Rapid Reaction: Lakers 110, Jazz 99

January, 3, 2014 JAN 3 10:02

PM PT

By Dave McMenamin ESPNLosAngeles.com Archive  RECOMMEND0  TWEET4  COMMENTS0  EMAIL  PRINT

LOS ANGELES -- Perhaps the 18th time's a charm (as in the Los Angeles Lakers used their 18th different starting lineup through 33 games on Friday). Maybe the Lakers finally got tired of losing to teams that have worse records than they do.

Whatever the case, L.A. was able to snap its season-high six-game losing streak by completely controlling the Utah Jazz from start to finish in a 110-99 win, never trailing the whole game.

Leading the way as newcomers to the starting five were Robert Sacre (four points and a career-high 10 rebounds) and an incredible 20-point, 15-assist night from Kendall Marshallthat started with him scoring the first five points of the night and never looking back, even adding the cherry-on-top 3 to put L.A. up by eight with less than a minute remaining and a layup in the final seconds to assure the win would be by double-digits.

How it happened: The Lakers held the Jazz to just 12 points in the first quarter, a season low for opponent's points allowed in any quarter, while igniting for 30 points of their own as Marshall put up seven points and five assists in the period. L.A. tacked on another 31-point quarter in the third to take a 16-point lead into the final frame. Utah was able to cut it to four with a Trey Burke bucket with 2:07 to play, but Nick Young responded with a jumper with 1:48 to go to push it back to six. Derrick Favors got a dunk on Utah's next possession, but Jodie Meeks was the go-to guy the next time down, making a 3 to give L.A. a 99-92 lead with 1:18 remaining. Utah never made it closer than a two- possession game the rest of the way.

What it means: L.A. has a point guard. Not saying that Marshall can have as magical performances every night as he did against Utah, but he proved he can play at the very least. Which is all a team that's missing Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar and Xavier Henry already could ask for.

Hits: Pau Gasol looked to be totally over the upper respiratory issue that had been plaguing him, going off for 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting, 17 rebounds and eight assists.

Despite shooting just 6-for-14, Young (16 points) kept his double-digit scoring streak alive, pushing the total to 19 games.

Meeks scored 18.

Wes Johnson returned from gastroenteritis to score 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting.

Shawne Williams scored 10 points and went 3-for-3 from 3.

Misses: L.A. had seven turnovers in the second half after just four in the first half.

Stat of the game: The last Laker to have 20 points and 15 assists in a regular-season game before Marshall was Kobe Bryant on Feb. 12, 2002, against Washington.

Up next: The Lakers host the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, a team that snapped an eight-game losing streak on Friday, before going on to play 10 of their next 11 games on the road. An Open Letter to Vic Sotto SPOT.ph blogger Lourd de Veyra has a few things to say to "Bossing" By: Lourd de Veyra | Published on: Jan 3, 2014 - 8:00am

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Bossing, heto lang talaga ang gusto kong sabihin. Ngayon ikaw ay nasa maimpluwensiyal at makapangyarihang posisyon. Kaya mong gumawa ng mga pelikulang makabuluhan, isang pelikulang maipagmamalaki ng lahat sa punto de bista ng kultura at estetiko. Hindi ko sinasabing gumawa ka ng indie film na may mga tauhan na nakakatitig lang ng isang oras sa kawalan. Hindi ko sinasabing gumawa ka ng pelikulang tatlong tao lang ang nakakaintindi, yung tipong masusuka ka sa lalim. Hindi ko sinasabing gumawa ka ng pelikulang pang-Cannes. Pero wala namang masama dun, ’di ba? Buti pa nga si ER Ejercito eh, nagte-take ng risks sa mga pino-produce na proyekto (Ampangit lang ng mga poster; siya raw kasi mismo ang nagde-design porke’t VisCom grad daw ng UP Fine Arts).

Hindi ka na rin bumabata. Panahon nang gumawa ka ng pelikulang puwede mong ipagmalaki sa lahat—mula sa iyong mga magiging apo hanggang sa mga “supladong” kritiko. Minsan kasi may punto rin sila.

At least si Dolphy, merong Tatay Kong Nanay. Ang problema, bossing, mukhang wala sa filmography mo—mula sa Good Morning, Titser hanggang sa Enteng ng Ina Mo— ang puwedeng mapabilang sa tinatawag na “canon” ng Pinoy cinema. Kahit isa lang? And don’t even think about remaking Tatay Kong Nanay—that would be sacrilege. Please.

Tingin ko’y posible naman ito. Nasa posisyon ka na kumuha ng mahuhusay na manunulat at director na kayang magbalanse ng komersiyal na elemento at ng tinatawag na diskurso sa kondisyong mortal. Kunwari, sa bawat tatlo o apat na fantasy- o romance-comedy, ano ba naman ang lumikha ng isang komedya na tatalakay sa isang isyu ng lipunan, isang pelikulang kikiliti rin sa kanilang mga puso? Kikiliti na parang hindi “cheap” at parang hindi masyadong pinag-isipan.

You’ve always understood your strength as an actor: for the past several decades, mapa-Enteng man o partner ni Dolphy, you’ve always played the same character. At alam mong click ito—at mukhang ito ang nagugustuhan sa iyo ng Filipino audience, dahil honest ka lagi sa iyong karakter. Pero what if: kunin mo ang prototypical Vic Sotto role at ilagay sa isang sitwasyon na sumasalamin sa kondisyon ng mas nakakarami nating kababayan? Imbes na mga multo at lamanglupa ang humahabol sa iyo, bakit hindi mga abusadong pulis, mga mapang-aping panginoong may-lupa? O kaya’y mga pork barrel scammers. Puwede namang magpatawa pa rin habang nagtataas ng antas ng kalidad ng paggawa ng pelikula. At hindi na nito kailangan ng mga mamahaling special effects. Kayang kaya niyo ’yan—we only have to look at Eat Bulaga’s Lenten specials. May kurot talaga sa damdamin.

Bossing, kahit wala ka sa politika, ikaw ay kasama sa iilan sa industriya na may pagkakataong baguhin ang kamalayan at panlasa ng mga manonood—kahit pa-konti-konti lang.

