented players. Brand is an All-Star. Maggette quietly has improved every season and appears on the brink of stardom. Coach Mike Dunleavy is in love with center Kaman, claiming he could be a more athletic version of Brad Miller.
The Clippers even have a little depth. Rival GMs called incessantly this summer, trying to pry away sixth man Wilcox. This year's lottery pick, 6-foot-7 point guard Livingston, might have been the best prospect in the 2004 draft.
Factor in solid role players like point guard Jaric and newly acquired shooting guard Kittles, and the Clippers should be a playoff team ... right?
Sure. If they played in the Eastern Conference, we might be inclined to rank them fourth right behind the Pistons, Pacers and Heat (we could say that about all the Western Conference teams on this list, however).
Alas, the poor Clippers play in the West, and any shot at the playoffs walked out the door right alongside Kobe and Quentin Richardson. The team lacks the experience, continuity, requisite depth or leadership it takes to make a run in the Wild West.
The guys will play hard. They'll win some games and make a spectacular play or two. Then we can start talking about next year, that $10 million-plus in cap room and dreams of Tony Parker, Ray Allen or Michael Redd moving to L.A. and finally leading this team back into the playoffs.
The Bulls' Nocioni (right) and the Raptors' Bosh are talented players on teams headed nowhere.
CHICAGO BULLS
Starting Five: Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry
Key Subs: Luol Deng, Antonio Davis, Eric Piatkowski, Othella Harrington.
Outlook: Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice, shame on us. That's the mantra among the media and fans after we all fell head over heels for the Bulls last preseason.
After six seasons of misery, the Terri-Bulls sure looked like a playoff contender from afar last year. It took all of about two weeks of regular season games to show us how wrong we were.
Curry couldn't rebound or defend. Chandler, when he was healthy, couldn't score. Jamal Crawford jacked up a shot every chance he got. If it wasn't for a stellar rookie season from Hinrich, the Bulls might have been looking at the No. 1 pick in the draft last season.
GM John Paxson, fed up with the team's underachieving ways, started cleaning house this summer. He shipped Crawford to the Knicks and sent Marcus Fizer to the Bobcats (thus erasing the disastrous 2000 draft from the record books). He passed on unproven high school talent in the draft to take two proven collegiate winners: Gordon and Deng. Then he added the most coveted international free agent in the world, Andres Nocioni.
Where will it get this team? The Bulls will be tougher. They will have more fight in them every night. They may even win a handful more games than their recent predecessors.
But the truth? The oldest player in the Bulls' top six rotation is Nocioni – a rookie at the ripe old age of 25. Hinrich is 23 and has just one year of experience in the league. Chandler is 22. Curry and Gordon are 21. Deng doesn't turn 20 until April.
How does anyone expect to win with a team like this? The answer is ... the Bulls don't. Paxson hasn't uttered the dreaded "R" word all summer, but he's rebuilding the Bulls again. Jerry Krause's multiple rebuilding plans have failed, and it's time for Paxson to exorcise the demons.
That means he isn't done. Expect Curry to be gone before the trading deadline to make the transformation complete. He's the poster child for all that has ailed the Bulls these last four or five years.
Then look for Paxson to do something Krause couldn't. He'll use some of his young players as pawns in an attempt to trade them for youngish veterans who know how to win now.
The rebuilding shouldn't take another five or six years this time. But for this season at least, the Bulls will be playing for the lottery. Hopefully for one last time.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Starting Five: Damon Stoudamire, Derek Anderson, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Zach Randolph, Theo Ratliff
Key Subs: Darius Miles, Nick Van Exel, Ruben Patterson, Joel Przybilla
Outlook: Whenever a large group of unstable, pot-loving, foul-mouthed players inhabits an NBA team for too long, a curse is born ...
It's sounds like the intro to a Halloween movie, but you might want to ask Portland GM John Nash if he believes in curses after all the Blazers have gone through the last year.
Nash was hired with the idea he'd exorcise the demons that haunt the franchise, infuse the team with "high character" guys and all would be right in Portland again. Sure.
Nash came up with team rules, moved ringleader Rasheed Wallace, brought in solid citizens like Abdur-Rahim and Ratliff. In return, what did he get?
The same bad press that has haunted the Blazers for the last decade.
Randolph was involved in a shooting investigation this summer. Qyntel Woods, in addition to being busted for marijuana possession, is being questioned by police for dog abuse. Even Abdur-Rahim, who never has acted out before in his career, suddenly went mental this summer demanding a trade and claiming he wouldn't report to camp if the Blazers didn't move him.
And then, in a move that left just about everyone in the league speechless, the Blazers traded for Van Exel so that he and Stoudamire could tutor first-round draft pick Sebastian Telfair. If the thought of Van Exel and Stoudamire tutoring anyone doesn't scare you, nothing will.
The problems don't stop there. Despite the talent on this team, the Blazers have other issues that will start manifesting themselves as soon as the season gets underway.
Abdur-Rahim is not a small forward. He can't defend threes, knows he can't defend threes and knows he'll look bad, in a contract year, trying to get that done. That's partly why he still wants out.
Miles really came out of his shell last spring in Portland. Will he go back into now that he's being demoted to the bench – a move he believes isn't basketball-related? So far, in the preseason, he's reverted back to his 35-percent shooting from the field.
Randolph was a revelation on the court, but off the court he's a ticking time bomb. How much are the Blazers going to invest in a kid that everyone likes but no one trusts?
Ratliff is the glue that will hold the team together defensively, but you have to wonder how long his streak of injury-free games, an impressive 162, will last.
Anderson is playing well in the preseason, but he has played more than 70 games in a season only twice in his career.
Factor in that the 10 or so teams ahead of Portland have more depth and or/star power, and the Blazers shouldn't just consider themselves cursed – screwed may be the more appropriate word.
TORONTO RAPTORS
Starting Five: Rafer Alston, Vince Carter, Jalen Rose, Chris Bosh, Loren Woods
Key Subs: Donyell Marshall, Morris Peterson, Rafael Araujo, Alvin Williams (?)
Outlook: As Carter goes, so go the Raptors. If Vince is happy and healthy, the Raptors have enough talent to sneak up on some folks in the East. If he's surly and gimpy, the Raptors are in for another long season.
Here's why we think you should bet on the latter. Carter finally went public with his trade demand this summer after hinting at for more than year. Raptors' fans greeted him with a chorus of boos at his first preseason game. The reaction, as justifiable as it was, has pushed Carter even further away.
Is he really going to be willing to drive to the basket knowing everyone in the crowd is hoping he gets knocked to the deck? Is he really going to play through his next bout of jumper's knee after he confessed this is really all about Vince?
You know the answer, and so do his teammates, who have grumbled privately that the Raptors should grant Vince his wish. Right now GM Rob Babcock is holding firm, in part because teams aren't offering enough for Vince to make the trade worthwhile.
