While NBA writers are handing out report cards around the season’s midway point, it’s not fair to grade Sixers coach Brett Brown yet, writes Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times. Here’s this afternoon’s look at the Atlantic Division..
- Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders continues to hear speculation from league officials that Celtics guard Rajon Rondo could wind up with the Rockets. Jeremy Lin hasn’t shown that he can run the Houston offense at a championship level and has lost his gig to journeyman Patrick Beverley. Assuming the Celtics are looking to move Rondo, however, it’s still difficult to see him landing in Houston given their lack of trade assets.
- Kobe Bryant told reporters today that he won’t actively push Carmelo Anthony to come join him in L.A., but he did explain one key difference between where he makes his home and New York, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “Well, everybody wants to play in Los Angeles,” Bryant said before his Lakers got underway against the Knicks. “I mean New York is a beautiful place, don’t get me wrong, but it is colder than [expletive] out here. You know, palm trees and beaches obviously are a little more appealing.” As an NYC resident, I can assure you that Kobe’s assessment is accurate.
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Doug Smith of the Toronto Star if the success of Rudy Gay and others after leaving Toronto is a sign that the Raptors are doing something wrong.
I’ll take a few months of cold than having to deal with the people from LA
Why would Ingram say the Rockets lack trade assets? They have some of the most attractive trade assets of any team in the league. Even assuming Harden/Howard are untouchable, that still leaves Parsons, Asik, Lin, and Jones, plus numerous smaller assets like Casspi, Beverley, Motiejunas… and the Rockets own all of their future draft picks.
If anything it will be more a question of whether Morey wants to give up what Boston is asking. Perhaps if Parsons is untouchable it would be hard to acquire Rondo, but not impossible.