Sana’y pag-isipan mo ang posterity. Tandaan: iba ang paghusga ng sining at kasaysayan. Twenty years from now, wala nang makakaalala ng My Little Bossings, kahit kumita ito ng lampas P50 million. Hindi ito pag-aaralan at hihimayin sa mga unibersidad bilang halimbawa ng isang mahusay na pelikula. Puwede kang makabola sa festival, pero, ika nga ni Andres Bonifacio, hindi mo puwedeng takasan ang hatol ng kasaysayan. Hindi rin naman kumita ang Kisapmata ni Mike de Leon, pero sino ang nakakaalala sa mga kasabay nito sa 1981 Metro Manila Film Fest: Tropang Bulilit ni Nino Mulach (Ito malamang ang My Little Bossings nung panahong yun), Babae sa Ulog(starring Jean Saburit), Init o Lamig (Dindo Fernando, Gina Alajar), Kamlon ni Ramon Revilla?

Bossing, ayaw mo bang maging Chaplin? Na hindi lang nagpatawa kundi tumalakay din sa human condition at nagkaroon ng komentaryo sa lipunan (The Dictator, Modern Times)?

Alam kong hindi madaling gumawa ng pelikula. At mas accurate: alam kong hindi madaling magproduce. At ikaw mismo bilang producer na nagpapatakbo ng isang kumpanya, isanlibo’t isa ang mga konsiderasyon. Naiintindihan ko na negosyo pa rin ’yan. At hindi lingid sa akin ang maraming hamon sa bawat proyekto (’Yan minsan ang hindi naiintindihan ng ilang kritiko—porke’t walang slum area at handheld camera at Joel Torre o Ronnie Lazaro sa pelikula, basura sa kanila).

Tingin ko naman ay puwedeng gumawa ng pelikulang nakakaaliw at pipilahan ng buong pamilya— na hindi sinasakripisyo ang kalidad ng kuwento. Ang tagal mo nang kumikita, bossing. Malaki- laki na rin ang naibigay sa iyo ng taumbayan. Oras na siguro para sila ay suklian. Magbalik ka naman. To whom much is given, much is required, ika nga ng Bibliya.

Marami kang batang pinasaya at patuloy na napasaya—at isa na ako doon. Tutal Pasko naman, di ba, Bossing? (Christmas season parin hanggang Three Kings.) If Christmas is for children, isip bata pa rin naman ako. Sige na.

Your fan, Lourd de Veyra Marshall Madness lifts the Lakers

January, 4, 2014 JAN 4 12:07

AM PT

By Dave McMenamin ESPNLosAngeles.com Archive  RECOMMEND92  TWEET38  COMMENTS24  EMAIL  PRINT LOS ANGELES -- Just five days ago, before the Los Angeles Lakers played the Philadelphia 76ers, coach Mike D'Antoni was asked why Kendall Marshall had appeared in only two out of the five games (in garbage time) the Lakers had since the former college standout joined the team.

[+] Enlarge Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty ImagesKendall Marshall became the first player since Kobe Bryant in February 2002 to reach 20 points and 15 assists in a game.

"I don't know him," D'Antoni said at the time. "I've seen him play maybe two minutes. I don't think we're at the point where, 'Oh, let's experiment.'"

Since then, however, both Xavier Henry and Jordan Farmar joined Steve Nash and Steve Blake in the ever-growing Lakers' Injured Point Guards Club -- and as far as experimenting goes, well, you know how they say necessity is the mother of all invention.

How does D'Antoni feel about Marshall now after the former lottery pick turned D-League cast-off racked up 20 points and 15 assists in the Lakers' 110-99 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday?

"This was easy because we have no other alternative," D'Antoni said. "It‟s like, „Hey, I love you. You‟re great.‟ It‟s easy. When you‟re the only point guard, you‟re not really looking over your shoulder because you kind of know that it‟s going to be me or me."

"Me" stood for the Marshall Experience on Friday, a performance that was so good it left D'Antoni uttering the name of his most famous rags-to-riches success story in a coaching career that's turned plenty of trash into treasure and discards into diamonds.

"I‟m not making a comparison, but Jeremy Lin did the exact same thing," D'Antoni said when asked about Marshall going from coughing up four turnovers in six minutes in his Laker debut just two weeks ago to becoming the first Laker player since Kobe Bryant in February 2002 to hit the 20-point, 15- assist plateau. "The first time he went out in Boston it was awful, and I‟m thinking, „Oh my gosh.‟ Then, obviously it happened to him. It does happen to guys."

"Linsanity" was a once-in-a-lifetime basketball supernova that was as much a cultural touchstone as it was hoop dream. "Marshall Madness" has a nice ring to it, but what's more important than Marshall becoming a favorite in the eyes of Lakers fans is Marshall becoming a reliable option in the eyes of D'Antoni.

And that appears to be happening. Three simple compliments from the coach said way more than D'Antoni's over-the-top Lin comparison. No. 1, "He has great vision, he sees everything;" No. 2 was, "He just played the way you‟re supposed to play at point guard;" and No. 3 was, "The biggest thing I‟m looking for is can he give our team a rhythm, and he did that. He should be able to do that every night."

As much as Marshall earned some revenge against the Jazz for being one of the teams looking for a point guard that didn't call him when Trey Burke was injured earlier in the season ("I know that the Jazz let go of a guard earlier this year and I didn‟t get a call, so I felt a certain kind of way about that," Marshall said), more important, he earned D'Antoni's trust.

And perhaps even more important than that, was he gained some of the confidence back that had eroded ever since his rocky rookie season in Phoenix, followed by him being traded to Washington and summarily waived before his sophomore season even started.

It was the stuff of storybooks for the former North Carolina stud. He opened it up by scoring the Lakers' first five points against the Jazz in the game's first 52 seconds. He gave the Lakers life when they were flailing in the third quarter by finding Shawne Williams with back-to-back assists on back- to-back 3s to push L.A.'s lead from 10 to 16. "I ain't going to lie man, he made my week," said Williams. "He was just hitting us with good, clean passes -- swift, crisp -- and the ball was just moving." And he scored five more points in the game's final 46 seconds to seal it.