In the meantime, the Raptors will have to make do. Carter isn't a fan of Rose, the team's second-best scorer, nor does he like new lead point guard Alston.
Rookie Bosh has enormous potential, but he's likely to be stuck playing the center position again this year. So far, rookie center Araujo and free-agent signee Woods have shown flashes, but that doesn't get you far once the regular season starts.
The team's depth in the backcourt also is suspect now that it looks like Williams might not be able to play this season. Williams claims he has no cartilage left in his knee and is currently seeking recommendations from several specialists.
Maybe Carter has the right idea. He has complained for the past two summers that the team hasn't made enough moves to stay competitive. Without a true center, and with little to no depth in the backcourt should someone go down, the Raptors as we know them appear on the verge of extinction.
McMillan (right), teaching Nick Collison here, will be one of the Sonics' fall guys.
SEATTLE SUPERSONICS
Starting Five: Luke Ridnour, Ray Allen , Rashard Lewis, Reggie Evans, Vitaly Potapenko
Key Subs: Antonio Daniels, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nick Collison, Ronald Murray
Outlook: You might as well holler "dead man walking" every time head coach Nate McMillan walks in the room. For that matter, yell the same thing if owner Howard Schultz, GM Rick Sund or star player Allen passes by, too.
McMillan is in the last year of his contract. Rumors that Schultz would like out (a rumor he denies) won't go away. If Allen doesn't a cut a deal soon, he'll be gone, too.
It's not a matter of whether this bad experiment in Seattle will end, just a question of when. The Sonics, on paper, look like the most irrelevant team in the league.
The upside just isn't there. The young players are too far away. The older players are unhappy, ready to leave. The coach still is waiting around for the front office to stock the team with players who play the way he did – hard every night.
Allen is still one of the best two or three pure shooters in the league. But a rash of injuries, Father Time and some pretty big contract demands have lessened his stock over the past year.
Lewis always has appeared to be on the verge of stardom. But why hasn't he gotten over the hump? His lack of ball-handling and leadership skills often leave him with little to do but shoot jump shots.
Radmanovic, his backup, has been trying to get out of Seattle for a year. Like Lewis, he's skilled offensively, but he doesn't have a real position and has struggled trying to defend threes.
Daniels is the type of player, at point guard, that McMillan loves, but there's pressure from above to play second-year guard Ridnour. Ridnour is more of a playmaker than Daniels, but he can't defend his shadow.
Combine their all-offense, no-defense backcourt with their no-offense, no-defense, no-name front court of Evans, Collison, Danny Fortson, Potapenko and Jerome James and what do you have – possibly the worst team in the Western Conference this year.
That hasn't stopped the Sonics from proclaiming this is a do-or-die year for them. They claim the team will make the playoffs or bust.
It might be time for someone to put all of them out of their misery.
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.
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Tuesday, October 26 Updated 11:34 AM EST
Rumor Central
Allen's ailment does not prevent brief sideline encounter with Kobe
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Ray Allen
Ray Allen
Sonics
Kobe Bryant?
Oct. 26 - Let's play the feud, Part II.
The second installment of Ray Allen vs. Kobe Bryant did not provide a full sequel in San Diego as hoped. Allen's stiff lower back sidelined him for the Sonics-Lakers' second preseason battle, thus lowering the temperature on the war of words between the All-Star guards.
Still, they did have an oncourt confrontation in San Diego Arena. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that when Bryant chased a ball out of bounds in front of the Sonics' bench, he confronted Allen.
"I'll see you again," Bryant told Allen, who two weeks ago criticized Bryant for his selfishness. Bryant initially dismissed those comments, but Sunday reportedly walked out of a pre-game interview session after an Allen-oriented question was asked. "Don't put me and him in the same sentence," Bryant said in the Los Angeles Times.
On Monday, Allen labeled the feud "a dead issue." Bryant told reporters, "I'm tired of talking about Ray. Next question."
Sonics center Jerome James told Bryant to mind his own business in less-than-kind fashion, the P-I reports. Bryant's teammate Lamar Odom told the Sonics' bench that Allen "knows he started it."
The teams do not meet in the regular season until Dec. 14. Said Allen: "We play each other four times during the year. I won't get my drawers in a twist over this game."
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Michael Finley
Michael Finley
Mavs
Mavs
Oct. 26 - Finley, who once owned a streak of 490 consecutive NBA regular-season games played, might be on the bench come the Mavs' season opener.
The Dallas Morning News reports Finley's bothersome left hamstring might sideline him the remainder of the preseason. Even though the former iron man is aiming to be in the lineup for the Nov. 2 season opener, the Mavs might be cautious enough to keep him sidelined until they are satisfied he is healed.
With rising star Marquis Daniels bothered by a left ankle injury, two-fifths of the Mavs' projected starting lineup is sidelined. Josh Howard could replace Daniels, and Jerry Stackhouse might replace Finley in starting lineup come the season opener, the Morning News reports.
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Samuel Dalembert
Samuel Dalembert
76ers
76ers Oct. 25 - The Sixers probably won't offer Samuel Dalembert a contract extension until next summer, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. Instead of picking up Dalembert's fourth-year option before the Oct. 31 deadline, the team will likely give the 23-year-old center a $2,360,935 qualifying offer, which would keep him a restricted free agent. "This isn't a major disagreement, just two sides that haven't been able to come to an agreement," president/general manager Billy King told the newspaper. "So it's better to wait."
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Jayson Williams
Jayson Williams
Retired
Cavs?
Mavs? Oct. 23 - Former Nets' star forward Williams, who was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in the shooting death of a limousine driver, is attempting an NBA comeback.
Nearly three weeks after a Newsday report surfaced that Williams was attempting a comeback with the Mavericks comes news that he actually had a tryout Oct. 21 with the Cavaliers. Williams, 36, reportedly has been working out with such NBA stars as the Clippers' Elton Brand during the summer and reportedly is in great shape.
"He wants to play," coach Paul Silas told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "We worked him out a little bit, and he can still play. He can certainly help somebody."
Silas, who coached Williams as a Nets' assistant in the 1990s, said he did not know if the Cavs are interested.
A jury found Williams not guilty of aggravated manslaughter and nine other charges in the shooting and killing of limousine driver Costas "Gus" Christofi on the night of Feb. 14, 2002. Williams was convicted of hindering apprehension, tampering with witnesses, tampering with evidence and fabricating physical evidence.
Last year, Williams and Christofi's family settled a wrongful death civil lawsuit out of court. Williams was forced into retirement after he broke his leg on April 1, 1999. According to the Oct. 3 Newsday report, Williams has told friends that the insurance on the $86 million contract he signed with the Nets in the 1990s expires soon.
In January, Williams faces a retrial on a reckless manslaughter charge. The jury deadlocked on that in his criminal trial. Williams hopes prosecutors will not pursue that charge, Newsday reported.
