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by FOXSports.com
Don Nelson: Warriors have to trade Stephen Jackson
Coach Don Nelson said before Wednesday's game that the relationship between the Warriors and forward Stephen Jackson is irreconcilable and that his departure is imminent. "At some point," Nelson said, "and I don't know when, we have to (trade him). He asked to be traded, and we'd like to trade him. That's if we can."... In a matter of time, the Warriors could have nothing but expiring contracts to show for Mike Dunleavy, the No."3 overall pick in 2002, and Troy Murphy, the No. 14 overall pick in 2001. That and two years worth of memories. "We had our day in the sun," Nelson said. "We had two good years. That's about all you can say about it. I'd do it again just to have those two good years." -- Oakland Tribune
Knicks may target Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson
If the Knicks find themselves struggling to woo LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who can become free agents next summer, they'll likely turn their attention to the players such as Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson, who are expected to headline the next tier of potential free agents at season's end. Regardless of how much money the Knicks will have to spend, there's no guarantee of landing a superstar given the state of the franchise, and because James grew up in Ohio and Wade appears to be staying put in Miami - on Tuesday Heat owner Micky Arison said he had "every indication" that Wade wants to finish his career where it started. And while Bosh isn't the same caliber of player, he has already and quite infamously laughed at the idea of playing in New York. But luring Johnson may not be that hard of a sell. The Hawks guard, who was at the Garden taking on the Knicks last night, played for Mike D'Antoni early in his career and credits the coach for putting him on the path to success. -- NY Daily News
Grizzlies still interested in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's revelation that he is being treated for a rare form of leukemia has not had an impact on the Grizzlies' interest in the basketball great. Griz general manager Chris Wallace said team officials learned of Abdul-Jabbar's condition about a week ago. The NBA's all-time leading scorer was diagnosed last December with chronic myeloid leukemia. Memphis still is negotiating with Abdul-Jabbar to work as a part-time consultant to tutor the team's young centers. Wallace said there is no timetable for Abdul-Jabbar's decision. Abdul-Jabbar, 62, is under contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Griz received permission to speak with him. -- Memphis Commercial Appeal
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NBA star sleeps on floor of luxury hotel because of bad back
Deron Williams was so sore Tuesday night he slept on the floor in the room at the Jazz's luxury hotel here, but he visited with Celtics-recommended chiropractor Tim Morgan for about two hours Wednesday afternoon. Visiting Morgan on Wednesday helped tremendously, suggested Williams, who gets adjusted before every home game and on some off days while in Utah by Jazz team chiropractor Bruce Nielson. "He's the greatest," said Williams, who jokingly relayed a message to Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor that Nielson should be on the Jazz's current road trip. The Jazz do travel with a full-time massage therapist, but Nielson travels only occasionally, schedule permitting and as warranted. -- Deseret News
Sources: Delonte West missed Cavs' charter flight down to Orlando
The Delonte West process is continuing, complete with its ups and downs. Wednesday was a down day, as the Cavaliers put West on the inactive list for their early season matchup with the rival Orlando Magic. Team officials, which did not make the decision public before the game, said it was a part of the ongoing process with West, who had played the last four games. According to multiple sources, however, West missed the team's charter flight Tuesday afternoon to Orlando. Cavs coach Mike Brown said West had been excused for missing the flight. This was at least the second team flight West has missed this season, according to a source, and the others were not excused. Team officials declined to say whether this was the reason West did not play. He did join the team at the morning shootaround but did not warm up before Wednesday's game. -- Cleveland Plain Dealer
Clippers Blake Griffin will miss Oklahoma City visit
Blake Griffin will miss the Clippers' only visit to the Ford Center. He won't even make the trip to Oklahoma City for Sunday's game because he's receiving a second plasma injection today that prevents him from flying. "It's been tough, but I've tried to work on other things, like my ball handling," Griffin said. "It would have been a lot of fun to come back and play at home. Hopefully, I have many more years (in the NBA) and get that opportunity." -- Oklahoman
Mavs Josh Howard battling ankle problems
The news also was grim on Josh Howard, who left the game with 8:46 to go in the third quarter. It was his third game back after off-season ankle surgery. "He was limping, so we took him out," coach Rick Carlisle said. "It's the first back-to-back [games for Howard]. We'll evaluate it and treat it accordingly. He's had some soreness. It's no secret. There's going to be times when there's soreness, and we have to get him out of the game." Asked when he knew he was done for the night, Howard said: "When he took me out, pretty much." Howard called the situation a slow process to get back to complete health. -- Dallas Morning News
Grizzlies Thabeet might be back soon
