Nash hasn't and won't request a trade from the Suns. (Getty Images)

Posted by Royce Young

By every account, whether it's NBA insiders, the Suns or Steve Nash himself, the ageless Phoenix point guard isn't getting traded.

Question is, why? He's 38 years old, the Suns aren't going anywhere in the near future and you'd think Nash would want a shot at chasing a title somewhere. Here's a surprising reason via ESPN.com -- because the Suns would actually like to re-sign Nash.

Because Suns owner Robert Sarver, according to sources close to the situation, continues to hold out hope that he can convince Nash to re-sign this summer for at least two seasons.

[...]

Sarver, though, is apparently determined to try to convince Nash to retire in the desert. The thinking there, sources say, is that the Suns believe they'd have a better core going forward with a re-upped Nash, center Marcin Gortat, cap space and a top pick in the well-regarded 2012 draft than with the sort of assets they could bring back now in a deadline deal for a 38-year-old point guard who, even as he continues to play at an All-Star level, is just a few months away from free agency.

The second question is, why would Nash re-sign with the Suns though? Loyalty is one thing, but unless something drastic changes within that organization, the Suns aren't going to be resurfacing as a Western contender soon. Nash would be an unrestricted free agent this summer and with teams like the Knicks and probably Mavericks ready to come calling, two teams with contending capabilities, it would make sense that Nash leave Phoenix.

But just because the Suns would like to re-sign Nash doesn't mean it won't eventually make sense to deal him. His value is certainly as high as it'll ever be right now and there would likely be a few teams ready to step up. One being the Portland Trail Blazers who according to the report "has been interested in Nash for a while."

The Suns reportedly aren't getting big-time offers for Nash though, presumably because of his advanced age. Still, you can't deny his production which has been at an incredibly efficient level. Nash is too much of a class act to demand a trade, but you know he doesn't want to spend the twilight of his career plodding along on a mediocre team. He wants to chase a title. It might just a matter of who that will be with.

Harris is getting shopped? (Getty Images)

Posted by Royce Young

For a moment there, the Utah Jazz looked to be the surprise story of the season. A hot start had them sitting in the top half of the West, which was stunning considering they essentially began a rebuild after trading Deron Williams.

They've come back to Earth some leveling at 15-18 after losing eight of their last 10, which means they could be looking to shake things up. Via the Salt Lake Tribune:

The Jazz remain open to moving starting point guard Devin Harris, league sources said, and reserve small forward C.J. Miles could be made available in the right situation. But Utah continues to take a long-term approach in building its team after the Deron Williams trade last February, and the Jazz won't make a move simply to pull the trigger.

Not exactly a new story as there was word of this in late January, but with the trade deadline approaching, it's certainly more meaningful. Behind Harris? Earl Watson. Behind him? Jamaal Tinsley. So it's not like the Jazz have a young point guard they've been grooming and want to work in.

But Harris hasn't been at all productive this season, averaging just 9.3 points and 4.6 assists per game. This is a one-time All-Star with the Nets, a guy that averaged 21.3 ppg in a season. And here he is as someone the Jazz would be open to move so they could give Earl Watson more playing time.

Still, you know who would probably love Harris? The Lakers. They desperately need point guard help and if they could offer up a first round pick or a young asset, the Jazz might jump at it. But Utah knows the Lakers are needy, which drives the price up.

As for Miles, he's certainly a player with a good amount of trade value. A big, strong defensive shooting guard that can hit from the outside. Playoff teams in search of help at 2-guard (Bulls, Clippers, Pacers) would likely be interested. But the Jazz are likely in the market for a solid draft pick or young asset in return.

Posted by Royce Young

If I say "Delonte West and LeBron James," you pretty much know exactly what I'm talking about. And that rumor, while never coming from a real source, never having any kind of substantial legs to it, has carried on for a while.

It came up again a couple weeks ago when LeBron reportedly got into it with a heckler because of it. West did an interview with the Dallas Morning News and tried to put the whole thing to bed once and for all:

“Everywhere I go, first question, ‘Don’t tell me you did that.’ …

“If we want to continue to grow as a human race, what are we teaching our kids if we try to make humor and fun out of stuff like that?” West says of the rumor. “Number one, something like that never happened. I don’t know where they got that from.

“For a strong black woman like that, for people to try to tear her down, that’s terrible. That’s terrible in so many ways.”

West didn't really need to even dignify the rumor with an actual denial, but he did. He dismissed it completely, said it was terrible and called out the human race for spreading it.

I'd love to say "end of story" here, but I know the human race pretty well and that's probably not going to happen. Still, West is on record here saying it's completely not true, which considering where the rumor originated from, is what we should take most seriously.