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Wally Szczerbiak
Wally Szczerbiak
Wolves
Knicks?
Oct. 23 - Wally Szczerbiak, who earlier in training camp said unhappy with the prospect of being a sixth man for the Timberwolves, makes no secret of his interest in becoming a Knick.
The New York Daily News reports Long Island native Szczerbiak welcomes the chance to join the Knicks, even though a deal to make that a reality was nixed this past summer.
"They've always been an exciting team that I would love to play for. That's home for me," said Szczerbiak, who scored 20 points in the Timberwolves' 20-point preseason rout of the Knicks on Oct. 22.
According to the Daily News, the Timberwolves turned down an offer of Kurt Thomas -- the frontline force they covet -- and Moochie Norris for Szczerbiak because of Norris' contract.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Think outside of the box. That's what John Weisbrod, Danny Ainge, Ernie Grunfeld, Billy Knight and Bernie Bickerstaff have to do if they are going to turn alsoran franchises into contenders.
Each GM has an enormously different task in front of him.
Weisbrod, who was sick of the soft, prima donna culture in Orlando, has brought in 10 new players.
Ainge believed the Celtics needed more athletes and over the course of the past 12 months has almost completely gutted a team that, two years ago, competed in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Grunfeld inherited the team that Michael Jordan built and ultimately destroyed by returning to the court and stifling the development of his young players. With a new, hotshot coach and a smorgasbord of young, inexperienced talent, Grunfeld's hoping that the new roots will start to take hold.
Knight is following Denver GM Kiki Vandweghe's lead, trading away high-priced players for cap room in an effort to build the team from the ground up. Only three players remain from last year's squad, and only six players have contracts that extend beyond this season.
Bickerstaff has had the most difficult (or easiest, depending on who you ask) task of all. He started with a blank slate and $30 million in cap space this summer. The team he put together is the youngest, most inexperienced unit the league has seen in recent memory. They're going to lose more games than anyone in the league this year, but their future couldn't look brighter.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein says that Suns' Steve Nash could turn the Suns from lottery fodder into a playoff contender. Here's Insider's season preview of five other teams in the process of redefining themselves.
ORLANDO MAGIC
Starting Five: Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Grant Hill, Dwight Howard , Kelvin Cato
Key Subs: Hedo Turkoglu, Tony Battie, Jameer Nelson, Pat Garrity
Outlook: Out with the soft, in with the prickly. That's new GM Weisbrod's rebuilding philosophy and, by the way, also his personal M.O.
Want to know what was wrong with last season's bottom feeding Magic? Weisbrod's pointing fingers.
Magic • Mag capsule
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Predictions
Marc Stein: 9th in East
Chad Ford: 4th in East
"We didn't have the personnel to win but we also didn't have the right attitude to win," Weisbrod said. "I want people who respect the organization and the game. You accomplish that when you get guys who care about winning and the team more than themselves or their numbers. We tried to build this team with guys that care about winning."
Weisbrod shipped out Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Drew Gooden and anyone else who cried, whined or held something back last season.
Fair enough. As talented as those players are, none of them has a rep as a team-first, ultra-competitive player.
Steve Francis
Weisbrod (far left) welcomed the Magic's new additions this past summer.
But who did he replace them with? Francis, Mobley, Howard, Cato and Turkoglu are the core guys expected to replace those exorcised from last year's team.
Ironically, some of them have similar reps to those that have haunted McGrady, Howard and Gooden the past few years.
Francis was the guy who refused to report to the team that drafted him, pouted through much of last season when Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy began asking him to run the offense through Yao and then openly campaigned against the trade that brought him to Orlando.
Cato has been one of the most underperforming players in the league the past five years. Turkoglu, despite showing promise early in his career, was erratic enough that the Spurs decided not to match the Magic's offer. Howard, despite all his upside, earned a rep during the draft as a kid who was a little on the soft side.
The new players on the Magic might not fit exactly into Weisbrod's vision, but they do represent a serious upgrade in talent. How exactly is this group supposed to trump last year's version?
Start with the return of Hill, who changes everything in Orlando. His leadership ability combined with his versatility gives the team instant credibility – whether his skills ever fully return or not.
Then factor in that players like Francis, Mobley, Howard and rookie Nelson are each playing with a rather large chip on his shoulder this season.
Francis, who carried the nickname "Franchise" in Houston, is still hurting over how he was treated last year. In the preseason he looks poised to rebound from what turned into the worst season of his career this year.
Mobley, too, was stunned with the Rockets' decision to trade him. He also knows that the Magic explored trading him shortly after the T-Mac trade went down. As a player who slipped to the second round in the draft and went on to average 17 points per game, he feels like he gets no respect.
Howard went No. 1 overall, but not without controversy. A number of people, Insider included, chastised the Magic for passing on Emeka Okafor with the first pick in the draft. Howard put on 22 pounds of muscle this summer, proving to the team that he's focused and willing to work hard.
Nelson also is seething. After winning every award imaginable in college, he slipped the 20th overall selection on draft night and then was traded minutes later.
Put all of them together with a healthy Hill and Garrity and you have a team with not only the talent to make a run in the East, but also the motivation.
They're sore losers, every one of them. That's exactly what Weisbrod was looking for.
BOSTON CELTICS
Starting Five: Gary Payton, Paul Pierce, Ricky Davis, Raef LaFrentz, Mark Blount
Key Subs: Jiri Welsch, Tom Gugliotta, Tony Allen, Delonte West
Outlook: When Danny Ainge took over the as the head guy for the Celtics more than a year ago, he had a vision of what type of players he wanted on the Celtics.
The crew he inherited, just one year removed from a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, didn't fit the mold.
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Marc Stein: 5th in East
Chad Ford: 8th in East
Ainge wanted young, athletic, mentally tough players who pushed the ball up the floor on every occasion. Over the past year he's cleaned house to the point that just three players – Pierce, Blount and Walter McCarty – remain from the team that Jim O'Brien coached.
Celtics fans, and Insider, have heaped a fair amount of criticism Ainge's way.
He traded Antoine Walker for an injured LaFrentz and unknown European player Welsch. He swapped hardworking, blue-collar players like Tony Battie and Eric Williams for a known troublemaker, Davis.
Then he sent Chucky Atkins, Chris Mihm and Jumaine Jones for an even more notorious troublemaker, Payton, and a retiring Rick Fox this summer. When Payton claimed that he wouldn't report, it looked like the luck of the leprechaun was gone.
“ Last year we didn't show any of that mental toughness. With Gary it's not an act. It's who he is. The other guys are loving it. ”
— New C's coach Glenn 'Doc' Rivers on new G Gary Payton's attitude
Pierce and Blount were furious with the moves. However, in every case, Ainge just asked for a little patience, claiming that his new, talented players just needed a fresh start.
