The Knicks and Clippers made a trade today that sent Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins to Los Angeles, and Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley to New York.
Mobley, an old shooting guard who can still play but whose career is winding down, isn’t happy about it.
Mobley today said the following to the Los Angeles Times (Lisa Dillman) “I’m a little upset… It was a surprise. I mean, I liked our team. I didn’t give up on our team. I don’t know what the owner was thinking, and don’t know what anyone was thinking… I thought we were going to come around. It’s hard. It’s hard because I like all the guys a lot. It’s tough.”
So will they hug, exchange pleasantries or even lock eyes before tonight’s game? “I’ve got nothing to say to him,” Davis said on Wednesday. This was in the visitors’ dressing room at Oklahoma City, not long after the Clippers beat the Thunder by 20 points. The mention of Brand quickly wiped away Davis’ smile, especially because he just had been talking about Oklahoma City’s Earl Watson, saying he regards Watson like “a brother.” Davis hasn’t spoken to Brand, and said he doesn’t plan to do so, because the former Clipper recruited Davis to come join him in Los Angeles and then Brand did a quick cut and run, heading East for a bigger bag of money, a five-year deal worth almost $80 million… Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy has rehashed the turn of events last summer — and is still wanting for answers. “Elton had a great five years here. I loved him,” he said. “There’s a disappointment because you just don’t understand. He and I text messaged and called and never went, either one of us, usually 10 to 15 minutes without calling or returning a text. And then next thing I know it went silent.”
The final result was familiar — a loss — but the look and feel were different for the Wizards on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, and that is something Coach Eddie Jordan believes his team can build upon. Jordan typically gives his a team a day off after playing on back-to-back nights, but he held a practice yesterday. Jordan said he was leaning toward sticking with a starting lineup that includes Dee Brown at point guard and rookie JaVale McGee at center when the Wizards (1-8) host the Houston Rockets (7-5) tonight at Verizon Center. Brown and McGee started in place of Juan Dixon and Etan Thomas, respectively.
Michigan Live (A. Sherrod Blakely) reports: In the six games he has played with Allen Iverson, Richard Hamilton has averaged 16.6 points while shooting 35.4 percent from the field. Hamilton has never averaged fewer than 17 points per game with Detroit, and his worst shooting percentage in a season is 42 percent, which he did as a rookie in Washington. “It’s all about timing right now,” Hamilton said. “Anytime you play with a different point guard … with Chauncey, I knew what he was going to do every time up the court. He knew when I was going to come off a screen. He knew where to put the ball at. Now I have to learn (Iverson), just like I learned Chauncey when I first came here.” Joe Dumars said he is not surprised to see Hamilton struggle with the adjustment more than some of the other players.
The Detroit News (Chris McCosky) reports on the Pistons: Kwame Brown is the new starting center, and he played two solid games, first against his former team, the Lakers (10 points, 10 rebounds), then in a loss to the Suns (10 points, three rebounds, tough defense). “Kwame’s done a really good job defensively,” Curry said. “I think he’s gotten better each game. The numbers maybe didn’t show it, but I thought he was better (against the Suns) than he was in the Lakers game.” Brown’s presence helps the starting unit a couple ways: He’s a true center, which allows Rasheed Wallace to play his natural power forward spot; and he also has a legitimate NBA big-man’s body, which the starting lineup sorely lacked previously.