Extension for Adelman?

Adelman, whose winning percentage with the Rockets is better than any coach in franchise history, had gone into his third season with the Rockets in the final guaranteed of year of his contract, with the Rockets intending to address his contract situation in the off-season. “I’m going to pick up his option,” Alexander said. “We’re going to do it soon, relatively soon." -  Houston Chronicle

One might think McGrady, as an inactive player, would be ineligible for the honor but the early indication from the league office is that he would be able to start. There have been parameters for injured players previously but this likely is new territory. Of course, he could be traded to an East team by then and it would be moot because he would be behind the far more deserving Allen Iverson.  -  Arizona Republic Blog

Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets top the Western Conference, while LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat lead the Eastern Conference after the third returns of 2010 NBA All-Star Balloting. Bryant, a three-time All-Star MVP, is the overall leader with 1,606,032 votes, while James, a two-time All-Star MVP, is second overall with 1,579,530.  -  InsideHoops

He didn't answer directly when asked if he was satisfied general manager Gar Forman's comments Tuesday would put the issue to rest for a while. "It's been beat up so much, I just really want to focus in on the game and what my job is with this team," Del Negro said. "I think all that stuff will play itself out. I think we just have to try to move forward a little bit and see what direction things go."  - Chicago Sun-Times Blog

But the Pistons coach and backup power forward did have long a discussion after Wednesday's practice session -- Kuester gave Villanueva the key to staying on the floor after he expressed frustration over playing only 12 minutes in Tuesday night's home blowout loss to the Knicks. "I've been struggling the past couple of games," Villanueva said of the team's eight-game losing streak heading into today's game against the Bulls. "We talked about it and I made some defensive, you know, I missed assignments. And he took me out because of that."  -  Detroit Free Press

However, Phil Jackson said he didn't believe Abdul-Jabbar's absence has had a profound impact on Andrew Bynum's play. Jackson said the loss of assistant coach Kurt Rambis might have had a greater role in Bynum's diminished statistics, however. Rambis became the Minnesota Timberwolves' new coach this season.  - LA Daily News

When it was suggested he could offer a “no comment” to questions about officiating, Rasheed Wallace said, “Yeah, I could do that, but I think I have to be honest when I’m asked a question. And what happened to freedom of speech? You know, I say what’s on my mind, speaking my freedom, and I get fined for it. It’s a catch-22 with that (expletive), man. “See, they think they can control people with money. Everybody don’t live like that. That’s how they live up there in that office. They think, ‘Oh, I’m going to hit him in the pocket. That’s where it will hurt.’ No, it don’t hurt me. I didn’t have it growing up, so, I mean, either way it don’t hurt me. As long as my family’s cool, I’m cool. It ain’t hurting my family. I make sure of that.”  - Boston Herald

NBA officials can do whatever it is they do in these circumstances. They can consider the arguments and render a judgment. The Rockets don't care. This is it, they said, the last meeting they will have with the Dallas Mavericks this season. The Mavericks have sought an additional 61 seconds on the court with the Rockets beyond tonight's game. They protested the Rockets' victory in Dallas, hoping to replay the final 1:01 after center Erick Dampier was ejected for his second technical foul. The NBA is expected to rule early next week.  -  Houston Chronicle

After virtually every home game, Bulls general manager Gar Forman and coach Vinny Del Negro share a debriefing in Del Negro's office. Tuesday night's lasted far longer than usual. When Del Negro finally emerged to hold his postgame news conference, his typical upbeat nature was missing, replaced by a palpable gloominess despite a solid victory over the Pacers.  - Chicago Tribune

The agent for New Orleans Hornets guard Devin Brown said Wednesday a proposed deal that would have sent Brown to the Minnesota Timberwolves fell through for financial reasons. Mark Termini, Brown's Cleveland-based representative, said the Hornets wanted Brown to give up some money in order for the salaries to match, as per the NBA's collective bargaining agreement. Without that sacrifice, the trade for Jason Hart, who was subsequently traded to the Phoenix Suns, would not be approved.  - New Orleans Times Picayune

The problem is that even though the Sixers are 22nd in the league in team salary, their bloated payroll of $62.9 million is still well over the NBA cap of $57.7 million. And for the 2010-11 season, when the cap is expected to drop, the Sixers' payroll is expected to rise to $65 million. That's why the Sixers should do whatever it takes to win the Tracy McGrady sweepstakes. - Philadelphia Daily News

Grunfeld would not address specific trade rumors when reached by telephone on Wednesday, but when asked if he wanted to make a move, he said, "It depends on how things go and what opportunities present themselves." The Houston Rockets are shopping Tracy McGrady and his $23 million expiring contract, but making a trade for him would make it a difficult match in salaries. ESPN.com reported that the Wizards made an exploratory call, offering Arenas for McGrady, but a league source said such a deal was "unrealistic."  - Washington Post

"The last two years, we've got a loser mentality," Arenas surmised. "We're finding ways to lose basketball games. From forcing shots to turnovers, if you can think of it, we're doing it." Haywood, meanwhile, said Washington's problems stem from players choosing to focus on offense rather than defending.  - Washington Times

The Atlanta Hawks plan to file a game protest after the shot clock failed to reset in the final two minutes of their 106-101 loss in Cleveland on Wednesday night. After Cleveland's Mo Williams shot an air ball with 1:56 left and the Cavs trailing 99-98, the Cleveland scoring crew failed to reset the shot clock to 24 seconds. Mike Bibby dribbled across halfcourt and passed to Josh Smith, who lost the ball in the lane as the abbreviated shot clock was winding down. The Cavs went back the other way and scored on Anderson Varejao's putback of a Williams miss to take a 100-99 lead with 1:31 left. The Cavs eventually won on Varejao's first career 3-pointer, which made it 104-101 with 17.2 seconds left. The shot was reviewed and correctly upheld via replay, which confirmed that Varejao had both feet behind the 3-point line.  - CBS Sports

There were some sketchy reports in the summer of 2008 that the Pistons were close to a deal for McGrady. It never really got that close because Houston wanted Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups. Because McGrady has such a bloated contract – he’s the NBA’s highest-paid player this year at about $23 million – it’s pretty easy to figure out what would work. It would have to be a deal that included two of Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Gordon. But McGrady is now a much different asset than he was two years ago. He’s damaged goods. It’s very unlikely he’ll ever be an All-Star-caliber player again, let alone a superstar.  - Pistons.com

Nelson on point guard Monta Ellis leading the league in minutes: “Yeah I think it’s definitely going to catch him pretty soon, because he also has that surgically repaired ankle that we always worry about. And you start playing that many minutes you’re going to have problems with parts of your body that get dinged and then when you do, it takes your toll on you.”  - Sports Radio Interviews

Triano on the way that shooting has been a lost art in the NBA: “I think that it has, but I think the pure form to shoot has been lost at all levels of basketball. I think there are a lot of guys that can flat knock it down, but sometimes the game and the way the game is played has filtered players to where they want to dunk the basketball all the time and the game has become super athletic and it’s about drives and flashy plays to the rim."  - Sports Radio Interviews

LeBron James celebrated his 25th birthday today by scoring an impressive 48 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers, leading the team to a victory over the Atlanta Haws, 106-101. The icing on the cake for the superstar forward was revealed post-game by his teammate Shaquille O'Neal. After the game, Shaq said during the post-game show that he bought James a White Rolls Royce Phantom for this birthday. With an MSRP of over $400,000, that's quite the impressive gift.  - Cleveland Leader