Consistent with that philosophy, he hired former Magic head coach Doc Rivers. Rivers won Coach of the Year honors during his rookie season as a head coach, but, as the Magic fell apart, he was fired 11 games into last season.
Rivers was charged with two things: getting this group of young athletes to play Danny's way and repairing a fractured locker room where the distrust between players and management was running at an all-time high.
"One of the things I thought we had to do as a group was get every one reconnected with each other," Rivers told Insider recently. "Everyone from the front office to the players to the coaching staff had to get reconnected with each other."
That included extending the olive branch to Payton, who was vocal this summer that he didn't want to play in Boston. Payton showed up for camp and, according to Rivers, has become a huge asset to the team.
"He's been great," Rivers said. "Great leadership, know-how. He gives us a swagger. I think it helps our other guys. He just doesn't take a lot of stuff. I think that's good for our team.
"Last year we didn't show any of that mental toughness. With Gary it's not an act. It's who he is. The other guys are loving it. You don't know a guy until you coach a guy. So far he's been very good and refreshing."
While the starting five of Payton, Pierce, Davis, LaFrentz and Blount looks to be among the most solid in the league, the bench is a huge question mark for Boston.
Both Payton and LaFrentz are limited to 30 minutes or so per game, meaning someone else is going to have to step up.
Gary Payton
It's not easy being Green, Payton seems to be thinking.
With the exception of Welsch, who will be the team's sixth man this year, everyone else is a pretty big question mark.
Rivers has three rookies and feels that only one of them, Allen, is ready to handle any sort of minutes right now. The Celtics two second-year players, Marcus Banks and Kendrick Perkins, are struggling.
He also has Gugliotta at his disposal, but no one is sure how much he really has left. McCarty is a fan favorite, but that's about it.
"We can run," Rivers said. "We're athletic defensively. It's refreshing to see your team playing a young team and your team is more athletic. But some of our young guys are going to have to step up this year. If they do we'll be OK."
If they don't . . . it could be the tale of two teams in Boston this year.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Starting Five: Gilbert Arenas, Larry Hughes, Jarvis Hayes, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood
Key Subs: Kwame Brown, Etan Thomas, Jared Jeffries, Juan Dixon
Outlook: First, Michael Jordan built the Wizards from the dust by his sheer presence in the owner's box.
Then he destroyed them when he donned a jersey and started systematically picking apart teammates.
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Marc Stein: 12th in East
Chad Ford: 10th in East
Now it's up to another Jordan, Eddie Jordan, to rebuild them from the rubble.
Last year was a feeling-out process as Eddie Jordan and new GM Grunfeld got a feel for the pieces that MJ had assembled and tried to work their one big offseason signing, Arenas, into the group.
This year, Jordan and Grunfeld are no longer evaluating. They've taken charge. Leery of adding another young player to the roster, the team shipped off two headaches (Jerry Stackhouse and Christian Laettner) and the No. 5 pick in the draft to Dallas in return for proven low-post scorer Jamison.
Last year Arenas, Hughes and Dixon provided plenty of backcourt firepower, but the frontcourt often fizzled. The team is hoping Jamison brings some balance to the equation.
The key word here, however, is hope.
Eddie Jordan
Jordan is hoping a team built around three former Warriors transforms into a winner. Good luck.
Jordan has his hands full. His nucleus consists of three former Warriors who didn't exactly win a lot of games when they played together two seasons ago in Oakland. That can't be good.
Jordan desperately is trying to implement the same Princeton offense that worked wonderfully in New Jersey the past several years. To get it to work he needs players to cut, pass and move without the ball. The problem is that his best players – Hughes, Arenas and Jamison – all prefer to go it alone. There's a reason that the Wizards ranked last in assists and first in turnovers last season.
The Wizards believe Jamison, who has a rep as being unselfish regardless of what his stats may say, will buy into the system and become the leader this team desperately needs both on the floor and in the locker room.
The team also hopes that Jamison will light a fire under Brown. Trading for Jamison sent a clear message to Brown that the team isn't going to wait around for him anymore. Could it be just what Brown needs to get his career back on track?
Brown is already showing signs of life, despite the fact that he still hasn't been cleared to play after he broke his foot in a pickup game this summer. He's been outspoken for the first time in his career and appears to be angry at the Wizards. It couldn't come at a better time.
For all the talk about Jamison and Arenas, the Wizards know as well as anyone that if they have any shot of breaking this vicious cycle of lottery appearances they have to find a way to turn on Brown.
Remaking the offense, swapping a few player here and there, and changing the front office are all good. But if the Wizards can reinvent Brown this season, they'll be on to something.
ATLANTA HAWKS
Starting Five: Kenny Anderson, Josh Childress, Al Harrington, Antoine Walker, Jason Collier
Key Subs: Jon Barry, Peja Drobjnak, Boris Diaw, Kevin Willis
Outlook: Patience, Hawks fans.
Your team looks awful.
Your two first-round picks, Childress and Smith, have struggled mightily this preseason.
Your key off-season acquisition, Harrington, is shooting 37 percent from the field.
Your sixth man, 35-year-old Barry, leads the team in assists at 3.3 apg.
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Marc Stein: 14th in East
Chad Ford: 14th in East
Your starting center, Collier, is averaging 3.8 rebounds per game.
And your leading scorer, Antoine Walker, is out of there at 12:01 a.m on July 1.
A new group of owners along with GM Knight are trying to reinvent the Hawks. So why do they look a lot like the same team that reeked the last couple of seasons?
Patience, Hawks fans. Three seasons ago, the Nuggets were in a similar position. They jettisoned all of their high-priced talent in an effort to get under the cap. They fielded a team of young players and veterans with expiring contracts and lost more games than any team in the league.
Two years later they were in the playoffs in the ultra-tough Western Conference.
That's the plan the Hawks are following and, so far, things are moving ahead sublimely.
The Hawks are on pace to be more than $20 million under the cap next season. Young players like Childress, Harrington, Diaw and Smith should get plenty of hands-on experience this season.
With the exception of the Bobcats, no team in the league is likely to rack up more losses, giving your team a great shot a top three pick in the upcoming draft.
Draft the right rookie next season. Sign the right young free agent or two. Use your cap flexibility to make a blockbuster trade and the Hawks have a chance to be good again in two or three more seasons.
For this season? Keep cheering on Michael Vick and then head down to Florida early for spring training.
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Starting Five: Jason Hart, Gerald Wallace, Tamar Slay, Emeka Okafor, Primoz Brezec
Key Subs: Melvin Ely, Eddie House, Jason Kapono, Brevin Knight
Outlook: While other teams have complicated rebuilding plans fully underway, GM and head coach Bickerstaff plans to keep things simple during the Bobcats' inaugural season in Charlotte.