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Brook Lopez definitely grabbed some attention Tuesday. (Getty Images)

Each night, Eye on Basketball brings you what you need to know about the games of the NBA. From great performances to terrible clock management the report card evaluates and eviscerates the good, the bad, and the ugly from the night that was.

	Brook Lopez	Probably about halfway through Tuesday's New Jersey game against the Mavericks, Billy King called Otis Smith and said, "Hey, just wanted to make sure you're watching this." Because in his third game after returning to the floor after a foot injury, Lopez was dominant. He finished with 38 points on 17-28 shooting leading the Nets to a one-point win over the Mavs in Dallas.
	Minnesota Timberwolves	On a night where Kevin Love scored just 10 and Ricky Rubio only two while Blake Griffin had 30 and Chris Paul 27, you'd assume the Clippers handled the Wolves with ease, right? Wrong. Instead it was a big 109-97 win for Minnesota. So how'd they do it? Behind a career night from rookie Derrick Williams who finished with 27 points on 9-10 shooting and Michael Beasley who had 27 on 11-15 shooting. That's right, 54 points on 20-25 shooting. That'll get it done.
	Middle-of-the-pack Eastern teams	Both the Pacers and 76ers limped a bit into the All-Star break, revealing some issues. But both came out roaring with the Sixers topping Detroit by 29 and the Pacers whipping the Warriors by 24. Good start to the second half for both.
	Derrick Rose	The Bulls made it far closer than it should've been against the Hornets, but Rose came to the rescue for Chicago, scoring 32 points, including the last four for the Bulls. He hit a big jumper with 19 seconds left to put Chicago up two, then picked up a block on a Jarrett Jack drive that would've tied it and then hit two free throws to seal it.
	Boston Celtics	Boston ended a five-game losing streak with a win over Cleveland, but still, it's obvious there are problems. They look slow, old and have problems scoring. Rajon Rondo was outscored by Kyrie Irving 24-0 -- that's right, zero points for Rondo -- and outside of Ray Allen's solid game, the Celtics weren't very good. It's not that the Celtics are disappointing anymore, mainly because expectations are constantly being lowered.
	Chicago Bulls not named Derrick	The bench combined for only 18 points and the other four starters only had 49. Without Rose in the game, the Bulls blew an 11-point lead and had to be rescued by the MVP in the last couple minutes.
	Dallas Mavericks	It's one thing to blow a game to the Nets at home, but the Mavs' failure in the last minute to execute was just bad. Jason Kidd's heave to win the game was off a horrible set that exploded in Dallas's face. And Dirk Nowitzki -- you know, the guy that's seven feet tall and as clutch as it gets -- didn't take a shot in the Mavs' last two possessions.
	New Orleans Hornets	The Bulls won a game they were supposed to, but the Hornets made it tough on them. So why an F? Because they had it. After a 13-0 run to go up 95-91 with 1:30 left, the Hornets watched the Bulls close on an 8-0 run. Here were their possessions: turnover, blocked shot, blocked shot, turnover. Derrick Rose hit a big shot, but the Hornets really showcased exactly why they have such a horrendous record.

Posted by Royce Young

It's almost becoming a weekly NBA press release. "[Insert game] was the NBA's highest rated in 15 years." The league's popularity is reaching incredible highs. Behind young starpower, an exciting product and an intriguing rumor mill, the NBA is soaring.

And yet, the league isn't making money. Deputy commission Adam Silver explained in Orlando.

"The league will not make money this year," Silver says. And next year? "Maybe."

Don't forget, and I'm sure you haven't, there was a lockout this season. Over exactly this stuff. As a result, the NBA reduced Basketball Related Income from 57 percent to 51.1 percent for the players. The system was tweaked and changed to benefit owners. By all accounts, there was really no excuse for the league to not make money. Especially with the rising popularity of the game.

So what's going on? Henry Abbott of TrueHoop explains:

The explanation from the league is that the cuts in player costs roughly match the losses from last year. But this year the league says there were an additional $200 million in losses related to the lockout, for instance due to lost ticket revenue and corporate sponsorships that didn't happen.

More importantly, popularity only equals big changes in revenue over years. The most obvious way that happens is with more lucrative national TV deals, but the old deals are still in place for two more years. High TV ratings have not meant new TV revenues for the league. Corporate sponsorships similarly take time to develop.

And according to the league, the popularity is nice, but not yet a cure for the league's financial distress.

You can't take a shortsighted view of the new collecive bargaining agreement. It's a 10-year deal and as Silver said after one negotiation in the fall, he believes the league will eventually be proven right with this deal. It's not about the present. It's about the future.