Marshall likens his path to fellow Tarheel Danny Green rather than Lin. Green, like Marshall, sweated success at UNC but lost his way in the pros before ending up in San Antonio and hitting an NBA Finals- record 27 3-pointers over the course of seven games against Miami last June.

As amazing as Green's turnaround has been, consider that Marshall was the sixth player to start a game at point guard for the Lakers this year and he was the catalyst in snapping their season-high, six-game losing streak.

Marshall has seen how ugly the NBA can be already, going from the future of the franchise in Phoenix to a Delaware 87er (yes, that's a real team) in less than a year. He wallowed in the negativity so much that he made a list on his cell phone of all the doubts he's heard about his game -- that he can't shoot, that's he's too slow, that he can't defend -- and he said he would "really just recite those things to myself every single day."

The Jazz game provided a bit of joy and something positive to focus on moving forward, something that everyone on the 14-19 Lakers could use right now.

"It hasn't really set in yet," said Marshall. "The thing I'm most excited about is the win."

It's been a while for both the Lakers and Marshall to have that feeling. D'Antoni leans on Pau Gasol

January, 4, 2014 JAN 4 2:29

PM PT

By Dave McMenamin ESPNLosAngeles.com Archive  RECOMMEND3  TWEET1  COMMENTS0  EMAIL  PRINT EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- After not playing three times in a five-game span because of an upper respiratory infection, Pau Gasol has returned to the lineup the past two games, averaging 24 points, 11.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.5 blocks.

He was as good as he's been all season against the Utah Jazz on Friday, racking up 23 points (on 10- for-17 shooting), 17 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks in the Los Angeles Lakers' 110-99 win to snap a six-game losing streak.

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Mark J. TerrillPau Gasol filled up the stat sheet Friday against the Jazz with 23 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks. What caused the turnaround?

"One is being healthy, that‟s going to help," Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said after practice Saturday. "Two, I think the rhythm of the team was better, and once that is [the case,] then he gets more confident and more aggressive. We want Pau to be aggressive. We want him to be in the post every time, or at least in the play every time."

Gasol, the subject of various trade rumors swirling around the past month, including talk of him being dealt to Cleveland that continues to persist, proved he can still perform and block out the distractions.

"Everybody is in this position, in a sense. You just do your job and good things happen," D'Antoni said. "The worst thing that can happen in this league is pretty daggone good, if you‟re in the league. So, it‟s not that bad."

D'Antoni wants to see more good nights like the one Gasol had against Utah and thinks the big man's ceiling is higher than the 15.3 points and 9.5 rebounds on a career-low 44.9 percent shooting Gasol is putting up this season.

"I think he should almost average a triple-double every night," said D'Antoni. "That‟s what he did at the end of last year."

Indeed, Gasol racked up three triple-doubles in the Lakers' final seven games (including the playoffs) last season.

The coach believes that Robert Sacre's addition to the starting lineup has helped Gasol become more comfortable on defense using his length to harass opposing power forwards rather than having to use his bulk to battle centers. D'Antoni also said that Kendall Marshallgave the team a rhythm on offense that it was lacking that has trickled down to Gasol.

"If you‟re happy on offense and you‟re happy with the team, it comes through on your defense," said D'Antoni after the Lakers held the Jazz to just 12 first-quarter points Friday. "It shouldn‟t be that way, but it is that way, human nature, and last year was a big example of that. We were not happy offensively with our roles and we struggled, our shoulders drooped and we didn‟t have the intensity that we needed on defense."

D'Antoni, who singled Gasol out earlier in the season for his unwillingness to accept his role with the team, admitted Saturday that Gasol's underwhelming performance was caused by more than just a rigid attitude.

"That‟s also a product of the team," D'Antoni said. "You can‟t just blame one guy. It‟s all connected and it‟s how the ball moves and it‟s how the wings get out [in transition] and it‟s how we get the ball inbounds and how the ball finds him in the low post. It‟s all connected, and [Friday] we did a better job of it and Pau was really good."

Gasol vowed to keep it up following the Jazz game. The Lakers host the Denver Nuggets on Sunday before going on to play 10 of their next 11 games in the month of January on the road.

"I just want to play hard and play well and give as much as I can to this team, because we are so short-handed," Gasol said. "I owe it to myself and I owe it to my teammates, and I just want to be that guy that works hard for the team." Teams discuss major deal internally Updated: January 4, 2014, 2:21 PM ET

By Chris Broussard | ESPN The Magazine

 32  4  0  EMAIL  PRINT Carmelo-For-Griffin Trade Discussed

ESPN NBA Insider Chris Broussard discusses the possibility of the Knicks proposing an Anthony-for-Blake trade with the Clippers.Tags: NBA, Knicks, Clippers, Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, Chris Broussard

NEXT VIDEO  Paul Out 3-5 Weeks With Shoulder Injury With the looming possibility of Carmelo Anthony departing New York as a free agent this summer, New York Knicks officials have discussed proposing a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers for Blake Griffin, according to league sources.

[+] Enlarge

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty ImagesCould Carmelo Anthony and Blake Griffin be switching uniforms? The teams each have talked internally about a potential deal, sources said.

Sources say Clippers management also has had internal discussions about such a deal but that the clubs have not yet spoken to one another about a potential trade.

As of now, neither team is certain it would make an Anthony-for-Griffin trade, the sources said.

The Clippers appear to be the more apprehensive of the two teams because Griffin is having a terrific season, especially of late. The 24-year-old power forward has averaged 26 points and nearly 11 rebounds in his past 10 games.

One source close to the situation said the Clippers' latest internal discussion ended in favor of keeping Griffin.

New York's top priority, meanwhile, appears to be re-signing Anthony to a long-term deal this offseason.

