Sources suggested the Bulls are open to acquiring McGrady, who is just 30 years old. The 6-foot-8 swingman is the NBA's highest-paid player at $23.2 million, but his contract ends after the season. A trade with the Bulls would almost have to include the expiring contracts of Brad Miller and Jerome James. - Arlington Heights Daily Herald
A source with knowledge of the situation in Chicago said the Bulls would likely insist on getting either Luis Scola or Carl Landry in a trade, making it a four-for-two deal. The Rockets would get James in addition to Miller, Salmons, and Thomas, while sending McGrady and a forward to Chicago. The Rockets are very high on both Scola and Landry, and that could make this a deal-breaker. It remains to be seen. - HoopsWorld
The Sixers have spoken with Houston Rockets' executives about Tracy McGrady, rehabbing from major knee surgery. More than once. The Rockets didn't seem interested in a deal involving Samuel Dalembert, and they still aren't. They wanted no part of Dalembert's 15 percent trade kicker, and they still don't. - Philadelphia Daily News
The Pistons aren’t willing to give up what it would take (a package that probably would include Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton) for a cup of coffee with T-Mac. What makes T-Mac’s situation different from the one last season when the Pistons dealt Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson’s expiring deal? - Detroit Free Press
But word on NBA streets is that Houston wants expiring contacts and one or two young players. That's an asking price the Griz can't meet because they aren't willing to part with Rudy Gay or any of their talented core. Plus, the Griz don't have large enough expiring contracts. Stephen Hunter ($3.7 million) won't cut it. - Memphis Commercial Appeal
The Portland Trail Blazers signed forward Shavlik Randolph to a non-guaranteed contract today, the team announced. With Randolph's addition, the Blazers' roster now stands at 16. Portland has used two NBA hardship exemptions this season. - Columbian
Whether it’s Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Stockton, Jackson, Kidd or other point guard greats, none have had statistics over the age of 35 that have come close to matching Nash today. “There are not many point guards that have played to 35,” Nash said. It’s not like it’s a huge pool of players. There is a compliment somewhere in there.” Said Thomas: “He has mastered the craft of the point guard position.” - Yahoo! Sports
Losers of two straight games, the Boston Celtics could be without Kevin Garnett (sore right knee) for Wednesday night's game against the Phoenix Suns, and perhaps longer. The Celtics already will be shorthanded against the Suns. They will be without Glen Davis (mild right ankle sprain) and Paul Pierce (right knee) and could also be missing Rajon Rondo, who is questionable with a sore left hamstring. - ESPN.com
To a man on Tuesday, his teammates corroborated his story of texting them immediately after getting hurt and jokingly referred to him as "the clumsy one." "We all laughed about it a little bit," Jordan Farmar said. "We laughed about it today when we saw him for the first time. As long as he's really OK. If they would have told us it was serious there probably would have been some concern." - Riverside Press-Enterprise
Forman has sworn to people that he hasn’t made one call about a replacement, and multiple sources insist that simply isn’t true. Just Tuesday, Forman was on the phone asking about exiled NBA coach Eric Musselman. He’s telling people he needs a long-term solution for the Bulls. He had already called the Nets two weeks ago on Lawrence Frank. Another report linked the Bulls to Doug Collins. - Yahoo! Sports
Mike D'Antoni acknowledged publicly for the first time the Knicks have interest in Tracy McGrady, saying the Rockets swingman feels he has plenty left in the tank and the issue is "an intriguing thing that will be evaluated in-depth.'' "It's a name Donnie (Walsh) I'm sure will analyze and look at and see if it makes sense,'' D'Antoni said at the morning shootaround at The Palace today.- New York Post
The Knicks would obviously love to swing a deal for McGrady if they can move Jared Jeffries' long-term contract to open more 2010 cap space. But the Rockets are looking at 2010's free agent class, too. A third team not interested in 2010 cap space would be needed in such a scenario to grab Jeffries, whose trade value has increased because of his stellar defense. - New York Post