"Our goal is to get better," Bickerstaff told Insider. "To find a group that we can build around. We're an expansion team and everywhere we turn it's something we have to surmount. People say, 'Well they're not going to be very good.' I don't think it's malicious. I think that's been the norm for expansion teams. So, we don't take it personal.
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Marc Stein: 15th in East
Chad Ford: 15th in East
But that doesn't mean we have to submit to it. We're going to get better."
Getting better is about all the Bobcats fans have to look forward to at the moment. The team is going to be bad, especially at first as this group of no names with a combined 19 career starts between the starting five take the floor.
It's tough enough to try to create chemistry amidst a group of veterans playing together for the first time. When you get 12 youngsters and three veterans together, it's almost impossible.
But this team won't be judged by how many games it wins. Bobcats fans will be looking between the lines for signs of hope this season.
That starts with the No. 2 pick in the draft, Okafor. The former UConn titan has looked solid, averaging 10.4 ppg and 5.4 rpg on 51 percent shooting from the field in his first five games.
Emeka Okafor
Okafor is the poster child for the Bobcats' campaign to build a winner.
----------------------------
Wednesday, October 27 Updated 6:20 PM EST
Rumor Central
Team reportedly negotiating to settle forward's contract
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Shandon Anderson
Shandon Anderson
Knicks
Trail Blazers? Mavs? Raptors? Oct. 27 - Shandon Anderson's days as a Knick are over, it seems. The Knicks and reps for the forward are trying to negotiate a buyout of the remaining three years, $24 million on his contract, the New York Post reported.
Anderson has been bound to the bench in four of the Knicks' seven preseason games and he's had enough of his feud with coach Lenny Wilkens and team president Isiah Thomas. "To get away from this situation, that's what I want," Anderson said. "Make a move. They're telling me whatever what I do, I'm not going to play."
But Anderson claims he does not know whether he's close to buyout, the Post reported.
Anderson reportedly is upset about the way coach Lenny Wilkens has used him – or not used him. Anderson's streak of 543 consecutive games ended in last season in Atlanta, when Wilkens refused to play him even though the Georgia native had purchased several tickets for friends. Before the All-Star break, Thomas reportedly was pitching Anderson to the Blazers, Mavs and Raptors.
Thursday, October 28, 2004
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
The glory days have faded. The future has never been more uncertain.
That's the fate of a number of once-proud teams as they embark on the 2004-05 season.
Just one year ago, the Nets were the two-time defending Eastern Conference champs. But after losing both Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles this summer, there are legitimate questions concerning whether they'll even make the playoffs.
The Knicks, too, used to be a surefire pick to go deep in the playoffs until the team hit trouble the past couple of seasons. Isiah Thomas took over the team last season and made enormous changes. The faces are all new, but are Isiah's kids really an improvement?
New Sixers head coach Jim O'Brien becomes Allen Iverson's fourth coach in little over a year. Can he help the Sixers regain the glory that they once enjoyed under Larry Brown or is he just presiding over the end of the Iverson Era in Philly?
The Hornets were a perennial playoff contender in the East the past five years. But can new head coach Byron Scott save this sinking ship? Now that they're stuck in the Western Conference, the prospects don't look too good.
ESPN the Magazine's Ric Bucher believes that the Sacramento Kings' window may have finally closed. Here's Insider's season preview of four other once proud teams that seem to have lost their luster.
NEW JERSEY NETS
Starting Five: Jason Kidd, Ron Mercer, Richard Jefferson, Eric Williams, Jason Collins
Key Subs: Aaron Williams, Alonzo Mourning, Jacque Vaughn, Nenad Kristic
Outlook: Team president Rod Thorn can be candid now that he's just signed a five-year, $20 million extension with the Nets. The Nets blew it this summer.
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Marc Stein: Sixth in East
Chad Ford: 11th in East
First, the team underestimated the market value of Kenyon Martin. Its six-year, $66 million offer paled in comparison to what he eventually got, a seven-year, $92 million contract in Denver.
Thorn isn't really to blame. He was just following orders from new owner Bruce Ratner to cut payroll in anticipation of a move to Brooklyn. In almost every imaginable way, the deal backfired.
After losing Martin, the Nets – still over the cap and in luxury-tax territory – also ended up parting with Kerry Kittles for a future draft pick.
Their replacements, free agents Williams and Mercer, might be solid role players, but neither is close to Martin or Kittles.
From there, things got really out of hand. In an effort to calm down investors and season-ticket holders, Ratner then went out and overpaid Jefferson, giving him a six-year, $76 million extension that no one believes he deserved.
Whatever money the Nets saved by dumping Martin and Kittles was partially eradicated by Jefferson's lucrative extension.
That's not the worst of it. With Martin and Kittles out of the picture and Jefferson's new deal strangling the Nets' cap room, Kidd did the same thing any of us would do – he let it be known, politely, that he wants out.
Kidd signed a six-year deal with the Nets last summer with a promise from Thorn that he would keep the team intact and, in fact, add to it to keep the Nets in contention for an NBA title.
Jason Kidd
For the Kidd family and Thorn (second from right), the party's over.
Once new owner Ratner started blowing things up, Kidd started looking westward again. If he gets himself rehabilitated from microfracture surgery in a timely fashion and proves to teams that, at the age of 30, he still has plenty of miles left in those knees, the Nets likely will grant him his wish.
"He made it known to you guys that he would like to be with a team he considers to be a championship-type," Thorn said. "He realizes that in order to enhance his value, he needs to play and show people he can still be Jason Kidd. [If he asks to be traded] I'll tell him exactly what I tell any player: 'If we can make a deal that makes sense for us, then we'll look at it. If it doesn't make sense for us, then we don't do it.' "
Thorn knows, however, that it does make sense for the Nets to let him go if they can get any sort of reasonable offer. With Kidd and Jefferson's contracts on the books, the team has no cap flexibility to rebuild the franchise. Kidd isn't young enough to wait around while all those draft picks the team acquired this summer turn into credible NBA players.
League sources tell Insider that if Kidd comes back and can play up to his potential by around Christmas time, you can expect a trade to a team like the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Mavs or even the Lakers before the February trade deadline.
The Nets are looking for more cap room and/or young players who can develop along with their young nucleus of Jefferson, Collins and rookie Kristic in return.
If that happens, you can pretty much kiss the Nets' playoff chances this year goodbye now. Even with a healthy Kidd playing out the season in New Jersey, their chances, without a low-post scorer or strong perimeter shooter, look shaky at best.
It took Thorn just a couple of years to turn the Nets from a league embarrassment into a contender. It took Ratner just a few months to dismantle the whole thing. It's a good thing Thorn got a five-year contract extension this time around. He's probably going to need all five years to get this team back to where it was just a year ago.
NEW YORK KNICKS
Starting Five: Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Tim Thomas, Kurt Thomas, Nazr Mohammed
Key Subs: Allan Houston, Vin Baker, Penny Hardaway, Mike Sweetney
Outlook: One hundred million dollars sure doesn't get you what it used to anymore.