More From ESPNNewYork.com

There are plenty of potential issues surrounding a Melo-for-Blake swap, even if New York and Los Angeles have yet to start trading proposals, Ian Begley writes. Blog • Knicks Blog | ESPN New York But with the Knicks struggling badly and Anthony refusing to give assurances that he will return, the Knicks understand they must at least consider other options. The Clippers are on the Knicks' radar because it is an open secret throughout the league that Anthony and Clippers star point guard Chris Paulhave wanted to play together since 2010. That sentiment between the two players has not changed, according to sources. Paul, who signed a five-year, $107 million deal with the Clippers this offseason, separated his shoulder Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks and is expected to miss three to five weeks. If the Knicks decide to explore a trade for Anthony, he will have plenty of say as to where he goes because of his impending free agency. No club will offer anything of value for him without knowing he will re-sign with it this summer. Doc Rivers: Trade talk 'stupid' Updated: January 4, 2014, 10:02 PM ET

ESPN.com news services

 83  286  182  EMAIL  PRINT Carmelo-For-Griffin Trade Discussed

NEXT VIDEO  Paul Out 3-5 Weeks With Shoulder Injury The idea of the Knicks shipping impending free agent Carmelo Anthony to the Clippers forBlake Griffin was rejected by Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers before Saturday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs, with Rivers responding to a question about the move by saying, "Please, this is stupid." More From ESPNNewYork.com

ESPN reported Friday night that both the Knicks and Clippers have had internal discussions about an Anthony-for-Griffin swap, but neither has proposed the deal to the other. One source close to the situation said the Clippers' latest internal discussion ended in favor of keeping Griffin.

"Call Pop [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] and and ask if he would like Blake. I think he'd say, 'Yeah, I think so, yeah I think so,' " Rivers said. "We had nothing to do with it." The Knicks' top priority appears to be re-signing Anthony to a long-term deal this offseason, but with the team struggling badly and Anthony refusing to give assurances that he will return, New York understands it must at least consider other options.

Anthony returned to the lineup Thursday night after missing three games with a sprained left ankle and tweaked it late in that win. He was still struggling with it Friday night, and winced almost every time he landed after jumping in the second half. The 24-year-old Griffin, meanwhile, has averaged 26 points and nearly 11 rebounds in his past 10 games. He signed a five-year, $95 million contract extension with the Clippers in July 2012. Cavs want Bynum deal by Sunday Updated: January 4, 2014, 10:23 PM ET

By Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne | ESPN.com

 283  0  54  EMAIL  PRINT Andrew Bynum's Clever Deal

He has been a so-so player at best, but in the new CBA his contract has special value -- because now even the richest teams feel financial pressure.

After several days of stalled talks, the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers made progress Saturday on a trade that would involve Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, sources told ESPN.com. The Cavaliers want to execute a trade by Sunday so it can be completed ahead of Tuesday's deadline for Bynum's contract to become fully guaranteed, sources said. Trades need 48 hours to be finalized so players can have physicals.

Gasol

Bynum

The Cavs have been involved in talks with other teams looking to take advantage of Bynum's contract. The deal is for $12.3 million this season but if a team waives Bynum by Tuesday it will owe him nothing because the $6.3 million left on the contract is not guaranteed if he's released by that date.

On Friday, ESPN.com reported the Cavs have been in talks with the Jazz for veteran forward Richard Jefferson in a money-saving move for Utah. Cleveland also has considered keeping Bynum and using him as a trade asset before next month's trade deadline, sources said. The injury-ravaged Lakers have been considering whether to execute a Gasol-for-Bynum trade because it would get them out of the luxury tax for the first time in seven years. More important than the $20 million in instant savings would be easing the pressure of going into the repeater tax in either 2015 or '16, sources said. If a team is in the luxury tax in four out of any five years, it triggers the repeater tax. Sources say the Lakers, who broke a six-game losing streak with a victory against the Jazz on Friday night, also are seeking a package that would include a young player or a draft pick from the Cavs, which has been holding up the talks.

The Lakers internally have been debating whether they should trade Gasol, a four-time All-Star with the team, or wait for some of their players to get healthy with hopes of making a run in the second half of the season.

It appears these talks, which kicked into gear last weekend when the Cavs suspended Bynum for a game and put him on the trade block, could be headed for a resolution one way or the another on Sunday. Cavs mull 3 options for Bynum Updated: January 4, 2014, 2:16 AM ET

By Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst | ESPN.com

 1K  297  340  EMAIL  PRINT Sources: Gasol To Cavs Talks Stall

Brian Windhorst discusses why trade talks have stalled in the potential deal that would send Pau Gasol from the Lakers to the Cavaliers in return for Andrew Bynum.Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Andrew Bynum,Pau Gasol, Brian Windhorst

NEXT VIDEO  Andrew Bynum's Clever Deal The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the weekend focused on three main exit strategies forAndrew Bynum as the Jan. 7 guarantee date on the remaining $6 million of the center's 2013-14 salary fast approaches Tuesday, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Sources said Utah Jazz veteran swingman Richard Jefferson has emerged as a new trade target for the Cavaliers after ongoing talks with the Los Angeles Lakers on a deal centered around the swap of former teammates Pau Gasol and Bynum remained at an impasse Friday. [+] Enlarge

Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE/Getty ImagesUtah Jazz swingman Richard Jefferson has emerged as a new trade target for the Cavaliers as they look to potentially move Andrew Bynum.

A deal with Utah that would send Jefferson to Cleveland and likewise allow the Jazz to acquire and waive Bynum before the other half of his $12.3 million salary this season becomes guaranteed is one of three primary options for the Cavaliers. The other two, sources said Friday, are continuing talks with the Lakers this weekend in hopes of hashing out trade terms both teams can stomach, or electing to keep Bynum beyond Tuesday's deadline and then reshopping him as a trade asset before the Feb. 20 trade deadline, or, if necessary, again in late June and early July.

Any team that has Bynum on its roster Jan. 7 can immediately wipe $6 million of its books this season by waiving him that day by 5 p.m. But sources said that Cleveland is strongly weighing the idea of keeping Bynum if it can't trade him by then, despite the fact it would fully guarantee the former All- Star center an extra $6 million.

