Obstacles in way of deal that sends Kidd back to Dallas

By Marc Stein

ESPN.com

The growing feeling among league executives that the Dallas Mavericks are the most likely winners in the Jason Kidd trade sweepstakes is even stronger now.
Reason being: Within 24 hours of Kidd saying that it's time for him and the New Jersey Nets "all to move on" in separate directions, New Jersey and Dallas engaged in advanced trade discussions with Portland on a three-way deal that would land Kidd back with the team that drafted him in 1994.

Such a trade would involve at least a dozen players, cash sweeteners and future draft picks. In a breakdown of the most noteworthy principles, Portland would land Mavericks guard Devin Harris and possibly Mavs forward Brandon Bass, New Jersey would receive draft and financial considerations, Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse and a trio of young prospects from Portland (Travis Outlaw, Channing Frye and Jarrett Jack) while the Mavericks would score Kidd.
The talks were very active Tuesday, as reported Tuesday night on ESPN2's "NBA Coast to Coast" by ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard. But dialogue between the three clubs had cooled Wednesday to the point that sources close to the situation described them as "pretty much dead."

But another source insisted that the deal still has life and noted that the "pretty much" disclaimer leaves open the possibility that the dialogue can be reheated to Tuesday's levels, especially since the league's Feb. 21 trading deadline is still three weeks away. And what most observers considered to be one of the biggest obstacles for New Jersey and Dallas to either moving or acquiring Kidd -- finding the third team they needed to broaden the deal -- might be less of an impediment than anticipated if Portland could be recruited so quickly.

Some reluctance from the Blazers, sources said, is one of the factors that has stalled the talks. In addition to the short-term concerns about the ankle injury that has sidelined Harris, Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard told The Oregonian newspaper last week that "we're not making any trades" to break up a roster of youngsters that rebounded from Greg Oden's season-ending injury to rank as the biggest surprise team so far in a league filled with surprise teams. Sources say Portland has been shopping Jack on his own, but parting with three or four players is something else, with guard Sergio Rodriguez also potentially involved. Outlaw's development, furthermore, is one of the stories of the Blazers' season.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, might also have some hesitation, even knowing that Kidd has made it clear behind the scenes that a return to Dallas and the opportunity to play alongside Dirk Nowitzki is his preferred outcome, ahead of a move to Cleveland to play with Team USA teammate and close friend LeBron James.

Sources say Dallas is resigned to the fact that it won't be able to reacquire Kidd -- 1994-95's co-Rookie of the Year with Grant Hill as a Mav but who left town in acrimonious circumstances less than two seasons later -- without parting with Harris, who's a fan and Mark Cuban favorite as well as a 24-year-old point guard having by far his best season.
The initial scenarios discussed by the teams, however, also would require Dallas to part with either Bass or center DeSagana Diop. Both are critical role players in the Mavericks' system. Bass ranks as the most effective backup Nowitzki has ever had and Diop operates as one half of the center tandem with Erick Dampier that has been successful against San Antonio and Tim Duncan.

The Mavs, if the deal goes through, would be undertaking the aggressive renovation that many critics have been calling for since they followed up a 67-win regular season with a first-round exit to Golden State last season. Although there would obviously be some risk giving Harris' job to a quarterback who will be 35 in March, Dallas is undoubtedly seduced by the idea of enhancing the scoring abilities of Nowitzki and Josh Howard. Kidd's arrival would likewise address Dallas' team IQ and mental toughness issues after back-to-back epic collapses in the playoffs, first to Miami in the 2006 NBA Finals and then to Golden State.

Yet another potential snag here is that the Nets naturally hope to come out of a Kidd deal with at least one young star. The closest thing to a young star in the scenarios discussed so far -- Harris -- would be going to Portland.

But Outlaw is on the rise, too. Outlaw and Frye, furthermore, are athletic prospects who come with salary cap-friendly contracts in addition to the two future first-round draft picks New Jersey would also likely receive. It's believed that the Nets would immediately buy out Stackhouse and release him if the proposed deal wound up going through.

Yet it seems safe to expect that a Kidd deal involving these three teams will likely happen quickly or fade to all the way dead sooner rather than later. New Jersey has been dealing with speculation about Kidd's future dating to last February's trade deadline, when Kidd was nearly dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers. "But Dallas and Portland," said one source, "won't want this [trade speculation] to linger because then it starts affecting their teams."

