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Rajon Rondo discusses Jeremy Lin, and being an All-Star

Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo is an Orlando right now as a member of the Eastern conference All-Star team. He was just recently named a replacement for injured Hawks guard Joe Johnson. Here are a few quick words from Rondo with reporters at All-Star weekend:

Question: What have been your impressions of Jeremy Lin?

Rajon Rondo: He’s worked hard. A lot of people doubt him. I think he’s a product of hard work, and now it’s paying off. He seems like a pretty humble guy. He seems like a good guy. He’s going to be here for a long time.

Question: Sitting here right now, has this kind of been the craziest three days you’ve had in the league?

Rondo: Yeah, it’s been jam packed, really, my schedule. I’ve changed my schedule completely. I didn’t expect to be here. I actually found out on my birthday. It was a good birthday present. I had to go back home and pack and I had to try to get a ticket situation going and a hotel room, who was coming, who wasn’t coming. But I’m glad I’m here, and this has been the quietest All Star I’ve had as far as people coming in. I’ve usually had about 20 people come in, but now it’s about five or six.

Steve Nash remains committed to Suns

Steve Nash

Likeable

Nash’s eighth All-Star trip at age 38 is remarkable as the oldest All-Star point guard — ever. But with a 14-20 Suns team, the interest in Nash’s career is what comes next in July free agency and speculation about the March 15 trade deadline.

“It’s up to the team,” Nash said. “I’m happy where I am. I’m not happy with our record. I feel like I made a commitment to the fans and my teammates. But at the same time, I’d understand if the team wanted to make a move, so I’m completely open. To be honest, I just occupy myself with trying to prepare to play and play as well as I can.”

The Suns have made it clear that he would not be traded unless he asked for it. That is not in Nash’s nature.

“I feel like it’s a difficult position for me to demand a trade when I’ve been a part of that community for so long,” Nash said in his 10th Suns season. “I really feel like I owe it to my teammates to do the best I can for the group. I don’t feel like I should be demanding anything.”

— Reported by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic

NBA to make 13-man active rosters permanent

The NBA’s competition committee voted Friday to make the transition rule allowing teams to dress and play 13 players permanent and to shorten and streamline the waiver period, said Stu Jackson, the league’s executive vice president of basketball operations.

The roster rule was approved unanimously by the committee consisting of league and team executives and will be recommended to the Board of Governors for formal adoption pending approval by the players’ union. The waiver period, currently 48 business hours during the season and seven days from the end of the season until August 15, would be changed to 48 hours year-round, including weekends.

The long-held practice of the league maintaining three daily waiver reporting times – 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET – would be replaced by a single daily reporting time of 5 p.m. ET, Jackson said. The changes could take effect as soon as this summer.

The roster rule initially was employed with the intention of allowing teams to dress 13 players but only play 12. It was subsequently decided that all 13 who dressed would be able to play. The committee voted Friday to recommend making the rule permanent.

— Reported by Ken Berger of CBS Sports (Blog)

Andrew Bogut injury update: Ankle is healing appropriately

Andrew Bogut

Top bloke

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond announced the following update on the injury to Andrew Bogut (7-0, 260):

“On Tuesday (February 21), Andrew had a CT scan performed on his injured left ankle. The results of the scan were reviewed by Bucks orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Michael Gordon, along with additional foot and ankle specialists who agreed that Bogut’s ankle was healing appropriately and at this time surgery is not indicated.

“Bogut will be allowed to progress to the next stage of his rehabilitation program, and will undergo an additional scan in approximately one month. The initial recovery period of 8-to-12 weeks has not changed.”

The seventh-year center suffered a fractured left ankle in the win at Houston (January 25) when his left foot landed awkwardly on a Rockets player’s foot after attempting to block a shot in the first period. In 12 games this season, Bogut averaged 11.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steal and 2.0 blocked shots in 30.0 minutes per contest.

Andrew Bynum thinks it’s terrible that DeMarcus Cousins has to play in Sacramento

DeMarcus Cousins

Must tolerate being on Kings

Lakers All-Star center Andrew Bynum was asked for his opinion of Kings center DeMarcus Cousins.

I guess he feels bad for Cousins.

“He’s a good player, definitely coming up,” Bynum said. “It’s terrible that he has to play in Sacramento. He could take his talents somewhere and really help a team.”

Terrible?

“Yeah,” Bynum said. “It’s not working out.”

— Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

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Carmelo Anthony says he loves playing with Jeremy Lin

Carmelo Anthony

Likes the feel of the basketball

Carmelo Anthony has heard the talk that he’s selfish and can’t play with Jeremy Lin. Both, he said on Friday, are not true.