Special as his skills might still be, without quickness off the dribble or explosiveness at the rim while coming back from microfracture surgery, he was not going to be a guy to build around, and he does not seem suited for the role player job. "The thing people want to write about is who he was two years ago," Adelman said. - Houston Chronicle
There is a belief among some rival executives -- or perhaps it's more accurate to call it a hope -- that the Hornets will not be able to resist moving All-Star forward David West before the Feb. 18 trading deadline to ensure that they get comfortably under the tax threshold. - ESPN.com
At this point, the Nets will have the most money – roughly $25 million depending on the cap figure — to use on a 2010 free agent class that features LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Amar’e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson. "We fought hard and obviously sacrificed a lot to maintain the cap space," Vandeweghe said. - Bergen Record
Should Salmons exercise his $6.7 million option, the speculation is the Bulls wouldn't be able to offer a maximum contract to any of the big names in the most decorated free agent class in NBA history. That isn't entirely accurate. But if Salmons opts in, achieving that optimum financial flexibility becomes more difficult and might involve renouncing the rights to restricted free agent Tyrus Thomas. - Chicago Tribune
Now back to the 13-man roster minimum, the Suns can keep Collins without added cost. His contract becomes fully guaranteed Jan. 10 but he would have needed to be waived in a week to avoid the guarantee. It was a possibility until the Suns found a savings solution with Tucker, the 29th overall pick in the 2007 draft. "He's a great insurance policy, as he proved early in the season," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said of Collins, who most-recently played Dec. 11. - Arizona Republic
Lee said he never received a phone call from the Pistons last July. Detroit's been racked with injuries and had its big three, Gordon, Richard Hamilton (an abominable 5 of 21) and Tayshaun Prince together last night for just the third time."They were looking for something different -- a big who can step up and shoot the three like Villanueva, and looking for a guard like Gordon," Lee said. - New York Post
"I'm frustrated, but I'm as frustrated as anybody," Saunders said. "I feel bad for the people that came to the game and had to watch us play like this. We got a responsibility as professional athletes, as entertainers, to go out on the floor and perform at a high level -- especially at home, in front of your home fans." - Washington Post
Then why did the Pistons’ prized free-agent acquisition Charlie Villanueva play only 12 minutes, going scoreless in the 104-87 blowout at the hands of the Knicks on Tuesday night? Villanueva, who said he was fine afterward, put the focus squarely on Pistons coach John Kuester. “I don’t know what it is,” Villanueva said. “I don’t know. I’m not going to suit up so they can monitor my minutes. I’m suiting up because I feel like I can play. “So that’s a question you’ll have to ask him.” - Detroit Free Press
Lopez returned to work Tuesday to prepare for Wednesday night’s game against the Knicks, and he explained that he wasn’t miffed at anyone but himself after the substandard, 10-and-7 performance against the Thunder. “It wasn’t so much the calls,” he said of officials, who put him in foul trouble early. - Newark Star-Ledger
"It would mean a lot because we haven't had an All-Star in New York in a while," Lee said. "I think it would symbolize how things are turning around here, how the franchise is heading in the right direction. It would be positive for the city and the Knicks." - New York Post
His 10.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 51 percent shooting from the field are career lows. But you're not going to hear any complaints from the aging superstar. "Nobody wants to see a 37-, 38-year-old man take 20 or 30 shots," he said. "LeBron (James) is going to take most of the shots. I accept that role. "If I was 27 or 28, I'd probably have a problem with that. That's how it is now. He's the man. He's going to take most of the shots." - News-Herald
Ron Artest isn’t playing Tuesday night against Golden State, but he’s on track to return from his concussion Friday night against Sacramento. Phil Jackson said Artest is scheduled to go through a workout Wednesday at the Lakers’ training facility — the rest of the team will have the day off — to test his medical condition. If all goes well for Artest and he has no ill effects, he should be able to play Friday night. - Orange County Register
