- Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee: "Kenny Natt doesn't need to read the fine print. He knows what his job is. He's the temp who occupies the seat until his replacement is hired, which in the current economic climate, means sometime next summer. But please. No more rookies, no more neophytes, no more mistakes. Geoff Petrie and the Maloofs need to find the right guy this time. There will be qualified, experienced, proven NBA head-coaching candidates out there. It's time to attract one, sign him to a multi-year contract and put an end to the Kings' chronic coaching charade. Common sense and due diligence are vital. This ongoing inability to secure an established head coach is as crippling as drafting lottery busts in consecutive years."
- Don Seeholzer of The Pioneer Press: "Another NBA coach bit the dust Monday, when the Sacramento Kings fired Reggie Theus and replaced him with assistant coach Kenny Natt on an interim basis. That makes six coaching changes before Christmas in what Timberwolves coach Kevin McHale, before his team's game against the Kings, called a sign of the times. 'I think you're going to see more and more shorter term stuff in our league,' he said. 'Just because the access now, there's so much media availability and everything else. There's just so many bloggers; everybody's got an opinion. There's all kinds of stuff going on. Sometimes that starts forming the opinion of people in front offices, too, and owner. It's been kind of a crazy year so far.'"
- Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: "Making it truly remarkable, the other owners did this without their mainstay, the Clippers' Donald T. Sterling, who hasn't gotten to fire a single coach. One domino refuses to fall and, amazingly, it's Donald's coach, Mike Dunleavy. ... This is either a result of Sterling's hard-earned wisdom, or Dunleavy's contract, which has two more seasons worth $10.4 million after this one. In either case, it may turn out to be the smartest thing the Clippers have done, or the luckiest thing to happen to them, since Donald noticed Staples Center might have enough dates for a third tenant just months before it opened. Sterling is now flirting with a new concept: stability. Since he is who he is, we'll believe it when we've seen it, but as of today, it's still on."
- Scott Bordow of the East Valley Tribune: "Thankfully, the sellout crowd at US Airways Center Monday night agreed with Steve Nash. When Mike D'Antoni was introduced as the New York Knicks' coach, he received a rousing ovation, and a majority of the fans were on their feet. One man, however, wouldn't say thanks. Owner Robert Sarver refused to give D'Antoni a single clap of the hands. He didn't even look in D'Antoni's direction. Petty? You bet. But it wasn't a surprise. Suns.com employees were told they couldn't shoot video of D'Antoni during the morning shootaround. And other than the mandatory introduction with the Knicks' starting lineup, the Suns didn't do anything special to welcome D'Antoni back."
- Cam Inman of the Contra Costa Times: "The Warriors continued their frightening slide back to NBA irrelevancy, and the vibe inside Oracle Arena is a whole lot different from the 'We Believe' era, which is officially over, by the way. Shots aren't falling. Defense isn't happening. Coach Don Nelson is looking haggard and further and further away from the league's all-time wins mark. Frustration is setting in for a franchise that captured the NBA's collective heart only two seasons ago."
- Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: "No retroactive credit assessing is possible. But with a theft tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedExForum, Chris Paul will tie former San Antonio Spurs guard Alvin Robertson with a steal in 105 consecutive games, a streak over which to marvel, as former Hornets general manager Bob Bass, who chose Robertson with the seventh pick of the first round when he was GM of the Spurs in 1984, is doing in his retirement. 'Alvin had two or three things going for him,' Bass recalled. 'He was 6-4 and had real long arms and was an exceptional athlete. He had speed and quickness and hand-eye coordination and great anticipation in playing the passing lanes. No question about it, it seems like it's impossible (to have 105 straight). But he was able to do it, and Chris Paul, who knows where he's going to stop?'"
- Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: "It was January of 1999, and the lockout-shortened season was about to start. Antonio McDyess, who had played in Phoenix the previous season, was a free agent about to sign with Denver, his first NBA team. 'I didn't want to sign there,' said McDyess. 'I sort of had an in-between mind at that point.' Problem was, he had given a verbal commitment to the Nuggets, and they had flown him in on the eve of training camp to sign the contract. 'When I got to Denver, I just felt like that wasn't the place for me,' he said. 'So I called Jason Kidd (his teammate in Phoenix the previous season) and told him, 'I don't know if I want to sign here, man.' He said, 'Just stay right there and don't do nothing you don't want to do. I will be there soon.'' Kidd, along with Suns teammates George McCloud and Rex Chapman, chartered a plane and flew through a blizzard into Denver that night. 'I was at a (Colorado Avalanche) hockey game (in the owner's suite) and I wasn't going to sign until they got there,' McDyess said. But McDyess said Dan Issel, Denver's coach and general manager at the time, knew Kidd's rescue party was on the way, and instructed security and ticket sellers at McNichols Arena to keep Kidd and company out of the building. ... McDyess, true to his character, honored his verbal commitment to the Nuggets and played four more seasons with them. But he's always regretted the decision he made on that snowy night."
- David Waldstein of The Star-Ledger: "In a rare moment of candor about a subject he normally hates addressing -- the abuse he regularly receives here in one of the NBA's most passionate cities -- Vince Carter said he understands where the fans' strong feelings come from, and even compared their passion to his own as a devoted fan of the NFL's Tampa Bay Bucs. 'I understand a sports fan,' he said before he and the Nets played the Raptors Monday night. 'If you put me at a Tampa Bay game -- I love my Buccaneers -- I'm the same way. Some of these people are harsh. It's fine and I understand it. But I love my team and I root for my team.' Either someone recently reminded Carter of his feelings toward one famous Buccaneer who left Tampa, or he made the connection himself, but the Nets shooting guard now seems able to put himself in the shoes of Raptors fans -- up to a point. Carter never acknowledged booing. 'When Warren Sapp left, it was just tough,' he said. 'So when he comes back, you root against a guy. You watched him grow up; you've done so much for him. I understand that. But you still have love for him. And I understand it.'"
- Brian Hanley of the Chicago Sun-Ti
mes: "Drew Gooden said even a 'zero-tolerance coach' couldn't get him to shave his unique beard, which he calls 'The Johnny' after the facial hair Johnny Depp displayed in 'Pirates of the Caribbean.' 'The 'Johnny' would be here whoever was coaching -- John Wooden, Roy Williams, whoever,' Gooden said while stroking his beard." - Mike Jones of The Washington Times: "Gilbert Arenas added yet another autographed jersey to his collection when the Pacers came to town, getting Indiana point guard T.J. Ford to sign a road jersey before game time. Ford is a fifth-year player with a career average of 11.8 points and 6.7 assists, but his jersey wouldn't be considered a hot commodity to many basketball fans. Arenas believes differently, however. 'I had to get it; he didn't play for them last year. ... If it's an NBA player's jersey, it's worth something. Any autographed NBA jersey is worth at least $250. But Kobe's is worth between $550 and $750,' said Arenas, who figures his own official autographed jersey is worth between $250 and $500. Ford's jersey was roughly the 600th entry in Arenas' collection."
- Bill Lubinger of The Plain Dealer: "LeBron James' nonprofit organization, which had only recently improved its balance sheet and aligned itself with several high-profile corporate sponsors, is cutting its small staff and scaling back some charitable involvement -- but not the NBA star's summer bikeathon. 'I am going to continue to be active in the community, especially with the bikeathon,' James said. 'There are going to be some more things next summer. I don't think it is going to change it. Basically, it will allow the guys around me to focus.' To lower administrative costs, the LeBron James Family Foundation will produce the bikeathon with consultants instead of staff."
- Kyle Hightower of the Orlando Sentinel: "Magic SG J.J. Redick may be in a no-man's land of sorts in the Magic rotation, but he is finding a way to kill the downtime. Redick said recently that he has seen the newest Batman movie, The Dark Knight, about 10 times. Asked to expound on his obsession with the flick, Redick defended his viewing habits. 'It's deep,' he said. 'You have to pay attention to the dialogue.'"
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