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Last year, for the first time in decades, All-Star Weekend featured H.O.R.S.E., and Kevin Durant defeated O.J. Mayo and Joe Johnson.

This year, word is the competitors will be Rajon Rondo, Omri Casspi and Kevin Durant.

A team executive is worried that the League does not properly understand the appeal of H.O.R.S.E., and expressed the following in a gmail chat:

The league selects the absolute worst H.O.R.S.E. competitors.

Rajon Rondo???

Here's how you make H.O.R.S.E. good:

You gotta have the guy who hits crazy impossible shots. Steve Nash would have been perfect.

You gotta have guys with OVERSIZED trash talking personalities. A guy like Eddie House or Rasheed Wallace or even Brandon Jennings. Just an all-round talker.

Nash, Nate Robinson, Rasheed, and Baron Davis. Now that's a HORSE competition worth watching.

Omri Casspi should be interesting. He looks like he has some off-the-wall stuff.

Not Kevin Durant's boring a--! And definitely not Rondo! Knock him out making five consecutive free throws!!

• Cavaliers' general manager Danny Ferry says that at the moment he expects the Cavaliers won't make a trade, but adds that the team is being aggressive in making phone calls to find out what's out there.
• Wayne Winston's adjusted plus/minus suggests Ray Allen has been very important to the Celtics, and a healthy Kevin Garnett is essential.
• Insight into Del Harris' departure from the Nets.
• In beating the Grizzlies on Saturday, the Timberwolves had something amazing happen: Ryan Gomes scored 20 first-half points. Then Corey Brewer had 15 in the third quarter, and Al Jefferson had 16 in the fourth quarter. "All these teams that play isolation basketball," says David Thorpe, "I wish they'd see the value in using a system like Minnesota does, where they can move the ball to where it's most effective."
• Long two-pointers are inefficient, which is almost certainly why the Rockets don't shoot a lot of them.
• Brent Barry tells Jason Friedman of Rockets.com that Aaron Brooks has a chance to make a name for himself: "There’s going to be a huge turnover in our league at the point guard position in about three years. Most of the guys that we’re talking about -- Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups, etc. -- will be finishing up their playing days whereas Aaron is basically just getting his started. So that window of opportunity to take over an elite spot as an elite point guard in the Western Conference is certainly there."
• A must-read column about the merits of big-time college sports by The New York Times' David Brooks: "American sport teaches that effort leads to victory, a useful lesson in a work-oriented society. Sport also helps Americans navigate the tension between team loyalty and individual glory. We behave like the British, but think like the Greeks, A. Bartlett Giamatti, a former baseball commissioner, once observed. [Duke's Michael Allen] Gillespie appreciates the way sports culture has influenced American students. It discourages whining, and rewards self-discipline. It teaches self-control and its own form of justice, which has a more powerful effect than anything taught in the classroom. But, he argues, college sports have become too Romanized. Seasons have become too long and the arenas too gargantuan. Athletes have become a separate gladiator class, and the recruitment process gives them an undue sense of their own worth. Spectators have been reduced to an anonymous mass of passive consumers of other people’s excellence. Coaches have a greater incentive to satisfy the braying crowd with victories than to teach good habits. Gillespie values sports, in other words, but wants to reform college sports into something smaller and more participatory. I’m not so sure. I think he misses some of the virtues of big-time college sports."
• Please welcome Pro Basketball Talk, featuring a whole bunch of TrueHoop Network bloggers, and run by Kurt Helin, founder of Forum Blue & Gold.
• Dwight Howard plans to go soccer's World Cup in South Africa this summer.
• Check out Boston's "rugby scrum" play. It hypnotizes opponents into setting picks on each other.
• HoopData has created an amazing new tool, that lets you see just about any stats for any players you choose, playing out through the years in colorful animated graphs.
• Earlier today, TrueHoop had some thoughts about the future of internet comments. Here's another alternative: ChatRoulette. (Via Kottke.)
• Crafty Hilton Armstrong. Hilarious video. (Via Basketbawful.)
• "The Boozer face."
• Jeremy from Bucksketball on Carlos Delfino: "My relationship with Delfino has actually paralleled the one I have with Lady Gaga surprisingly enough. At first I was firmly in the camp that opposed both Gaga’s constant presence on the radio and Delfino’s on the basketball court. I didn’t want to deal with a world where both of them were so prominently featured in my day to day life, but eventually I realized the inevitability and stopped fighting it. I caved it and admitted, Gaga pumps out some catchy tunes and Delfino can be productive on a basketball court. I’ve found that since I’ve learned to stop fighting and start Del-Gaga I’ve found myself much happier."

By John Hollinger

NEW ORLEANS – Down Canal St., they kept coming and coming like something out of a zombie movie. Wave after wave of exhilarated humanity streamed past with no end in sight, jumping, cheering, high-fiving, and “Who-Dat?”-ing, all headed toward Bourbon St. to join several thousand of their closest friends in celebration.

As soon as the Gatorade hit Sean Payton, torrents of Saints fans spilled out of every packed-to-the-gills bar and hotel in the French Quarter and CBD and made a beeline for Bourbon. Many of them ran. And as I stood at the corner of Bourbon and Canal and watched the spectacle, I was overcome by just how many people had arrived to take part.

Here’s the thing about the experience in New Orleans last night: It was as much a cultural event as a football event. The locals who flocked into all the bars in the French Quarter and CBD were joined by a crush of expats (Mrs. Professor included) who went to New Orleans—not Miami, but New Orleans—to take part. Every hotel in the city was full this weekend, and almost none of the arrivals were tourists. These were returning locals, clad in “9” jerseys and yelling “Who Dat?” to passing strangers.

When the Saints defied the odds and won, those people turned into a tsunami of humanity seeking out their fellow man. Even the ones who weren’t in the city at first made a beeline afterward—for several hours after the game, cars backed up trying to get into the city and join the fun. The revelry wasn’t short-lived, either. I wasn’t surprised that I was falling asleep to honking horns, screaming and dancing … but it took me aback was when I woke up to fly home and still heard the horns and music.

There’s a story behind the story here, and the Hornets are part of this too: A threatened community clinging to its cultural touchstones. Based on strict demographics, there is no way either the Saints and Hornets should be viable—they represent a poor city that saw 21% of its residents leave and never come back after Hurricane Katrina, one that has the nation's 46th largest metropolitan area and not a single Fortune 500 company.

