Mitch Kupchak recently talked openly about the Lakers' desire to acquire a young, talented point guard ahead of the deadline.
“Well, if there were a way for us to get a 25-year-old, All-Star, ball-handling guard we’d love to do it," said Kupchak to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. "But that’s not likely in February. So you look at other alternatives, and see if it’s better than what you have. That’s all.”
Rajon Rondo is the player that fits that description, possibly the only one in the NBA.
Sources say the Celtics have interest in acquiring Pau Gasol for Rondo.
The Lakers attempting to move Gasol in a deal in December for Chris Paul.
Chauncey Billups suffered a torn left Achilles tendon in last night’s 107-102 Clippers’ win in Orlando. The injury, which occurred with 5:48 remaining in the fourth quarter, will sideline Billups for the remainder of the 2011-12 NBA season.
Billups underwent an MRI today at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio which confirmed the injury.
The New Orleans Hornets have signed guard Donald Sloan to a 10-day contract.
Sloan, a Texas A&M University product, appeared in five regular season games with the Atlanta Hawks this season before being released on January 27. Originally signed by Atlanta on December 9, 2011, Sloan averaged 1.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 4.0 minutes of play with the Hawks
The 6’3” guard has played five games (all starts) for the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA D-League this season, averaging 24.8 points, 8.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds in 40.9 minutes of play.
Rick Adelman played Ricky Rubio, Luke Ridnour, and J.J. Barea together, sliding the 6-foot-2, 175 pound Ridnour to small forward, at the end of Tuesday's 86-84 victory over Sacramento. Adelman has gone to the trio in the closing minutes of each of Wolves' last three games.
"I just think those guys are really effective," Adelman said. "When you have Ricky with the ball in his hands, now he's kicking it to Luke or J.J. When you have guys who can hurt the other team, it's harder for them to guard us. If we have those guys on the court, it's a lot harder on the other team."
Adelman prefers to have another ball handler and high-percentage free-throw shooter on the floor with the lead.
"You don't miss a whole lot when you have a guy who can rebound like Love does," Kings coach Keith Smart said. "Rebounding is what you give up most from a defensive standpoint [when you play three point guards]. When you got multiple guys who are decision-makers and smart with the basketball and a great, great rebounder, they don't lose a whole lot. It's a challenge to defend them."
Mike D’Antoni said Jeremy Lin has an innate ability to control the flow of the game.
“He has a pace to his game,” D’Antoni said. “First of all, he has real good speed, he gets in the lane, he gets by people, he has a sense of setting the guy up, a sense of where the openings are. It’s hard to teach. Some guys have it.”
Steve Novak, who played for the Spurs last season, compared Lin to Tony Parker.
Novak said, “Getting the defense on its heels and at a disadvantage is what he does best. I played with Tony Parker last year and he had the same skill, creating chaos on defense. It’s where all the open shots come from.”
Kevin Durant finished with 33 points, including the go-ahead bucket with 14.2 seconds remaining in a 119-116 win over the Warriors Tuesday night.
Durant also had a game-deciding three-pointer against Dallas on Dec. 29 and a dunk with 2.9 seconds left in an overtime victory Monday night at Portland.
The Thunder, 20-5 overall, is now 6-1 in games decided by four points or less.
Anderson Varejao received All-Star endorsements from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
“I thought Andy was an All-Star in the past and he never got the nod,” James said. “There’s not many players in the Eastern Conference playing good ball like he’s playing. If he does get an opportunity, it will be well-deserved. I know how hard he works.”
Wade said he believes this could be Varejao’s year.
“You have to game-plan for him. He’s not one of those guys you can say, ‘Just box him out.’ You’ve got to do other things,” Wade said. “That’s the kind of player you look for.
“I heard something about role-player slots in the All-Star Game. He would be high on the list.”
At 14-11 overall and 3-9 on the road, the Lakers have little margin for error.
"It just seems like our margin for error is really, really small right now," Derek Fisher said after the Lakers lost a seven-point lead Monday in the last 41/2 minutes of a 95-90 loss to Philadelphia.
Said Kobe Bryant: "Our margin for error is just not as big as some of the other teams. We have to play really, really good basketball in stretches of the game. . . ."
The Lakers have lost a number of close games this season.
"We're playing quality teams and we have chances to win," Fisher said. "It's not as though we're coming out and laying eggs and playing flat basketball. We're competing and trying to do the right things. It's not coming together for us the way we'd like it to."
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