In Portland, they hand out thunderstix to distract free-throw shooters to fans at both ends of the floor -- one set for the first half, the other for the second half. The Knick blog Posting and Toasting says they'll never do that in New York, for fear fans would use them to distract the home team.
Damon Agnos of Seattle Weekly delivers a great musical send off to Wally Szczerbiak, set to the tune of Elton John's "Candle in the Wind." A couple of favorite verses: "And it seems to me that in your head/You're still prom king number one/Never knowing who to pass to/When the doubles come/But those triples look too good/Too good to resist/Your ankles gave out long before/Your ego ever did/Loneliness was tough/The toughest role you ever played/Miami created a superstar/And pain was the price you paid/When you called timeout/Oh the press, they hounded you/All that PJ had to say/Was @#(*&$#@#($*&@#($*&@!!"
Deceptively Quick: "I swear to you this grainy glimpse is indeed a Greg Oden frohawk. Guitar Hero and rehab are officially no longer enough to keep this man occupied, he's moved on to hair experimentation."
Brian McCormick: "By the time the Sonics draft all these players with the picks they have acquired, they will have to sign Kevin Durant to an extension. After playing his first 2-3 years on a team building for the future, will he want to wait for these youngsters, many of whom will be 19 when drafted, to develop?"
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Pat Riley said he would consider additional minutes for his younger players with the trading deadline reached. 'I think I'll begin to take a look at different guys, give 'em longer looks, things like that, different combinations,' he said." Apparently playing them a few weeks ago would have really messed up Miami's record.
I have had some questions about Brent Barry. After he waits out his thirty days, can he still re-join the Spurs and be eligible for the playoff roster? The answer from ESPN's people who know about such things is that, as someone who was waived before March 1, he is eligible to be on the playoff roster of any team he might sign with.
David Berri of the Wages of Wins on the Mavericks after the Jason Kidd trade: "After the trade they are better, but I do not think they have closed the gap with the Lakers (assuming Bynum comes back healthy)."
Jason Friedman of the Houston Press quotes Daryl Morey about Gerald Green: "I think Gerald's got a lot of potential. He's too young to look at what he's done, you've got to look at what he could be. We're taking a small investment that could pay dividends. We won't see him play much very likely, but our coaching staff is great at developing young players and we'll get a real look at whether this guy is someone who can help us in the future and the inside track on re-signing him. And this deal was again one that was easier because it-combined with the other move-gives us the room to sign one larger or multiple smaller dollar free agents, and there's a few guys out there." Friedman cites reports saying Brent Barry may be a Houston target.
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