Yet both clubs are doing well. Government largesse helps, yes, but I also believe the support for those teams is in part a response to Katrina, one that says something much larger: in a nutshell, that This Thing Can Work. At some level, the idea is out there that if New Orleans can preserve the Saints and Hornets, it can preserve all the other things that make New Orleans such a unique and worthwhile place too. (And a little part of me can’t help but wonder if native New Orleanian Peyton Manning thought the same thing, and if that wasn't lurking somewhere in his subconscious last night.)

The NBA, I’ll point out, did its part in this equation by putting the 2008 All-Star Game in New Orleans and showing everyone a city getting back on its feet. But the Saints’ Super Bowl? That was the cherry on top of the sundae.

And man, did these folks know how to commemorate the occasion. You could hardly ask for a better place for a post-game party than a dense warren of compact streets amidst people who love to wear costumes, play music, drink in public, and celebrate. The guy in flowing robes with No. 9 and “Breesus Christ” written on the front took the cake, but lots of folks went beyond the standard garb: the throngs featured countless jester hats, feather boas, and black-and-gold beads. Somehow a guy with a tuba picked his way through the Bourbon St. maelstrom while keeping tune; other assorted brass instruments magically appeared as well.

It wasn’t just Sunday night either. The festivities started during the week with the first wave of Mardi Gras parades. With this being the first time in history that the Saints were still in season before Mardi Gras, virtually every parade had at least one impromptu Saints float added to the mix, usually featuring a giant Drew Brees at the front. (At least one parade also had a Hornets float with a player in a No. 3 jersey at the forefront; unfortunately its Chris Paul statue may have been the single worst depiction of another human being I’ve ever seen. It looked more like Popeye Jones than CP3.)

Other factors made this occasion so special too, of course—the Saints’ history as a punching bag for the NFL’s heavyweights, the near-religious fervor for football among locals, and the dramatic NFC Championship game that led up to the big event.

All told, it was a truly unique experience—a city celebrating its first championship, yes, but as a backdrop celebrating much more. New Orleans still has a long way to go in its recovery, but one can't help but think of last night as a symbolic statement that, yes, the Big Easy is very much back.

The All-Star game is in six days, and many times over the last week or so I have seen a promo for it promising "MORE STARS!"

Which is a little weird, because the number of All-Stars has stuck at 24 more or less forever.

But it's especially weird when you consider that they are dropping like flies.

Here are the full teams, as announced on January 28, with health notes:

• Steve Nash
• Kobe Bryant Sat out with a sore ankle on Saturday, but also has had knee, groin, elbow, back and finger issues.
• Carmelo Anthony Hasn't played since January 23 with a bad ankle.
• Tim Duncan
• Amare Stoudemire
• Kevin Durant
• Chris Paul Had knee surgery and won't play at All-Star Weekend.
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Brandon Roy Has withdrawn from All-Star with a hamstring injury.
• Zach Randolph
• Deron Williams
• Pau Gasol

• Allen Iverson Iverson has missed games recently because of an ill child.
• Dwyane Wade
• LeBron James
• Kevin Garnett Playing with a knee that seems to slow him notably.
• Dwight Howard
• Chris Bosh
• Rajon Rondo
• Joe Johnson
• Gerald Wallace
• Paul Pierce Pierce is playing, but with an injured foot.
• Derrick Rose
• Al Horford

But that's not all. The NBA has already announced Chris Paul's replacement, and it is Chauncey Billups, who also sat out on Saturday and is listed as questionable for Denver's game on Tuesday.

In fact, it's not obvious who will be next in line to join the decimated West team. Those next in line are almost all bigs, like Marc Gasol, Chris Kaman, Carl Landry, Carlos Boozer, Andrew Bynum (who recently left a game with a hip injury) and Nene (who is day-to-day with a foot injury).

But if Bryant and Billups join Roy and Paul in street clothes, the West team will have only Steve Nash and Deron Williams at guard. That's a problem! (If that happens, by the way, look for Williams to be an MVP candidate, spotting up and catching all those Nash passes.) Scanning PER and other metrics, other guard candidates include Monta Ellis, Manu Ginobili, Aaron Brooks, Baron Davis, Tyreke Evans, Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker and Andre Miller -- but none has played exceptionally well for a winning team, which is usually what it takes to be an All-Star.

UPDATE: Brandon Roy has been replaced by Chris Kaman.

In Sunday's New York Times, there was a bit of a rant from Alison Hendrie -- freelance writer and mother of a high-school aged basketball player.

She was pleased to find a place online where her son's games were discussed. And, predictably, disgusted at the tone of the conversation in the comments:

I remember one comment in particular, directed at my son. Suffice it to say, the term “overrated” was about the nicest of the colorful adjectives used to describe his performance.

There may have been a few remarks from students, but a majority of commentary had the wistful sound of middle-age regret, as if these people were trying to relive their youths as the sports heroes they wished they had been.

The thing is, they were talking about a bunch of high school students. Kids. Not professional athletes making millions of dollars. Not even college superstars with full rides to top schools. High school kids — all of whom had worked hard to push their team into the playoffs.

Ridicule. Trash talk. Insults. The boorish level sank even further when one commenter would respond to another, creating a caustic echo chamber.

I checked back recently to see if I had been too sensitive because my son was involved. But though the teams are different as this year’s playoffs approach, the tone is just as negative.

Sports fans are a zealous bunch, to be sure, so I thought I would investigate the wider blogosphere; surely rabid fans were to blame for such a breakdown in civility. Wrong. Political blogs, celebrity blogs, literary blogs and, yes, even some mommy blogs had one overwhelming thing in common: snark.

What to do about that? It's true! People have the nastiest things to say.

A few pages away, in the same paper on the same day, is the story of a Microsoft executive who proposes something bold: That internet users, like highway users, should have licenses that can be revoked for bad behavior. I can hear the outrage already, and don't know what the right answer is. But I certainly believe that it would be doing civility a favor to have internet comments connected to real names, one way or another.

• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: "Stan Van Gundy now has coached the Orlando Magic for 215 regular-season games and another 34 playoff games, and in all that time, he says he's never seen his team play a better quarter than it did in the third period Sunday afternoon against the Boston Celtics. He'll receive few arguments from the Celtics -- not after the Magic needed a little more than seven minutes to erase an 11-point third-quarter deficit and build a commanding 14-point lead. Orlando then hung on down the stretch to leave TD Garden with a 96-89 win and a victory in the regular-season series over Boston. 'I'm quite sure a lot of people picked us to lose, but we picked us to win,' Magic point guard Jameer Nelson said. 'That's all that matters.' It also mattered that Dwight Howard played the entire second half after he sat out most of the first half because of foul trouble. As the team walked into its locker room at halftime, Vince Carter took Howard aside and said, 'Take over and dominate.' Howard responded to the challenge. In the second half, he scored 14 of his 16 points and collected 10 of his 13 rebounds to fuel the Orlando comeback."
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: "Lost in yesterday’s collapse to Orlando was the return of Paul Pierce following a foot injury-induced two-game absence. The Celtics captain, not moving particularly well, finished with 13 points and as many turnovers (three) as he had steals. He lasted for 30 somewhat belabored minutes in the 96-89 Garden loss to the Magic. 'The foot was a little bit sore, but I don’t think it restricted too much of my movement,' said Pierce. 'Like I’ve said, it’s soreness on the top part of my foot, so as far as my lateral movement up and down, it really didn’t matter.' Pierce had said following Saturday’s practice that he wouldn’t make a decision on appearing in next weekend’s All-Star Game until he had a better read on the condition of his foot. The Celtics play one last game before the All-Star break, Wednesday in New Orleans. Pierce also is expected to take part in the 3-point shootout."
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "I know there has been a lot of talk lately about the Wizards being reluctant to move Antawn Jamison to Cleveland given the bad blood between the two franchises. The apprehension is believed to be rooted in three hotly contested playoff series, and Larry Hughes's departure in the summer of 2005. The prevailing sentiment from people around the league is that President Ernie Grunfeld has no desire to help Danny Ferry and the Cavaliers win a championship by giving them Jamison. But I had a recent conversation with an Eastern Conference executive who made a very interesting point. The executive said the Wizards should only be concerned about interest of the organization -- not what Jamison could do for the Cavaliers -- and used Memphis as an example. Around this time two years ago, the Grizzlies traded Pau Gasol to the Lakers for Kwame Brown, Marc Gasol, Javaris Crittenton and two first round picks. The move was roundly panned around the league, with Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace credited with 'gift-wrapping' a title for the Lakers. ... Jamison's dreams of winning a championship are not going to be met in Washington. Holding on to him doesn't really help either side. Of course, Cleveland also has to be wiling to give the Wizards a deal as sweet as the one Memphis received for Pau Gasol. Some reports have the Cavaliers offering Zydrunas Ilgauskas's expiring deal, J.J. HIckson and a first-round pick, but I heard from a league source that the Wizards have not been offered that much. The Wizards, according to the source, have made their demands known to Cleveland, which so far has been unwilling to budge."
• K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: "Following Tyrus Thomas' verbal tirade at coach Vinny Del Negro on Friday in Atlanta, that's three disciplinary actions taken by management in four seasons for Thomas, the soon-to-be former Bull. Whether the Bulls find a taker for the forward by the Feb. 18 trade deadline or simply renounce his rights this summer, Thomas either will or won't reach his tantalizing potential elsewhere. The Bulls will say the steady play of rookie Taj Gibson is why Thomas is no longer the starting power forward after missing seven weeks with a fractured radius in his left forearm. And Gibson unquestionably has been a steal of the draft, a fundamentally sound, reliable player. But part of successful coaching is managing personalities. When Thomas came off the bench to average 16 points, 10.3 rebounds and two blocks in 30.3 minutes in his first three games back from injury in late December, the time to start him and allow him to play through some mistakes arrived. Instead, Thomas came off the bench to play just 15 foul-plagued minutes on Jan. 2 against Orlando. He has played more than 30 minutes just once since -- on Jan. 20 at the Clippers -- and tallied 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks while doing so. Gibson may be a rookie, but he's 14 months older than Thomas. Rightly or wrongly, he has proved he's mentally strong enough to handle starting or coming off the bench. Just as rightly or wrongly, Thomas has proved you lose him if you don't start him."
• Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun: "Hedo Turkoglu's extra layer of protection wasn't as bad as he expected. Reluctantly wearing a mask to protect the broken bone beneath his right eye, Turkoglu spent a good portion of his afternoon strapping and unstrapping his much talked- about mask, but in the end it came down to doing what needed to be done. ... Through it all, Turkoglu managed 16 points and five assists and, while he did wind up fouling out late in the fourth quarter, even that wasn't such a bad thing as it gave the announced crowd of 18,007 the opportunity to give him his own round of applause. ... On Friday afternoon, Turkoglu surprised the team and those around it when he announced he would not be wearing the protective mask for the game despite being advised to do so by team doctors and management. A day later, after numerous phone calls from friends suggesting he do the smart thing and wear the mask, and a harder sell from management and its doctors on the necessity of the protection, Turkoglu relented."
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "As the Spurs return to Staples Center tonight, they are still coming to grips with how to contend with Pau Gasol at the center of a potent Lakers lineup. Including the 2008 playoff series, the Spurs are 3-7 against L.A. since Gasol showed up, though that record could be tested tonight if Kobe Bryant (ankle) and big man Andrew Bynum (hip) can't play. 'It was a huge change for them,' Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. 'They didn't give up much, and they got an All-Star back. It changed them from a very good team into a great team.' The Gasol trade also sparked a new arms race in the West. The Spurs' acquisition of Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess has its roots there, as did Phoenix's failed dalliance with O'Neal. Memphis general manager Chris Wallace, once vilified for the deal, has since been vindicated. One of the pieces he acquired -- Gasol's younger brother Marc -- looks like an All-Star in the making. Another player Memphis signed with salary-cap room created by the trade -- Zach Randolph -- already is one. Still, the biggest beneficiary of the deal was undoubtedly the Lakers, who only months before were on the verge of collapse."
• Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News: "I can't tell you I hear everything, but I do hear some things. We all have 'sources;' some are more reliable than others. I have a handful that I trust implicitly. Still, I can't guarantee the information is totally pure, but here is some of it: While the speculation revolving around Andre Iguodala has been most prevalent lately, one of my sources who is familiar with the situations of the Sixers and the Houston Rockets suggests that the Sixers 'are not prepared to break up their team.' Could be. But I believe the Sixers have had conversations with Cleveland, which apparently is interested in giving LeBron James one more significant piece. There have been stories that the Cavaliers have focused, in some order, on Washington's Antawn Jamison, Indiana's Troy Murphy and Iguodala. Oh, and there have also been Iguodala mentions in Sacramento and Dallas. I thought the Cavs would have a dilemma with Iguodala, who has 4 years and $56.4 million left on his contract. How, exactly, would they feel if they acquired Iguodala to help James, and then -- after the season -- James decided to leave in free agency? How would they then feel about having Iguodala's contract? I'm told by a source familiar with the Sixers' thinking, 'Teams around the league are not put off by that contract.' "
• Frank Isola of the New York Daily News: "The worst-kept secret in sports is that LeBron James, a pending free agent, is the Knicks' primary target starting July 1. The best thing the Knicks have to offer is Madison Square Garden and endless marketing opportunities -- although James appears to be doing pretty well in the marketing department while wearing a Cavs uniform. Cleveland is also providing James with the best chance to win, which James says is his top priority. The Cavs have now won 11 straight games and are on pace to lock up the NBA's best record for a second straight year. The Knicks have to root for Boston, Orlando or Atlanta to knock off Cleveland during the postseason because a second trip to the NBA Finals would likely result in James re-signing with the Cavs. 'That's what we're thinking,' said one Cavs official. 'You never know what could happen but I think he'll stay.' The Cleveland franchise is cautiously optimistic that James will spend the prime years of his career - or at least the next three - in his home state. But they also understand the lure of New York City."
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: "Steve Nash has averaged 17.6 points, 11.8 assists and 1.6 turnovers during the win streak and is at 18.4 points and 11.1 assists for the season. Besides Nash's 2006-07 season, the only NBA player to have those averages for a season in his 30s was Magic Johnson, who did it at 30 and 31. 'If we were a little bit better record-wise, they would be talking about him for his third MVP,' Gentry said. 'Unfortunately for us, we've let some games slip away, and we don't have a record of a Cleveland or the Lakers or a team like that, so those are the guys that they're talking about. Overall, he's had his best year since I've been here.' Gentry and Nash joined the Suns in 2004, but Gentry favors Nash's performance this season over those in 2004-05 and '05-06, when the point guard won back-to-back NBA MVP Awards. 'He's had his best year just from the standpoint of the way he's shot the ball, the way he's taken over game, the way he's delivered the ball to guys,' Gentry said. ... Nash said he would not have thought he would still be playing, had he been asked five years ago. 'I can't play forever, and to be 36, feel good and be part of it with a group of guys you enjoy playing with is a lot of fun for me,' Nash said. 'I feel lucky.' "
• Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: "LeBron James is one of nine current Cavs who wear orthotics in their shoes for games and practices, extending a trend in the NBA in recent years. As little as 10 years ago, players who wore the custom inserts were the exception. More and more, it has become the rule as players have found the devices provide support for arches and help ease common cases of plantar fasciitis and prevent stress fractures. They do a wonderful job correcting angles and gaits,' said Dr. Richard Hofacker, who has been the Cavaliers podiatrist since the 1980s, when only a couple of players wore simple insoles. 'Does everyone need glasses? No. Does everyone need orthotics? No. And there is a placebo effect where people feel better having them,' Hofacker said. 'But they do so many things for athletes, from proper arch support or decreasing plantar fasciitis to preventing stress fractures. But often it isn't that serious -- they help our players to lessen the blisters and calluses, and that is a day-to-day relief to these guys.' Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who has become a bit of a foot expert because of the troubles he had earlier in his career, practically could be a spokesman for orthotics. Most of the Cavs' big men use them, including Shaquille O'Neal and Anderson Varejao, because their feet take extra abuse. Ilgauskas swears by his orthotics, and he wears them in all of his shoes, even when he's not playing. He has encouraged teammates over the years to use them."
• Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle: "They acquire talent that Don Nelson falls in love with, and then falls out of love with as though he were some modern-day Henry VIII. The fans rave about the upsides of players who are in the doghouse a month later -- and injured a month after that. The Warriors do this with draft choices, they do this with free agents, and there is no reason to think that they would treat the fruits of expiring contracts any differently. The problem is, as it always seems to be, that their choices are limited to the same sorts of mistakes they've made before - the classic definition of insanity, with the Lakers as the shimmering house on the hill they cannot visit. So whether it's Anthony Tolliver or Speedy Claxton's expiring contract, it matters not. Until the Warriors show us they want to do something different, something that actually addresses shortcomings rather than reinforces them, something that actually works, no roster development will mean anything. As the philosopher says, same as it ever was, same as it ever was."
• Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee: "A reception for Casspi originally scheduled for Saturday night was canceled because the timing conflicted with the Kings' arrival that evening. The United Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto, which sponsored the event, had placed ads on its Web site, charging $10 per person and $25 per family for 'An Evening with an Israeli King.' Nonetheless, Casspi received a warm ovation during introductions. The Raptors share a history with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Casspi's former Israeli team. At one point during their careers, former Raptors Anthony Parker, Will Solomon, Maceo Baston and Nate Huffman played for the Israeli powerhouse."