Grizzlies rookie Hasheem Thabeet did not make the trip to Toyota Center, but he could return from injury as soon as Saturday. The rookie center appeared to suffer a broken jaw Tuesday after a collision with teammate Zach Randolph during a loss to Portland. But Griz coach Lionel Hollins described Thabeet's injury as a "fractured bone on the lower jaw along the teeth line." -- Memphis Commercial Appeal
Earl Boykins lands with Wizards
The Wizards signed veteran point guard Earl Boykins to a non-guaranteed contract on Wednesday. They created a roster spot by waiving forward Paul Davis. The 5-foot-5 Boykins averaged 9.4 points and 3.4 assists in 10 NBA seasons. He played at Vitrus Bologna in Italy last season. -- Washington Post
Phil Jackson: Lakers Gasol might not play until Christmas
After giving daily updates and forecasts about when All-Star forward Pau Gasol and his stubborn right hamstring might finally be fit enough to play, Lakers coach Phil Jackson teasingly said Wednesday that Gasol might not play until Christmas. Just how much Jackson might've been teasing - or needling Gasol - with that comment is unclear. For his part, the Spaniard said he wanted to have at least two days of pain-free running on a treadmill and at least a couple of pain-free practices before returning to action, which roughly translates to at least another 1-2 weeks out of action. "It is mysterious, no doubt about it," Jackson said. -- LA Daily News
George Karl likes J.R. Smith off Nuggets bench
Many fans yearn for J.R. Smith to start for Denver. George Karl is comfortable with Smith coming off the bench, where he thrived in previous seasons. "I could start J.R., but then I don't think he's going to get as many shots or touches," Karl said. "The way I convinced him, I tell him -- 'When you're coming off the bench, you're No. 1 -- when you're starting, you're No. 3 or 4.' " -- Denver Post
Crawford: Trade kept Knicks out of '08 playoffs
Jamal Crawford is on course to finally break his ignominious streak of playing more NBA games without ever making the playoffs (604). Crawford's Hawks, which won 47 games last season, are 6-2 after last night's 114-101 win over the Knicks at the Garden. But Crawford believes that steak would have ended for him last season if Knicks team president Donnie Walsh didn't trade him and Zach Randolph last Nov. 21 in the name of 2010 cap room. The Knicks were 6-5 when the deals were made. They went on to finish 32-50 season. The Knicks still haven't recovered, talent-wise and are still without a go-to guy who wants to take the big shot -- Crawford's staple. "Yes, we would've made the playoffs last year," Crawford said. "I think [39] wins was the playoffs. We would've gotten in." -- NY Post
Jazz coach supports Rasheed Wallace
Count Jazz coach Jerry Sloan as a big fan of Rasheed Wallace and his potential effect on the Celtics' lineup. "You put Wallace on that team with what they have and he gives them a dimension, a big guy that can step out and make threes,'' the Jazz coach said. "We played against him for years and we've never been able to guard him. If he wants to play in the low post, if he's down there, he's a terrific low-post player. He can shoot out around the perimeter. And that's a tough thing to defend. If you go too small, he's going to go down the post and shoot layups. He's a great addition to their team, I'm sure.'' -- Boston Globe
Spurs Duncan, Parker could return soon
After playing their second game without All-Stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, the Spurs are likely to get at least one of them back in the lineup for Saturday's game against Oklahoma City, Popovich said. Popovich wouldn't say which of his All-Stars he expects to play or whether it is possible both may get back on the court. -- San Antonio Express-News
Blake Griffin not buying Clippers curse
Blake Griffin's not buying into a Clippers' curse simply because the franchise has a losing legacy and has had other star players suffer injuries. "It's not something I believe in," Griffin said. "Every single guy, except Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby, are pretty much in their first, second or third year. None of us were here during all that." -- Oklahoman
Kurt Rambis doesn't believe in yelling at Wolves
Somebody asked Wolves coach Kurt Rambis if he had raised his voice to his team since the loss that tied franchise records for most points allowed and largest margin of defeat. "No, do you want me to?" he asked. "When you're working with players on the floor, when you're teaching them and watching videotape, it's about education. I don't know about you guys, but I didn't have too many teachers who were screaming at me all the time to learn something." He did rip into his team loudly and angrily during a third-quarter timeout against Portland on Wednesday, when he exhorted them to get back on defense. -- Star Tribune
Nuggets George Karl supports Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson is facing the sobering reality that he might never be Allen Iverson again. George Karl always speaks highly about the former Nugget, and the Denver coach provided an interesting perspective about what Iverson's going through (relegated to Memphis' bench and pondering retirement). "My experience with A.I. was always good," Karl said. "What happened with him in Detroit and Memphis, what I always worry about is -- I know when my (playing) career was over, and I tore my knee up for the third time, I still thought I could play. It took me at least six months to finally admit it. "Going from whatever level -- starter to bench, bench to 13th man, it takes some time, because the thing that makes us go is our competitive ego, our competitive energy and you can't have that energy if you're thinking you're not good enough. You've got to look at the game and believe you're going to play well -- every game, every practice, every drill." -- Memphis Commercial Appeal