In that scenario -- even if he never played another second for the Cavs -- Bynum theoretically could be an attractive trade piece in connection with the June draft or immediately after it because his $12.5 million salary in 2014-15 is fully nonguaranteed. Any team that has Bynum on its roster in July can erase the $12.5 million as long as he clears waivers by July 10.

ESPN reported Thursday that talks headlined by Gasol and Bynum had stalled, largely because the Lakers are seeking an additional quality asset from the Cavs on top of Bynum's cap-friendly contract, which could save Los Angeles more than $20 million in salary and luxury tax if it acquired Bynum next week and immediately released him. Sources say that L.A. also covets either a young prospect or a future first-round pick as well as Bynum if it parts with Gasol, but Cleveland has been unwilling to put either of those assets on the table.

It's believed that Utah's demands in a deal headlined by Jefferson and Bynum would be far more modest in comparison, given that Jefferson, at 33, has essentially been a role player for the past five seasons after a long run as a slashing scorer in both New Jersey and Milwaukee.

Cleveland, though, has been looking to upgrade its options at small forward for some time. And Jefferson, averaging 9.9 points in his debut season with the Jazz as an $11 million player, is shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range and would bring some needed know-how to the position for the Cavs, who remain hopeful of reaching the playoffs in the inviting Eastern Conference after a three-season drought dating to the free-agent exodus ofLeBron James. Sources say the Cavs and Lakers remained engaged in talks as of Friday, leaving open the possibility that an agreement can be struck. But ESPN reported Friday night that the Lakers believe they have other routes to getting under the luxury tax threshold beyond just swapping the four-time All-Star for the instant cap relief Bynum's contract would provide.

By late Friday night, the Lakers were cooling on the trade altogether, fearing that "we're further apart than ever," as one source told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne.

Trading for and then waiving Bynum could take the Lakers below the luxury-tax line for the first time in seven years. Yet sources say the Lakers remain reluctant to part with Gasol before giving the team time to recover from an ongoing wave of injuries that has derailed their season. Point guard Jordan Farmar was the latest to go down, suffering a hamstring tear that is expected to sideline him for a month. The Lakers (14-19) had lost six games in a row before beating Jefferson and Utah on Friday night. There is, however, some tangible pressure on the Lakers to get out of the luxury tax to help with future flexibility. If the Lakers remain a tax team at season's end, going into the tax in either of the next two seasons would trigger a costly "repeater tax" that the franchise hopes to avoid. The Lakers' plan, in the wake of signing Kobe Bryant to a two-year, $48.5 million extension in late November, is to be major free-agent players the next two summers. Sources say the Cavs have been shopping Bynum all over the league this week after a series of flare- ups with various coaches convinced the team's management to suspend him last weekend and effectively end its experiment with him.

Cleveland (11-21) signed Bynum to the largely nonguaranteed two-year, $25 million contract last summer after the 26-year-old missed the entire 2012-13 season with Philadelphia thanks to knee issues that have plagued him for years. The Sixers' failed gamble with Bynum came as part of the four-team blockbuster trade in August 2012 that landed Dwight Howard with the Lakers. Turkoglu wants back in NBA

January, 2, 2014 JAN 2 2:30

AM CT

By Marc Stein | ESPN.com  RECOMMEND52  TWEET12  COMMENTS12  EMAIL  PRINT The Cleveland Cavaliers have called virtually every team in the league this week as part of their continuing search for a trade partner interested in dealing for Andrew Bynum's cap-friendly contract before the magical date of Jan. 7, according to sources close to the process.

Which is a handy cue to remind us that the Orlando Magic possess the same sort of trade chip with Hedo Turkoglu and his similarly structured deal.

In both cases, only half of Bynum and Turkoglu's respective $12 million expiring contracts are guaranteed this season. Any team employing either player on Jan. 7 can thus save $6 million in salary -- and potentially more depending on where they are luxury-tax wise -- by releasing Bynum or Turkoglu in time to ensure they clear waivers before Jan. 10.

Yet there is one big difference between the Bynum and Turkoglu situations.

The Cavaliers, despite their disastrous 10-21 start, still have playoff aspirations in the Leastern Conference. So they appear to be willing to add some salary in a Bynum trade if they can land a difference-making asset, as evidenced by Cleveland's recent trade talks with the Los Angeles Lakers to acquire $19.3 million man Pau Gasol.

Orlando is not in the same place. Although the Magic decided to keep Turkoglu on their roster through Jan. 7 just in case a trade of some sort materialized in which his contract was needed, they're not chasing the likes of Gasol in support of a playoff push, which makes a trade even trickier for Orlando than it is for the Cavs to find a workable Bynum deal.

I'm told Turkoglu, incidentally, remains determined to relaunch his NBA career later this month when he is finally waived by the Magic or any other team that happens to trade for him in the next five days. The 34-year-old will become a free agent Jan. 10 after clearing waivers and has been working out on his own away from the team all season after Turkoglu and the Magic mutually agreed that he would not join the rest of the squad while they tried to find him a new home.

One source close to Turkoglu told ESPN.com this week that he remains confident he can still make an NBA contribution and badly wants the chance to show it after the rebuilding Magic decided that the 13-year veteran didn't fit in with a rebuilding program. New year, new blueprint for Nets

January, 3, 2014 JAN 3 2:19

AM CT

By Marc Stein | ESPN.com  RECOMMEND3  TWEET2  COMMENTS0  EMAIL  PRINT

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Pounding on a locked door in the hallway adjacent to the visitors' locker room, looking for some solitude to soak in the best win of his young coaching life, Jason Kidd felt a tap on the shoulder from an unlikely well-wisher.

"Good job, Coach," Russell Westbrook stopped to tell Kidd on his way out of Chesapeake Energy Arena. "Good job."

The past and present Team USAers then shared a knowing laugh or two about this weird, wild night. With good reason, too, since Brooklyn presumably doesn't rally from 16 points down in the final minute of the third quarter -- or 10 points down with 6:33 to go in a building where OKC was 14-2 -- if Westbrook wasn't watching the whole thing Thursday in street clothes.