By Marc Stein

Are the Suns inching closer to a trade with Philadelphia headlined by Amare Stoudemire and Andre Iguodala?

Separate sources close to both teams caution that it’s too soon to answer that question affirmatively.

One source with knowledge of the Suns’ thinking, in particular, insisted that Phoenix was still evaluating several potential trade candidates.

However . . .

You can safely say that the Suns have ramped up their evaluation of Iguodala, whom they’ve liked dating to the 2004 draft when Iguodala turned pro after two years at Arizona.

We know that because the Suns quietly dispatched one of their lead decision-makers – senior vice president of basketball operations David Griffin – to New Orleans on Friday night to watch the Sixers play the Hornets in person.

As discussed in the Weekend Dime, Phoenix has made it known that – in spite of its longstanding aversion to taking on long-term money – it has serious interest in Iguodala (even with four seasons left on his contract after this season worth $56 million) and would also be willing to acquire Samuel Dalembert (due to earn $12.2 million next season) to clinch the deal.

The Suns, though, would undoubtedly want Philly to take back Jason Richardson in such a swap. Even though the Sixers would have to surrender another player to make the salary-cap math work, such as Jason Kapono or Willie Green, they wouldn’t realize any significant savings in this trade configuration until the 2011-2012 season if Stoudemire follows through on this week’s suggestion that he will not become a free agent at season’s end and plays out his contract at $17.7 million in 2010-11.

You can also expect Philly, if these talks go any further, to insist on Leandro Barbosa instead of Richardson to make it a simpler two-for-two trade: Stoudemire and Barbosa for Iguodala and Dalembert.

Phoenix, furthermore, appears to be the team driving these discussions anyway. The Suns, by all accounts, like the idea of trading for Iguodala more than the Sixers like the thought of gambling on Stoudemire, who remains an undeniable force offensively but comes with that well-chronicled injury history in addition to the opt-out conundrum.

The optimistic view in the desert goes so far as to suggest that Dalembert – shopped by Philly without success going back to last season – would be better than ever playing alongside Steve Nash, not only because Dalembert holds a Canadian passport but because Nash brings the best out of mobile centers.

Yet we should also pass along the warning that came from one front-office executive whose team has expressed its interest in Stoudemire. The exec believes that the Suns could well choose not to move Amare before the Feb. 18 trading deadline if they start playing well again … and Phoenix just went 4-0 on a four-game road trip during which Amare averaged nearly 28 points and 12 boards.

The thing you have to realize about Baron Davis is that this wasn't what he had in mind.

When he signed with the Clippers in July 2008, it was with a certain expectation: Davis would return to his beloved hometown and join forces with Elton Brand to form a powerful pick-and-roll tandem. Though Davis and Brand have vastly different temperaments, they share a common worldview and had a close friendship. Both are like-minded renaissance men with expansive passions that extend far beyond the basketball court. They've each dabbled in the entertainment industry, with successful results. Each places a premium on philanthropic causes. For all of Davis' moodiness on the court, he rarely, if ever, turns down a request to perform charitable deeds in the community he loves dearly.

Davis was prepared to create beautiful music with one of his best friends ... but you know the rest of the story. Brand snuck out of town in the middle of the night to sign a lucrative $82 million deal with Philadelphia, leaving Davis at the altar.

All of the sudden, Davis was alone in Los Angeles, assigned to a coach in Mike Dunleavy notorious for being a half-court fundamentalist. Former Clippers forward Corey Maggette, who feuded with Dunleavy, told Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News at Warriors media day in September 2008 that Davis was in for "a rude awakening" in Los Angeles." Maggette said that he expected his first call from Davis to be, "Man, I didn’t know we had to do all this! I didn’t know we had to watch film 45 minutes before practice!"

By and large, Maggette's prophesy turned out to be true. The Clippers weren't two weeks into the season before Davis told the Los Angeles Times' Bill Plaschke that Dunleavy's thick playbook was cramping his style. "There's definitely a disconnect there. I've never had so many plays in my entire career," said Davis. "I have to figure out how to fit more into his system, and he has to figure out how to relax his grip."

Not the first time
In November 2007, Davis' Warriors were in town for an early-season matchup at Staples Center with the Clippers. The Dubs were working out at Davis' old haunt, Pauley Pavilion on the campus of his alma mater, UCLA. Davis was waxing nostalgic about his days at Pauley, when he mused, "We should have a banner up there: the only team to make the tournament without a coach.” The coach in question at UCLA during Davis' years was the embattled Steve Lavin.

By most accounts, during his formative years in Charlotte, a young Davis had a decent relationship with his first coach, Paul Silas. The same cannot be said for the Hornets coaches who followed Silas. Davis was constantly at odds with Tim Floyd, then Byron Scott. Soon after his trade to the Warriors in 2005, Davis told the New York Times' William C. Rhoden, ''Tim Floyd was a guy from college who hadn't won in the league and he still had that college coaching style of a dictatorship. He didn't want to listen. Playing with Coach Scott, it was more like he was a dictator. It was his way or the highway."

Davis and then-Warriors coach Mike Montgomery got along initially, but it wasn't long before Davis clashed with his traditionalist coach. But once Montgomery left Oakland, Davis finally got what he always wanted: The ultimate laissez-faire guerrilla general, Don Nelson. For Davis, Nelson was a godsend, a coach who not only tolerated Davis' freelancing, but designed his game plan to maximize those instincts.

Under Nelson in 2006-07, Davis had a blast. The Warriors led the NBA in pace factor as Nelson allowed Davis to run the show. Davis recorded the highest player efficiency rating (PER) of his career (21.0), and was the catalyst for possibly the greatest upset in NBA postseason history when the Warriors shocked top-seeded Dallas in the first round of the 2007 playoffs. Davis emerged as a folk hero. Celebrities jetted up to Oakland from Los Angeles to witness Davis' electrifying performance. In the six-game series, he averaged 25.3 points per game on a true shooting percentage of 62.2. Although the Warriors bowed out in the conference semifinals to Utah, Davis exploded for one of the most enduring dunks in recent NBA history, when he posterized Andrei Kirilenko.

The Nelson/Davis marriage seemed eternal, but in the season that followed the Warriors' improbable playoff run, the bond between the two deteriorated. In the Warriors' penultimate game of the season -- one they had to have to cling to playoff contention -- Nelson benched Davis for the entire second half after Davis put up a stinky 2-for-13 line in the first half and failed to play a lick of defense.

Weeks later, Davis was gone.

A rocky start in Los Angeles
Some of Davis' comments about disconnects with Dunleavy and the heavy volume of x's & o's had real merit. Creative coaches find a way to maximize the strengths of their principal talent, and Davis was hindered somewhat by Dunleavy's commandeering each set from the sidelines. But Davis' worst enemy during his maiden voyage as a Clippers player was his own conditioning, something Davis readily acknowledged following the Clippers' disastrous 19-63 season in 2008-09. Davis was overweight and, by his own admission, lost much of the explosiveness that guided his game in Golden State. He converted only 48 percent of his shots at the rim in 2008-09, and was an indiscriminate chucker off the dribble. It took Davis until February 25 to shoot better than 50 percent in a game.