“I love playing with Jeremy Lin,” Anthony said at the NBA All-Star Weekend media day. “I love playing with the guys on the team. As far as sharing the spotlight, I’ve been in this game a long time. I’m not going nowhere. The Knicks are not going anywhere. The spotlight’s not going anywhere. If we do what we have to do, everybody will share the spotlight.”

Anthony suffered a groin injury six minutes into Lin’s first Knicks start on Feb. 6 and didn’t play again until Feb. 20. In between, Lin became an international sensation and the question of whether Anthony could co-exist with him became front-and-center chatter…

For Anthony, the idea that he’s selfish doesn’t match up with what he was trying to do before Lin’s emergence, which was play point-forward while hurt for a struggling Knicks squad.

“The only thing that really affected me was the selfish part,” Anthony said. “I was really like, ‘Where did that come from?’ . . . I went out there and tried to play hurt. It didn’t work. I should have sat down, but I didn’t.”

— Reported by Anthony Rieber of New York Newsday

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Spike Lee make peace

Jeremy Lin

Invented basketball, apparently

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. who tweeted derogatory things about Jeremy Lin saying the Knicks point guard was getting all of the attention solely because he was Chinese-American, and Spike Lee were seen chatting courtside for an extended time last night.

“Jeremy Lin is a good player, but all the hype is because he’s Asian,” the WBC welterweight champion tweeted earlier this month. “Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.’’

Lee immediately took to Twitter to respond to Mayweather’s comments and defend Lin.

“Floyd Mayweather I Hope You Watched Jeremy Hit The Gamewinning 3 Pointer With .005 Seconds Left.Our Guy Can BALL PLAIN AND SIMPLE.RECOGNIZE.”

After last night’s chat, it appeared Lee and Mayweather had made peace.

“Floyd Mayweather And I Had A Great Conversation Courtside,” Lee tweeted after the game. “We’re MAD COOL.ALL LOVE.2 Brotha’s.YA-DIG.’’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Timberwolves owner thinks playoffs are reachable

Kevin Love

Stomps the competition

At the all-star break, nine teams in the NBA’s tough Western Conference have records better than the Timberwolves, who are 17-17, equaling their victory total of last season. The top eight teams go to the playoffs.

Can the Wolves, at this juncture, dare think about playoffs?

“Interestingly enough, I think (coach Rick Adelman) has put them into a place now that we will be striving to try to get into the playoffs,” Wolves owner Glen Taylor said Thursday. “Even though we’re 10th, we’re just (one game) out of eighth. So that’s certainly all achievable if things go well.

“There’s no reason for them not to try that and work hard for it. It’s going to be tough because there are so many other teams that are so close. But I can’t believe that the guys, now that they’ve seen what they can do in the first half of the season, won’t put that as part of their goal.”

— Reported by the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Lakers want Brendan Haywood foul on Pau Gasol reviewed

Pau Gasol

Finesse big-man

The Lakers would like the NBA to take a closer look at Brendan Haywood’s hard foul against Pau Gasol late in Thursday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. Haywood knocked Gasol to the court with a double forearm shiver to the head.

Brown said he believed it should have been ruled a flagrant foul, with Haywood perhaps drawing an ejection for thumping Gasol.

The officiating crew, led by veteran Mike Callahan, whistled Haywood for a shooting foul, however.

“After reviewing it on tape, I think the refs missed that,” Brown said. “I don’t know how anybody could think he was going for the ball. I don’t think it was intentional, but that’s not the definition of a flagrant foul.”

Brown said he expected a league review.

“That was definitely not a normal foul,” he said.

— Reported by Elliot Teaford of the LA Daily News

Stephen Curry to miss 2012 Skills Challenge

Stephen Curry

Terrific player when feet and ankles don’t hurt

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry suffered a right foot injury against the Suns during last night’s game and will not be attending All-Star Weekend festivities here, per his agent Lance Young.

Young, via email, said the injury was to a tendon in Curry’s foot, and “nothing with his ankle.” But he said that it would prevent Curry making the trip here, where he was scheduled to defend his title in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge.

Rather than making the trip, Young said Curry would rest and rehab his injury this weekend. He’s already missed nine games this season with an ankle injury.

Curry missed a layup with 2:29 remaining in the first quarter and landed awkwardly. He went to the locker room and tried to come back just before halftime, but was unable to return to the game.

— Reported by Sekou Smith of NBA.com (Blog)