Not that those visitors from Brooklyn felt an ounce of remorse. Not after the 31 miserable games they dragged through before this one. The Nets and their rookie coach have been waiting all season for a night like this: Deron Williams playing at full tilt, veteran after veteran scrapping hard to back him up and the sum of those forces adding up to 48 minutes of fight.

"Fourteen has gotten off to a good start," Kidd declared after buzzer-beating specialist Joe Johnson's latest gem delivered a 95-93 triumph over the shellshocked Thunder.

"It's a new year."

Kidd's wisest old heads imported from Boston -- Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett -- would soon follow with loud warnings that it's only a 1-0 start in 2014. Whether the NBA's $190 Million Roster can actually use this resurrection as a platform and turn it into something sustainable, even after losing Brook Lopez for the season, was described by KG himself as "the biggest question mark."

After revealing that the team decided, as a group, to try to use New Year's Day as a trigger to "turn things around," Pierce added: "We still got a ways to go."

From here, though, Brooklyn finally has a blueprint.

Amid all the scrutiny, all the external negativity, Kidd tuned it all out and made some bold (and successful) changes to the Nets' approach in the wake of the 21-point pounding they absorbed at San Antonio in their last act of 2013. He went super small with his starting lineup, moving Pierce to power forward next to his makeshift center Garnett ... while also asking Shaun Livingston to not only take some ballhandling pressure off Williams as D-Will's backcourt mate, but also guard Durant at the other end.

The idea was that Brooklyn would start the game, and finish it, with two playmakers and its best offensive fivesome: Williams, Livingston, Johnson, Pierce and Garnett. Add in the 14 second-half turnovers they uncharacteristically coaxed out of the Thunder and rare foul trouble for Durant and Reggie Jackson, and Brooklyn had just enough to give Johnson his chance to go behind his back with the dribble in the middle of the floor, launch a fallaway rainbow over Serge Ibaka's long reach and steal it at the end with Johnson's fourth career buzzer-beater in a season and a half as a Net.

"We didn't give in to the team making the run, even though in the third quarter they really pushed the lead," Pierce said. "The crowd really got behind them, but the thing is we really stayed together."

After being spotted jumping around like a sixth defender on the sideline down the stretch, Kidd said: "Our defense was there for 48 minutes. Everybody played, everybody pitched in. And that's what it takes to win."

That and this D-Will.

The togetherness? The desire? Brooklyn legitimately recorded season-highs in both categories, with some smart double-team swarming of Durant (24 points) in the fourth quarter, to capitalize on the Thunder's vulnerability without Westbrook.

The reality, though, remains that the bulk of the Nets' hopes for digging out of this 11-21 hole to at least get to the playoffs rest on the shoulders (and chronically sore ankles) of Williams. D-Will barely had a training camp because of those blasted ankles, but he'll have to more regularly be the dominant force seen here if the Nets -- especially now without Lopez -- are going to salvage anything from the most expensive season ever.

And Williams knows it.

Fresh off uncorking this season-best 29 points in his new role playing off Livingston, including six 3s, Williams admitted: “I have to be more aggressive like this every day. And hopefully I can do that.

"That‟s a good way to start the new year. It‟s a clean slate, I guess, and hopefully we can build on it."

Said Garnett: "This is a great morale win for us. We needed it. You have no idea [how much]." New year, new blueprint for Nets

January, 3, 2014 JAN 3 2:19

AM CT

By Marc Stein | ESPN.com  RECOMMEND3  TWEET2  COMMENTS0  EMAIL  PRINT

"Good job, Coach," Russell Westbrook stopped to tell Kidd on his way out of Chesapeake Energy Arena. "Good job."

"Fourteen has gotten off to a good start," Kidd declared after buzzer-beating specialist Joe Johnson's latest gem delivered a 95-93 triumph over the shellshocked Thunder.

"It's a new year."

After revealing that the team decided, as a group, to try to use New Year's Day as a trigger to "turn things around," Pierce added: "We still got a ways to go."

From here, though, Brooklyn finally has a blueprint.

That and this D-Will.

And Williams knows it.

"That‟s a good way to start the new year. It‟s a clean slate, I guess, and hopefully we can build on it."

Said Garnett: "This is a great morale win for us. We needed it. You have no idea [how much]." New year, new blueprint for Nets

January, 3, 2014 JAN 3 2:19

AM CT

By Marc Stein | ESPN.com  RECOMMEND3  TWEET2  COMMENTS0  EMAIL  PRINT

"Good job, Coach," Russell Westbrook stopped to tell Kidd on his way out of Chesapeake Energy Arena. "Good job."

"Fourteen has gotten off to a good start," Kidd declared after buzzer-beating specialist Joe Johnson's latest gem delivered a 95-93 triumph over the shellshocked Thunder.

"It's a new year."

After revealing that the team decided, as a group, to try to use New Year's Day as a trigger to "turn things around," Pierce added: "We still got a ways to go."

From here, though, Brooklyn finally has a blueprint.

That and this D-Will.

And Williams knows it.

"That‟s a good way to start the new year. It‟s a clean slate, I guess, and hopefully we can build on it."

Said Garnett: "This is a great morale win for us. We needed it. You have no idea [how much]." New year, new blueprint for Nets January, 3, 2014 JAN 3 2:19

AM CT

By Marc Stein | ESPN.com  RECOMMEND3  TWEET2  COMMENTS0  EMAIL  PRINT

"Good job, Coach," Russell Westbrook stopped to tell Kidd on his way out of Chesapeake Energy Arena. "Good job."

"Fourteen has gotten off to a good start," Kidd declared after buzzer-beating specialist Joe Johnson's latest gem delivered a 95-93 triumph over the shellshocked Thunder.

"It's a new year."

After revealing that the team decided, as a group, to try to use New Year's Day as a trigger to "turn things around," Pierce added: "We still got a ways to go."

From here, though, Brooklyn finally has a blueprint.

That and this D-Will.

And Williams knows it.

"That‟s a good way to start the new year. It‟s a clean slate, I guess, and hopefully we can build on it."