But there certainly is a difference in the game being healthy and popular and it being profitable. With all the concessions the owners got in the last negotiation though, if they aren't making money when the league is at all-time highs in popularity, then there's really nothing left to do than look in the mirror.

Even Paul George wasn't a fan of the dunk contest. (Getty Images)

Posted by Royce Young

The 2012 Dunk Contest? Not exactly a smashing success. Kind of hard to be when pretty much everyone is using it in a sentence with words like "worst" and "ever."

Kevin Durant sounded off saying stars need to participate as well as a bunch of other players saying things about how rough it was. One person that maybe you didn't expect to say it wasn't great though? One of the participants. But here's what Paul George told the Indy Star:

“(Not to) take nothing away from the dunk contest, (but) it was a joke,” George said. “I guess whoever had the biggest celebrity involved in their dunk was going to be the winner. I guess I should have tried to reach out to some people.

“If you leave it up to fans, they probably wouldn’t have known who Larry was. I think I was destined to lose it.”

George only used one gimmick in the contest, and it was a pretty good one. His human glowstick dunk was creative, original and pretty spectacular. For the others, he jumped over 7-2 Roy Hibbert and put a sticker of Larry Bird on the backboard.

His frustration stems from the winner, Jeremy Evans, using comedian Kevin Hart in his Mailman dunk. Evans won the contest despite having maybe the worst dunk in contest history, one that used a camera and was completely boring.  

George agreed with Durant too:

“I agree, you have to have the faces of the league come back and get involved in it,” George said. “That’s what really made it big back in the day when you had Jordan and Dominique going at it. That was the All Stars and the guys that were the men in the league. That’s what fans want to see.”

I wouldn't mind seeing George again. If he had made that sticker dunk, he would've had a solid night. Coming up with three inventive dunks isn't easy and we're all way too critical of the contest. But I agree -- get the celebrities and stuff out of it. It's a copout instead of using creativity and skill.

Via I Am A GM

Posted by Royce Young

If you've been looking for probably the definitive Jeremy Lin tribute video, it's here. DJ Steve Porter, most famous for his work with Allen Iverson, has put out a remix for KnicksNow.com called "All He Does Is Lin." And as you might expect, it's terrific.

Posted by Royce Young



Pretty much everyone had the same reaction to Dwyane Wade's oddly hard foul on Kobe Bryant Sunday during the All-Star Game. What the crap was up with that?

In a regular game nobody would've batted an eye, but in the relaxed, fun setting of an All-Star Game, it definitely appeared out of place. Wade explained it afterward by saying he didn't mean to draw blood and was just getting Kobe back for some fouls on the other end.

But what ended up happening was that Kobe broke his nose, suffered a mild concussion and has to wear a mask for a little bit. So Wade feels a little bad now. And would like to say he's sorry. Via the Sun Sentinel, Wade says he sent "a message" of apology to Kobe for the broken nose and stressed he didn't mean any harm.

"I sent him a message, with my apologies. Unfortunate that happened to him, but that's all I could do," Wade said following Tuesday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena, the first time he has commented on the incident since Sunday. "He knows it's no ill intent on me to do that. Did I take a foul? Yes, I took a foul. So, talk about me for taking a foul. But I never wanted that kind of outcome."

[...]

"It's unfortunate, obviously," he said. "You don't never want to hurt nobody, anybody in this game, especially on a freak play like that. So, you know it's unfortunate.

"I sent my apologies. But, you know, not intentional. If it's something I did intentionally, it's a different story. So it's unfortunate."

Wade really didn't have to apologize like that. It's basketball. Bloody noses, busted lips and black eyes happen all the time. When it does, you say, "My bad" and keep moving on. This only became something bigger because in the traditional manner of the All-Star Game, you don't see things like that. Wade said he was just "taking a foul" to stop play so he could talk to the ref about two calls he didn't get on the other end. It was an accident, end of story. It might've looked funny, but the fact Kobe got his nose broken wasn't the intention.

Still, people like TNT's Reggie Miller were extremely critical of Wade's foul on Kobe and called for him to apologize publicly. Wade isn't into that.

"Reggie don't know what was said," Wade said. "When I saw his blood, obviously I didn't try to do that. I don't know if anybody wants me to get down on my knees in front of the world and do it. I don't have to do that.

"Like I said, everyone has an opinion, everyone uses their opinion. Like I said, I sent my apologies to Kobe and I move on from it. It's unfortunate. It was not nothing that was ill intent, in a sense. But this will be the last time I talk about it from this point on."

And guess what, you guys? The Heat play the Lakers on Sunday. So that should be a little more fun now. If Andrew Bynum clotheslines Wade on a drive to the basket, I think you'll know why.