Around the NBA

[mkwest]

Dwight Howard: The ESQ+A

SR: Do you think that the drive to represent, on an iconic level, will be a factor in your free agency? Do you see yourself in a much larger market?

DH: There's more you can do in a bigger place. I'm stuck in a tough position because I feel like right now, where I'm at, I've done so much. And I just don't know what else I can do. I can't live for everybody else. I don't know what decision I'm gonna make as of right now. It's been crazy. Everybody wants me to come here, come play here, come to our team, do this. It's a great feeling, though, to be wanted.

SR: You're gone. I can feel it.

DH: The toughest part for me is the city — the people. They've got burgers named after me in Orlando, they've got a Web site saying, "Please stay." I love the people in the city. I've literally sat on the bench with a towel on my head crying, because I feel the passion in the stands. I just think about what's going to be best for what I want to accomplish in my life. And I don't want that door to close on me, wherever that door is. I don't want it to close.

SR: Just don't do it as an hour-long ESPN special. Please.

DH: That's not me.

Scott Raab, Esquire

Howard hints at wanting to leave Orlando

The doomsday alarms are going to sound in Orlando, but there’s nothing all that new or shocking here. Howard sounds torn between his loyalty to Orlando and his desire to go to a bigger market. He does not mention his desire to win a championship, though his competitiveness is beyond reproach, and it’s safe to assume the potential for rings will be a huge factor in his choice. And that, more than anything, is troublesome for Orlando.

For all the commotion over stars conspiring to move to glamour markets, there aren’t all that many examples of superstar players who left true title contenders, or teams set to contend in the immediate future, for bigger markets or better teams. The old collective bargaining deal, with its soft cap and Bird Rights, gave incumbent teams an edge in retaining their own free agents, and if those incumbent teams had convinced their franchise guys of future title contention, those guys generally stuck around. (There are, of course, some glaring exceptions, including Shaq and perhaps LeBron James, though the roster surrounding James in Cleveland did not hold the same promise as his new crew in Miami.)

The Magic might be stuck selling Howard on a post-2012 unknown. Even if an amnesty clause allows Orlando to shed Gilbert Arenas’ contract immediately upon the resumption of league business, it will still have about $57 million in committed salaries for next season. Next year’s cap level and structure are uncertain, but it’s hard to imagine any scenario where the Magic would have more than a sliver of cap room. That would leave them with only the trade market and whatever cap exceptions remain as means of improving their 2011-12 roster — a roster that badly needs an upgrade on the wing, with Jason Richardson headed into unrestricted free agency. The Magic have some interesting trade pieces — Brandon Bass, Ryan Anderson, J.J. Redick and Jameer Nelson are relatively affordable and productive — but they lack attractive draft picks, and any combination of those decent players might not be enough to net a roster-changing force.

Zach Lowe, Sports Illustrated

[madmaxmedia]

I'm interested to see how these big men from India develop. I'm curious if they will become NBA material. Only time will tell.

Slow and plodding are the 2 words that come to mind unfortunately. Remember that guy from South Korea who had a cup of coffee with the Blazers?

[mkwest]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlI0FwXM2Gw[/youtube]

This isn't quite NBA or even College, but I couldn't resist posting a video of Sam Cassell Jr.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I'm interested to see how these big men from India develop. I'm curious if they will become NBA material. Only time will tell.

Slow and plodding are the 2 words that come to mind unfortunately. Remember that guy from South Korea who had a cup of coffee with the Blazers?

LOL yes I remember that. Since these big guys are from India I think it's good that they can get a chance to play in college. That way it will be easier to evaluate their skills.

[mkwest]

Brandon Roy is set to retire today due to the condition of his knees. His salary will come off of Portland's books 1 year from today. If he does have a medical retirement, but comes back and plays 10 games, then the salary will go back on Portland's books (a la Darius Miles).

This is sad. Brandon Roy is only 27 years of age and has only played 5 seasons of basketball. We all knew that his career was going to be limited after the knee procedures, but this soon? It's just not fair.

[Det the Threat]

Brandon Roy is set to retire today due to the condition of his knees. His salary will come off of Portland's books 1 year from today. If he does have a medical retirement, but comes back and plays 10 games, then the salary will go back on Portland's books (a la Darius Miles).

This is sad. Brandon Roy is only 27 years of age and has only played 5 seasons of basketball. We all knew that his career was going to be limited after the knee procedures, but this soon? It's just not fair.

Very sad day for the Seattle kid.

I hope he gets over it and maybe starts a career in coaching or something.

It's also a pretty noble guesture by Roy to announce his retirement instead of just having himself amnestied, because he certainly won't get as much money out of that.

Wish him nothing but the best for his future.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

This is sad for Roy and I'm surprised. I thought he would try to tough it out and play a few more seasons. I really like his game. He knows himself best and sadly this is how his career will end.

[mkwest]

This is sad for Roy and I'm surprised. I thought he would try to tough it out and play a few more seasons. I really like his game. He knows himself best and sadly this is how his career will end.

The source said Roy met w/ doctors Thurs and, after an evaluation of his knees, was told: "You can't do this. You might end up not walking."

