The decision to fire head coach Vinny Del Negro has already been made, according to sources with knowledge of the Chicago Bulls' thinking. The fact that the Bulls' front office has not been able to settle on a replacement is the main thing keeping the embattled Del Negro employed, the sources said. - ESPN.com
There is no shortage of reputable coaches available. Byron Scott, who was fired by New Orleans earlier this season, would seem to be a logical candidate. Avery Johnson, who sources say is on the short list of coaching candidates for New Orleans and New Jersey next season, along with Jeff Van Gundy, Sam Mitchell and Lawrence Frank, have all had successful coaching careers. Scott, Johnson and Mitchell have all been named NBA Coach of the Year. - ESPN.com
According to league sources, the Kings remain on the lookout for a big man to help defend the rim and add frontcourt athleticism. Dalembert remains on the Kings' radar, but it appears nothing has progressed on that front. While the Kings are on track to have approximately $15 million in salary cap room this summer, Sacramento has always been a difficult place to lure top-tier free agents, and the prospect of the Kings opting to make their big move via trade is high. - Sacramento Bee
The Wizards, though, don't appear to be treating this as any sort of last straw. And trading Arenas would be incredibly difficult for the Wiz even if the $111 million man was having a spotless season because of the four years remaining on his mammoth contract and his history of knee troubles. - ESPN.com
The two Wizards who continue to draw the most interest from rival teams are forwards Caron Butler (who will have an array of Western Conference suitors when Washington decides that it's finally ready to break up its core) and Antawn Jamison (who is fiercely loyal but quite frustrated, as I hear it, by the ongoing disarray with the Wiz). - ESPN.com
But as the trade deadline approaches, the 34-year-old Ilgauskas is a valuable commodity for a team looking to carve out cap room for next summer's big free agency period. While the Cavaliers obviously don't want to help out a team that could go after James, who can opt out of his contract, owner Dan Gilbert certainly might be willing to pick up money down the road for Ilgauskas if it gives Cleveland a better shot at a title this season. - FanHouse
Coach Rick Adelman said McGrady's status will be re-addressed on Monday and/or Tuesday when the Rockets return home from a two-game back-to-back road trip that began with a 98-93 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Saturday night and concludes in Cleveland on Sunday. - ESPN.com
“I’m a player, man,” McGrady, 30, said. “I don’t make these decisions. I just abide by whatever they bring to me. That’s the plan. I’m not going to argue and fight with them — just run with it. I felt it was time (to increase the routine of playing seven to eight first-half minutes). “I’m not going to cause any confusion or confrontations. As a player, that’s what I felt. They obviously feel different. That’s what I have to roll with.” - Houston Chronicle
Does this speed up the timetable on a resolution between McGrady and the Rockets, whose victory Saturday night improved one of the NBA's more surprising records to 18-12? "I don't know. I think a lot if it has to do with what the front office is thinking. We have a lot of good young players, and when you have a guy like Chase Budinger who's playing really well, and Trevor (Ariza) is developing, it's tough to take minutes away from them. It becomes a numbers game at some point," Battier said. - ESPN.com
When asked directly if a change of scenery may be the best and only solution, Curry said: "I won't even touch on that 'cause I'll be the first to get fined for it. But I will say that as long as I'm here I'm going to give it my all and if they decide this isn't the place for me I'll talk about it with you guys then. Right now, I'm here so I'm going to assume that he wants me here. I'm going to assume that Donnie (Walsh) wants me here and Mr. (James) Dolan wants me here." - New York Daily News
Salmons hasn’t played as well as the Bulls hoped and scored just 3 points off the bench in Saturday’s win over New Orleans. That’s not even the biggest issue, though. Salmons has an option to terminate the final year of his contract, worth $6.7 million, next summer. There’s a good chance he will, since a decent number of teams will have cap room and even if he signs for a smaller yearly salary, he might be able to guarantee himself a greater guaranteed income over the next few years. - Arlington Heights Daily Herald
