Here's the latest out of the Atlantic, where the 76ers' Sunday win extended their division lead to three games:
- Carmelo Anthony wasn't on board with the Knicks' signing of J.R. Smith, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. While Anthony's public comments indicated he was behind the move, Carmelo "was not gung-ho and was 'hurt' Knicks upper management tossed his advice out the window," according to Berman.
- WEEI.com's Paul Flannery examines how the Celtics might fill the void in the middle, following Jermaine O'Neal's wrist injury and Chris Wilcox's heart condition.
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes that Kris Humphries was cryptic when asked if he'd waive his no-trade clause for the right deal: "Would you jump off a bridge? It depends how high it is. It depends on if there’s a drowning baby in the water…. Cause if you jump in the summer, the water was warm enough, you know it’s deep underneath." Humphries' point, I believe, is that his decision would vary depending on where the Nets intended to send him.
- The Nets' MarShon Brooks isn't worried about the trade deadline, as he tells Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger.