Joanne C. Gerstner of The Detroit News: "The trade of Shaquille O'Neal from the Eastern Conference to the West could have more ripple affects beyond the immediate. Teams in the East, including the Pistons have been engineering their rosters to cope with playoff clashes with O'Neal. ... Pistons coach Flip Saunders was asked if there are any dominant centers left in the East to plan for. 'You still have (Dwight) Howard to look at, now he's kind of the center that's evolving as maybe one of the most dominant in the league,' Saunders said. 'Let's put it this way: you're no longer going to have to carry three or four big guys to waste fouls. Before you'd have them to waste fouls on Shaq. Now you won't have to do that anymore.'"
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "In the wake of the Wednesday trade that sent Shaquille O'Neal to Phoenix for Marion and Marcus Banks, Riley acknowledged looking ahead to his team's next incarnation even before Thursday's 101-84 loss to the 76ers at Wachovia Center, the Heat's 21st in its past 22 games. 'Right now,' Riley said, 'when you take a look at our team, we have become younger, we have become more flexible.' Riley practically would have to bend over backwards from his philosophies to come anywhere close to what Marion has experienced these past few years under Mike D'Antoni in Phoenix. 'He's going to have to adjust a little bit to us and we'll have to adjust to him,' Riley said. 'But I'm sure we'll find a common ground for the rest of the year.'"
Krista Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press: "Since the 5-12 start, the Blazers, led by newly named All-Star Brandon Roy and fellow second-year player LaMarcus Aldridge, have gone 23-8. 'I've been in situations like that (fight) in Portland and D.C., college, high school,' said former Blazer Rasheed Wallace. 'That's what happens. It depends on the players and their mentality. Some players might take it (personally). Some players might leave it on the court.' Wallace said he hasn't been too impressed with the Blazers' rise because "they haven't done anything. They went on a little win streak, but when they have a better record than when I was there, that's when they'll have done something.'"
Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Mark Madsen bought 30 tickets for tonight's game because he wanted everyone he knew who loves basketball to be inside Target Center when No. 21 returned wearing a No. 5 jersey. ... Madsen expected a "special evening" when his former teammate played at Target Center wearing a foreign uniform for the first time. Instead, he and his 30 friends will have only a few fleeting moments before the game to express themselves. ... 'There will be a huge outpouring,' Madsen said. 'Huge. I can guarantee that.'"
Rick Alonzo of the St. Paul Pioneer Press: "Tonight's nationally televised Timberwolves game was supposed to be about Kevin Garnett coming back to play his old team. But instead, what the ESPN audience and Target Center sellout crowd will see is the maturation of Al Jefferson, one of the best power forwards in the NBA. With Garnett injured, the spotlight will fall on Jefferson, the key player the Wolves acquired in the trade with Boston last summer. Tonight's game is the only one involving the Wolves scheduled to be televised nationally this season. 'I haven't had many in my career,' Jefferson said. 'It's always fun to be playing on national TV.'"
Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press: "Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor still has no second thoughts about having traded Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics. In fact, considering the uplifting play of Al Jefferson, the 6-foot-10, 256-pound centerpiece who was acquired for Garnett, Taylor these days is feeling even better about the blockbuster seven-player deal he made last July. 'I've been just so very satisfied with the guys, now that I've met them and watched them play, and especially Al,' Taylor said Thursday. 'We knew when we made the trade that we would be measured mostly by Al. He has done everything we expected and more. He's a step or two ahead of where we might have thought he would be at this time, and he's just a young man (23). I'm glad we signed the contract ($65 million, five years) with him. I think that was really important to him to know our commitment to him. There's nothing that I see today that indicates that we made the wrong decision.'"
Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: There is, however, one part of the deal's aftermath that removed the smile from Kevin McHale's face. 'And I'll put this on the record,' Minnesota's vice president said. 'I've never seen teams lie more after a big deal to try to pacify their fans and say, 'Well, we offered all this.' I can tell you that I read three or four things that said a source high up in Organization X said they offered this, this and this. I wish they had. Then we might have had more competition in the deal. But it just wasn't true. People came out after the trade and said Boston didn't give up anything. 'For me, I can either call those organizations out on the carpet and say they're all lying. Or you can just shake your head like I normally do and just go, 'Wow, people are really insecure.'"
Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News: "Why, Why, why ... Do so many e-mailers seem obsessed with the 76ers trading Andre Miller as soon as possible? The trade deadline doesn't arrive until Feb. 21. That means the best offers might not come until that day. And even the ones that come at that point might not be good enough. Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy probably was stretching a point when he referred to Miller as one of the five best point guards in the league, but you certainly could make a case for him being in the top 10. ... Until someone can offer a starting quality replacement at the position, I'm not so sure that keeping Miller isn't the best option. I see no reason why he couldn't play at this level through 2008-09, when he also will represent a $10 million expiring contract."
Tim Buckley of the Deseret Morning News: '"Is the streak legit? Yeah,' Matt Harpring said. 'I mean, what have we won? Ten in a row. Wow. I mean, anytime you win 10 in a row I don't care who you play -- that's tough.' If others want to believe it's not, or many around the NBA fail to take note of just what the 32-18 Jazz have been doing lately, so be it, Harpring suggested. 'We don't care about that,' he said. 'I hope no one takes notice. Sneak up on everyone.' It's hard not to see, though, that in winning 14 of their last 15 overall the Jazz are a vastly improved team from the one that struggled through December."
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "It slipped from Rick Adelman's mouth and jumped from the page. One sentence that said everything. 'The excuses,' Adelman declared, 'are over with.' That was his message to the Rockets on Wednesday and their mission on Thursday. 'The excuses are over with.' That is the change in the Rockets, and the key to Rockets 92, Cavaliers 77 on Thursday. In the place of the excuses, or explanations if you prefer, there is determination."
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