The process, O'Connor admitted, could take a while to play itself out. The 12-deep Jazz have two weeks from the trade date (last Tuesday) to get their roster up to the required league minimum of 13. "We're going to study some tapes and make some phone calls about availability of guys," O'Connor said, "and determine what direction we're going to go in." - Deseret News
The Warriors have qualified to sign another injury exemption player, and coach Don Nelson said he would like to add a small forward. The top four scorers in the NBA Development League are swingmen and are posting more than 25 points per game. Morris Almond, a 6-foot-5 guard, is the league's top scorer, and Reggie Williams (6-6, F), Michael Harris (6-6, F) and Desmon Farmer (6-5, G) could fill the role, too. - San Francisco Chronicle
Foye last week was asked about any burden he carried in Minnesota because of the Roy-Foye comparisons -- he had become a poster child of sorts for Wolves boss Kevin McHale's personnel decision missteps -- and if his shoulders feel lightened in an East Coast city not far from Newark, N.J., his hometown. "Never, really," he said. "The media made a bigger deal out of the Foye-Roy thing. I felt as though they could have pushed for me harder. I was fighting against fans that were reading that and I was fighting against the media. - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Foye started feeling uneasy when David Kahn refused to meet with him after taking over general manager, but he still was startled to get the call from agent and Ernie Grunfeld that he was headed to Washington in a multiplayer deal. "When the change came, it was a shock. But it was a new beginning for me," he said. "I felt as though I got to take advantage of this. This is an opportunity for me to make it into the playoffs. Doing well on this team. When they made the move, it was no looking back." - Washington Post
Before last night's game against the Utah Jazz, reserve center Marreese Speights addressed comments teammate Elton Brand made after the Sixers' last game, Tuesday's loss at the Washington Wizards, which gave them a 7-21 record. That night, Brand said: "Certain guys didn't box out, didn't rebound, and weren't tough. Certain guys got a longer leash than others, so they played longer and the mistakes were shown." - Philadelphia Inquirer
Speights said he heard about Brand's comments because "people called me." "I was kind of upset because I wouldn't think my teammate would throw me under the bus like that," Speights said. "I would never say nothing like that about him. But, hey, he's been in the league longer than me, so I can't say nothing about it." - Philadelphia Inquirer
The key was confronting Dwight Howard with single coverage. Howard shot 1 for 7 and had seven turnovers. Kendrick Perkins did get into foul trouble, playing 20:41. But Rasheed Wallace delivered an efficient performance in relief and Kevin Garnett added an inside presence, though possibly slowed by a thigh bruise that kept him out of last Tuesday’s game against Indiana. “It wasn’t going to change the way I play,’’ said Perkins, who committed two fouls in the opening 70 seconds. - Boston Globe
Asked if it was annoying to hear the chant considering the Knicks’ turnaround since Robinson’s banishment, D’Antoni made a cryptic but telling remark. “There’s also a chance of showers,” D’Antoni said, indicating Robinson’s chances of getting off the bench yesterday were worse than slim. - New York Post
It's easy to jump all over the Wizards and get upset that they lost to the team with the worst record in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Timberwolves, but I'll let Gilbert Arenas make my point for me. "We can call them the worst team in the West, but it's not like we've got that many wins over them," Arenas said after the Wizards lost 101-89 on Saturday night. "Right now, we are one of the worst teams in the East until we can prove ourselves. Right now, we win two, we lose four." - Washington Post
They had Saunders looking ill most of the night, as he angrily paced up and down the court. He slouched his shoulders after each bad jumper early in the shot clock. He turned and rolled his eyes as the Timberwolves consistently beat them to offensive rebounds. And he repeatedly shouted at players whenever they missed a defensive assignment. - Washington Post
Williams, who's hoping for his first All-Star nod in his fifth season, was glad to hear McGrady gave him props like that. "That'd be great. T-Mac's been an All-Star for years," Williams said. "This year he hasn't played, so it's kind of hard to put somebody in like that. But he still has the fans' vote." - Deseret News