Said Garnett: "This is a great morale win for us. We needed it. You have no idea [how much]." New year, new blueprint for Nets

January, 3, 2014 JAN 3 2:19

AM CT

By Marc Stein | ESPN.com  RECOMMEND3  TWEET2  COMMENTS0  EMAIL  PRINT

"Good job, Coach," Russell Westbrook stopped to tell Kidd on his way out of Chesapeake Energy Arena. "Good job."

"Fourteen has gotten off to a good start," Kidd declared after buzzer-beating specialist Joe Johnson's latest gem delivered a 95-93 triumph over the shellshocked Thunder.

"It's a new year."

After revealing that the team decided, as a group, to try to use New Year's Day as a trigger to "turn things around," Pierce added: "We still got a ways to go."

From here, though, Brooklyn finally has a blueprint.

That and this D-Will.

And Williams knows it.

"That‟s a good way to start the new year. It‟s a clean slate, I guess, and hopefully we can build on it."

Said Garnett: "This is a great morale win for us. We needed it. You have no idea [how much]." How the draft lottery weakens the East

January, 3, 2014 JAN 3 1:00

PM ET

By Curtis Harris Special to ESPN.com Archive  RECOMMEND108  TWEET29  COMMENTS38  EMAIL  PRINT The current state of the Eastern Conference has been widely panned and rightfully so. As of Friday morning, only three East teams sit above .500, and the conference currently holds an overall win percentage of .442, which puts it on track for 36 wins per team. That‟s a historically horrific track to be going down. Just once before has a conference had a lower win percentage -- and that was way back in 1960 when the West won 40 percent of its games.

This year may be the worst-case scenario for the East, but it‟s continuing a steady trend. For 15 years dating back to the 1999-00 season, the Western Conference has won an average of 52.5 percent of its games overwhelming the East‟s 47.5 percent. But since 2009, the West has held a higher win percentage than the East in every individual season.

There are many reasons for this. One of them that has not been discussed much is that the NBA draft system often unintentionally (but systematically) awards decent West teams slightly better draft picks than similar teams in the East. It's a system designed to help the weak get stronger, but it's rewarding the stronger conference almost every season.

It works like this. The lottery format, of course, semi-randomly assigns the top overall picks -- only twice since the 1999-2000 season has the worst team in the NBA won the top pick. But what matters is who gets into the lottery: specifically, teams that miss the playoffs. In the West, those are typically good teams. In the East, that's not so. So the top draft spots are going to a pool of teams that includes some strong West teams and weaker East ones.

Since 2000, 13 Western Conference teams have been in the lottery despite having one of the 16 best records in the NBA. On the flip side, this means that 13 Eastern Conference teams that did not possess one of the 16 best records in the NBA made the playoffs.

This odd situation is a quirk of the playoff structure, which takes the eight best teams per conference not the 16 best teams from the whole league. And it‟s also a byproduct of the draft which then promises the top 14 picks to the non-playoff teams, not the 14 worst teams in the NBA, recordwise.

The average victories for the should-have-been playoff teams from the West is 43.3 wins. The average for those should-have-been lottery East teams is 39.6 wins. The situation reached its nadir in 2008 when the Golden State Warriors won 48 games, which was the 12th best record in the NBA. Still, they missed the Western Conference playoffs. Meanwhile the 37-win Atlanta Hawks got themselves a spot in the Eastern Conference postseason with the 19th best record in the league.

Other notable misfortunes include:  The 43-win Utah Jazz missed the playoffs, but made the lottery, while the 38-win Milwaukee Bucks saw the postseason in 2013.  In 2011, the Pacers won just 37 games and made the playoffs, while the Rockets won 43 and got a lottery pick.  In 2009, the 46-win Phoenix Suns didn't make the playoffs, but the 39-win Detroit Pistons did.  2005 saw the Timberwolves win 44 and make the lottery, while the Nets won 42 and didn't.  In 2004, the 39-win Knicks and 36-win Celtics made the playoffs in the weak East, while the 42- win Jazz and 41-win Trail Blazers drew pingpong balls.  In 2001, the 45-win Rockets and 44-win SuperSonics earned spots in the lottery, but the 43-win Orlando Magic and the 41-win Indiana Pacers did not.

Those 42-, 44-, even 48-win Western Conference teams are getting an (admittedly slim) chance at the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. More importantly, though, they are absolutely getting a leg up on a better opportunity to collect talent compared to those Eastern teams which are losing three, five, or even 11 more games.

This discrepancy helps to reinforce the power of the Western Conference, while limiting the ability of the Eastern Conference to correct the imbalance.

The 13 West teams that missed the playoffs but got into the lottery received an average draft selection of 12.5 when in a league-wide draw would have been slotted in at around 16.5. That‟s an appreciable four pick difference. Meanwhile, those crummy East teams got an average draft slot of 15 when they should have been picking at No. 13.

Obviously, the uppermost part of the draft is where the franchise-changing players are added. LeBron James, Dwight Howard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dwyane Wade ... they were all taken in the top five picks. However that mid-range in the draft is important for complementing those stars with good role players.

Luckily for the East, the Western Conference has largely bungled its draft choices in this range. The 2008 Warriors with their 14th pick, instead of the 19th that they deserved, took Anthony Randolph ahead of useful players like Robin Lopez and Roy Hibbert.

You can lead a horse to water, but sometimes it‟s going to drown in the pool, I suppose.

This quirky situation isn‟t the end of the world, and it‟s certainly not the cause of the disparity between the East and the West. I don‟t think we‟ll ever really know why the West is demonstrably better than the East for 15 years running now.

But the point here is that the current, peculiar format of the draft and the playoffs isn‟t doing a lot to correct the imbalance and the solution is fairly simple.

This is yet another argument for a HoopIdea that many others have made before: It's time to reconsider the process of allocating talent to teams. At a minimum, it would make sense that the 14- worst teams receive the top 14 picks. The West is already formidable enough. The March classic we never saw coming

January, 3, 2014 JAN 3 10:40

AM ET

By Benjamin Polk Special to ESPN.com Archive  RECOMMEND42  TWEET5  COMMENTS12  EMAIL  PRINT Garrett W. Ellwood/Getty ImagesWith buzzer-beaters and frantic action, one mid-March regular-season game became a classic.