More generally, he appeared uninspired and lackadaisical on the court. His defensive rating of 111 was the worst of his career, some of it attributable to his being out of shape, some of it due to disinterest. There were even questions that Davis might be intentionally trying to sabotage Dunleavy's tenure with the team, a sentiment expressed to me by more than one executive around the league.

Davis is a thoughtful, expressive guy who isn't afraid to be introspective. To his credit, he was self-critical about his first year with the Clippers. In August, he told Ramona Shelburne, "I sucked. I sucked last year. I admit it. What (else) should I say?"

Sophomore Surge
Even while he logged arguably the worst season of his career, life in Los Angeles treated Davis well. He was close to his family and lifelong friends. There were club openings, drinks with the industry crowd at Chateau Marmont, movie premieres and a chance to add to his portfolio of extracurriculars.

None of that erased the embarrassment of his 2008-09 performance, and over the offseason he focused on his conditioning. Davis lost more than 15 pounds and worked out incessantly. At Clippers media day in September, he was absolutely ripped. Once the season started, teammates took notice. Marcus Camby and Eric Gordon never missed an opportunity to talk about Davis' re-dedication. It's one thing to be the titular face of the franchise, but the efficacy of that leadership is hollow unless it's accompanied by on-court performance.

Davis has revived his game. He's raised his PER from a mediocre 14.54 in 2008-09 to an impressive 18.38. His assist rate is the highest of his career. The true shooting percentage is back up over 50 percent. There are fewer ill-advised jumpers and that old explosiveness is back -- Davis is finishing at the rim at a very respectable 56.1 percent clip this season.

The numbers speak for themselves, but beyond the stats, Davis has established himself as a leader both on and off the court. He's cultivated a smooth rhythm with a pick-and-roll partner, Clippers center Chris Kaman. The two mouthy vets have a old married couple vibe to their relationship, but Davis' willingness to deliver the ball how and where his center likes it has been a pivotal part of Kaman's restoration from last season's foot injury. Most nights, Davis has re-committed himself to using his muscular frame to challenge opposing point guards on both ends of the floor. Davis' transition game is the stuff of highlight reels, but his efficiency numbers suggest he's been most potent over the course of the league as a post-up guard. One scout told me that Davis is most dangerous not in the open court, but at the left elbow bullying smaller guards. Despite his preference for winging it, Davis was a willing post player for Dunleavy.

The Clippers' surge in the days before and after New Year's produced a palpable feeling of goodwill around the team. Davis' buzzer-beater to defeat Boston on December 27 was his biggest moment as a Clipper. In the stretch that followed, Dunleavy and Davis independently spoke of their growing relationship.

The Clippers' recent slide, including humiliating losses to New Jersey and Minnesota, washed away the good feelings. Davis' old protests against Dunleavy's tight grip on the Clippers' offense and appeals for more freedom to improvise resurfaced. Dunleavy answered back that Davis' desire for a "free-flowing" offense was already a part of the Clippers' game (He was right. The Clippers rank 8th in the League in percentages of possessions used in transition). Dunleavy further argued that an open court offense was contingent on getting defensive stops, something the Clippers weren't doing during their slide.

Although Dunleavy's arguments were logical, Davis was right about this: The Clippers offense was stale and going nowhere. They're 23rd in the league in offensive efficiency, and those half-court sets just weren't producing buckets. On their recent 2-6 road trip, the Clippers topped 100 in offensive efficiency only once -- in their finale against Atlanta, a game in which they surrendered a third-quarter, 13-point lead and lost.

After a six-and-a-half year run, Dunleavy was out as the Clippers' head coach by Thursday afternoon.

It's his team now
On Friday morning at the Clippers training facility in Playa Vista, Davis was in the weight room brimming with energy. As he worked out on the Reebok core board, Davis belted our every rhyme to Makaveli's "Against All Odds." Over in the corner of the gym, Kim Hughes held his first press avail as Clippers interim head coach. Hughes quickly established what kind of offensive blueprint he's drawing up for the Clippers.

"My style would clearly be running," Hughes said, before elaborating on where he departs from Mike Dunleavy. "[Dunleavy] called a lot of plays for our guys and they’re very good plays,” Hughes said. “I’ll give the players a little bit more freedom. Twofold. Because I don’t know as many plays as [Dunleavy] does. And I don’t think our players want to hear me call a lot of plays. So I’ll leave a lot of the play-calling up to Baron … and we will try to push the ball whenever possible.”

For Davis, Hughes' vision couldn't be more inviting. When Davis is happy, he's very politic with the media. He managed to heartily endorse Hughes' goals without evoking any residual qualms he had with Dunleavy's system (and praised Dunleavy's legacy at every opportunity).

"We should try to play in transition where we can all benefit from our talents," Davis said. "I think it's going to be up to me to manage the game -- who gets the ball, how we play.

"We definitely want to run more," Davis continued. "I think the element of fun and excitement were far and few in between."

Davis' funhouse opens on Saturday night as a struggling Spurs team, losers of seven of their last 11, comes into Staples Center. The Spurs rank 24th in pace factor. The matchup seems like an optimal opportunity for Davis to initiate his unshackled transition offense. That may mean fewer touches for Kaman, who has stated repeatedly he performs best in Dunleavy's pre-ordained sets, deliberately picking apart slower big men on the block en route to the basket or with kickouts to stationary shooters.

Whether Davis orchestrates an open court free-for-all, or merely splits the difference between Nelson and Dunleavy with some early offense that utilizes Kaman on quick pick-and-pops from 17 feet, one thing is certain: The success and failure of the Clippers from now until April 14 rest on Davis' shoulders. With his former coach now upstairs busying himself with scouting the incoming draft class, Davis can't gripe about the playbook weighing down his knapsack.

He wanted his freedom and now he has it.

By Chris Sheridan

In college at TCU, Kurt Thomas once led the nation in scoring and rebounding, making him one of only three players in NCAA history to do so. Two-and-a-half years ago, his expiring $8 million contract was deemed so unappealing by Suns owner Bob Sarver that Phoenix agreed to surrender two unprotected 1st-round draft picks to Seattle, getting back only a 2nd-rounder in return (the second of those unprotected 1st-round picks goes to the Thunder this June, which is why Phoenix is currently looking for at least one 1st-round pick in any Amare Stoudemire trade).