Powe, Rondo answer call for Celtics; Heat's Wade, Haslem leave game

MIAMI (AP) -- Ray Allen arrived at halftime, a white sweat jacket over his flu-riddled head, and took a glimpse toward the scoreboard.
He probably felt much better.
Boston's 'Big 3' were almost silent, and the Celtics still put a big beating on the hapless Miami Heat.
Leon Powe scored a career-high 25 points, Rajon Rondo tied a career-high with 23 points and Tony Allen matched a season-best with 20 points as the NBA-best Celtics rolled to a 117-87 victory Tuesday night over the Heat -- who followed the win that snapped their 15-game losing streak with an absolute clunker.
"I'm embarrassed by the effort," Heat coach Pat Riley said.
The Celtics played without Kevin Garnett (strained abdominal muscle) and Ray Allen (flu), and the third member of their star triumverate, Paul Pierce, was scoreless for most of the first half and finished with only seven points.
Didn't matter.
Boston led by 17 after one quarter, 31 in the second before settling for a 22-point edge at intermission, and when Dwyane Wade checked out for good with 4:41 left in the third quarter the Celtics were up 88-53.
"One of the things that we talked about before the game is that no one before the game is that no one was going to be Ray Allen and no one is going to be Kevin Garnett," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "But all of them could do a little extra."
They were listening.
These numbers -- 51-36 -- told the story. That was Boston's edge in shooting percentage and rebounding. Former Heat guard Eddie House added 20 points for the Celtics, who improved to 35-8.
"We got stops, we shared the ball and guys made plays," said former Heat forward James Posey, as he pulled his 2006 NBA championship ring out of his left pants pocket and fumbled with his specially-made cuff links -- exact replicas of that ring. "If you do that on any team, you can have spurts like that."
Mark Blount scored 20 points for Miami (9-34), which only matched its worst loss of the season, thanks to Earl Barron's jumper with 4.8 seconds remaining. Luke Jackson scored 14 for the Heat.
"It's almost as though the ending of the losing streak pulled the plug," Riley said. "Because we didn't bring anything."
Wade finished with seven points on 1-for-9 shooting, and departed after the third quarter with flu-like symptoms. The Heat lost Udonis Haslem, who was the only Miami player to start all 43 games, with a sprained left ankle in the second quarter.
Haslem left in a protective boot and will not play Wednesday night at Orlando. Wade's status for the game against the Magic won't be known until Wednesday morning.
By the end, there wasn't much booing.
Of course, most who stayed for the final horn donned Celtics green.
With Garnett and Ray Allen out, it seemed like Miami rated a chance of matching its season-high two-game winning streak.
That was the thinking before Miami -- which started this seven-game homestand with a 30-point loss to the Chicago Bulls and ended it with a similar dismal effort -- missed almost every shot it took in the first 12 minutes.
Boston raced out to a 31-14 lead, closing the first quarter on an 17-3 run after Miami shot 3-for-23 -- 13 percent -- in the period. Take Jason Williams' 2-for-3 showing away, and the rest of the Heat shot a robust 5 percent in the first, 1-for-20.
"They, in the first quarter, overwhelmed us with their quickness and their intensity and their play," Riley said. "It was right from the get-go."
And Rondo must have heard Rivers' plea for someone to step up in place of the missing starters. He finished the first with 13 points, 3.7 more than his season per-game average.
"We got off to a great start," Rondo said.
The Celtics' finish wasn't bad, either.
Boston used a 16-2 run in the second quarter to take a 54-25 lead, meaning this game was decided before Pierce scored a single point.
His first basket came with 1:48 left in the half, putting Boston ahead 62-34. His second, and only other, field goal was a 3-pointer with 6:17 left in the third, one that pushed the Celtics' edge to a stunning 83-48.
"If you had told me before the game that Paul, Ray and Kevin would score seven points, I would have said that's not possible to win," Rivers said.
Game notesBoston is 17-0 in games decided by 13 points or more this season, and moved to 18-1 against teams under .500. The Heat are 1-9 in games decided by 13 or more, and 4-20 against teams with winning records. ... With Garnett -- "The Big Ticket," as he's known -- sidelined, Pierce gave Glen "Big Baby" Davis a new nickname before the game. "He's ticket stub now," Pierce said.