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Marc Stein: 10th in East
Chad Ford: Seventh in East
Houston has become a $17-million-dollar-a-year role player. Marbury makes $14 million despite never having lead a team out of the first round of the playoffs.
Hardaway gets his $14 million reminiscing about the good old days. Thomas receives $13 million to be the fourth option. Shandon Anderson gets $7.3 million to sit at the end of the bench. Jerome Williams makes his $6.3 million to waive towels and get the crowd rolling.
Crawford? After leading the Bulls to dismal records the past few seasons, the Knicks are playing him almost $7 million to duplicate the effort in New York.
When the Knicks take the court on opening night at the MSG, expectations couldn't be higher. Isiah Thomas has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to bring you this version of the Knicks – a team many feel is capable of winning the Atlantic Division, thus securing a No. 3 seed in the East come playoff time.
That's a pretty big upgrade over the version of the Knicks we've come to know the past few seasons. But Isiah's promised much more. He said he'd deliver a championship to New York.
What has his huge wallet really gotten him? A group of talented players who can put up big stats, but when it comes to winning playoff games … forget about it.
Crawford (left) and Marbury aren't even the most well-paid guards on the Knicks.
The Knicks are a paper team – and we're not just talking about the green backs. In theory, they look pretty tough. Marbury, Crawford and Houston (if he ever gets healthy) are capable of averaging 20 points a night. Kurt Thomas will pull down rebounds. Tim Thomas will run the floor and compete as long as no one pushes him back.
Back in the day, Baker and Hardaway used to be all-stars. But when it comes to the elusive things like chemistry, teamwork and basketball savvy, is there a veteran team in the league more lacking?
The Knicks will win enough games, based on their depth and talent, to probably make the playoffs. They might even win their division when you consider the competition (Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey and Toronto round out the Atlantic).
Shouldn't $100 million buy you more than 45 victories and playoff berth? Eventually, Knicks fans are going to ask for more. Will Isiah be able to deliver?
Probably not. He's traded away, over the course of the past season, all of his tradeable contracts. Next year their payroll is already at $110 million. In 2006 it will be around $77 million. It's not until 2008, assuming he re-signs no one and doesn't add free agents with the mid-level exception each summer, that he has money to work with again.
Marbury, Houston and the rest of the crew have virtually untradeable contracts. Yes, Isiah might convince some GM to take one or two of them off his hands. But he'll have to take back even bigger contracts from less-talented players to do it. That's how these things work.
So hunker down, Knicks fans. A few more victories, a better playoff seed and some false hope may be enough to hold off the wolves. But not for long.
Philadelphia 76ERS
Starting Five: Allen Iverson, Aaron McKie, Andre Iguodala, Kenny Thomas, Marc Jackson
Key Subs: Glenn Robinson, Samuel Dalembert, Corliss Williamson, Willie Green
Outlook: Are the Sixers moving on up or are they heading for a long frosty stint in the lottery?
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Marc Stein: Eighth in East
Chad Ford: Sixth in East
Depending on what you focus on, both conclusions are justifiable.
Start with the good. The hiring of new head coach Jim O'Brien was a coup. O'Brien was able to get marginally-talented Celtics team into the Eastern Conference finals by employing a tough defense (with the help of assistant coach Dick Harter) and a free-flowing offense that was tailormade to his players' strengths.
O'Brien's philosophy is an easy sell among veterans. Do what I ask on defense and I'll let you do what you want on offense.
Iverson perked up upon hearing that O'Brien was taking charge. Iverson is an excellent defender when he wants to be and prefers to be left alone on offense. In that regard, the O'Brien-Iverson marriage might actually work.
He also has plenty of other tools to work with. Thomas, Dalembert, Green, John Salmons and rookie Iguodala are all young players who have proven, to varying degrees, that they deserve to be in the league.
O'Brien likes young athletes who can defend and Dalembert, Green and Iguodala, in particular, fit that mold.
He also has veteran depth just about everywhere but point guard. Veterans like McKie, Kevin Ollie, Robinson, Williamson, Brian Skinner and Jackson are all capable of contributing to the Sixers.
So what's not to like?
Iverson playing point guard? The decision to ship Eric Snow to Cleveland could end up backfiring big time this season. Snow was the glue who often held the Sixers together the past few years. Yes, his contract was awful and he didn't quite fit into O'Brien's system, but still … his loss could really hurt.
Will Iverson pass the ball? He showed he could do it during the Olympics, when he trusted that his teammates could finish the play. But this team? He's averaging 2.8 apg in the preseason, which isn't spectacular.
Iverson's age is also a pretty huge factor. It's clear that all of the wear and tear is taking its toll. How will his body respond after playing in the Olympics? The past two years his skills have started to erode slightly. The minute he loses his quickness, he's going to fall off the map.
The Sixers should be very solid defensively, but they're going to have to find another scorer to complement Iverson. Thomas is the most likely candidate – though he's looked awful in the preseason.
Robinson was another potential scorer who had his lunch handed to him by Iguodala in training camp. Robinson's defense was so poor and Iguodala's so good, that O'Brien had no choice but to give the rookie the starting nod. It's probably only a matter of time before the Sixers start talking buyout with the Big Dog.
O'Brien had tagged Green to take the role as second gunner, but after a great summer league, he was unable to beat out McKie for the starting two guard position.
Depth could also turn into a negative if players like Robinson, Dalembert, Skinner and Williamson begin complaining about minutes.
Weigh the pros and the cons and you probably have a team that's capable of winning the Atlantic, maybe even a first-round playoff series. But glory days? Those probably won't come again until one of their young studs turns into a star.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
Starting Five: Baron Davis, J.R. Smith, George Lynch, P.J. Brown, Jamaal Magloire
Key Subs: Rodney Rogers, Darrell Armstrong, David Wesley, Chris Andersen
Outlook: Does anyone even really care anymore?
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Marc Stein: 13th in West
Chad Ford: 12th in West
Of all the concerns that the Hornets are faced with this summer, nothing is more pressing than finding some way, any way, to stay relevant.
The Hornets have talent, lots of it. But nothing else is going their way.
The move to the Western Conference couldn't come at a worse time. On paper the Hornets would be, hands down, the fourth seed in the East coming into the season. In the West? We think 12th or 13th sounds about right.
The best player, Davis, wants a trade. Their second-best player, Magloire, would like one, too.
Their third-best player, Jamal Mashburn, is facing a career-ending injury. Their starting power forward, Brown, just celebrated his 35th birthday. And their starting two guard graduated from high school four months ago.
Their third head coach in as many seasons, Byron Scott, is also under the gun. He left New Jersey after his players openly revolted against him, claiming that it was his assistants, not Scott himself, doing the heavy lifting for the Nets.