Suns forward Jared Dudley entered Saturday's games as the NBA's leading 3-point shooter. That would seemingly put him in line for an invitation to the All-Star Weekend's 3-point shooting contest. "But would you rather have 20,000 more Twitter followers or the (contest) money?" Stoudemire asked Dudley, knowing his affinity for his Twitter account, which has more than 12,700 followers. - Arizona Republic
In an age when it seems NBA players mostly declare their disinterest in the slam dunk competition, Griz forward Rudy Gay said he would like to be a participant. "I want to redeem myself," Gay said. "I felt like I didn't really perform like I wanted to the last time." However, Gay hasn't received an invitation from the league. - Memphis Commercial Appeal
When asked about the company he keeps at the top of the NBA's scoring list, Durant responded: "Those guys score easy. I'm not on their level yet. Carmelo can get 30 in his sleep. Kobe can get 35 or 40 real easy along with LeBron. I don't think I match up with those guys at all yet. To be in that company I've got to do a little bit more and that's what I'm working towards." - HoopsWorld
Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash will turn 36 years of age in February. Like with most guards in NBA history, people are just waiting for his game to embark on a rather steep decline. Thus far, folks are still waiting as Nash is having perhaps the best season of his illustrious career. And yes, that includes his two MVP seasons of 2004-05 and 2005-06. - HoopsWorld
Hawks guard Joe Johnson agreed with his coach's assessment saying: "We fly under the radar. That's just the way it is and that's how it's going to be. I'm sure nobody in this room is mad about that. Everything is pretty much said and done out there on the court, so that's where we've got to handle our business. We can't worry about the naysayers." - HoopsWorld
It's often said that Martin is one of the NBA's best defensive players. But basketball statistics tell little in terms of a defender's value as football stats do about an offensive lineman's worth. For more clues to Martin's impact at the defensive end, we looked inside that recent game against the Thunder. Martin was a chameleon, guarding guards on one possession, centering in on centers the next. He screamed commands as if he were Brian Dawkins, getting teammates in the right position, yelling at them if they messed up. - Denver Post
It was the most minutes Howard had played since January 2007 and the first time he logged consecutive double-doubles since December 2006, the last time he was a regular starter. "Juwan's been amazing," Brandon Roy said. "We always knew he could play. But we didn't want to put heavy minutes on him because we wanted to use him over the season. But when Greg and Joel went down and we had no choice, he said, 'I'm ready. I'm ready.' " - Oregonian
There was some confusion over the details of Artest's injury, although a team spokesperson clarified that the 30-year-old forward fell down a flight of stairs while carrying a box and didn't trip over a box, as was believed earlier in the day. Artest injured his elbow and needed stitches in the back of his head - Los Angeles Times
Officially, Villanueva, Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton and Ben Gordon are all game-time decisions for Sunday’s matinee in Toronto, but the expectation is that unless their bodies object to going through practice for the first time in a while – nearly eight weeks for Prince, about three weeks for Gordon and nearly two weeks for Hamilton – they’ll all be available to John Kuester in Toronto. “It was good to see them all on the floor,” Kuester said. “(Teammates) were excited to seem them in practice and in live contact. It was a lively practice. There were things going on that I was real pleased with.” - Pistons.com
Luke Walton's injured back has responded well enough to shooting and rebounding drills the past few weeks that he's hopeful he can return to practice next week and play again soon afterward. The reserve forward has missed all but nine games this season as a result of a pinched nerve in his lower back. "It's frustrating," Walton said. "You'll walk around the house and feel good, but you've got to feel a lot better than good to play in this league. " - Riverside Press-Enterprise
Joe Maloof, meanwhile, looks forward to a more prosperous 2010. "I've never been this excited about a Kings team as long as we've had ownership," Maloof said. "I love what Geoff and (coach) Paul Westphal have done with these young players, how they've assembled a team that could be very, very good for years to come. "This could be a great team. … Honest to God, we have a real bright future in Sacramento." - Sacramento Bee