Dunleavy: Clips Chris Kaman wouldn't get enough fan support for All-Star game
Chris Kaman, the Clippers' leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, was not among the team's four players listed on the All-Star ballot released this week. Mike Dunleavy called the exclusion of Kaman "a mistake" but said it probably wouldn't matter "in the sense that he's not going to be a guy that's going to be voted in by the fans anyway. He's going to be a coach's vote based on how he plays." -- LA Times
Larry Brown: I owe John Kuester a lot, too
John Kuester talked much the past few days about how much he owes to Larry Brown. But before Wednesday night's game, Brown, the Hall of Fame coach who won a championship with the Pistons in 2004 and has been successful on so many stops, credited Kuester for much of his own success. Sort of the mentor extending thanks to the pupil. "I don't look at him as my protégé. He's been a big part of my career. I owe a lot to him," said Brown, in town Wednesday with his Charlotte Bobcats. "But the nice thing is there is a lot of guys in this league that have helped me that are doing quite well and have positions that they deserve. "I am happy for him. He deserves it. Joe (Dumars, the Pistons president of basketball operations) recognized that. He's given him a wonderful opportunity. This is a great place to coach and it's a great organization to work for. John will do a great job. He's done a phenomenal job wherever he's been. He's been loyal. I'm confident he'll do a great job here." -- Detroit News
Celts Kevin Garnett likes Dancing Gino
Kevin Garnett gave a nod to the expanded footage of Dancing Gino that is shown on the Jumbotron late in rout situations. Indeed, a number of Gino impersonators can now be spotted in the crowd and on the screen as well. But Garnett was particularly impressed by the latest moves being shown by Daylon Trotman, the young Celtics fan who made an appearance last year on the Ellen Degeneres Show, and can now be seen every night the C's play at home. "The little kid had it cracking," said Garnett. "The fake Gino was just copying Gino. The little kid was putting all kinds of new stuff out there." Everyone now seems to be riffing on the Gino theme. "I was gonna be Gino for Halloween, but I couldn't find a beard," said Rajon Rondo. -- Boston Herald
Wolves go to video tape to fix problems
The Timberwolves' gameday morning film session and shootaround expanded Wednesday from its usual 75 minutes or so into a two-hour-plus tutorial that included more than an hour of watching Monday's 146-105 loss at Golden State again. "Oh, man, it was a lot of people with hands on their faces, towels on their heads," Wolves rookie point guard Jonny Flynn said. "But you need to see stuff like that. You need to be embarrassed. You need coach to call you out to really switch things around. I think we saw a lot of things we did wrong. "Our defense was horrible. It was unbelievable." -- Star Tribune
Suns on record 3-point pace
The Suns' offensive ways and Steve Nash's play began this season like fine wine, getting better with the years. Three-point accuracy is essential. A month ago, it was unclear whether the Suns would have the 3-point shooting desired or even needed to run a well-spaced system. But entering Wednesday's game, the Suns were pouring in 3-pointers at a record pace. Their 47.1 3-point shooting percentage was better than two-thirds of NBA teams' field-goal shooting and way ahead of the 13-year-old NBA record of 42.8 percent, set by the Charlotte Hornets. Phoenix's 11.1 3-pointers made per game was ahead of its NBA record set in 2005-06, when it averaged 10.2. "If we keep getting the shots we're getting, I think we'll shoot mid-40s," coach Alvin Gentry said of the Suns' 3-point clip. -- Arizona Republic
Did You Know?
Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is in terrible shooting slump, he's just 4-of-28 over the last four games after going 0-of-6 against the Magic. -- Cleveland Plain Dealer
NBA had access to angle that Bulls TV viewers didn't see
Replays of Brad Miller's buzzer-beating attempt, shown on the Comcast SportsNet telecast, appeared inconclusive as to whether the ball was still in his hand when the buzzer sounded. But Ron Johnson, the NBA's senior VP of referee operations, said during an interview on the ''Waddle and Silvy'' show on WMVP-AM (1000) that the officials had access to an angle that the TV audience might not have seen. [Crew chief] Mark [Wunderlich] finished looking at various views and then he asked if there was any other view available,'' Johnson said. ''He was given a view that showed clearly that Brad Miller's fingers were still in contact with the ball when there was zero seconds left on the game clock. Therefore, the ball had not left his hand.'' -- Chicago Sun-Times
Skiles: offensive rebounding has helped Bucks
Through the first five games, the Bucks led the league in rebounds per game (47.6), were tied for first with 33.6 defensive rebounds per game and were second with 14.0 offensive rebounds per game. Does that mean that the Bucks have rebounded well or were missing a lot of shots? "One of the things that that's helped us defensively is our offensive rebounding," coach Scott Skiles said before Wednesday's game. "We've been able to at least get some offensive rebounds on some of the bricks we've thrown up there and that helps your transition defense. -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Rudy Gay featured on CNN
CNN will air the feature "Road Warriors: Rudy Gay" between 5 and 6 a.m. today after spending time with the forward in Memphis last month. The segment explores how often NBA players travel, their rituals and what they pack, among other things. Gay's feature will also be posted online at cnn.com/roadwarriors. -- Memphis Commercial Appeal
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