Iman Shumpert met with Knicks head coach Mike Woodson before last night’s win in Atlanta to address the recent flurry of trade rumors involving him and was told he should be flattered that other teams are interested, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman later adds that Shumpert hasn’t necessarily been on Woodson’s good side since the Las Vegas Summer League, specifically when the third-year guard left the team after one game to go to China for a tour with Adidas.
Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division tonight:
- When asked if there was an ideal type of point guard for Carmelo Anthony to play alongside, Woodson bluntly responded with, “Raymond Felton” (Chris Herring of the Wall-Street Journal via Twitter).
- After observing the 76ers strong start, Philly.com’s Michael Kaskey-Blomain wonders if now would be an opportune time to trade Evan Turner.
- With former Daryl Morey-protégé Sam Hinkie running the Sixers’ front office, Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead compares Philadelphia’s rebuilding project with the Rockets’ three-year journey from being part of the “NBA middle” to becoming an expected title contender. With prospects such as Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel, and what could potentially be two lottery picks in a loaded 2014 draft (Philadelphia is currently owed a top-five protected pick from the Pelicans), McIntyre suggests that Hinkie has plenty of assets available to possibly enter trade discussions for a big name down the line.
- Celtics forward Gerald Wallace told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that he may not be as durable as he once was: “I understand my situation…don’t think I could play 35-40 minutes a night for 82 games anymore” (Twitter link).
- Jared Sullinger adamantly downplayed the idea of tanking this season in Boston: “(The media was) talking about the lottery. We didn’t even think about that,…We don’t care about that. We want to win, we want to make the playoffs, and we want to make a run. At the end of the day, that was something that you talked about, not us…we definitely wanted to shut (them) up. Definitely” (Jimmy Golen of Boston.com)
- NBA.com’s Marc D’Amico discusses the Celtics’ struggles with consistency so far.