FanHouse JasonHart

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Trevor Ariza is one of six NBA players who have come out of Westchester High School in Los Angeles. In this video, he talks about his days at Westchester, where he won two state titles. We also learn that teammate Kobe Bryant visited the school when Trevor was a student, and talk to longtime coach Ed Azzam.

Check out the video after the jump.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

NBA Star Baron Davis is much more than a great athlete. As a person who grew up in South Los Angeles he is very familiar with gangs and the life that gang members lead. To help kids stay away from the gang life he has done something amazing. In this video we talk to his Clippers teammate Jason Hart, who also grew up in the same area, to find out how he avoided the gang influences. We also join LAPD's Gang Unit for a ride through the streets of South L.A.

Check out the video after the jump.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Many people across the globe will be ringing in 2009 in style, and naturally that includes NBA players. In this video we talk to Marcus Camby, Al Thornton, Eric Gordon, Paul Davis and more about what they have planned for the new year. But most importantly, find out which player's plans for 2009 include some salty fish, a shot of Jack, and starting a new clothing line.

Check out the video after the jump.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Clippers rookie Mike Taylor has been a basketball star his entire life. In fact, he is in the history books as the first D-League player to get drafted by an NBA team.

Recently, Mike was visiting South Central Los Angeles to hand out food to needy families. While there, he got an earful from a young fan. How did he deal with it? Find out by watching this exclusive video, after the jump.

When free agency began, the Clippers had no point guards under contract. Now, Jason Hart -- thee Jason Hart -- is on the third string (NOO!!) as L.A.C. has signed Jason Williams to (presumably) back up Baron Davis. Yep, the Clippers poached two players from the 2007-08, 15-win Miami Heat ... and those two players are J-Wil and Ricky Davis. Buy your season tickets now!

White Chocolate will turn 33 before Thanksgiving, and I assume he's signed up for the veteran's minimum (less than $1.5 million, with the league pitching in half the amount). It's not a bad get -- swear to blog, J-Wil's still better than Hart. Not a ringing endorsement. Not a breathing endorsement, actually. (I'm sorry, Jason H. Big love. Kind-of.) J-Wil's problem is his loss of quickness -- he's turned into a pull-up/spot-up three-ball shooter, because he can't convert more than 45% of his twos. The fellow who got to the rim at will died a long time ago.

That said, Williams is not a scorer -- he didn't need to be one as Dwyane Wade's backcourt mate in Miami. He commits few turnovers at this stage in his career, and gets a fair amount of assists for what he does. The Clips quite obviously can't lose Davis for anything resembling a substantial amount of time, as Williams-as-starter isn't going to help Marcus Camby or Chris Kaman put up too many points. But J-Wil could be one of the more calming back-up PGs in the West, if he isn't asked to carry the load.

C.J. Miles -- who has consistently clashed with Jerry Sloan -- almost saw his way out of Utah by signing a four-year, $15 million offer sheet with the Un-Sonics. The Jazz were not expected to match, as Deron Williams' max extension has landed the luxury tax right into Larry Miller's lap for the 2009-10 season. But after some minor maneuvering (which we'll get to in a sec), Utah made the call to match the offer, keeping Miles under Jazz authority.

Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune notes that Miles now has pressure to earn his keep. Before, C.J.'s lack of action on the court was more annoyance than crime; Miles was just a minor prospect who might someday be a decent bench cog. But making almost $4 million a year -- Sloan will be forced to get Miles minutes and Miles needs to deliver quality play, lest everyone end up fools. (It's almost a similar situation as with Amir Johnson last season -- Detroit paid him, but Flip Saunders wouldn't play him. Sloan's in no danger either way, but it certainly wouldn't hurt the harmony if Miles got a chance.)

Besides Utah and OKC, one more team took an impact from this move, as ClipsNation notes flawlessly. To create a little breathing room, Utah dealt Jason Hart to the Clippers for Brevin Knight. Hart makes roughly a half-million more than Knight. When L.A. made the trade, the Warriors still had about a day to match Kelenna Azubuike's offer from the Clippers. Utah surely wanted the Hart deal done ASAP so they could make a decision on Miles. So L.A. pulled the trigger. Once the Warriors unexpectedly matched on Azubuike, the Clips were left with a hole on the wing and (thanks to Hart) less money with which to address it. L.A. really should have waited on the expiration of Golden State's matching period before making any related deals. Jason Hart just ain't worth the heartache.