Celtics vice president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Tuesday afternoon that he doesn't believe the sprained right ankle suffered by Glen "Big Baby" Davis is as serious as first feared. Davis got mixed up with Golden State's Rony Turiaf with 9:52 left in the game when Turiaf landed on his ankle. - Boston Globe
"This team needs a mindset change. This team for the last five years has been known as one of the worst defensive teams in the league, and until we make a commitment..." Saunders said, stopping himself short before hunkering down in front of the microphone. - Washington Times
The Wizards had primarily used a zone defense to slow the Thunder in the second quarter, but in the third Oklahoma City found a way around it to make 10 of its 19 field goal attempts - further stoking Saunders' frustrations. "Zone got us back in the game, and we did well playing some zone. And then guys want to come out of the zone and play man-to-man, but they can't guard anybody!" the coach fumed. - Washington Times
You won't be seeing the Pacers making a youth movement in the lineup, according to Bird. "It's way too early," Bird said. "However Jimmy wants to do it, I'm behind him, but I never throw a season. We compete in every game to win a game and we have to do what's best for us to win." - Indianapolis Star Blog
He has not had any more success with the Knicks than he did in previous stops with Detroit, Orlando and Memphis. And he said the situation would be the same no matter which NBA team he played on. "I've got to be real," Milicic said. "There is no team in the league that is going to give me the chance that I'm looking for. My only chance is back in Europe. I'm going to do that. I want to be happy. I want to play." - Michigan Live
Sitting in a cramped visitors' locker room after the Nuggets' tough loss here Monday night, Carmelo Anthony looked eerily similar to how he appeared during last season's playoffs: beat up. Melo had ice bags wrapped around his legs. And it's just December, which means Anthony and his teammates are grateful for every day off they can get right now. - Denver Post
A source with knowledge of the situation in Chicago said the Bulls would likely insist on getting either Luis Scola or Carl Landry in a trade, making it a four-for-two deal. The Rockets would get James in addition to Miller, Salmons, and Thomas, while sending McGrady and a forward to Chicago. The Rockets are very high on both Scola and Landry, and that could make this a deal-breaker. It remains to be seen. - HoopsWorld
The Sixers have spoken with Houston Rockets' executives about Tracy McGrady, rehabbing from major knee surgery. More than once. The Rockets didn't seem interested in a deal involving Samuel Dalembert, and they still aren't. They wanted no part of Dalembert's 15 percent trade kicker, and they still don't. - Philadelphia Daily News
The Pistons aren’t willing to give up what it would take (a package that probably would include Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton) for a cup of coffee with T-Mac. What makes T-Mac’s situation different from the one last season when the Pistons dealt Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson’s expiring deal? - Detroit Free Press
But word on NBA streets is that Houston wants expiring contacts and one or two young players. That's an asking price the Griz can't meet because they aren't willing to part with Rudy Gay or any of their talented core. Plus, the Griz don't have large enough expiring contracts. Stephen Hunter ($3.7 million) won't cut it. - Memphis Commercial Appeal
The Portland Trail Blazers signed forward Shavlik Randolph to a non-guaranteed contract today, the team announced. With Randolph's addition, the Blazers' roster now stands at 16. Portland has used two NBA hardship exemptions this season. - Columbian
Whether it’s Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Stockton, Jackson, Kidd or other point guard greats, none have had statistics over the age of 35 that have come close to matching Nash today. “There are not many point guards that have played to 35,” Nash said. It’s not like it’s a huge pool of players. There is a compliment somewhere in there.” Said Thomas: “He has mastered the craft of the point guard position.” - Yahoo! Sports
Losers of two straight games, the Boston Celtics could be without Kevin Garnett (sore right knee) for Wednesday night's game against the Phoenix Suns, and perhaps longer. The Celtics already will be shorthanded against the Suns. They will be without Glen Davis (mild right ankle sprain) and Paul Pierce (right knee) and could also be missing Rajon Rondo, who is questionable with a sore left hamstring. - ESPN.com
