Author: Inside Hoops

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InsideHoops interviews Andrew Bynum

I was recently with Andrew Bynum. Here’s one piece of the interview:

InsideHoops.com: I remember when you were a rookie I asked if you were maybe going to try to learn Kareem’s sky-hook. Did that ever happen?

Andrew Bynum: Naw. I tried to pick it up, but still haven’t gotten it yet. We shoot it every day. I shoot it against Vlade [Vladimir Radmanovic, who is sitting next to Bynum during this interview] repeatedly. It looks good against Vlade. I got him scared.

See the full Andrew Bynum interview.

Rockets rarely win without T-Mac

The Houston Chronicle reports: Without Tracy McGrady, the Rockets are 0-3 this season, 2-12 the past two seasons and 11-42 since he joined the Rockets for the 2004-05 season. McGrady has left three games with injuries this season — a sprained elbow, a sprained ankle and the sore left knee. But in the previous game McGrady missed, the Rockets took the Nuggets to two overtimes in Denver before losing on a last-second shot.

Spurs sign Marcus Williams

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have signed forward Marcus Williams.  Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

The 6-7, 205-pound Williams has been playing with the Spurs affiliate in the NBA Development League, the Austin Toros.

He had been with the Spurs before, and was drafted by them in 2007, but was waived in October.

More info is on insidehoops.com.

Rumors commentary: Bynum improving

After seeing Andrew Bynum several times over the last week and a half, including once live, I understand why some still feel he’s got star, possibly superstar potential. He’s still got a ton of development and game refining to do, however… Word is, Gordan Giricek has locked himself in a room with no phone and is just surfing InsideHoops.com 18 hours a day, rocking back and forth while muttering stuff under his breath about Jerry Sloan, being a good defender, and how great InsideHoops.com is. Or, I could be making that up… The Bulls coaching job, at least for the rest of the season, appears to be Jim Boylan’s to lose. Better to keep someone from the current staff who knows the player strengths and weaknesses than bringing in someone new… Scott Skiles was fired because the team was losing but also because he and many key players weren’t getting along. It was simply time to move on… Jason Williams feels like a prostitute. I definitely feel badly for him. The dude has a rough life. I know that very few InsideHoops.com readers would quit their current jobs for an opportunity to make millions of dollars being a famous sports star… Eddy Curry is a nice guy who appears to lack killer instinct. He’s also extremely big, and it’s hard for him to become as quick, agile and explosive as people want him to be. He can leap if there’s room to leap, but otherwise, he’s just a really huge dude blessed with size but not too much else… Stephon Marbury sure is taking a very long time to return to the court… Inglewood, up to no good.

This light, unedited commentary accompanies today’s stories on the world famous InsideHoops.com NBA rumors page. Read that page each morning, and check back during the day as new stories develop. Also, talk with other fans on the web’s prime fan talk destination, the InsideHoops basketball message board.

New Knicks starting lineup, for now

The Bergen Record reports: Jared Jeffries and David Lee are in, along with Quentin Richardson, Eddy Curry and Jamal Crawford. Zach Randolph and Fred Jones are out, and Nate Robinson will still come off the bench. Yes, Zach Randolph, the Knicks’ second-leading scorer (18.0 per game) and top rebounder (10.3). “It ain’t like I played my way out of the lineup,” Randolph said before Isiah Thomas trotted out his new starting five Wednesday vs. Orlando. “I’ve been playing good.”

Players of Week: JJ, Melo

The Atlanta Hawks’ Joe Johnson and the Denver Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 17 through Sunday, Dec. 23.

Other nominees for Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki, Detroit’s Antonio McDyess, Golden State’s Stephen Jackson, New Jersey’s Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd, New Orleans’ Tyson Chandler, Philadelphia’s Andre Miller, Portland’s Brandon Roy and Sacramento’s Ron Artest.

More info on insidehoops.com.

Lakers recall Coby Karl from D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have recalled guard Coby Karl from the NBA Development League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders, it was announced today.

Karl, who became the 11th NBA player assigned to a D-League affiliate this season on November 28, played 10 games (10 starts) with the D-Fenders, averaging 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 38.5 minutes while shooting .435 from three-point range and .492 from the field.

In two games with the Lakers this season, Karl, an undrafted rookie out of Boise State, has posted two points, one rebound and two assists in four total minutes.

Bulls fire Scott Skiles

InsideHoops.com newswire: Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson today announced that Scott Skiles has been relieved of his duties as the team’s head coach.

In a statement released this morning, Paxson said:  “This was a difficult decision to make, but one that was necessary at this time.  Scott helped us in many ways during his time with the Bulls; most importantly, he helped this franchise get back to respectability.  I am appreciative of his hard work and the imprint that he left on our team.”

At this time, no decision has been made on Skiles’ replacement.  On Nov. 28, 2003, Skiles became the fifteenth head coach in franchise history when he succeeded Bill Cartwright.  Over the span of five seasons with the Bulls, he compiled a record of 165-172 (.490), and guided the team to the playoffs three consecutive years, highlighted by a first-round series sweep of the defending NBA Champion Miami Heat in the 2007 NBA Playoffs.  In eight-plus seasons as a head coach in the NBA, Skiles owns a career coaching record of 281-251 (.528).

Rumors commentary: Cavs shopping Hughes

A healthy Jason Williams could help the Rockets a little, but that’s not a real solution. The main problem with the Rockets is that Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, great individual players, don’t seem to be raising the level of play of their teammates and aren’t working particularly well together. J-Will, if healthy, would help a little but that’s not a real fix. The thing is, I’m not sure what the real fix is, either. Maybe just more time? Give them another money to adapt to new coach Rick Adelman, maybe… Larry Hughes, if healthy, should be a team’s third or fourth best player. Probably fourth. If he’s your second best player, that’s simply too much for him. He can be good. But he isn’t great… Now, put an Andre Miller on the Cavs and I bet Hughes gets better shots, and winds up making more of them. Though, ideally the Cavs would add a PG like Miller but one who can also hit threes, stretching the floor and opening a bit so Hughes can slash… The Bulls don’t want to give up on Scott Skiles, especially because it’s really the players’ fault, not his… The Knicks need play David Lee alongside Zach Randolph, and David Lee alongside Eddy Curry, and keep Curry and Randolph on the floor at separate times… Robert Swift scares babies… Kobe Bryant’s display against the Knicks was awesome. He scores even when the defender does a good job. This isn’t news, of course… It’s too early to write Andrea Bargnani off. His second year has been disappointing, but it’s still just his second year. I’ll start judging his career in about two seasons. Until then he’s till a promising guy who is 7 feet tall but shoots like a SG.

This raw, light, unedited commentary accompanies today’s stories on the world famous InsideHoops.com NBA rumors page. Read that page each morning, and check back during the day as new stories develop. Also, talk with other fans on the web’s prime fan talk destination, the InsideHoops basketball message board.