The Rockets visit Louisiana in a truly handsome match-up for fans of speedster point guards running slow-like-poison offenses. At some point in the near future, perhaps April or next Christmas, pockets of bastardly revolution calling for the ouster of Byron Scott in the name of a fully unleashed Chris Paul will sprout. I'd join, were I a revolutionary bastard. But I'm cool with the mundane Paul-to-Peja so long as cohabitation with Paul-to-Chandler is plausible.
The Nets and Bulls are discussing a trade that would send Larry Hughes to New Jersey, according to two published reports. The Bulls would receive Bobby Simmons in return, with little-used Maurice Ager included to make the salaries match.
Hughes has been disappointed about his lack of playing time in Chicago, especially since Kirk Hinrich returned from injury. It's not clear how much more time he could expect to see in New Jersey behind Devin Harris and Vince Carter (especially with Keyon Dooling playing well off the bench), but sometimes a move simply for the sake of a change of scenery is a good thing.
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In this video, Lakers player Trevor Ariza explains to us the meaning of his tattoos, while sharing something few people know about him. Around 2:05 into the video we find out who is the nicest person on the Orlando Magic, Ariza's former team.
Every single night of the playoffs there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Everyone likes to blame Tracy McGrady when the Rockets. I know it, you know, he knows it. So in light of Houston's series-saving victory on Thursday (going down 0-3 isn't technically the same as being eliminated, but it's close enough), let's allow McGrady to soak in a little bit of the credit for this one: he scored 27 points with five boards, seven assists and a block, playing 43 minutes in Houston's slim 94-92 win. Yes, it took a last-second block by Carl Landry to seal the deal, but the Rockets would be lost without T-Mac.
Also Receiving Votes: It's borderline criminal how much point guard talent the Raptors are hoarding this year. Check out the combined production of Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford on Thursday: 39 points (13-22 FG), 12 boards, 16 assists, two steals and four turnovers in 46 minutes. How'd the Magic fare?
Umm ... not as well. Jameer Neson and Keyon Dooling mustered just 14 points (5-13 FG) and seven assists in 46 minutes. Not surprisingly, the Raps won going away.
Once he clears waivers on Thursday morning, Damon Stoudamire will officially be a free agent. Where will he end up? The Celtics will probably place a call, and the Spurs are believed to be interested. But at least one team allegedly interested has removed itself from the race:
Meanwhile, Magic General Manager Otis Smith said there was no validity to an ESPN report that the Magic are interested in signing point guard Damon Stoudamire. Stoudamire was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies and becomes a free agent.
With Jameer Nelson returning from his injured foot on Wednesday, adding Stoudamire to the mix would be complete overkill. Granted, I'm not sold on Nelson being a legitimate starter (for a contending team, no less), but the Magic also have Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling.
If I were starting a team from scratch, I'd probably take Stoudamire over all of them, but considering he's only a marginal improvement, I wouldn't take him in addition to all of them. If the Smith really wants to improve his roster, he'd find a way to move Arroyo and Dooling's expiring contract for help, though for what it's worth he's already said he won't be making any moves at the trade deadline.
Evans, 27, has proven himself to be a premier rebounder when given significant minutes and he's a better-than-average post defender. He could fortify a Magic frontline that will have Dwight Howard, Tony Battie and little else.
Payroll concerns also are an issue for the Nuggets, who have $78 million on the books for next season. Getting out from under the $18.8 million still owed to Evans during the next four seasons might appeal to Denver.
One rumored trade could feature the Magic sending Keyon Dooling and Pat Garrity to Denver for Evans and enigmatic shooting guard J.R. Smith. The Magic would have to throw in another low-salaried player to make the deal work. Both Dooling and Garrity have expiring contracts, something that would be appealing to the Nuggets.
If the Magic can somehow manage to turn Dooling and Garrity into Evans and Smith, they have to pull the trigger. Yes, expiring contracts are nice, but not as nice as players with actual talent and upside.