Of most concern is the fact that no one in New Orleans seems to care. Interest is at an all-time low. Last season the Hornets ranked 28th in the league in home attendance. Their season-ticket holders are fleeing. All of the promises that George Shinn and company made when they moved to New Orleans two years ago haven't come to pass.
For a team nicknamed after a stinging, flying insect … they sure seem to have lost their buzz.
J.R. Smith
Can Smith become the next teen sensation to fuel a team's rise on the court and box office?
What are the Hornets going to do to turn things around? Short of hiring North American Van Lines to pack up the team and move them to St. Louis, Kansas City or another city that would actually support them – the Hornets really have one option.
Pray that the rookie Smith can live up to the hype.
Before the draft, some scouts believed that Smith was Vince Carter with a jump shot. Carter almost singled handedly drove interest toward the NBA up in Canada. Can Smith have the same effect in New Orleans?
He's off to a solid start. Smith already has the body and athleticism combined with deadly range from the perimeter. He's a highlight reel waiting to happen.
So far in the preseason he's ranked third in the team in scoring (12 ppg) and leads the team in three- point shooting at an impressive 43 percent clip (12-for-28 from the field).
"I see a lot of talent," Scott said about his 18-year-old swingman. "He is a young kid who's going to be a very exciting player in this league for a long time. He has gifts that very few players have, and he's a very quick learner. But I think he's probably the most athletic guy I've seen in a long, long time."
If Scott can produce this season, the Hornets – along with 12 other teams in the West – have a shot at making the playoff and regaining the buzz they once owned.
If he struggles, and the Hornets falter once again, start calling the moving vans.
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.
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Wednesday, October 27, 2004
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Jamal Crawford is going to score.
If he has to go 4-of-13 against the Nets on Thursday to shoot 10-of-12 against the Spurs on Saturday, then so be it. He might as well go 6-of-32 against the Jazz, Mavs and Timberwolves in order to shoot 9-of-15 against Dallas.
But while that might have been all right for his former team, the lowly Bulls, it isn't working out too well for his new team, the Knicks. Despite the pay raise, new uniform and starting position, Crawford is shooting 40.3 percent for New York this preseason, after shooting 39.7 percent for Chicago last regular season.
But he isn't the only player coming out of this crazy offseason of unpredictable draft picks, monumental trades and unbridled free agency who has lost something in the translation from one team to the next.
In fact, there are many who have packed their bags and made out for a fresh start only to find the court isn't always shinier on the other side.
Some have gone willingly, others were just traded.
Gary Payton simply refused to report to his new team, held out while the deal was re-worked without his consent and is now 2-of-7 from long range for the Celtics.
Sure, there are several players making the transition with ease like Stephen Jackson of the Pacers, Tracy McGrady of the Rockets and Steve Francis of the Magic. But here are a few that aren't doing so well -- so far -- as we get within one week of opening day.
Skinny: This is about perception. The Lakers can win with Kobe Bryant scoring 25, 30 or 35 points on certain nights, but if Odom doesn't eventually come around, Laker fans are going to really start wondering who they traded Shaquille O'Neal for. On face value, three starters seems fair for almost any one player in the NBA, but this league is built on close-ups and jersey numbers -- and the multi-dimensional, triple-double-threat Odom is the centerpiece. Not the 17-for-60-from-the-field Odom. In his first preseason game as a Laker, he went 2-for-10. In his last game, he had one bucket. In between, he has yet to make more than three baskets. Can you imagine if, in two or three years, we're talking about the Caron Butler for Shaq deal?
Wesley Person
Person
Skinny: This was supposed to be simple. Get Shaq, surround him with Dwyane Wade and the first three volunteers from the bleachers, and there's your Eastern Conference championship. Well, no one really volunteered, and the Heat are wondering how a shooter like Person, a career 40-percent gunner from three-point range, is faltering at 23 percent from the field and 25 percent from long range -- even with Shaq getting the bulk of the defensive attention in the middle. But that's actually the simple thing. Shaq can dunk, jump hook, drop step, block shots and rebound. But he can't shoot for Eddie Jones (30 percent from the field), Wade (no three-pointers in the preseason) or Person (who is playing a lot more minutes for the Heat now than he did for the Hawks last year and still averaging almost half as many points). Take Shaq's numbers out of the equation, and the Heat, as a team, are shooting 42 percent with only one player on the entire roster shooting above 30 percent from long range.
Brent Barry
Barry
Skinny: I thought this was Tim Duncan's team, and he was the only one allowed to get off to notoriously slow starts. Barry was the guy who was going to come in with his outside shooting and slick passing to open up the court for Duncan and Tony Parker. But the fact that Barry shot 45 percent from long range last year and 40.7 percent on his career is only going to go so far as Hedo Turkoglu's playoff shadow. Reputation ain't what it used to be, as the Olympics proved. Currently, Barry's shooting is as unpredictable as Manu Ginobili's decision-making, and it's all being overshadowed by the fact that Duncan (20 ppg in 23 mpg on 71 percent shooting) is absolutely tearing up the league single-handedly right now. In the meantime, Barry has missed 13-of-16 three-pointers while Ginobili has gone 2-of-9.
Kenyon Martin
Martin
Skinny: We knew Martin could rebound when he wanted to. We knew he could play great defense and run the floor with ease. But we thought he was going to be the interior offensive force that the Nuggets are going to need down the stretch of big games and in the playoffs. We're talking about the guy with three NBA Finals under his belt, a maximum contract in his head and all the smack you could ever want coming out of his mouth. Heck, Marcus Camby can block shots and Nene Hilario can rebound. What do they need a high-priced power forward who went 1-for-7 against the Bucks and 4-for-10 against the Pacers sans Jermaine O'Neal for? As it stands now, Martin is the sixth-leading scorer for this Nugget team that is shooting 49.5 percent when the ball isn't in Martin's hands. Sure, he's rebounding and playing defense, but what are Camby and Nene supposed to do now that all three of them are sharing a locker?
---------------------------
Thursday, October 28 Updated 2:03 PM EST
Rumor Central
Clippers' G still bothered by right knee, months after surgery
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Kerry Kittles
Kerry Kittles
Clippers
Clippers Oct. 28 - Kerry Kittles, who has been relatively healthy after missing the entire 2000-01 season because of injury, is not expected to make his official debut with the Clippers before Thanksgiving, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The former Net, who had missed just 17 regular-season games in the past three seasons, has told teammates he expects to be out of the lineup until late November. Since he arrived in a summer trade with the Nets, Kerry has struggled to rehab his right knee. He had surgery in June.
Neither Kittles nor the Clippers have announced a timetable for his return, the Times reports. Rookie Shaun Livingston, the high-school draftee who was supposed to learn in Kittles' shadow, might earn more playing time as a result. But coach Mike Dunleavy is likely to move swingman Corey Maggette to the backcourt to replace Kittles, and start Bobby Simmons at small forward.
