A really, really, really good idea to fighting performance enhancing drugs: store everyone's urine and blood samples for thirty years. Test them when the state of the art testing technology has caught up with the latest cheating techniques. That wouldn't stop everyone immediately, but it is doable right now and would dissuade a ton of cheating, I'm sure.
ESPN's David Thorpe on Mike Conley, Jr.: Mike Conley is stunningly quick, we all know that. He's also a better shooter than most 'experts' predicted, meaning he's not horrible at it, and his shot looks like it will be a strength pretty soon. But what makes him so special is his decision-making. He simply makes the easy play far more often than trying to make the tough but exciting one. That is a recipe for success, which all point guards should follow."
Famous athletes get offered all kinds of free stuff and nice presents. This is no shocker. But it can sometimes get the NCAA a little wound up. O.J. Mayo got some NBA tickets from Carmelo Anthony, which may or may not be an NCAA violation.
Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News talked to Chris Mullin, who says likely no trade is in the works. (Which, if history is any guide, probably means a trade is in the works.) And as for Gary Payton in Golden State? "C.J. Watson is fine as the back-up point guard, and it's about time to say goodbye to the Gary Payton possibility. Of course, as soon as I say that, his agent's phone will probably ring and the Warriors will be calling. But I never saw that one happening. Payton: No. I suspect Mullin is being polite when he's asked publicly about GP, because he respects GP and his agent. But I can't see how adding Payton would help the Warriors. At all."
Remember when O.J. Mayo's high school teammate Bill Walker wrecked his knee twice? He's back. ESPN's Chad Ford looks at freshmen who are likely to be taken in the first round: "After putting Walker on the 'Who's Not' list at the end of December, he's exploded, averaging 22.5 ppg over his last five games. Walker's explosiveness is beginning to return and he's showing off a new and improved jump shot. Over his last five games he's hit 13 3s and is shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc. The combination of Walker's elite athleticism and his improved shooting touch tantalizes every scout. The comparisons to Vince Carter are realistic and Walker is beginning to show again why scouts had him ranked as a top five prospect in the draft before his ACL surgery last year. If Walker can continue to produce at this level and find a way to share the ball with Beasley, he has a chance to shoot way up the boards."
Larry Brown is talking about the Knicks for the first time in a long time. He joins a large chorus of people with tales of an extraodinarily creepy work environment.
Dave D'Alessandro checks in with Nenad Krstic: "'He's coming along well, and we have another week out here,' team president Rod Thorn said. 'We're hopeful he'll be back practicing very soon, and whenever our medical staff feels he's ready to go he'll go, barring some setback.' 'Yesterday I play a little bit with Boki (Nachbar), one-on-one,' Krstic said, referring to how he spent his off-day in Phoenix. 'But it was more conditioning than serious playing.' Nachbar's wry report: 'He looked good, but I killed him.'"
Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The fact Bernie Mullin (the outgoing CEO, president and traffic cop for the nine-headed ownership group) and Bill Duffy (bean-counter) are out of work illustrates that this remains sports' most dysfunctional executive unit. The owners basically eliminated a layer between themselves and the teams. But Michael Gearon confirmed they also have created a new seven-person committee of relative department heads that reports to the nine-membership group, which runs the two teams, which have a combined zero playoff wins. So, once again, the Atlanta Spirit math: Nine over seven divided by two equals zero."
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "The realization hit throughout the Rockets' locker room like an anniversary that comes at the same time every year but sneaks up anyway. The Rockets looked up and half the season was gone. Opportunities were wasted. Potential was unfulfilled, though apparent. The season began with the traditional hope for a revival that would move the Rockets from a solid postseason team to one that can win a playoff round or contend in the stacked NBA Western Conference. The season reached the midpoint with the Rockets not among the playoff teams."
Jonathan Abrams of the Los Angeles Times: "With Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling having leveled complaints at his top management -- Mike Dunleavy and Elgin Baylor -- the team's players on Tuesday attempted to avoid escalating the dispute. Corey Maggette, the Clippers' leading scorer, is at the center of the organization's top-tier rift. Maggette and Dunleavy have had their disputes, but Tuesday Maggette came to Dunleavy's defense. 'I just can't throw my coach under the bus, regardless of people saying I don't like him or we don't get along,' Maggette said. 'He's had a hard time with the injuries. It's always 50-50. Fifty percent [of the blame is] on us and fifty percent on the coach.'"
One of the players Mike Dunleavy reportedly wanted as a Clipper was Beno Udrih.
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