For one, pairing Howard and Evans would give the Magic an excellent rebounding duo -- Howard finished third in the league in rebounding last year and Evans finished first in rebounds per 48 minutes. While Smith is unproven and one stop away from being a bona fide journeyman, there's no denying his electric potential. And unless you're hoping to see a whole lot of J.J. Redick this year, the Magic certainly have a vacancy at shooting guard. There's no way the Nuggets would do this trade were they not in a salary crunch, and the Magic can't afford to be too cautious in the improving East.
It turns out the desire to win a championship wasn't the only reason Grant Hill wanted to leave Orlando. Hill, a natural small forward, started at shooting guard out of necessity for the Magic last year. After the team committed big bucks to acquire stud small forward Rashard Lewis this summer, it was clear that Hill would again be asked to play out of position.
"They got a good, young stud in Rashard and he's exactly what that team needs," said Hill ... "I told them, I'm not a (shooting guard). I did it last year, but that's just not who I am. But there's no bitterness whatsoever."
Unfortunately, an out-of-position Hill was still better than any of the in-position options currently on Orlando's roster. So who's left? Re-tread journeymen Keyon Dooling and Keith Bogans are options, as is J.J. Redick, last year's first-round draft pick who played in just 42 games. Signing another free agent is technically still an option, but after Lewis' contract hits the books, the best the Magic can offer anyone is the veteran's minimum of about $1.2 million -- and you'd be lucky to find rotation filler for that amount, let alone a legitimate starter.
The Magic lack a first-round pick in Thursday's draft, but they're still expected to be extremely active this summer. First up on their wish list: re-sign Darko Milicic and convince Rashard Lewis to come to Orlando. It'll take some juggling in order for both of those things to happen, though. From the Orlando Sentinel:
They need to make a decision rather quickly on Milicic before they can attempt to sign a high-salaried star such as Lewis. Milicic carries a phantom "cap hold" contract figure that projects his maximum value on the team's salary cap.
Magic General Manager Otis Smith said Monday that he hopes an "amicable" deal can be reached with Milicic, a sentiment seconded by Milicic's agent, Marc Cornstein. Orlando can match any offer for Milicic, a restricted free agent.
There's also the little matter of the team not currently having the cap space to re-sign Milicic and sign Lewis, so assuming they are able to quickly come to terms with Milicic once free agency opens on Sunday, they'll probably start looking for a deal in which they can dump salary. That could mean Hedo Turkoglu and Tony Battie (who make $6.3 and $5.2 million, respectively, next year) or at the very least Pat Garrity or Keyon Dooling (who have expiring contracts worth at least $3.5 million). Either way, doing what it takes to get a front-line of Dwight Howard, Darko and Rashard is a great idea -- that's a championship-caliber core.
Unlike his former teammates at Duke, J.J. Redick is still playing. Or finally playing, really. He's been glued to the bench and out of the rotation for much of the season, but it looks like he's finally moved past Keith Bogans to be Grant Hill's primary backup. From Brian Schmitz in the Orlando Sentinel:
There was the DUI charge, the back injury, the foot injury. . . and he found himself far behind. He had resigned himself to trying to make the best of it and learning all he could at practice, circling next season.
But one of college basketball's most decorated players finally broke through. Armed with one of the sweetest jumpers in the game -- pro or college --- Redick has given the points-challenged Magic an outside scoring threat.
That's not the only big change in Orlando's rotation, as backup point guard Carlos Arroyo has also been passed over by Keyon Dooling, leading to speculation that Arroyo will be traded in the offseason. In fact, don't be surprised if the Magic make a play for a big-name point guard, as Jameer Nelson hasn't exactly impressed in the starting lineup, either, and may not get the contract extension everyone figured was already in the bag.
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The Nets and Bulls are discussing a trade that would send 
Every single night of the playoffs there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. 
Once he clears waivers on Thursday morning, 
The 
It turns out the desire to win a championship wasn't the only reason 
The Magic lack a first-round pick in Thursday's draft, but they're still expected to be extremely active this summer. First up on their wish list: re-sign 
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