ESPN.com

Super Bowl Scufflers: Celtics And Knicks Deliver Warm-Up Act

NEW YORK -- Exactly what was said between Paul Pierce and Quentin Richardson will remain between the two of them, because neither had the nerve to speak up about it afterward.
As for what was said by Eddie House, which the entire Knicks bench reacted to as though they had been summoned for a street fight, all we have is House's PG-rated version:
"Just keep it down," House said afterward, acknowledging that an adjective or two was being dropped. "It was a little more colorful than that, but that's the gist of it."
House infuriated the Knicks when he turned to their bench yelling and gesturing after knocking down a 3-pointer with 2:24 remaining to increase the Celtics' lead to 20 in Boston's 109-93 victory over New York on Monday afternoon.

The Knicks immediately called a timeout, and a majority of them -- led by coach Isiah Thomas -- walked semi-menacingly toward center court as the timeout wound down, a moment that might have gotten out of hand if veteran referee Joey Crawford hadn't stepped over and said something to Thomas before the Celtics came away from their bench after their timeout.
"I have no comment on that," Thomas answered tersely afterward when asked about the exchange between House and the Knicks' bench, which ended up being the final confrontation in a day of snippiness.
"He's always got something to say," retorted House.

Bad blood and an intense rivalry has long existed between the Red Sox and Yankees in baseball, and the New York vs. New England dynamic is in for a two-week workout as the hype builds up toward the Super Bowl between the Giants and Patriots.
The Knicks and Celtics had a strong rivalry of their own back in the old days when they both managed to be relevant at the same time, though it has been dormant for a long, long while.
Perhaps it's back.

Prior to House's shout-out, Pierce and Richardson had been ejected after Richardson was overzealously physical in defending Pierce, drawing four personal fouls -- and causing the refs to call two double-technicals -- in the space of less than 2 ½ minutes midway through the third quarter.

Richardson called back to Pierce and challenged him to fight as he was being escorted off the court, and security guards and assistant coaches kept the peace by keeping Pierce from exiting the court until Richardson was safely out of the way. Several minutes later, security supervisors were scrambling to find enough burly bodies to station in the tunnel between the locker rooms just in case Pierce and Richardson decided to renew their difference of opinion beneath the stands.
"Q and Paul, they have a past of talking trash, and I guess the refs weren't really going to deal with it," Kevin Garnett said. "But there's not a night that we take the floor that teams aren't talking to us. We just have to keep our composure and understand what it is."
What it is, by the way, is a mixture of jealousy and toughness-testing from opponents -- the Knicks being just the latest -- looking to take a measure of just how good and just how composed these NBA-leading Celtics really are. Monday's victory was Boston's third in a row following a span of three losses in four games, meaning the Celtics can still get back to a 70-win pace if they win their next two -- Wednesday against Toronto and Friday against Minnesota, both at home -- before the mathematical midpoint of their season.

Monday's victory locked up a spot for Doc Rivers coaching the Eastern Conference All-Stars -- an accomplishment that was already such a given that owner Wyc Grousbeck revealed afterward that he chartered a plane a week ago to take Rivers and his coaching staff to New Orleans.

Despite the honor, Rivers was unhappy afterward due to the histrionics involving Pierce and Richardson, and later between House and the Knicks' bench.
"The scoreboard will talk. You don't need to run your mouth," Rivers said. "I wasn't happy with that, and I told the guys that this has happened a couple times, and we've gotten away with it."
But can they continue to get away with it? The answer will come as the Celtics are tested both physically and verbally over the second half of the season.

How they respond will be one of the true measures of their composure. And as of now, 70-win pace or not -- it's fair to say they're not always conducting themselves in a championship-level manner.

By Chris Sheridan

ESPN.com

LeBron Looks Like The MVP लीडर

Teams will be hitting the midpoint of the 82-game season this week। Let's see who's shaping up as the leading MVP candidate.

1. LeBron James, Cavaliers forward -- Everyone in the East knows it's going to be hard to top a Cavaliers team with an always-improving LeBron in a seven-game series। He's developing his killer instinct, which is not good for the rest of the NBA. The recent win over the Spurs was a good psychological boost.

