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Don't believe everything you read (Unless you read it here, of course)Posted: Wednesday February 13, 2002 2:28 PM
It’s the week after All-Star break, which can mean only one thing: The NBA rumor mill is cranking up. With the Feb. 21 trade deadline fast approaching, that means the next few days are going to be filled with more bogus gossip than can be heard at a Golden Girls fan convention. Depending on the day of the week, Nuggets guard Nick Van Exel is either going to New York (Monday), Orlando (Tuesday), Portland (Wednesday), or Timbuktu (Thursday). Warriors center Marc Jackson is going to Phoenix, Indiana, Portland or the Syracuse Nats. And let’s not even start with Latrell Sprewell. As one NBA GM noted last week, most of these trade rumors are just talk. Seldom does word of an actual trade leak out this far ahead of time; only the deals that fall apart or get rejected seem to wind up in the papers. In the meantime, though, it sure makes for fun speculation. Now onto the ‘bag: Where will the NBA All-Star Game be held for the 2003 season? --Nathaniel Frederick, Louisville, Ky. The ’03 All-Star Game will be held in Atlanta. In case you’re wondering why it will be in an Eastern Conference city for the third year in a row (following Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.), it is because this year’s game was a make-good to Philly after it lost out on the ’99 contest because of the lockout. I noticed recently that Timberwolves guard Terrell Brandon has made 83 of 84 free throws for a .988 FT percentage. Is he on his way to set a new NBA regular season record? --Calvin Chen, Champaign, Ill. With a 98.8-percent free-throw percentage through Monday, Brandon indeed was on pace to break former Houston Rockets guard Calvin Murphy’s all-time record of 95.8 percent in 1980-81. Brandon shouldn’t get his hopes up, however. He has only finished better than 90 percent from the line once in his 10 NBA seasons. With half a season left to play, his numbers are likely to come down. Is it just me or is Bucks forward Tim Thomas a legitimate starter in the NBA? Although I think he should be starting over Glenn Robinson, I know that is arguable. So why don't the Bucks ship him and get some big man help? -- Jeff Wright, Lenoir City, Tenn. Thomas probably would be a starter on about half the teams in the league. The fifth-year pro is one of the NBA’s top Sixth Man candidates, a versatile 6-foot-10 athlete who can score, rebound, pass and even play a little defense now and then. Right now he’s better suited to coming off the bench than is Robinson, but Thomas’ time is coming. Thomas’ name always surfaces in trade talk with Milwaukee, but coach George Karl genuinely likes him. Unless some team makes the Bucks an offer they can’t refuse (say, an All-Star caliber big man), they’re not going to let him go. Byron Scott has had great success coaching the East-leading New Jersey Nets, and recently had the honor of coaching in the All-Star Game. I know he was a great backcourt partner of Magic Johnson on those great Laker teams, but what is his coaching background? --Fortune Ybiernas, Manila, Philippines Before being hired as Nets head coach in June, 2000, Scott had spent two seasons as an assistant for Sacramento Kings coach Rick Adelman. While there, he also worked with Kings assistant Pete Carril, the legendary Princeton coach. The Nets now run a version of the Princeton offense. Scott also spent 11 seasons with the Lakers, where he played for Pat Riley, and two seasons with the Pacers, where he played for Larry Brown. Where have the real slashers gone in today's NBA? The only guys I can think of who still do it regularly are Tracy McGrady and Steve Francis. Even Latrell Sprewell and Vince Carter seem like they’re afraid to get hurt. What’s your take? --Rik Jansen, Helmond, The Netherlands There still are plenty of slashers in the NBA, but there are several factors at work against them. First, the players are outgrowing the court. With so many 7-foot small forwards and big guards, there simply isn’t enough room on the floor anymore to find open lanes to the rim. Second, the new rules allowing zone defenses have clogged the middle more than ever. Third, some players are making so much money they don’t care. I noticed that Phil Jackson just got his 700th career win as a coach. Of the coaches who have reached that milestone, his win percentage of 74 percent was far and away the best. Of course, he also has eight NBA titles in the last 11 years. I know some people say that he was riding the coattails of Jordan, and now Shaq and Kobe, but isn’t it true that MJ didn’t win anything until Jackson came along? And isn’t the same true of Shaq and Kobe? Don’t you think Jackson should be regarded as at least as one of the three best coaches all time? -- A.F. Ahmed, Seattle Jackson’s 74-percent win percentage is far better than the next guy on the list, Billy Cunningham (69.8 percent), and his record speaks for itself. Those who claim he was riding coattails conveniently forget that the Zen Master led the ‘93-‘94 Bulls to a 55 wins (without Jordan) and within a game of the Eastern Conference finals, and that he took the same underachieving Lakers group that couldn’t win the previous two years and molded them into a championship unit. He has got to be considered one of the top three coaches all-time, along with Red Auerbach and Pat Riley. I have been trying to get the answer to this question ever since I found out we were getting an NBA team here in Memphis. Is the NBA ever going to realign the conferences -- like the NFL -- to reflect geography? It seems to me Memphis should now be in the East. If that were to happen, which team would be the likeliest to take the Grizzlies’ place in the West? --Marquis Mitchell, Memphis, Tenn. Sorry, Marquis, but there is no plan right now to slide Memphis into the Eastern Conference. The league has discussed the issue, but it doesn’t want to start moving teams around, especially with the Hornets’ situation still very much in the air. Grizzlies GM Billy Knight recently told me he wouldn’t mind his young team getting out of the powerhouse West right now, but he admitted it probably wasn’t going to happen any day soon. Besides, who’s to say that in a few years the power won’t have shifted back to the East anyway? How are assists awarded in the NBA? Is it a pass that results in a basket with no dribbles, one dribble, etc., in between? Are there specific guidelines for official scoring? --Chad Mattice, Rochester, N.Y. According to the NBA’s statisticians' manual, an assist is credited to the player tossing "the last pass leading directly to a field goal if, and only if, the player scoring the goal responds by demonstrating immediate reaction toward the basket." An assist can be credited if a receiving player takes a dribble, so long as he makes an immediate reaction toward the basket. Is the NBA Developmental League set up to allow teams to send players there on assignment? I'm thinking about things like developing rookies who don't get much PT on the big team and also injury recovery. --Ed Durham, Ft. Worth, Texas No. The current collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its players does not allow teams to send players on assignment to the developmental league. Some coaches and GMs would like to see such an arrangement, but the players' association is not likely to go for it. Has a player ever been voted Rookie of the Year and regular-season MVP during the same year? If not, who has come closest to winning both awards during the same season? --Joseph Lusong, Philippines Yes. Wilt Chamberlain (‘59-60) and Wes Unseld (‘68-69) each won MVP and Rookie of Year during the same season. Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.
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