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Ruben Patterson
Ruben Patterson
Trail Blazers
? Oct. 28 - Forward Ruben Patterson long has been unhappy about his role as a sub. On Oct. 25, he criticized management and said it – and not coach Maurice Cheeks – was responsible for limiting his playing time.
Two days later, GM John Nash was not denying he had told Cheeks to limit Patterson's time while the team tries to figure out what to do with the logjam at small forward, where Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Darius Miles reign. And he's not averse to trading the pouty Patterson.
"If you look at the situation, Shareef is shooting over 60 percent in the preseason, and we have made a substantial commitment to Darius Miles," Nash told the Oregonian.
"We remain committed to Ruben, but in a role that involves coming off the bench to energize the team. I don't think it is any different than it has been. Whether Maurice chooses to play Darius or Shareef ahead of Ruben . . . it's what we expected. And Ruben and I have talked about it. And so far I think he has been a professional, played hard and given his best effort. And if a trade were to materialize, then we would seriously consider it, but right now, that doesn't appear to be the case."
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Shandon Anderson
Shandon Anderson
Knicks
Trail Blazers? Mavs? Raptors? Oct. 27 - Shandon Anderson's days as a Knick are over, it seems. The Knicks and reps for the forward are trying to negotiate a buyout of the remaining three years, $24 million on his contract, the New York Post reported.
Anderson has been bound to the bench in four of the Knicks' seven preseason games and he's had enough of his feud with coach Lenny Wilkens and team president Isiah Thomas. "To get away from this situation, that's what I want," Anderson said. "Make a move. They're telling me whatever what I do, I'm not going to play."
But Anderson claims he does not know whether he's close to buyout, the Post reported.
Anderson reportedly is upset about the way coach Lenny Wilkens has used him – or not used him. Anderson's streak of 543 consecutive games ended in last season in Atlanta, when Wilkens refused to play him even though the Georgia native had purchased several tickets for friends. Before the All-Star break, Thomas reportedly was pitching Anderson to the Blazers, Mavs and Raptors.
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Ray Allen
Ray Allen
Sonics
Kobe Bryant?
Oct. 26 - Let's play the feud, Part II.
The second installment of Ray Allen vs. Kobe Bryant did not provide a full sequel in San Diego as hoped. Allen's stiff lower back sidelined him for the Sonics-Lakers' second preseason battle, thus lowering the temperature on the war of words between the All-Star guards.
Still, they did have an oncourt confrontation in San Diego Arena. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that when Bryant chased a ball out of bounds in front of the Sonics' bench, he confronted Allen.
"I'll see you again," Bryant told Allen, who two weeks ago criticized Bryant for his selfishness. Bryant initially dismissed those comments, but Sunday reportedly walked out of a pre-game interview session after an Allen-oriented question was asked. "Don't put me and him in the same sentence," Bryant said in the Los Angeles Times.
On Monday, Allen labeled the feud "a dead issue." Bryant told reporters, "I'm tired of talking about Ray. Next question."
Sonics center Jerome James told Bryant to mind his own business in less-than-kind fashion, the P-I reports. Bryant's teammate Lamar Odom told the Sonics' bench that Allen "knows he started it."
The teams do not meet in the regular season until Dec. 14. Said Allen: "We play each other four times during the year. I won't get my drawers in a twist over this game."
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Michael Finley
Michael Finley
Mavs
Mavs
Oct. 26 - Finley, who once owned a streak of 490 consecutive NBA regular-season games played, might be on the bench come the Mavs' season opener.
The Dallas Morning News reports Finley's bothersome left hamstring might sideline him the remainder of the preseason. Even though the former iron man is aiming to be in the lineup for the Nov. 2 season opener, the Mavs might be cautious enough to keep him sidelined until they are satisfied he is healed.
With rising star Marquis Daniels bothered by a left ankle injury, two-fifths of the Mavs' projected starting lineup is sidelined. Josh Howard could replace Daniels, and Jerry Stackhouse might replace Finley in starting lineup come the season opener, the Morning News reports.
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Samuel Dalembert
Samuel Dalembert
76ers
76ers Oct. 25 - The Sixers probably won't offer Samuel Dalembert a contract extension until next summer, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. Instead of picking up Dalembert's fourth-year option before the Oct. 31 deadline, the team will likely give the 23-year-old center a $2,360,935 qualifying offer, which would keep him a restricted free agent. "This isn't a major disagreement, just two sides that haven't been able to come to an agreement," president/general manager Billy King told the newspaper. "So it's better to wait."
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Jayson Williams
Jayson Williams
Retired
Cavs?
Mavs? Oct. 23 - Former Nets' star forward Williams, who was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in the shooting death of a limousine driver, is attempting an NBA comeback.
Nearly three weeks after a Newsday report surfaced that Williams was attempting a comeback with the Mavericks comes news that he actually had a tryout Oct. 21 with the Cavaliers. Williams, 36, reportedly has been working out with such NBA stars as the Clippers' Elton Brand during the summer and reportedly is in great shape.
"He wants to play," coach Paul Silas told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "We worked him out a little bit, and he can still play. He can certainly help somebody."
Silas, who coached Williams as a Nets' assistant in the 1990s, said he did not know if the Cavs are interested.
A jury found Williams not guilty of aggravated manslaughter and nine other charges in the shooting and killing of limousine driver Costas "Gus" Christofi on the night of Feb. 14, 2002. Williams was convicted of hindering apprehension, tampering with witnesses, tampering with evidence and fabricating physical evidence.
Last year, Williams and Christofi's family settled a wrongful death civil lawsuit out of court. Williams was forced into retirement after he broke his leg on April 1, 1999. According to the Oct. 3 Newsday report, Williams has told friends that the insurance on the $86 million contract he signed with the Nets in the 1990s expires soon.
In January, Williams faces a retrial on a reckless manslaughter charge. The jury deadlocked on that in his criminal trial. Williams hopes prosecutors will not pursue that charge, Newsday reported.
WHO INTERESTED THE SKINNY
Wally Szczerbiak
Wally Szczerbiak
Wolves
Knicks?
Oct. 23 - Wally Szczerbiak, who earlier in training camp said unhappy with the prospect of being a sixth man for the Timberwolves, makes no secret of his interest in becoming a Knick.
The New York Daily News reports Long Island native Szczerbiak welcomes the chance to join the Knicks, even though a deal to make that a reality was nixed this past summer.
"They've always been an exciting team that I would love to play for. That's home for me," said Szczerbiak, who scored 20 points in the Timberwolves' 20-point preseason rout of the Knicks on Oct. 22.
According to the Daily News, the Timberwolves turned down an offer of Kurt Thomas -- the frontline force they covet -- and Moochie Norris for Szczerbiak because of Norris' contract.