Most regular-season NBA games share a certain weekday rhythm. First quarter proceeds to fourth, runs are exchanged, the game winds down. You wake up in the morning and go to work. You tell a few jokes, come home and go to sleep.

But sometimes this rhythm is disrupted. Sometimes a game ruptures our expectations, startles us out of our patterns of habit. Sometimes the everyday turns transcendent.

On March 23, 2012, the Minnesota Timberwolves slouched into Oklahoma City to play the Thunder. Both teams were wobbly with fatigue, the result of the grueling, lockout-compressed schedule. The Thunder were cruising to the top seed in the Western Conference while the Wolves were shredded by injuries -- Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Michael Beasley were all on the shelf -- and mired in another wrecked season.

We thought we knew what was coming. Kevin Love would grab some rebounds. Kevin Durant would score a bunch of points. The Thunder would roll the Wolves in routine fashion and we would all say goodnight, see you again tomorrow. The season would grind on.

Instead, what we got was a minor classic, a wildly exciting two-overtime 149-140 Thunder victory. Love scored 51 points. Durant went for 40 and 17 rebounds. Russell Westbrook dropped a career-high 45. J.J. Barea notched his first triple-double. The game had manic offense, frayed D, impossible plays, incredible performances, desperate comebacks. Westbrook and Barea relentlessly shredded defenders. KD and Love traded buzzer-beating 3-pointers like new-school editions of 'Nique and Larry.

“It was a crazy game, it was crazy,” Durant says. “We almost gave up 200 points that game!” [+] Enlarge AP Photo/Alonzo AdamsKevin Love matched an important late 3-pointer from Kevin Durant with one of his seven own treys.

“It was mayhem,” Love says. “It was just nuts.”

By the end, despite the humble circumstances, the game somehow felt consequential. “I replay it in my mind a lot,” Durant says. “It was one of those games that you‟re going to think down the line and be proud that you were a part of.”

The game wasn‟t played at near-perfection levels like last season‟s NBA Finals; it was much weirder and woollier, filled with absurd bounces and fatigue-addled mistakes. But it shared with those Finals a sense of crazy, righteous desperation. And those very imperfections made it feel more beautifully unhinged and thrilling, as if the fundamental facts of everyday life -- the blemishes and mistakes, the banalities and small absurdities -- had become transfigured. The game had no impact on the standings and didn‟t so much as blemish the playoff picture. By our normal calculus it meant almost nothing. And yet it felt as if something truly meaningful were at stake.

“The crowd gets into it and gets energized,” says Love when asked to describe the game‟s energy. “In something like that it‟s fight-or-flight. You really have to pick up your intensity to a whole new level. You know the other team‟s really going at you and giving us their toughest blows and you‟re trying to put that sledgehammer on them too.”

So what was the moment that transported this game to that new level? Was it Barea -- displaying all of the desperation, skill and absurd bravado that make him the maddening, fascinating player that he is -- converting an offensive rebound and diving layup to tie the game at 113-113 with 27.3 seconds remaining and cap the Wolves‟ late comeback?

Was it Durant‟s answer on the ensuing possession, the gorgeous crossover and step-back 3 that had Anthony Tolliver skittering on his heels? Or Love‟s cold-blooded, heavily defended, buzzer-beating, game-tying reply seconds later, his seventh 3 of the game? (“He said „In your face,‟” said Westbrook, who was guarding Love on that shot. “He kept pointing like „In your face, in your face.‟”)

Was it KD‟s corner 3 at the end of the first overtime that tied the game at 129-129 and capped a five- point, 46-second comeback? Or his in-out dribble and deep-leaning baseline fadeaway that put the game away in the second overtime?

Or maybe it was one of those strange plays that give a game like this its rough texture and life? Like, in the second overtime with the Wolves trailing by three, when Tolliver gathered an offensive board, found himself wide open at the doorstep of the basket, poised to cut the lead to one … and blew the layup. Almost instantaneously, Westbrook was streaking in the other direction for an electric coast-to- coast finish that put OKC up by five. It was a devastating -- and devastatingly quick -- swing that stunned the Wolves and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

So which was it?

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Alonzo AdamsRussell Westbrook surged late, scoring a career-high 45 points.

Says Durant: “Really, when Kevin Love hit that shot to take it into overtime. After that it was like, man, whatever comes through this game, I‟m not surprised.”

Says Love: “We were down by like 10, and people watching might have thought it was over. But then we made a run back at them at the end and started inching our way back. And when I hit that shot on Russell to head it into the first overtime, I thought, „this is a wild game.‟”

But by the time Love hit that shot, the game‟s intensity had already escalated; the Wolves had already capped their improbable comeback with Barea‟s offensive rebound and drive to the rim. Love himself acknowledges that his shot was not just remarkable in and of itself, but as the culmination of an unfolding process.

Even more telling is Barea‟s answer. When asked which moment defined the game‟s new intensity, he did not hesitate: “Oh, when we hit a shot to win the game and they tied it to go to overtime.”

Which sounds perfectly reasonable, except that what he describes never actually occurred.

Without a doubt, the individual moments are memorable in and of themselves. But they carry special significance in our minds because of the context of intensity and thrill from which they emerged. Ray Allen‟s Game 6 buzzer-beater is already legendary not simply because it was a great shot at a hugely important time, but also because it signaled the incredible competitive fervor of the entire series. Love‟s 3 is memorable not just because he nailed a deep, heavily contested shot as time expired, but because it embodied and distilled everything that came before and after: the incredible shots and feverish rebounding battles; the appalling turnovers, the blown layups.

Some spectacular plays -- a Blake Griffin dunk, a Kyrie Irving crossover -- come out of nowhere. But most truly great moments feel impoverished as disembodied highlights. They are culminations; when we watch them we realize that something incredible has already begun to happen. They are instances of a phenomenon already in progress, of a game already overflowing.