To a man on Tuesday, his teammates corroborated his story of texting them immediately after getting hurt and jokingly referred to him as "the clumsy one." "We all laughed about it a little bit," Jordan Farmar said. "We laughed about it today when we saw him for the first time. As long as he's really OK. If they would have told us it was serious there probably would have been some concern." - Riverside Press-Enterprise
Forman has sworn to people that he hasn’t made one call about a replacement, and multiple sources insist that simply isn’t true. Just Tuesday, Forman was on the phone asking about exiled NBA coach Eric Musselman. He’s telling people he needs a long-term solution for the Bulls. He had already called the Nets two weeks ago on Lawrence Frank. Another report linked the Bulls to Doug Collins. - Yahoo! Sports
Mike D'Antoni acknowledged publicly for the first time the Knicks have interest in Tracy McGrady, saying the Rockets swingman feels he has plenty left in the tank and the issue is "an intriguing thing that will be evaluated in-depth.'' "It's a name Donnie (Walsh) I'm sure will analyze and look at and see if it makes sense,'' D'Antoni said at the morning shootaround at The Palace today.- New York Post
The Knicks would obviously love to swing a deal for McGrady if they can move Jared Jeffries' long-term contract to open more 2010 cap space. But the Rockets are looking at 2010's free agent class, too. A third team not interested in 2010 cap space would be needed in such a scenario to grab Jeffries, whose trade value has increased because of his stellar defense. - New York Post
Special as his skills might still be, without quickness off the dribble or explosiveness at the rim while coming back from microfracture surgery, he was not going to be a guy to build around, and he does not seem suited for the role player job. "The thing people want to write about is who he was two years ago," Adelman said. - Houston Chronicle
There is a belief among some rival executives -- or perhaps it's more accurate to call it a hope -- that the Hornets will not be able to resist moving All-Star forward David West before the Feb. 18 trading deadline to ensure that they get comfortably under the tax threshold. - ESPN.com
At this point, the Nets will have the most money – roughly $25 million depending on the cap figure — to use on a 2010 free agent class that features LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Amar’e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson. "We fought hard and obviously sacrificed a lot to maintain the cap space," Vandeweghe said. - Bergen Record
Should Salmons exercise his $6.7 million option, the speculation is the Bulls wouldn't be able to offer a maximum contract to any of the big names in the most decorated free agent class in NBA history. That isn't entirely accurate. But if Salmons opts in, achieving that optimum financial flexibility becomes more difficult and might involve renouncing the rights to restricted free agent Tyrus Thomas. - Chicago Tribune
Now back to the 13-man roster minimum, the Suns can keep Collins without added cost. His contract becomes fully guaranteed Jan. 10 but he would have needed to be waived in a week to avoid the guarantee. It was a possibility until the Suns found a savings solution with Tucker, the 29th overall pick in the 2007 draft. "He's a great insurance policy, as he proved early in the season," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said of Collins, who most-recently played Dec. 11. - Arizona Republic
Lee said he never received a phone call from the Pistons last July. Detroit's been racked with injuries and had its big three, Gordon, Richard Hamilton (an abominable 5 of 21) and Tayshaun Prince together last night for just the third time."They were looking for something different -- a big who can step up and shoot the three like Villanueva, and looking for a guard like Gordon," Lee said. - New York Post
"I'm frustrated, but I'm as frustrated as anybody," Saunders said. "I feel bad for the people that came to the game and had to watch us play like this. We got a responsibility as professional athletes, as entertainers, to go out on the floor and perform at a high level -- especially at home, in front of your home fans." - Washington Post