There is no shortage of reputable coaches available. Byron Scott, who was fired by New Orleans earlier this season, would seem to be a logical candidate. Avery Johnson, who sources say is on the short list of coaching candidates for New Orleans and New Jersey next season, along with Jeff Van Gundy, Sam Mitchell and Lawrence Frank, have all had successful coaching careers. Scott, Johnson and Mitchell have all been named NBA Coach of the Year. - ESPN.com
According to league sources, the Kings remain on the lookout for a big man to help defend the rim and add frontcourt athleticism. Dalembert remains on the Kings' radar, but it appears nothing has progressed on that front. While the Kings are on track to have approximately $15 million in salary cap room this summer, Sacramento has always been a difficult place to lure top-tier free agents, and the prospect of the Kings opting to make their big move via trade is high. - Sacramento Bee
The Wizards, though, don't appear to be treating this as any sort of last straw. And trading Arenas would be incredibly difficult for the Wiz even if the $111 million man was having a spotless season because of the four years remaining on his mammoth contract and his history of knee troubles. - ESPN.com
The two Wizards who continue to draw the most interest from rival teams are forwards Caron Butler (who will have an array of Western Conference suitors when Washington decides that it's finally ready to break up its core) and Antawn Jamison (who is fiercely loyal but quite frustrated, as I hear it, by the ongoing disarray with the Wiz). - ESPN.com
But as the trade deadline approaches, the 34-year-old Ilgauskas is a valuable commodity for a team looking to carve out cap room for next summer's big free agency period. While the Cavaliers obviously don't want to help out a team that could go after James, who can opt out of his contract, owner Dan Gilbert certainly might be willing to pick up money down the road for Ilgauskas if it gives Cleveland a better shot at a title this season. - FanHouse
Coach Rick Adelman said McGrady's status will be re-addressed on Monday and/or Tuesday when the Rockets return home from a two-game back-to-back road trip that began with a 98-93 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Saturday night and concludes in Cleveland on Sunday. - ESPN.com
“I’m a player, man,” McGrady, 30, said. “I don’t make these decisions. I just abide by whatever they bring to me. That’s the plan. I’m not going to argue and fight with them — just run with it. I felt it was time (to increase the routine of playing seven to eight first-half minutes). “I’m not going to cause any confusion or confrontations. As a player, that’s what I felt. They obviously feel different. That’s what I have to roll with.” - Houston Chronicle
Does this speed up the timetable on a resolution between McGrady and the Rockets, whose victory Saturday night improved one of the NBA's more surprising records to 18-12? "I don't know. I think a lot if it has to do with what the front office is thinking. We have a lot of good young players, and when you have a guy like Chase Budinger who's playing really well, and Trevor (Ariza) is developing, it's tough to take minutes away from them. It becomes a numbers game at some point," Battier said. - ESPN.com
When asked directly if a change of scenery may be the best and only solution, Curry said: "I won't even touch on that 'cause I'll be the first to get fined for it. But I will say that as long as I'm here I'm going to give it my all and if they decide this isn't the place for me I'll talk about it with you guys then. Right now, I'm here so I'm going to assume that he wants me here. I'm going to assume that Donnie (Walsh) wants me here and Mr. (James) Dolan wants me here." - New York Daily News
Salmons hasn’t played as well as the Bulls hoped and scored just 3 points off the bench in Saturday’s win over New Orleans. That’s not even the biggest issue, though. Salmons has an option to terminate the final year of his contract, worth $6.7 million, next summer. There’s a good chance he will, since a decent number of teams will have cap room and even if he signs for a smaller yearly salary, he might be able to guarantee himself a greater guaranteed income over the next few years. - Arlington Heights Daily Herald
The process, O'Connor admitted, could take a while to play itself out. The 12-deep Jazz have two weeks from the trade date (last Tuesday) to get their roster up to the required league minimum of 13. "We're going to study some tapes and make some phone calls about availability of guys," O'Connor said, "and determine what direction we're going to go in." - Deseret News
