- Howard Beck of The New York Times: "The stakes for the coaches are also much higher. In 1986, coaches earned an average of $200,000, and no one used an agent. Then Lenny Wilkens hired Lonnie Cooper and secured a $600,000-a-year deal with the Cavaliers. Today, the average coaching salary is about $3.5 million. Assistants generally earn between $200,000 and $400,000, depending on their experience and their position on the staff. Agents are not universally used, but dozens of coaches now employ them. For the first time, Cooper also has a serious rival in the business - Warren LeGarie, a San Francisco-based agent who represents seven current coaches, two dozen assistants and several front-office executives. LeGarie's growing stable of coaches includes Mike D'Antoni of the Knicks, Rick Carlisle of the Mavericks, Mike Brown of the Cavaliers and Mike Dunleavy of the Clippers. The rest of the league's coaches use lawyers or lesser-known agents for representation. (A number of coaches used player agents until the players union began enforcing a conflict-of-interest rule that had been flouted for years.) At least two teams, Chicago and San Antonio, are known for being hostile to coaching agents and discourage their employees from using them."
- Chris Beaven of the Canton Repository: "The Cavs rallied from a 10-point fourth- quarter deficit Sunday night to beat the Miami Heat, 93-86, in front of a sellout crowd of 20,562 at The Q. It kept the Cavs perfect at home (16-0) and improved them to 26-4 overall, their best 30- game start ever. 'You can tell that the fans are so into it. They don't want us to lose all season,' LeBron James said of the crowd turning from a nervous cheer in the third quarter to an all-out roar by game's end. Staying perfect at home, though, is getting harder for the Cavs. They've had to dig out of deficits the last two games after generally routing the competition the first 14 times."
- Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: "Joe Smith's wife, Yolanda, immediately contacted her husband via e-mail after a friend informed her of the report. She asked Joe if he did indeed say he desired to be traded. 'She knows I never talk like that,' Smith said. 'She knows I'm not ever going to put myself in a position where I can be judged negatively. So that's what she didn't appreciate, and that's what I didn't appreciate. That's what people have to realize, it doesn't just affect us as players, it affects our families as well when we hear whatever's said or whatever's written.' It's a problem NBA players grow accustomed to, but one Thunder players must battle over the next seven weeks as the Feb. 19 trading deadline nears and rumors heat up. More than half of the Thunder's roster is likely to hear their names mentioned in trade winds from now until February. Denver, Toronto, Miami and Orlando are also reportedly interested in Smith, whose veteran savvy and skills, along with his expiring contract, have made him a hot commodity."
- Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "To some, myself included, hearing a player say he would trade in his points for victories would cause you to just shake your head because he's probably just saying it. I don't think that's the case with Danny Granger. He's taking the losing personal. I can't count how many times I've walked into the locker room after games and saw Granger with a blank expression on his face or with his head down thinking about another blown game."
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "For the second consecutive postseason, the Pistons eliminated the Magic last season, this time in the second round 4-1. After being swept by Detroit in 2006-07, the Magic finally won a game to end a nine-game playoff losing streak against the Pistons with a 111-86 rout in Game 3. As a sign that maybe the Magic are maturing, they aren't looking at tonight's first meeting since the playoffs as a forum to settle a score or make a statement. They are merely a rising heavyweight taking on a decorated contender, working their craft."
- Don Seeholzer of The Pioneer Press: "O.J. Mayo claims he won't be looking for any sort of payback tonight when the Grizzlies visit Target Center, and he diplomatically disagrees with the early reviews that the eight-player deal was a steal for Memphis. 'I believe it was a win-win trade for both teams,' Mayo said Sunday after arriving in Minneapolis. 'Minnesota got a great shooter in Mike Miller, a proven player in this league. Kevin Love has been a great player since our middle school and high school days, and had a terrific year at UCLA. I really think (Kevin) McHale did what he felt was best for the team.' It still could end up that way, but so far the scales are heavily tilted in Memphis' favor. Not only has Mayo been a starter from Day One for the Grizzlies (10-20), but he also is a leading candidate to be rookie of the year, leading all first-year players in scoring with a 20.1 average. "
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "Daryl Morey said Sunday that Tracy McGrady vowed in that pregame meeting to return fully committed to playing, likely beginning tonight against the Washington Wizards, and to playing with energy and intensity. But the Rockets' season of uncertainty -- as the news that McGrady could not play spread, Ron Artest changed his mind to say he could -- had grown stranger and more unpredictable. 'It's getting hard,' Rockets guard Rafer Alston said. 'You don't know who you have day in, day out. I know one person it's hard on, and that's coach Adelman. I can imagine his preparation from the daytime when he gets up to the nighttime. He may think he has all his guys, and when he gets to the arena, he's missing two or three guys.'"
- Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "Adam Morrison's recent circumstances -- the guy has not played in three of the past five games and totaled 12 minutes in the other two -- had me flipping through an NBA draft guide. I wondered the last time a top-3 pick was this irrelevant. The Bobcats chose Morrison third overall in the 2006 draft. Keep in mind that was destined to be a weak draft because it was the first one where U.S. high-school seniors were barred from turning pro. Also keep in mind that Morrison missed his entire second season, due to a knee injury. On the other hand, the Bobcats passed over Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay to select Morrison. Oops."
- Jeff Caplan of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Mavericks guard Jason Terry is making a statement with his aggressive play for Sixth Man of the Year consideration -- and, hey, perhaps even an outside shot at the All-Star team. Over the weekend he turned prognosticator for another end-of--the-year award. 'He's doing a great job,' Terry said of coach Rick Carlisle. 'He doesn't get nearly as much credit as he should. But he will come the end of the season.' Terry said he's been impre
ssed with how Carlisle has juggled the rotation to get production at different times from different players. Carlisle won the Coach of the Year award with Detroit in 2001-02. Avery Johnson won it with the Mavs in 2005-06. Carlisle might not want it. New Orleans' Byron Scott won it last season, but the three before him -- Sam Mitchell, Johnson and Mike D'Antoni -- were fired and/or moved to another team." - Steve Adamek of The Record: "Nuggets forward Linus Kleiza hasn't played professionally in Europe, but comes from Lithuania and believes he knows what it takes to play there. So after asking about Danilo Gallinari's status Sunday, he offered a theory about the still-sidelined Knick rookie's back problems. 'It's the grind,' he said. 'It's all the practices and travel. They only play two times a week, but they practice every day. It's tough on the back.' Gallinari said Friday he still expects to need four more weeks of therapy and training before he can start playing full-speed again."
- Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe: "Team president Danny Ainge will be in Utah soon to scout college games and to watch rookies J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker with the Development League's Utah Flash at the upcoming league showcase. With no timetable for their return, Giddens and Walker are making the best of their time with the Flash and hope to impress Ainge during his first visit this season. 'I have the utmost respect for Mr. Ainge,' said Giddens via phone. 'He believed in me. For him to come out is a big deal. He drafted Bill and me and we want to show him we are who he drafted.' Walker added, 'It will definitely be exciting to see him at the game.'"
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