Thomas is currently playing for his seventh NBA team as he works his way through his 15th NBA season, and he soon could end up with his eighth.

ESPN.com has learned that Thomas, the 37-year old backup center/forward for the Milwaukee Bucks, has emerged as a fallback trade option for the few playoff-bound teams (including Portland, Dallas and Cleveland) open to the idea of taking on additional salary.

"I have heard Portland," Thomas acknowledged in the visiting locker room after the Milwakee Bucks defeated the New York Knicks 114-107 Friday night at Madison Square Garden. "It's always a good feeling when you're hearing teams are interested in you."

Milwaukee is believed to be seeking little more than a second-round pick for Thomas and/or Francisco Elson, two of the three expendable big men clogging the end of their bench (the third, Dan Gadzuric, is virtually untradeable with his $6.8 million contract for this season, plus an additional year at $7.4 million).

Thomas has an expiring $3.6 million contract, and Elson has an expiring $1.7 million deal.

That's a $1.9 million difference, but Thomas is both better and more experienced than Elson, having logged 82 playoff games with Miami, New York, Phoenix and San Antonio. And when it comes to slowing down opposing big men, Thomas knows the tricks of his trade -- and doesn't disclose his secrets.

"Whatever tricks I do know, I try to keep to myself. They [rookies and young teammates] have to learn them on their own," Thomas said. "I'm someone who really understands where to be at, spacing, defense and rebounding."

The problem for the three teams listed above is a dearth of expendable 2nd-round picks.

Portland has two 2010 2nd-round picks, but must convey the least favorable of its own or Chicago's 2nd-rounder to Oklahoma City (via Minnesota). But the Blazers would also have to match salaries, and it's questionable -- despite their dire need for a big body due to season-ending injuries to Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla -- whether they'd sacrifice Travis Outlaw's expiring $3.6 million deal to make the salary cap math work in a deal for Thomas (although they were willing to surrender Outlaw to the Bucks a year ago when the teams were discussing a Richard Jefferson trade, but the Blazers wanted Ramon Sessions to be part of that deal, too).

Dallas owes a 2nd rounder to Indiana and has the option of sending its 2010 or 2011 pick to the Pacers, and the Mavericks are also owed a 2010 second-rounder by Oklahoma City -- although the Thunder keep it if it falls between Nos. 31 and 45. Dallas also does not have a one-for-one salary match for Thomas other than Drew Gooden, who is a better player than Thomas. (The Mavs do have a $2.9 million trade exception from the Kris Humphries trade to New Jersey, but that exception is not large enough to absorb Thomas' deal.)

Cleveland owes its 2nd-round pick to Phoenix, and the Suns will have to send it to Minnesota if they finish with one of the league's top 10 records (otherwise the Suns will send their own 2nd-rounder to the Wolves). Also, Cleveland does not have a disposable player whose salary falls within 125 percent of Thomas' (that's part of the trade rules), although the Cavs could get around that problem by pulling a Keith Van Horn trick and doing a sign-and-trade involving the currently idle Wally Szczerbiak or Lorenzen Wright.

Given Cleveland's sign-and-trade options, they would seem to be the most likely of those three teams (unless there is a three- or four-team trade option) to obtain Thomas if their well-chronicled effort to acquire Antawn Jamison from Washington does not come to fruition.

Just a little something to keep an eye on if things are a little too quiet, and the Jamison trade is dead, at 2:30 p.m. ET on the afternoon of Feb. 18, the NBA trading deadline.

For Mike Dunleavy, there have been several flash points over the past couple of months when he thought it might be time to hang it up:

• A 124-93 loss to Phoenix on Christmas Day on national television when his team essentially quit on him in the second half.
• The bizarre incident in Memphis when the Clippers were only 12 minutes away from .500 when Fedex Forum was evacuated due to a broken water main. After a 36-minute delay, the Clippers fizzled in the fourth quarter. "We had a major momentum opportunity," Dunleavy said. "That was a bummer. It was a drain. I had counted on [our winning]."
• The endless carousel of injuries that has kept the Clippers from putting their full portfolio of talent on the floor together for extended periods. "Injury after injury," Dunleavy said. "Every time I think I got someone coming back, it doesn't happen. Or something else happens."
• The mortifying loss to the Nets on the Clippers' recent road trip. "If you go back and look at my quotes leading up to the New Jersey game, you would have thought we were playing the Boston Celtics with Bill Russell," Dunleavy said. "That one really disappointed me, and had a big part in my making the decision."
• His final game, a tough loss to Atlanta at Philips Arena when the Clippers let a 13-point lead get away in the waning minutes of the third quarter, a Hawks run that featured the dreaded 4-point play. "I sort of said to myself, 'Maybe they're not hearing me,'" Dunleavy said. "Maybe another voice could do it."

But the clincher, the moment Dunleavy says he was done as the Clippers' head coach?

It was on the plane home from Atlanta:

I was walking by [Clippers broadcaster] Ralph [Lawler] ... He sits right behind me and he's laughing. I went to use the restroom -- I was studying film, doing whatever -- and I said, "What are you watching?"

And Ralph said, "I'm watching this movie, 'The Hangover,'"

I said, "All my boys have seen it and said they loved it."

And I'm sitting there and I said to myself, "You know, I need a break."

I said, "Ralph, when you're finished with that movie, let me know."

He gave me the movie, and I laughed. And I got in my own head and I'm thinking, "Wow."

One of our guys saw me laughing. He thought I was asleep and he says, "Coach!"

I look up and he said, "What are you laughing at?"

I said, "I'm watching this film."

He said, "Oh, I thought you were asleep and were laughing in your dreams."

I think he was shocked that I was watching a movie as opposed to nonstop film. At that point in my own mind, I said the same thing, "This is a sign that it's time to take a break. Time to recharge the batteries ... You're burnt out on this."

Trevor Winter played a total five minutes in the NBA, during which time he managed to commit five fouls, per coach Flip Saunders' instructions.