Joe Freeman

[mike3]

One of the worst nba stories, really feel for Roy, especially hearing 'you might not end up walking'. Thats rough. I loved Roy as a player, he lead that Blazer team and his attitude was always a good one. Sad to see him retire.

[Det the Threat]

The Blazers can't seem to catch a break.

Not only will do lose Roy due to a career ending knee condition, but they also received bad news on Oden's knees(he might not play this season at all and they re-structured his one year deal) and won't be without LaMarcus Aldridge for at least one to two weeks, thanks to him expierencing the same procedure on his heart condition which he received during his rookie year.

I know we've had enough tough luck on ourselves, but they are miles ahead of us on this front.

[playaloc916]

To this day I still can't understand how the Blazers were able to remain so competitive with all those injuries to their guys. To have Roy retire, and Oden possibly out for the year, that's really tough. I hope they can clean their slate after a year or two, and play with a somewhat healthy team. I feel for their fans. I still remember enjoying watching the Blazers back when they had Sabonis and Sheed.

[mkwest]

The Blazers can't seem to catch a break.

Not only will do lose Roy due to a career ending knee condition, but they also received bad news on Oden's knees(he might not play this season at all and they re-structured his one year deal) and won't be without LaMarcus Aldridge for at least one to two weeks, thanks to him expierencing the same procedure on his heart condition which he received during his rookie year.

I know we've had enough tough luck on ourselves, but they are miles ahead of us on this front.

I do feel for their fans and what they've had to deal with. I'm fans of those players, especially Roy and Oden. Even though we knew Roy's time was going to be limited, I had hoped that he would have been able to play a little longer and still be an effective piece in a reduced role. Most NBA fans were pissed when Portland won the Oden sweepstakes, but nobody imagined this would happen to him. I've been a fan of his since watching him in high school. The guy really did have a phenomenal potential. If he had remained healthy, I still believe that he could have been the more dominant player between he and Durant. I know that sounds almost blasphemous, but big men win and he could have easily been the number big in the league.

Their injury situation has been pretty awful over the years (i.e. Walton, Sabonis, Bowie, Miles, Oden, Roy, etc.). I don't know if I would say miles ahead of us though (i.e. Derek Smith, Manning, Harper, Roberts, Vaught, Brand, Livingston, Griffin's rookie year, Kaman, etc.). They do have a championship and have been competitive more often than not. They had a 21-year streak of being a playoff team. Even in their misfortune, they have had some success. We have 7 playoff appearances in our franchise history I'm not trying to make light of their injury history, because they've had HOF/HOF-potential either be hindered or completely devastated by injury. Our players didn't necessarily have that potential, but we'll always be left with the whole what-if factor when it comes to those players.

Moving forward, I'm hopeful that our guys can stay healthy and erase the agony of the past with a promising future. For Portland, they really need to do an overhaul of their medical/training staff. There's something going on up there that just isn't right. The numerous microfracture surgeries in the last decade have been mind-boggling. It just doesn't make sense. In Oden's case, they should have never let him pile on the pounds while he was sidelined. If anything, he needed to remain lean. He needs to get back down to his college weight imo.

[mkwest]

Tonight is the first game that Gordon, Kaman and Aminu will be playing in as Hornets. I was hoping to catch this game, but I guess it's not televised. At the half, the Hornets are up 55-45 over the Grizzlies. Kaman came off the bench and has 17 points, 4 boards and a block. Aminu has a point, 2 boards and a steal in 7 minutes. Gordon started and has 10 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.

[mkwest]

Hornets win 95-80. EJ finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a pair of blocks. Kaman had 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in 23 mins off the bench. Aminu chipped in 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists a steal and a block in 18 mins.

[mkwest]

I'm glad that they changed Aminu's number.

[mkwest]

Currently, the Clippers and the Kings sit atop of the Pacific division. It's only 1 game, but who would have thunk it?

[LOJ]

That is what happens in GS when Monta and Curry are on point. We need to tighten up our rebounding. Curry made Rose look like an MVPoser.

[mkwest]

That is what happens in GS when Monta and Curry are on point. We need to tighten up our rebounding. Curry made Rose look like an MVPoser.

They're going to be a better team as long as Curry gets/stays healthy. For them to actually give a defensive effort and keep the break-neck pace is going to give a lot of teams problems in this shortened season.

[LOJ]

mk did you catch that SAC squad? They look impressive, I feel contending for a playoff spot is going to be THAT MUCH harder. Every game from here on out should be played like it's the last.

[mkwest]

mk did you catch that SAC squad? They look impressive, I feel contending for a playoff spot is going to be THAT MUCH harder. Every game from here on out should be played like it's the last.

I know everybody has high expectations for this team, perhaps the media even more so than the actual Clipper fans. I do think we're pretty much solidified with a playoff spot as long as our primary players stay on the court. The Kings have a lot of talent, and they're going to be fun to watch. The compactness of the season certainly increases their chances to surprise, but they're probably at least a year away imo. Teams like Sacramento or Minnesota are teams that you cannot take for granted and overlook. They have a lot of youth and players that can make things hard for you.

I do agree that the Clippers need to approach every game as a must win game. Talent alone should get us by, but every game is a work toward progress.