- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "Judging from some of the criticism coming his way, Magic GM Otis Smith put his reputation on the line when he signed PG Jameer Nelson and PF Rashard Lewis. Both players were named as reserves for the NBA All-Star Game by the coaches on Thursday, but Smith said he didn't feel a sense of vindication. He signed Lewis to a whopping six-year $118-million free-agent contract in the summer of 2007, and re-signed Nelson before last season to a five-year deal worth nearly $40 million. 'It's just the business we're in,' Smith said. 'I don't know if I stuck my neck out. I just thought Lewis was the player we could least afford to lose ... and Jameer, I always said: Name me 10 guys that are better.'"
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer: "Mo Williams tried to play it cool when it was announced Thursday that he had not been selected an All-Star reserve by the Eastern Conference coaches. But his teammates were outraged. 'It's a tragedy,' Ben Wallace said. 'I think it's an injustice. It's a fraud. We've got the best record in the league, and we've only got one guy going. You always make it the next year, after the year you were supposed to make it. It's a travesty and a sham and a mockery. It's a shamockery.' Said LeBron James: 'It just shows the disrespect that basketball in Cleveland continues to get. I haven't seen the All-Star list yet, so I can't comment on who's in it. But it's definitely disrespectful that we continue to do work every year with nothing to show for it. They always say when you win, individual accolades will take care of itself. But sometimes it doesn't happen.'"
- Eric Koreen of the National Post: "Being an all-star is cool. You get to go to some parties. You get to sit courtside on all-star Saturday. You get to run leisurely up and down a celebrity-surrounded court for a few hours with the best players in the world on the Sunday. But for Chris Bosh, it is no longer an honour that keeps him up at night. 'It was a little bit difficult for me three or four years ago when I really didn't know,' Bosh said Thursday. 'I get worked up and everything,' Bosh added. 'But I think, in my case, I've made a few of them and I still expect it, but now it's about other stuff. It's about trying to make all-NBA, winning playoff [series], winning championships. I think that's the next step.'"
- Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: "The Pistons, in their disjointed state, could not beat the Celtics or the Cavaliers in a best-of-seven playoff series. These Pistons simply aren't good enough, and it's time to accept that truth. There are no moves to be made that could alter the fading illusion of the Pistons as championship contenders. Of course the Pistons cannot publicly acknowledge the obvious -- that they are sacrificing today for tomorrow -- because it wouldn't sit well with the paying customers. But they can't stop me from saying it. The Pistons aren't returning to the Eastern Conference finals for a seventh straight year. They'd be lucky to escape the first round considering the best seeding they can hope for is a No. 4. Their decline isn't because of a trade they shouldn't have made or a head coach they shouldn't have hired. They're declining because it's their time. Why is that so hard to accept?"
- Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register: "Here in icy Minnesota tonight to start this 10-day Lakers trip, I had time to catch up fully on all the online discussions out there spawned by my recent column about Kobe Bryant's frustration with Lamar Odom's mental mistakes in the Lakers' loss to Charlotte. A lot of discussions out there, indeed. So here are some follow-up thoughts that hopefully will clarify things for some readers. I've already heard from many, many other Lakers fans who are frankly even more frustrated with Odom than Bryant was that night -- and were relieved that I pointed some things out. (As I said before, Odom's greatest quality is his likability, so those who never set foot in the locker room can't enjoy that part of him the way Bryant can.) ... moving forward, here's the first point to make: I would be absolutely shocked if the Lakers traded Odom this season. The team is determined to win it all this season, and Odom provides specific, complementary qualities that are useful -- primarily the ability to defend power forwards yet switch over to watch small ball-handlers and basically create flexibility in the Lakers' amorphous defense. Odom is a stellar rebound-and-run guy and also alleviates some ball-handling burdens on Bryant. And even though Odom isn't great at organizing the triangle, you don't want to bring in someone without any or with limited triangle experience at midseason."
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: "Luol Deng looked like a statue at times earlier this season, standing in the corner, relegated to stationary jump shots as the Bulls tried to keep the middle open for Derrick Rose's penetration. Now, Deng is getting in passing lanes on defense, slashing on offense and resembling the player on the rise he was during the 2006-07 season. ... Even when Deng was struggling along with 39 percent shooting in November, he continued to apply off-season lessons learned at IMG Basketball Academy in Bradenton, Fla. 'A popular myth is when players sign big contracts, they stop working,' said David Thorpe, executive director of the Pro Training Center at IMG and also an ESPN.com analyst. 'Lu felt unbelievably compelled to earn his deal.' Thus, Deng would work on playing more athletically, dunking in warm-ups to promote explosiveness and making a conscious effort to be more active on defense, particularly off the ball."
- Michael Cunningham of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "After the Heat beat Atlanta on Monday, Erik Spoelstra said the team was aiming for the Hawks and Detroit, the two teams it is scrapping with for fourth place in the East. It was a departure from the usual mantra of looking only at the next game, and suggested the Heat is beyond thinking about merely qualifying for the playoffs. 'We want guys to be aware of it and the teams that are ahead of us but not to lose focus and not look too much at the big picture right now,' Spoelstra said. 'It's great to understand a playoff race. The intensity of these games will be turned up another notch.'"
- Michael Murphy of the Houston Chronicle: "Rockets forward Ron Artest was discussing the Rockets' progress over the course of the season, insisting they still had much to learn. 'We're in elementary school right now,' he said. 'How do you go from elementary school to PhD beyond midseason? I don't know, but we're going to try and do
it. We're going to try and make it happen.' Artest then paused for a few moments and was apparently struck by the profundity of his quote. 'Did you like that analogy?' he said, laughing. 'I don't know where that came from. I've been around Shane (Battier) too much.'" - Scott Howard-Cooper of the Sacramento Bee: "There is a man, an Italian working in Moscow, who could be the first. He gets mentioned most often. That's if there is a first. No one can say there will be, and they certainly cannot say when. Maybe this summer, when NBA teams go coach-shopping to fill the six jobs currently open with the likelihood of more vacancies pending end-of-season flameouts. Maybe not. If so, it would be groundbreaking, even for a league that prides itself on a global reach: the first head coach completely raised and schooled in basketball outside the United States. ... Ettore Messina -- he is overseas. He's the one, regarded by most as the top candidate to cross the Atlantic, if anyone does. Coach of the Italian national team, 1993 to '97. Coach of CSKA Moscow, one of the world's most prominent clubs, 2006 to present. Coach of Euroleague champions in both countries. ... Now to find the executive and owner gutsy enough to try it. Gutsy enough because it certainly will expose a team to immense criticism if the hiring goes bad because of communication issues, lack of credibility, the adjustment to NBA rules and pace, or the adjustment to NBA players. On the other hand, hiring coaches from the United States has gone bad for decades in some places, so the risk is relative the first time it happens."
- Julian Garcia of the New York Daily News: "Rookie guard Chris Douglas-Roberts was knocked down a peg by assistant coach Doug Overton Thursday. During a drill that only a few players were participating in, Overton screamed, 'Shut the --- up. You're a rookie!' Douglas-Roberts then stood with his shirt pulled up over his face while he waited to get back on the court. He looked to be on the verge of tears as he returned to the locker room after practice ended."
- Howard Beck of The New York Times: "In better times, entry to a Knicks game required a gold credit card and a bank account with at least one comma. Now all fans need is a pair of scissors and a hammer to smash the piggy bank. Over the last few months, the Knicks have entered the coupon era. A recent clip-and-save promotion advertised savings of 40 percent on January games at Madison Square Garden. Cutting along the dotted lines also entitled frugal fans to a free box of popcorn. They are extreme measures for extreme times, a reflection of the nation's economic recession and the Knicks' own struggles to become respectable again. 'The way we look at it is, we are tirelessly working to make sure we fill this building every single night,' Scott O'Neil, the president of MSG Sports, said."
- Bella English of The Boston Globe: "The NBA's website says Lucky, the Celtics' mascot, 'swears he'll remain the No. 1 fan for his favorite team until the end of time.' Or until time runs out. Damon Lee Blust, the gymnast who plays the acrobatic leprechaun, has parted ways with the Celtics. According to a statement released last night by his agent, Blust and the Celtics 'mutually agreed to relieve Damon from his contract as the team's mascot for the remainder of this season and next.' ... Celtics president Rich Gotham declined to say whether Blust quit or was fired. 'It's a private employer-employee matter, something I can't talk about right now,' he said. The team also declined to say whether or when Blust might be replaced."
- Kyle Neddenriep of The Indianapolis Star: "It has been almost eight years since Jason Gardner entered his name in the NBA draft after his sophomore season at Arizona. A poor showing at the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago convinced him to return to college, where he starred for the next two years and was a second-team All-American as a senior. Gardner, now 28, thought another shot at the NBA would eventually come. It hasn't. But in his sixth season playing overseas -- and third in Germany -- the former North Central High School standout and 1999 Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball isn't letting the dream die easily. 'As long as you show you can play the game and knock down shots, there's a chance,' Gardner said Wednesday. 'I don't think there's a time limit. A lot of teams need point guards, so this is a pretty good time for me to try and make it. I want to make one more run at it.'"
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