Anthony Webb tells the tale on Asylum.com:

Guarding the most dominating player of an entire generation was a daunting task. "When I checked in," says Winter, "[Shaquille O'Neal] looked me up and down, knowing I was a rookie and that he was going to come right at me." On Winter's first defensive possession, the Lakers predictably went right to O'Neal, who spun baseline on Winter for a dunk and "tried to take the rim down on me," as Winter puts it.

Over the next five minutes of action, Winter compiled 3 rebounds and 5 fouls, as his career unwittingly turned into a monument of the Hack-a-Shaq tactic.

Winter has a difficult time recalling many more specifics from the game, though. "It was all kind of a blur," he says. "It was a pretty fast 5 minutes. They were trying to go to him every time and I can't blame them for that."

The Lakers won the game, 107-101, led by O'Neal's 24 points, but Winter fulfilled his duty and, just as importantly, avoided losing money. "They were happy with how I played," remembers Winter, "I asked him if they were going to fine me, and he told me 'no.'"

Despite his efforts, Winter was deactivated after the game; he would never again check into an NBA game. They say everyone gets 15 minutes of fame, but for Trevor Winter, it was only 5 minutes. Still, he left behind one of the most fascinating stat lines you'll ever lay eyes upon.

Now that he's a family man with a job in sales, does he still get asked about his NBA career? "Since I'm 7 feet tall, people always ask me if I played basketball," he says. "I always say, 'Yeah, I played in college.' Then, if they say I should have played in the pros, I usually say I spent a year with the Timberwolves, but only played in 1 game.

"I'm not sure my kids even believe me," Winter laughs.

(Via Deadspin)

On the radio yesterday, Jazz broadcaster David Locke asked me to tell him which eight teams would make the playoffs in the West, and in what order. It was a total ambush. And let's be honest, between now and then there will be winning streaks, injuries, coaching changes, trades and other surprises. It's a crazy time to play this game.

But it's fun! So let's get to it. I'm pretty sure this is what I rattled off:

1. Lakers The only obvious pick.
2. Jazz Perhaps I have been hypnotized by their recent play. But that team is humming.
3. Nuggets The West's second-best team before the Jazz went crazy.
4. Mavericks Even though owner Mark Cuban says his team sucks right now.
5. Spurs The tank looks empty, but tanks can be re-filled. Right? Have to believe they'll figure something out, possibly via trade.
6. Suns Steve Nash won't really miss the playoffs, will he?
7. Blazers Somehow hanging on despite all the injuries.
8. Grizzlies After that slow start, they certainly look like a playoff team.

Teams I'm nervous about omitting:

• Thunder: John Hollinger's playoff odds mock me.
• Rockets: I mocked myself, to Locke, for omitting the Rockets, who are the junkyard dog you can't bet for, but hate to bet against.

And as long as we're at it, let's make some picks in the East, where the selection process is a lot tamer:

1. Cavaliers By most measures, the class of the NBA thus far.
2. Magic Vince Carter has been in a funk, but the team has been good anyway.
3. Hawks They'll have to reverse a bad rebounding trend to beat Boston for this spot.
4. Celtics Healthy, they're the class of the conference. As is: Not healthy.
5. Bobcats Teams that play good defense don't tumble down in the standings.
6. Heat The Suns of the East, I guess. Wade won't let his team back into the lottery.
7. Raptors Now, Hedo Turkoglu looks like the player the Raptors wanted.
8. Bulls They underperformed early, but Derrick Rose is back.

Teams I'm nervous about omitting:

• Bucks Andrew Bogut is a serious big man who seems to have good chemistry with Brandon Jennings.
• Nobody else Seriously, it's amazing. Anybody think the Sixers, Knicks, Pacers, Pistons, Wizards or Nets will make the playoffs this year?

From Ian Thomsen's SI.com story on buzzer-beaters:

"Coach Keith Smart taught me to go through a little routine anytime I'm getting ready to take a big shot or coming out of a timeout and it's a last-second shot," said Clippers guard Baron Davis, who famously led the No. 8 Warriors to their first-round upset of the top-seeded Mavericks three years ago. "And so I use it and it works."

Smart, of course, made the 16-foot jumper with five seconds remaining to win the 1986-87 NCAA championship for Bob Knight at Indiana. He would meet Davis as his assistant coach at Golden State, but Davis is too cutthroat to share the wisdom.

"I can't tell you, man," he said. "It just helps me relax. It's just a little mental thing that I do as I'm coming out onto the floor. I do it especially if I know I'm about to get the last shot. It totally relaxes me and puts me in the mode."

• Not counting pre-season, but counting Team USA and the playoffs, Kobe Bryant has played 281 games since he last sat out with an injury.
• You want to blog about the Orlando Magic?
• Charles Barkley as a "Disco Barney" on a new web page with tons of video from Inside the NBA.
• Boris Diaw goes just a little too soon off the screen, and the Bobcats lose a chance to beat the Lakers.
• The case that the Clippers could use a D-League coach with a reputation for playing a very exciting brand of basketball.
• John Krolik of Cavs the Blog: "The Cavs are one of the best defensive teams in the league in the fourth quarter. The Heat are one of the worst scoring teams in the fourth quarter. So the Heat only managing 13 points in the fourth quarter wasn’t a huge surprise."
• Queen City Hoops has a new version of the Player Swap Tool, and a graph showing that most players get a little less efficient with more touches.
• Joakim Noah has been playing so hard. But now he'll sit. Thanks, plantar fasciitis.
• They say this is the hottest halftime act in the NBA. A young guy from Oklahoma City, outworking everybody. He's the Sam Presti of halftime. (Via Daily Thunder)
• Anatomy of a Wizards turnover, from Truth About It: "Brendan [Haywood] panics and throws the ball away, right in the territory where Jared Jeffries can simply dive with hustle and gain a possession. Phil Chenier mentioned that no one came to relieve Haywood of ball. Kinda true, I guess, but Haywood also handles the ball like Stanley from 'The Office'."
• The grand opening of Yao Ming's new downtown Houston restaurant.
• New idea: I'm going to get movie tips from NBA players on Twitter. Manu Ginobili recommended "Food, Inc." (trailer), and I just watched it. It's important stuff, and it'll ruin your lunch. Now Grant Hill's calling for opinions on "Book of Eli," which he calls "interesting."