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Blazers talking trade with Wizards, Bulls
There are only a few weeks left before the NBA trading deadline hits and the Portland Trail Blazers , with a few injuries to its front line, would apparently like to make a deal for a big man before then, according to ESPN. The fella they supposedly would like to grab the most is Washington Wizards center Brendan Haywood (notes) , who has an expiring $6 million contract. The Wizards reportedly asked for Rudy Fernandez (notes) and Nicolas Batum (notes) in exchange
Pistons planning to make trades
There's about a month to go before the NBA trading deadline and it is looking like the Detroit Pistons will look like a different team after the deadline than they do now, according to the Associated Press. Pistons' president of basketball operations Joe Dumars ripped apart his team when he figured out it wouldn't be an Eastern Conference powerhouse so you can be sure he won't be afraid to make a deal now that his team is down in the dumps
Celtics’ Garnett back in a week?
It's been a little hard to predict just when Kevin Garnett (notes) , who is recovering from a hyperextended right knee, is going to return to the Boston Celtics lineup and you can believe that coach Doc Rivers would like to happen sooner rather than later. But he's got to wait like the rest of us for a healthy Garnett. What Rivers is saying right now is that Garnett could be back in the lineup in one week, on Jan
Utah Jazz ready to trade roster
The Utah Jazz have had a pretty disappointing season thus far and as a result, fans of the team shouldn't expect the roster after the trading deadline to be too similar to the one they currently see. The word from Yahoo! Sports' Marc Spears is that every single member of the team is on the trading block, except for point guard Deron Williams (notes)
Hornets nearly traded Brown to Timberwolves
The New Orleans Hornets apparently were close to having a deal in place to send guard Devin Brown (notes) to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Jason Hart (notes) , but the two sides couldn't get it to work out financially, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The Hornets apparently asked Brown to give up some of the cash he had coming to him so the deal could work but he wouldn't do it. The money was contained in trade bonus in his contract that gives Brown a payout of 10 percent of his $1.1 million salary if he gets traded.
Drastic drop not expected in NBA salary cap
With the economy not as strong as it once was, the NBA was bracing itself before the season got started for a lot of empty seats. But things have gone much better than expected, which is making all those players that will become free agents this summer very happy because it means that the salary cap certainly won't drop as much as some were expecting
Magic’s Nelson playing tonight?
Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson (notes) had knee surgery on Nov. 18 and could be back as early as this evening when the team takes on the Utah Jazz , according to the Orlando Sentinel
Portland Trail Blazers shopping Steve Blake?
Portland Trail Blazers guard Andre Miller (notes) has supposedly been on the trading block this season, but he's supposedly not on it right now because the team is offering up another guard to potential suitors, according to ESPN. Two general managers supposedly told the paper that Steve Blake (notes) has been offered to them when they called asking for Miller.
Former NBA ref Tim Donaghy a compulsive liar?
Former NBA ref Tim Donaghy doesn't have a lot of friends in the National Basketball Association. You wouldn't either if you spent 15 months in federal prison for giving the inside dope on players and games to a couple of gamblers and then wrote a book about it and claimed that other refs are behaving just as poorly. Well, Donaghy made himself another foe this week, according to the New York Post
Knicks turning 2010 attention to Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson
For the longest time, the New York Knicks have been clearing salary space to make room for the summer of 2010 in the hopes of bringing in LeBron James (notes) and Dwyane Wade (notes) to save the franchise. The problem is that there isn't much to the team right now and Wade and James have perfectly good support systems where they are right now.
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LATEST HEADLINES
Hawks want Horford extension
Al Horford averaged 14.2 points per game last season for the Atlanta Hawks (along with 9.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 2.3 assists). According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the team would like to have the 6-10 forward/center continue putting up those kinds of numbers for the team for a few more years. "Indications are that the Hawks plan to make an aggressive push to sign ..
Knicks reject three-team deal for Fernandez?
Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Rudy Fernandez is trying hard to get himself out of the City of Roses, saying that he'll never play there again. He's been rumored to be interested in heading to the other coast and joining the New York Knicks .
Nuggets not engaging in Carmelo trade talks
Carmelo Anthony made it pretty clear this offseason that he's interested in leaving the Denver Nuggets , which still has a three-year, $65 million contract extension offer on the table to its star. But Anthony becomes a free agent next season and ESPN is reporting that the Nuggets, at least for now, aren't trying to trade Anthony at all.
Heat shorthanded at point guard?
The Miami Heat may have the most talented roster on paper going into the season, but the games still need to be played and the South Florida Sun Sentinel is reporting that when training camp gets started in less than a month, the team may be without its starting point guard from last year, Carlos Arroyo . Arroyo is currently stuck on the bench at the world championships due to a "deep bruise in his left quadriceps," the paper reports. If that weren't enough, third-year guard Mario Chalmers , who is expected to make a run at being the starting point guard, is also possibly not going to be ready to go when training camp starts, the paper reports, because of a high ankle sprain he suffered in July
Chris Paul never asked for trade
Back in early July, when the free-agent floodgates got thrown open, the New York Daily News reported that New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul felt that team owner George Shinn had "lied" to him about upgrading the team this offseason. Paul is under contract till the end of 2012 but the paper reported that Paul was unhappy with his situation there, which is likely what led to him saying in a speech at Carmelo Anthony's wadding in New York City, "We'll form our own Big 3," referring to himself, Anthony, and the big addition to the New York Knicks this offseason, Amar'e Stoudemire