The two best Eastern Conference teams outside of Canada reside in the Southeast Division, where the Wizards and Hawks are separated by only a game atop the division. Still, there’s turmoil elsewhere in the Southeast, where the Hornets are apparently engaged in trade talks regarding Lance Stephenson and the Heat are suffering from injury woes. Here’s the latest:
- The Heat are thinking about bringing in another big man with Josh McRoberts sidelined perhaps for the rest of the season, writes Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald.
- John Wall insisted this past offseason that the Wizards retain coach Randy Wittman, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Wittman’s job security was reportedly still in limbo until Washington dispatched the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs last season, and the Wizards signed him to an extension in June.
- Miami has recalled Shabazz Napier and Hassan Whiteside from the D-League, the team announced. The team sent them down to Sioux Falls on Saturday in advance of the Skyforce’s game that day. Napier scored 22 points and Whiteside put up 21 points and 12 rebounds in a win for the Heat‘s affiliate.
- The Hornets are finding out that Stephenson is more attractive from a distance than he is as a day-to-day presence on the team, as Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star believes.
Jermaine O’Neal for the Heat?