James is averaging a league-leading 29।7 points per game, along with 7।8 rebounds and 7।5 assists. That's big-time production, approaching Oscar Robertson territory. His team is getting healthy, too, and coach Mike Brown's two-year extension has given the team stability.

2. Kevin Garnett, Celtics forward -- Takes a team that had been playing non-existent defense and helps put it at the top of the league in terms of limiting opponents' field goal percentage (41।5), while also helping it earn the top point differential (plus-11.5). A lot can be attributed to Garnett's ability to play multiple positions and help where he's most needed. His arrival in the East has dramatically shifted the power. Whether or not the Celtics get more help at point guard, he's getting it done, now averaging 19.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

3. Kobe Bryant, Lakers guard -- Surprise, surprise. Kobe Bean has never won an MVP, and this year won't be any different, even though he generally is recognized as the game's best player at both ends of the floor. He has found a way to nurture and develop his teammates while still scoring 27.7 points per game, second in the NBA. His production figures to pick up with the loss of Andrew Bynum for at least seven more weeks.
Although he is third here, in terms of a trade, which guy would you choose over Bryant? Nobody, in my opinion। That's the truth when it comes to a guy who can score 35 or 40 points and have it not be headline news. Don't forget that no matter what happens in the months and years ahead, Bryant's no-trade deal means he would trade the Lakers, not the other way around.

4. Dwight Howard, Magic center -- Still only 22, a refreshingly traditional big man who averages a league-leading 15.2 rebounds per game. As tremendous a young man as he is a player. Without Howard, the Magic would be a perennial lottery team. As it now stands, he has established himself alongside Tim Duncan and Amare Stoudemire as the game's most powerful and effective big men.
Being the leader of a young team will bring growing pains, but ultimately, we will see Howard put the Magic in position to compete for an East championship every year।

5. Jason Kidd, Nets guard -- Yes, the Nets have been up and down this season, including Sunday's 116-92 loss in Phoenix for a fifth straight defeat, but his ability to produce triple-doubles has us talking about him in terms of Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson on a nightly basis.
He's averaging 11।4 points, 10.7 assists and 8.6 rebounds per game, the kind of numbers most any point guard would take. Right now, he's the face of the franchise. There has been talk of trading him and beginning to rebuild, but I don't see the Nets going down that path and being non-competitive when they move to Brooklyn.

Others considered:
Blazers guard Brandon Roy showed he had a hot hand before the season began, pulling the No। 1 pick in the lottery draw। The Blazers have a built-in excuse to say, "Wait until next year," but he has been a great young leader.

Chris Paul (21.5 points per game, 10.5 assists per game) has stepped up his game; now, it's not a matter of if New Orleans can win a playoff series, it's a question of whether it can find its way through the second round.

Spurs forward Tim Duncan's greatness is something we just take for granted. Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker make up the best "Big Three" in the NBA.

By Jalen Rose
ESPN.com

Second Annual My Bads ...

Jan. 9, 2008 -- With over a third of the NBA season complete, I thought now would be the perfect time for the Second Annual Race to the MVP My Bads ... If you have ever read my column, you know I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong. So without further ado... My bad, Chris Paul … At the beginning of the season, I said that I would rather have Utah's Deron Williams running my club instead of you. What was I thinking? My bad, Dwight Howard … I thought the Magic were nuts for selecting you over Emeka Okafor with the first pick of the 2004 Draft. Sure, Okafor, who was selected second by the Bobcats, went on to win the Rookie of the Year, but you are clearly the better player at this stage of your careers. With the way you are playing right now, you are a bonafide MVP candidate. You are on pace to become the second player ever to average 20 points, 15 rebounds and shoot 60 percent from the field for an entire season.