The Warriors have qualified to sign another injury exemption player, and coach Don Nelson said he would like to add a small forward. The top four scorers in the NBA Development League are swingmen and are posting more than 25 points per game. Morris Almond, a 6-foot-5 guard, is the league's top scorer, and Reggie Williams (6-6, F), Michael Harris (6-6, F) and Desmon Farmer (6-5, G) could fill the role, too. - San Francisco Chronicle
Foye last week was asked about any burden he carried in Minnesota because of the Roy-Foye comparisons -- he had become a poster child of sorts for Wolves boss Kevin McHale's personnel decision missteps -- and if his shoulders feel lightened in an East Coast city not far from Newark, N.J., his hometown. "Never, really," he said. "The media made a bigger deal out of the Foye-Roy thing. I felt as though they could have pushed for me harder. I was fighting against fans that were reading that and I was fighting against the media. - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Foye started feeling uneasy when David Kahn refused to meet with him after taking over general manager, but he still was startled to get the call from agent and Ernie Grunfeld that he was headed to Washington in a multiplayer deal. "When the change came, it was a shock. But it was a new beginning for me," he said. "I felt as though I got to take advantage of this. This is an opportunity for me to make it into the playoffs. Doing well on this team. When they made the move, it was no looking back." - Washington Post
Before last night's game against the Utah Jazz, reserve center Marreese Speights addressed comments teammate Elton Brand made after the Sixers' last game, Tuesday's loss at the Washington Wizards, which gave them a 7-21 record. That night, Brand said: "Certain guys didn't box out, didn't rebound, and weren't tough. Certain guys got a longer leash than others, so they played longer and the mistakes were shown." - Philadelphia Inquirer
Speights said he heard about Brand's comments because "people called me." "I was kind of upset because I wouldn't think my teammate would throw me under the bus like that," Speights said. "I would never say nothing like that about him. But, hey, he's been in the league longer than me, so I can't say nothing about it." - Philadelphia Inquirer
The key was confronting Dwight Howard with single coverage. Howard shot 1 for 7 and had seven turnovers. Kendrick Perkins did get into foul trouble, playing 20:41. But Rasheed Wallace delivered an efficient performance in relief and Kevin Garnett added an inside presence, though possibly slowed by a thigh bruise that kept him out of last Tuesday’s game against Indiana. “It wasn’t going to change the way I play,’’ said Perkins, who committed two fouls in the opening 70 seconds. - Boston Globe
Asked if it was annoying to hear the chant considering the Knicks’ turnaround since Robinson’s banishment, D’Antoni made a cryptic but telling remark. “There’s also a chance of showers,” D’Antoni said, indicating Robinson’s chances of getting off the bench yesterday were worse than slim. - New York Post
It's easy to jump all over the Wizards and get upset that they lost to the team with the worst record in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Timberwolves, but I'll let Gilbert Arenas make my point for me. "We can call them the worst team in the West, but it's not like we've got that many wins over them," Arenas said after the Wizards lost 101-89 on Saturday night. "Right now, we are one of the worst teams in the East until we can prove ourselves. Right now, we win two, we lose four." - Washington Post
They had Saunders looking ill most of the night, as he angrily paced up and down the court. He slouched his shoulders after each bad jumper early in the shot clock. He turned and rolled his eyes as the Timberwolves consistently beat them to offensive rebounds. And he repeatedly shouted at players whenever they missed a defensive assignment. - Washington Post
Williams, who's hoping for his first All-Star nod in his fifth season, was glad to hear McGrady gave him props like that. "That'd be great. T-Mac's been an All-Star for years," Williams said. "This year he hasn't played, so it's kind of hard to put somebody in like that. But he still has the fans' vote." - Deseret News