Then why did the Pistons’ prized free-agent acquisition Charlie Villanueva play only 12 minutes, going scoreless in the 104-87 blowout at the hands of the Knicks on Tuesday night? Villanueva, who said he was fine afterward, put the focus squarely on Pistons coach John Kuester. “I don’t know what it is,” Villanueva said. “I don’t know. I’m not going to suit up so they can monitor my minutes. I’m suiting up because I feel like I can play. “So that’s a question you’ll have to ask him.” - Detroit Free Press
Lopez returned to work Tuesday to prepare for Wednesday night’s game against the Knicks, and he explained that he wasn’t miffed at anyone but himself after the substandard, 10-and-7 performance against the Thunder. “It wasn’t so much the calls,” he said of officials, who put him in foul trouble early. - Newark Star-Ledger
"It would mean a lot because we haven't had an All-Star in New York in a while," Lee said. "I think it would symbolize how things are turning around here, how the franchise is heading in the right direction. It would be positive for the city and the Knicks." - New York Post
His 10.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 51 percent shooting from the field are career lows. But you're not going to hear any complaints from the aging superstar. "Nobody wants to see a 37-, 38-year-old man take 20 or 30 shots," he said. "LeBron (James) is going to take most of the shots. I accept that role. "If I was 27 or 28, I'd probably have a problem with that. That's how it is now. He's the man. He's going to take most of the shots." - News-Herald
Ron Artest isn’t playing Tuesday night against Golden State, but he’s on track to return from his concussion Friday night against Sacramento. Phil Jackson said Artest is scheduled to go through a workout Wednesday at the Lakers’ training facility — the rest of the team will have the day off — to test his medical condition. If all goes well for Artest and he has no ill effects, he should be able to play Friday night. - Orange County Register
Celtics vice president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said Tuesday afternoon that he doesn't believe the sprained right ankle suffered by Glen "Big Baby" Davis is as serious as first feared. Davis got mixed up with Golden State's Rony Turiaf with 9:52 left in the game when Turiaf landed on his ankle. - Boston Globe
"This team needs a mindset change. This team for the last five years has been known as one of the worst defensive teams in the league, and until we make a commitment..." Saunders said, stopping himself short before hunkering down in front of the microphone. - Washington Times
The Wizards had primarily used a zone defense to slow the Thunder in the second quarter, but in the third Oklahoma City found a way around it to make 10 of its 19 field goal attempts - further stoking Saunders' frustrations. "Zone got us back in the game, and we did well playing some zone. And then guys want to come out of the zone and play man-to-man, but they can't guard anybody!" the coach fumed. - Washington Times
You won't be seeing the Pacers making a youth movement in the lineup, according to Bird. "It's way too early," Bird said. "However Jimmy wants to do it, I'm behind him, but I never throw a season. We compete in every game to win a game and we have to do what's best for us to win." - Indianapolis Star Blog
He has not had any more success with the Knicks than he did in previous stops with Detroit, Orlando and Memphis. And he said the situation would be the same no matter which NBA team he played on. "I've got to be real," Milicic said. "There is no team in the league that is going to give me the chance that I'm looking for. My only chance is back in Europe. I'm going to do that. I want to be happy. I want to play." - Michigan Live
Sitting in a cramped visitors' locker room after the Nuggets' tough loss here Monday night, Carmelo Anthony looked eerily similar to how he appeared during last season's playoffs: beat up. Melo had ice bags wrapped around his legs. And it's just December, which means Anthony and his teammates are grateful for every day off they can get right now. - Denver Post
Don Nelson came away from the game with the impression Biedrins was not ready to play a lot of minutes. "He was better," Nelson said of Biedrins. Biedrins said his timing was off but his conditioning wasn't so bad. - Bay Area News Group
Pistons fans have embraced rookie Jonas Jerebko. One of the common compliments about this team -- despite the 11-20 record after Tuesday's rout by the New York Knicks -- is the play of the 6-foot-10 forward from Sweden. Fans adorn the head gear of Norse warriors and the Pistons sound a Viking horn whenever Jerebko makes an impact play. - Detroit Free Press
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