My bad, Trail Blazers … You guys are the youngest team in the league, traded away your best player (Zach Randolph) in the offseason and had your franchise player (Greg Oden) get hurt before the season started. I didn't think you would win 21 games all season, let alone 21 of your first 34 games. My bad, Yi Jianlian … In July I spent two weeks in Las Vegas covering the Summer League and I came back to the East Coast telling everybody who would listen that you couldn't play a lick. You are averaging 10 points, six rebounds and an assist a game and if it wasn't for Seattle's Kevin Durant, you'd have a legitimate chance to be named Rookie of the Year. My bad, Jose Calderon … I've pretty much ignored you all season even though you have been one of the top playmakers in the league this season. Since T.J. Ford got injured, you have been running the show in Toronto by yourself, averaging 11.5 points and 8.2 assists. You already have 10 double-doubles this season, equaling the amount you posted the past two seasons combined.

Power Rankings: Celtics overtake Pistons, regain top स्पॉट



By Marc sten

ESPN.com


Playing Detroit on Dec. 19, as one member of the committee's inner circle likes to say, was the Boston Celtics' first true moment of accountability this season. On their home floor, they lost.
Since then, though, Boston impressively swept through a four games-in-five nights tour through the West and then atoned for that rare defeat by beating the Pistons in Detroit on Saturday night, improving the Celtics' record to a glorious 29-3 … and keeping them on a ridiculous 74-8 pace. So now we're accountable.
We duly move the Celtics back to the top of the ESPN।com weekly NBA Power Rankings, dropping Detroit to No. 2. The New Orleans Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers are climbing, too, and there's also a new No. 30 whose coach has Pistons ties. Guess who?




2007-08 Power Rankings: Week 10
RANK (LAST WK)
TEAM

1 (2)
Celtics
29-3
In each of the past three seasons, there's been 70-win talk with Phoenix, Detroit and then Dallas। But these Celts are the first team to last this long with only three losses since (gulp) the 72-win Bulls in 1995-96.

2 (1)
Pistons
26-8
If the Pistons want No। 1 back right away, they can give us something to think about by winning in Dallas or San Antonio (or both) this week. Before losing to Boston, remember, Detroit had won 11 straight by nearly 17 ppg.

3 (6)
Hornets
23-11
Chris Paul must be seething after failing to win First Trimester MVP honors in the West. How else to explain the venom he played with over the weekend in a big back-to-back road sweep of Golden State and Phoenix?

4 (5)
Lakers
21-11
We've resisted putting the Lakers (or Hornets) above the Suns, Mavs and Spurs. But with the West powers ailing or inconsistent and L.A. at 14-5 since a 7-6 start, plus 2-0 vs. Phoenix, you can make the case for a week.

5 (4)
Spurs
23-9
Duncan insists he's fine after colliding knee-to-knee with Corey Maggette. But Sunday's late hit, just as Manu returned to work, means SA still hasn't finished a game with its three best players intact since November.

6 (3)
Suns
23-10
Our pal Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic has an idea why Suns fans are so edgy when their team leads the West with nine more road wins than home defeats. The reason: Phoenix is 1-6 against the West's top eight.

7 (8)
Mavericks
23-11
Hard to believe Dallas is just 7-8 on the road after last season's 31-10. But some normalcy is creeping back into Mavsland: Dirk has been top scorer in nine straight after it happened just seven times in the first 25 games.

8 (7)
Trail Blazers
21-13
Don't be so sure that the Blazers' seven-game trip will ruin the fairy tale. Portland is 5-1 on the road during this astonishing 16-1 run. And its only road losses since Thanksgiving were at Dallas, San Antonio and Utah.

9 (11)
Nuggets
21-12
The Nuggets and Lakers became 20-game winners Friday night. Which means A) The West now has seven teams on a 50-win pace and B) Denver needs a 40-10 finish to uphold Melo and AI's preseason touts of 60 wins.

10 (9)
Warriors
19-15
Did we jinx 'em? Fair question after the Warriors follow up Stephen Jackson's coronation as the West's First Trimester MVP with their first back-to-back losses (at Mavs, home to Hornets) since the 0-6 start Jack missed.

11 (10)
Magic
22-13
The Magic don't have a road game in the West after Jan. 23. But that might not be such great news after they fell to 7-8 at home with Ls to Jersey and Houston by three points total . . . both with Tiger Woods in the house.

12 (16)
Jazz
18-17
If you're looking for Portland Is For Real testimony, check here: The Jazz still haven't returned to the West's top eight in part because they just finished playing the Blazers four times (and losing three) in 26 days.

