MILWAUKEE -- As the New Jersey Nets are ringing up losses, Scott Hastings has a vested interest.
Hastings, you see, was on the expansion 1988-89 Miami Heat that set the record for most losses to start an NBA season at 17. So Hastings is hoping the Nets will knock the Heat out of the record book, right?
Try again.
"Absolutely not,'' Hastings said. "We were a bad team. We deserved our record, and I'm disappointed any time anybody gets close. Go Nets.''
Leave it to me to go ahead and write the following words less than 48 hours ago: "if you're worried about Chris Paul -- don't be." In all fairness, that was meant as a bit of reassurance that Paul would not let the Byron Scott firing affect the way he plays on the court. Now let me say this: If you're worried about Chris Paul, you're only human.
On Friday night Paul went down with a severe ankle injury that has knocked him out for up to two weeks, possibly more. So what can we do in his absence?
The first thing you need to do is go and pick up rookie point guard Darren Collison. No, he won't "replace" Paul, but his Friday performance after the injury looked rather promising. Collison finished the gamed with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting with two assists and two steals. At the very least you can slot him into your lineup next week with the Hornets on the schedule for four games: home to the Clippers, Suns, Hawks, and at the Heat.
Collison, though, was known more for his leadership and intangibles in college, and less for his ability to take over games. His upside may be limited, but at this point you have to take what you can get.
ORLANDO -- Magic center Dwight Howard arrived at Amway Arena for Friday night's game against the New Jersey Nets to find a handwritten note in his locker.
It was signed by the same guy who had been prodding him the past couple days, criticizing him for his lack of energy, his rebounding drop off and his sudden inability to block shots.
Howard read the note twice, then left it where he could see it again at halftime. He also saw it after the game, and he smiled.
"There is no one better or smarter in the NBA. All you need to do is play with great energy and enthusiasm,'' the note said. It was signed "Stan,'' as in Coach Van Gundy.
ORLANDO -- It doesn't matter how much you poke, prod, lead, bait or beg New Jersey guard Rafer Alston during a conversation, he just sticks to the high road.
Alston has every reason to be upset -- or at least frustrated -- by the way he was treated a few months ago, yet he just shrugs and smiles, still thankful to be living his dream in the NBA.
Alston rescued the Orlando Magic when he came from Houston at midseason, giving them a starting veteran point guard who guided them all the way to the NBA Finals. After Jameer Nelson was lost for the season with a shoulder injury in late January, the Magic were desperate, sinking without a ball handler, and Alston delivered big time.
Then, two weeks after the Finals, they threw him overboard. Or even worse, they sent him packing to New Jersey, the worst team in the league.
Who's Got Next is a weekly look at some of the top players widely available on the waiver wires.
The injuries are starting to kick in, so now we have to start looking at players who are getting more burn in the absence of the fallen few. I wrote earlier about the injuries to Kevin Martin and Tyrus Thomas.
The obvious front-runner in Sacramento is Beno Udrih who is now the starting point guard for the Kings. Tyreke Evans will also see an uptick in value, but it's less likely that he's still available in your league.
In Chicago it'll be Taj Gibson's role to step in and replace Tyrus Thomas at the power forward. Gibson dones't have the upside or the dfensive powress that Thomas does, but he should make for a nice short-term add. Is he Paul Millsap? Probably not. But when the opportunities are there, you have to take advantage.
Let's take a look at a few other players widely available who can help you in the week ahead.
PHILADELPHIA -- They just made a stop in Philadelphia, so why not be the first to throw it out. Can the New Jersey Nets make a run at the 1972-73 76ers' all-time futility mark of 9-73?
The Nets are the NBA's only winless team at 0-6 after Friday night's 97-94 loss to the 76ers and every day another player seems to get hurt. Call them the New Jersey Gnats the way they're dropping like flies.
OK, so it's way too early to think these Nets are going to make history for basketball badness. And, besides, Nets guard Rafer Alston gets upset when somebody calls his team the NBA's worse.
"That does (hurt) because you know you have a lot of pride,'' Alston said. "It hurts to be considered the worst ... when you know you have a lot of basketball and life in your game and there's a lot of pride in each man.''
ORLANDO -- Ever since he was traded to the Orlando Magic almost three months ago, Vince Carter has said all the right things. He's talked endlessly about fitting in with a team that reached the NBA Finals last season, about altering his game to fit with center Dwight Howard, and about being happy to change the way he has played his entire career.
On Friday, coach Stan Van Gundy finally asked him to stop.
He doesn't want Carter fitting in. He wants him standing out.
Rasheed Wallace is one of the last major free agent names to make a commitment, and if the reports turn out to be true (thanks to Hedo Turkoglu, you can never be too sure), he'll be suiting up to start the 2009 season as a member of the Celtics.
Our own Matt Steinmetz thinks that makes Boston the favorite to take home the title next year. But to me, that seems -- to put it as politely as possible -- a bit overly-optimistic.
There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.
Here's a quick look at the trades that went down and what they mean:
The Thinking: The Cavaliers get an aging O'Neal, with the hope that he can have a productive year playing alongside LeBron James. The only way this trade is a success is if the Cavaliers are the 2009-10 NBA champions. For the Suns, trading O'Neal means that they are beyond tinkering and are leaning toward turning over the personnel of a team that missed the playoffs last season.
ORLANDO -- Vince Carter didn't have to travel very far to shake hands with his new coach or general manager.
He was in town before the trade was even completed.
Carter, the eight-time All-Star, was traded Thursday from the New Jersey Nets to the Orlando Magic, whose practice facilities and offices were only a few miles away from where he was holding one of his summer basketball camps earlier in the day.
Carter grew up in nearby Daytona Beach, where much of his family still lives. He already has a home in Orlando. And he was a regular at Amway Arena watching the Magic through the playoffs.
MILWAUKEE -- As the New Jersey Nets are ringing up losses, Scott Hastings has a vested interest.
Leave it to me to go ahead and write the following words less than 48 hours ago: "if you're worried about Chris Paul -- don't be." In all fairness, that was meant as a bit of reassurance that Paul would not let the Byron Scott firing affect the way he plays on the court. Now let me say this: If you're worried about Chris Paul, you're only human.
ORLANDO -- Magic center Dwight Howard arrived at Amway Arena for Friday night's game against the New Jersey Nets to find a handwritten note in his locker.
ORLANDO -- It doesn't matter how much you poke, prod, lead, bait or beg New Jersey guard Rafer Alston during a conversation, he just sticks to the high road.
Who's Got Next is a weekly look at some of the top players widely available on the waiver wires.
ORLANDO -- Ever since he was traded to the Orlando Magic almost three months ago, Vince Carter has said all the right things. He's talked endlessly about fitting in with a team that reached the NBA Finals last season, about altering his game to fit with center Dwight Howard, and about being happy to change the way he has played his entire career.
Rasheed Wallace is one of the last major free agent names to make a commitment, and if the reports turn out to be true (thanks to Hedo Turkoglu, you can never be too sure), he'll be suiting up to start the 2009 season as a member of the Celtics.
There was a lot of activity in the NBA this week, and we're not just talking about the draft. Some of the NBA's big names and better teams were in on it.
