There's a loophole in the NBA's trading rules that goes something like this: one team will include a player in a deal -- usually a guy who's older, can still play a bit, but won't command a ton of attention on the open market -- only to see that player waived by his new team, and be signed a month later by the team that dealt him in the first place.
Many observers wondered if that's exactly what San Antonio was planning to do with Bruce Bowen, after he was included in the deal with Milwaukee that brought Richard Jefferson to town. But according to Gregg Popovich, it's not likely that Bowen will be back as a member of the Spurs next season.
Here's a nice little mix from the NBA of some of the funnier highlights from this year's postseason press conferences. Besides the irony of LeBron James saying that "talking is what he really does," there's some good stuff from Gregg Popovich wondering if he's getting "punk'd," and Stan Van Gundy using the proceedings to ask a local high school to vote for his daughter for student council.
The real stars though are Ron Artest, Aaron Brooks (or at least his choice of attire), and Yao Ming, who in my opinion delivers the funniest line of them all as the clip comes to an end.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- When Manu Ginobili didn't travel with his teammates to New York earlier this week due to soreness in his right ankle, speculation arose that he might be nursing a serious injury, especially when the team was slow to update his status. After all, with the league's trade deadline looming Thursday afternoon, why would San Antonio give up any leverage?
Once the deadline came and passed, Gregg Popovich spoke candidly about Ginobili's condition before Thursday's game in Detroit. "I just got official reports from the doctors, they say he's got a stress reaction in his distal fibula of his ankle," Popovich said. "Not a stress fracture, [but] a stress reaction, which is very different. A stress fracture goes all the way through the bone, and a stress reaction, I'm told, is just topical."
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The trade deadline came and went without the Spurs making a move -- although, if you believe Gregg Popovich, it wasn't for lack of options. "Sure, there were like five or six things we almost did," Popovich said in his best deadpan. "Huge trades. And then at the very last second we said no to all of them."
OK, so Pop was kidding -- he had reporters in stitches a couple of times during his brief pregame meeting Thursday evening -- but there's no denying that rumors had surrounded his club all week. Among the Spurs who heard his name mentioned the most was Roger Mason, and hours after he learned once and for all that he was staying put, I caught up with him for a few minutes in the Spurs' locker room.
The Spurs are just two games into an eight-game road trip, and apparently, they're already too tired to compete. Because after a gritty overtime win in Golden State on Monday, Gregg Popovich decided to rest his three best players the next night in Denver, which, to the surprise of absolutely no one, resulted in a loss for the Spurs.
Manu Ginobiliwas said to be out with a hip contusion, and Popovich didn't specify why he held out Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, except to say it was "for a variety of reasons."
A report from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, where the Spurs faced the Suns on January 29th.
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Shaquille O'Neal is having a resurgence this season. His scoring and rebounding averages are the highest they've been since his '05-'06 championship season with the Heat, and his play has earned him a trip back to the All-Star game, an honor he didn't receive a season ago.
Perhaps the most surprising of all of Shaq's improvements has come at the free throw line, where he's shooting a repectable .628 this season -- 10 points higher than his career average. So before the game against San Antonio, when Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich was asked if he would employ the hack-a-Shaq given O'Neal's improvement at the foul line, he gave a rather interesting answer.
FanHouse's NBA Guidegives you a daily look at all the games that matter ... and some that don't.
Headliner Cleveland at Orlando, 8 PM ET, TNT
Isn't the headliner supposed to come after the undercard? Not in tonight's front-loaded TNT double-header. The Magic and Cavaliers each boast one of the top four records in the league, and while they've been lumped together with the Celtics all season as the only legitimate contenders in the East, we've yet to see these two teams actually go at it.
NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.
1. Ball Don't Lie. Gregg Popovich gets off a great gag in reference to Shaq's distaste for the strategy in which his weaknesses are repeatedly exposed in the barest form.
3. FirstCuts. A thorough dispatch from the Obama rally LeBron James and Jay-Z hosted last night: "For the entire set, LeBron was just a member of the posse, bouncing onstage, dancing, and mouthing every word to every song. Sure, it's just an act, a chance for the athlete to be the rap star for a moment, an opportunity to live a childhood dream; but King James clearly looked like a kid in a way he hasn't since before anyone saw him play for St. Vincent on ESPN2 years ago." 4. New York Times. Mike D'Antoni feels bad for Stephon Marbury; David Lee seems non-plussed about all the hand-wringing after an opening night win. Oh, and Harvey Araton can spin a column like few others.
5. The Basketball Jones. You've really got to listen to watch (!) The Basketball Jones every day.
6. Ball Don't Lie. You've really got to read Kelly Dwyer's Behind the Box Score every day.
With the unfortunate (ha!) loss of Robert Horry from the NBA's active players list, we need a bit of gasoline to keep the highly entertaining Spurs-Suns rivalry alive. Shaquille O'Neal, take it away. Thoughts on Gregg Popovich's use of the Hack-a-Shaq tactic while ahead during last spring's first-round series?
When you're down, I can see using that as a strategy. But when you're up 10, 15 points, there's really no need for that. That's a coward move. And he knows that. I'll make 'em pay for that.
So it's cool to employ Hack-a-Shaq if you're behind. But if you're winning the game, the tactic is an admission of cowardice. Just so we're clear on the ground rules.
Moments later, Shaq asks how he's supposed to stay in front Tony Parker if the Phoenix guards (hi Steve!) can't, and noted a blown assignment by an anonymous teammate (whaddup, 'Mare?) on Tim Duncan's [expletive] three to get the Spurs to overtime in Game 1.
Awesome times ahead, everyone! Shaq's still alive!
There's a loophole in the NBA's trading rules that goes something like this: one team will include a player in a deal -- usually a guy who's older, can still play a bit, but won't command a ton of attention on the open market -- only to see that player waived by his new team, and be signed a month later by the team that dealt him in the first place.
Here's a nice little mix from the NBA of some of the funnier highlights from this year's postseason press conferences. Besides the irony of 
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- When 
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The trade deadline came and went without the Spurs making a move -- although, if you believe 
On Tuesday, 
The Spurs are just two games into an eight-game road trip, and apparently, they're already too tired to compete. Because after a gritty overtime win in Golden State on Monday, 
A report from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, where the Spurs faced the Suns on January 29th.
FanHouse's 
With the unfortunate (ha!) loss of Robert Horry from the NBA's active players list, we need a bit of gasoline to keep the highly entertaining Spurs-Suns rivalry alive. 