13 (18)
Cavaliers
17-17
The floor is LeBron's after his game-turning, 24-point fourth quarter in Toronto: ''. . . We know we're a better team than we've shown early in the season, but it's a new year and we're undefeated so far.''

14 (13)
Wizards
17-15
The skeptic in me says Arenas won't be able to resist the urge to play again before the season ends. But it's good to hear him at least talking about a cautious approach as opposed to the usual bravado we get.

15 (12)
Raptors
17-17
The Raps hoped to build off the happy ending to their grueling seven-game trip, which they closed with wins at San Antonio and New Orleans. But they're 0-2 since coming home, including Sunday's fade against Cleveland.

16 (15)
Rockets
17-17
I'm sure you're expecting (and perhaps even hoping for) concrete Better Without T-Mac evidence, but be advised that Houston is 12-12 when McGrady and Yao are both in the lineup . . . and 5-5 when it's just Yao.

17 (19)
Nets
17-16
Reminiscent of Stefanski's arrival in Philly, Jersey is 3-0 since hiring Vandeweghe, including a double-digit comeback in Orlando. That gulp you hear comes from teams still praying that the Nets make J-Kidd available.

18 (14)
Hawks
15-16
No one misses 2007 more than these guys. The Hawks are off to an 0-3 start in 2008 to sink below .500 for the first time in almost a month, including a loss to the Nets to open a crucial five-game homestand.

19 (21)
Bulls
13-19
The good news: Gordon led the team in scoring in his first five games off the bench for Boylan. The bad news: Chicago's four Ws under Boylan came against teams (Bucks, Knicks, Bobcats, Kings) at a combined 44-85.

20 (17)
Pacers
16-19
Nearly used the word crisis in last week's Pacers comment, with a better-than-ever Tinsley getting hurt just as Indy was hitting the road. No hesitation this week with Indy in a 2-7 funk and eight of the next 10 away.

21 (20)
76ers
14-20
The Sixers finished their six-game, back-to-reality trip with Ls to the Lakers and Nuggets by a combined 44 points. And it gets even tougher on the shorter trip looming in a week: San Antonio, then Houston, then Boston.

22 (23)
Bucks
13-20
A two-game road streak isn't much, especially when the Ws are in Miami and Charlotte. But with Redd ailing, pressure mounting on GM Larry Harris and a 2-15 road record before those Ws, Milwaukee will take anything.

23 (22)
Kings
12-20
With zero games left against the Knicks, playing without Bibby, Martin and Artest is probably going to be a problem. Whether the injured Bibby gets dealt before the Feb. 21 trading deadline is pretty much the focus now.

24 (27)
Grizzlies
10-23
Maybe no one believes in New Year's mojo more than the Grizz. At 1-6 in games decided by three points or fewer and 3-12 overall in December, Memphis has won at Indy, held off Miami and hung with Boston in '08.

25 (24)
SuperSonics
9-24
It's an admittedly big request, but throw out the 0-8 start and there are morsels of progress here, whether it's a 6-9 record against the East or the sight of Durant hanging in there when assigned to guard Nash on TNT.

26 (28)
Clippers
10-21
Same old stories: Kaman has 25 double-doubles in 31 games, but the Clips have won only once in 10 home dates since Thanksgiving (against the Wolves) and still haven't shot 50 percent from the field even once.

27 (25)
Bobcats
11-21
J-Rich is finally starting to heat up, but the sense of doom is only growing for the Bobs' rookie coach with Vincent's team -- whose 12 road games to date are the fewest in the entire league -- in the midst of a 1-7 slide.

28 (26)
Heat
8-26
This is not committee (of one) hyperbole. Seriously: If Miami makes the playoffs from here, it might rank as a better comeback than the '06 Finals against Dallas. The decaying Heat have to go 33-15 just to finish .500.

29 (30)
Timberwolves
4-29
OK, OK: The post-KG Wolves do have nine double-digit losses at home to New York's eight, as well as a 1-14 record since stunning Phoenix on Dec. 8. Unlike the Knicks, though, Minnesota was supposed to be this bad.

30 (29)
Knicks
8-24
With the league's No. 1 payroll, nearly as many double-digit losses at home as the rebuilding Wolves and zero wins involving actual travel -- their only road W came against the Kidd-less Nets -- Isiah's Knicks have earned this.