Suns forward Jared Dudley entered Saturday's games as the NBA's leading 3-point shooter. That would seemingly put him in line for an invitation to the All-Star Weekend's 3-point shooting contest. "But would you rather have 20,000 more Twitter followers or the (contest) money?" Stoudemire asked Dudley, knowing his affinity for his Twitter account, which has more than 12,700 followers. - Arizona Republic
In an age when it seems NBA players mostly declare their disinterest in the slam dunk competition, Griz forward Rudy Gay said he would like to be a participant. "I want to redeem myself," Gay said. "I felt like I didn't really perform like I wanted to the last time." However, Gay hasn't received an invitation from the league. - Memphis Commercial Appeal
When asked about the company he keeps at the top of the NBA's scoring list, Durant responded: "Those guys score easy. I'm not on their level yet. Carmelo can get 30 in his sleep. Kobe can get 35 or 40 real easy along with LeBron. I don't think I match up with those guys at all yet. To be in that company I've got to do a little bit more and that's what I'm working towards." - HoopsWorld
Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash will turn 36 years of age in February. Like with most guards in NBA history, people are just waiting for his game to embark on a rather steep decline. Thus far, folks are still waiting as Nash is having perhaps the best season of his illustrious career. And yes, that includes his two MVP seasons of 2004-05 and 2005-06. - HoopsWorld
Hawks guard Joe Johnson agreed with his coach's assessment saying: "We fly under the radar. That's just the way it is and that's how it's going to be. I'm sure nobody in this room is mad about that. Everything is pretty much said and done out there on the court, so that's where we've got to handle our business. We can't worry about the naysayers." - HoopsWorld
It's often said that Martin is one of the NBA's best defensive players. But basketball statistics tell little in terms of a defender's value as football stats do about an offensive lineman's worth. For more clues to Martin's impact at the defensive end, we looked inside that recent game against the Thunder. Martin was a chameleon, guarding guards on one possession, centering in on centers the next. He screamed commands as if he were Brian Dawkins, getting teammates in the right position, yelling at them if they messed up. - Denver Post
It was the most minutes Howard had played since January 2007 and the first time he logged consecutive double-doubles since December 2006, the last time he was a regular starter. "Juwan's been amazing," Brandon Roy said. "We always knew he could play. But we didn't want to put heavy minutes on him because we wanted to use him over the season. But when Greg and Joel went down and we had no choice, he said, 'I'm ready. I'm ready.' " - Oregonian
There was some confusion over the details of Artest's injury, although a team spokesperson clarified that the 30-year-old forward fell down a flight of stairs while carrying a box and didn't trip over a box, as was believed earlier in the day. Artest injured his elbow and needed stitches in the back of his head - Los Angeles Times
Officially, Villanueva, Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton and Ben Gordon are all game-time decisions for Sunday’s matinee in Toronto, but the expectation is that unless their bodies object to going through practice for the first time in a while – nearly eight weeks for Prince, about three weeks for Gordon and nearly two weeks for Hamilton – they’ll all be available to John Kuester in Toronto. “It was good to see them all on the floor,” Kuester said. “(Teammates) were excited to seem them in practice and in live contact. It was a lively practice. There were things going on that I was real pleased with.” - Pistons.com
Luke Walton's injured back has responded well enough to shooting and rebounding drills the past few weeks that he's hopeful he can return to practice next week and play again soon afterward. The reserve forward has missed all but nine games this season as a result of a pinched nerve in his lower back. "It's frustrating," Walton said. "You'll walk around the house and feel good, but you've got to feel a lot better than good to play in this league. " - Riverside Press-Enterprise
Joe Maloof, meanwhile, looks forward to a more prosperous 2010. "I've never been this excited about a Kings team as long as we've had ownership," Maloof said. "I love what Geoff and (coach) Paul Westphal have done with these young players, how they've assembled a team that could be very, very good for years to come. "This could be a great team. … Honest to God, we have a real bright future in Sacramento." - Sacramento Bee
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