[dalinkerParticipant]

 http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=7d5lnhm

Rockets get Kaman

Hornets get Thabeet/Flynn/Hill

Houston lands Kaman’s expiring contract, his inside game and size. Hornets get a hell of a player in Flynn(he needs to play), Thabeets defense and an improving Jordan Hill. 

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

I Just heard that the Hornets will reinstate Kaman to the team and wait before they trade him….SMH

[GottaBeTheShoesParticipant]

I bet they’re bluffing.  They weren’t getting any good offers so they decided they shouldn’t keep him from playing.  I think they’ll try and keep trading him though.

[peizoaokoaoaParticipant]

Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby said the franchise had been  gearing up for life without Nash for the past two years

[PROBALLWAParticipant]

“I think the term we’ve been using is restructuring,” Williams said during the team’s media day. “I don’t think we’re really rebuilding right now. Obviously we still have guys who can play at a high level. Al [Horford] coming back off of his injury and he’s an All-Star guy. In my opinion, I felt like Josh [Smith] should have been an All-Star last year. You still have guys here who are more than capable.”

[kosoyoParticipant]

After openly discussing how great his legs felt entering training camp, it is a bit surprising to see Nowitzki miss a second preseason exhibition with a knee issue. The team is calling the injury a “right knee effusion,” meaning an abnormal amount of fluid has surrounded the joint.

[ie882Participant]

So what have we learned, with all these factors and disclaimers? We’ve learned that there’s something here, something that’s perhaps yet to solidify and still at least a bit hidden. But there’s something, and even these first hints of it are enough to provide some hope.

[ie882Participant]

Gasol has played extensively in the preseason in the absence of Howard, who still hasn’t debuted for the Lakers midway through the preseason despite participating in every practice. Although the former Orlando center feels no pain in his surgically repaired back, Howard insists he won’t return until he’s completely healthy, but won’t speculate on when it might happen.g34t34

[ie882Participant]

The key will be Roy, who is coming back after missing last season with chronic knee problems. He had a procedure this summer to try to relieve the bone-on-bone pain and signed with the Timberwolves in September after feeling much better in workouts.j56u5656

[scoobaoParticipant]

Training camp isn’t the only growth Irving has undergone since last season ended, however. He also spent some time in Las Vegas over the summer with the USA Select Team training with other All-Stars and All-Stars-to-be. After that, he was supposed to remain in Vegas to play with Cleveland’s Summer League team, so his time there would have been even more productive had he not lashed out at a wall in frustration during a practice, injuring his hand bad enough to keep him from pairing with rookie Dion Waiters in league competition. Despite the setback, Irving was still able to pick a few things up while in Nevada.mnfhfgh

[scoobaoParticipant]

It’s easy to laugh now, but this season should still prove to be a challenging one even with some added talent and another year of growth from Irving. There’s a lot of youth on this team—and there could be even more should Anderson Varejao end up getting traded at some point as expected—so expectations for the Cavs are still understandably tempered.luyi768

[scoobaoParticipant]

It was a frustrating time for Evans, the vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, and the rest of the NBPA’s executive committee. However, after 160 stressful days, the two sides would agree to a deal and ratify a new collective bargaining agreement to save the 2011-12 NBA season.y455454

[scoobaoParticipant]

Then, even more recently, there’s been another emphasis on combinations, on getting players together on the court to find their best matchups and positioning.

It’s been that, chemistry and combinations, over and over, and yet with injuries and personnel decisions and the general “who cares?” attitude that can color preseason games, it’s been little more than talk.

[hkdojzoaParticipant]

How’s that for a resume? Of course, all that experience makes Green, still only 26 years old, one of the most experienced veterans on the Indiana Pacers, and that is what has thrust him into a leadership role already on his new team.

[hkdojzoaParticipant]

Coach Scott still isn’t ready to announce a starting lineup for Tuesday that includes Varejao and Zeller, but it appears to be a pairing he is committed to and it is one that makes a lot of sense for the Cavaliers. On a team with so few veterans, Scott needs Varejao to be the stabilizing influence for his young big men and that means Varejao will be playing both power forward and center for the Cavaliers this season.

[hkdojzoaParticipant]

“I told the players that I’m going to use the entire month to try and focus and find the right fit for this team,” Smart said. “I used Tyreke in training camp at the one, two and three. So I’m going to look and focus on what group of players can fit together and not over-step each other. But Tyreke was by far our best defensive player on our team during training camp. So I’m looking forward to him being able to fill multiple roles for our team.”987p7890698

[hkdojzoaParticipant]

“As we’re speaking, I’m getting ready to put together a tape from where we were last year, and how he performed defensively, to what he’s done in training camp,” Smart said. “The guy has shown that he wants to commit to that side of the ball. He came in camp in great shape, did a great job in everything we were doing and wants to take the next step. He’s got to be consistent in his play every night. I said to him that he should be an all-defensive player.o8689686

[hkdojzoaParticipant]

“What I’ve tried to do, one, from talking to them all throughout training camp, is I’m looking for our team to develop, for our team to have the right kind of chemistry, which is going to help us win,” Smart said. “I used different lineups in camp. I said the goal for us is for our team to succeed more so than any of you individuals. We have to buy into that if we’re going to win, and you guys communicated to me that you want to win, it’s going to take an abundance of sacrifices for our team to have a great, winning season. You guys have to make a decision that that’s the way we’re going and you can handle it. If not, you know where my office is. You can come talk to me and say, ‘Hey Coach, I can’t handle this. Can you and Geoff do something to change my address?’”faef323223

[hkdojzoaParticipant]

The right knee of Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has been problematic for him this preseason. He’s battling persistent swelling that could be fixed with arthroscopic knee surgery, but that would keep him out anywhere from three-to-six weeks.

“I’m doing everything I can not to have surgery,” Nowitzki said after the Mavericks’ 123-104 victory on Monday night. “I guess that’s obvious that I really don’t want it done now. If I want to do it, I would love to do it after the season, get through the season somehow, but the swelling came back three or four times now. That’s obviously not good news.-890-80

[hkdojzoaParticipant]

“We’re going to see if it gets any better these next couple of days before we do another decision,” Nowitzki said. “That’s really the only update we’ve got. There’s a little swelling in there. It makes no sense at this point of the preseason to play on a swollen knee, so we decided to see what’s going to happen here in the next couple of days.”.ljlkjlkhk

[hkdojzoaParticipant]

Of course, it all comes down to what the Mavericks’ physicians feel is the right choice. If they feel he can last through a tolling NBA season, then he should pass. However, if they feel the operation is in his best interest, by no means is it a blow he and the Mavericks can’t recover from. In fact, it could be one that makes them better down the line as a result.674356345

[Author]

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