Redick, J.J. - G - Orl 2008-11-20 22:05:56 Redick still enjoying life.
FANTASY INSIGHT: As frustrated as he has been lately, Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick told the Sentinel after Tuesday night's game that he hadn't commissioned his agent to push for a trade again. "What are you talking about? No, never did that," he said, when I joked that he might have to pull back on his latest demand to be moved. Last season Redick, through his agent, Arn Tellem, requested the Magic to trade him as he was chained to the bench. And after falling out of the rotation early this season, he conceded he was frustrated and was locked in Ground Hog Day scenario again. But he continued working and buttoned his lip, sticking with his preseason credo of enjoying the game and his life. (Orlando Sentinel)
FANTASY INSIGHT: Is help on the way for the Bobcats? Larry Brown intimated as much. The veteran coach would love to add Antonio McDyess. A player so close to Brown in Detroit that Pistons observers jokingly called McDyess Brown's "second son," he was released recently by the Denver Nuggets. "I hear he's wanted to reach out to me," Brown said of McDyess. "Hopefully, I'll be able to talk to him. But the last thing I want to do is pressure him. (But) he would be a perfect fit for this team. I think it would be a great thing to have his presence in our locker room."(Gaston Gazette)
O`Neal, Shaquille - C - Phx 2008-11-20 21:38:48 Twitterer impersonating Shaq is busted.
FANTASY INSIGHT: Shaquille O'Neal had a problem. An Internet impostor using his name was sending messages to unsuspecting Shaq fans. So O'Neal did what any sensible, 7-foot-1, muscle-bound mammoth would do. He started tweeting. The faux Shaq account was discovered last week by Sports Media Challenge, a consulting firm that works with O'Neal. Kathleen Hessert, the firm's owner, was initially thrilled. She had been pushing O'Neal to Twitter with fans. She found the oddball references to the Pythagorean theorem and the Big Cactus to be very Shaq-like. "It was a very good impersonation," Hessert said. A closer inspection revealed the forgery. The ersatz O'Neal, for example, claimed to be sending tweets from the bench during a game -- a virtual impossibility. That was the point, said the man who created the account. Ward Andrews, the 33-year-old Suns fan behind ShaquilleONeal, said he included the occasional outlandish claim as a tip-off. "All the longtime followers, over 500 followers, they know it's a joke," said Andrews, who owns a Phoenix design and marketing agency. "I really didn't have any intent to pull people's leg. It was just to entertain." (New York Times)
Wallace, Gerald - F - Cha 2008-11-20 21:35:50 Bobcats waive two, could have deal in place to move Wallace.
FANTASY INSIGHT: Sometimes it's not just the moves that are made, but the timing of said moves. This afternoon the Charlotte Bobcats waived two players: Andre Brown and Linton Johnson III. A couple of weeks ago this would have raised no eyebbrows. Teams were cutting their rosters down to the required 15 for the start of the regular season. Now, however, it is more than a little suspisious. There has been plenty of trade talk surrounding the Bobcats, who have made all but public overtures to the New Jersey Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers, and are openly shopping Gerald Wallace in their desire to land a true center to play next to Emeka Okafor. Now they've suddenly waived two players, taking their roster down to 13. Sounds like the Bobcats have a taker, and that in the deal they're getting back more players than they're sending out. According to a couple of well-informed sources the Bobcats have been aggressively working the phone lines as they watch their attendance drop in direct proportion to their winning percentage. It sounds like we could see a huge move made by the Bobcats in the next few hours. (hoopsworld.com)
Ming, Yao - C - Hou 2008-11-20 21:31:11 Yao Ming learning to take precautions in stride, will likely play Friday.
FANTASY INSIGHT: Older and wiser, Yao Ming accepted the verdict. Some things, he has learned all too well in the past year, he cannot control. A year ago, he would he been bitterly disappointed, perhaps even angry at being forced to miss even one game when he felt "fine, so fine." With the emotions and immediacy of youth, he would not have let himself see past the importance of a game against the Dallas Mavericks to the five months of regular season to follow. Then again, he might have felt no such emotions because he might not have missed the game at all. He might have kept the soreness he felt in his left foot on Monday to himself, and if the grimace he let slip was seen and questioned he would have denied any discomfort, worried only about missing a game. So Yao accepted the decision to skip Wednesday’s loss to the Mavericks while team doctors consulted with more specialists. Unless they find some reason for concern that had not been uncovered before, and Rockets athletic trainer Keith Jones said on Thursday that so far Yao remains "good to go." (Houston Chronicle)
McGee, JaVale - C - Wsh 2008-11-20 21:28:12 Wizards may feature rookie McGee as starting center.
FANTASY INSIGHT: 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. (Washington Post)
Gallinari, Danilo - F - NY 2008-11-19 21:28:01 Gallinari likely to be out into January.
FANTASY INSIGHT: The prognosis for Danilo Gallinari's back remains the same, though the timetable keeps getting pushed back. The Knicks rookie Tuesday saw a specialist -- his third in five days -- who agreed with the previous two doctors that his lower-back injury requires rest, not surgery. The new timetable presented to him was six to eight weeks, which pushes back any chance for a return to the court until at least early January. Gallinari, who suffered a disc protrusion after a series of hard falls with the Knicks' summer league team in July, was scheduled to meet with one more specialist next week in Los Angeles. But a team spokesman said the West Coast appointment might be canceled. (New York Newsday)
Stackhouse, Jerry - G/F - Dal 2008-11-19 21:13:40 Stackhouse might be in best place for him already.
FANTASY INSIGHT: vvJerry Stackhouse wants to resume a larger role elsewhere and pave the way for another contract. On Tuesday, Mavs owner Mark Cuban, although sympathetic to Stackhouse's plight, said he won't buy out the remainder of this season's $7 million contract. He will entertain trade offers. "Every guy wants to play," Cuban said. "And for a guy to be able to say, 'You know what, I'll take one for the team," you know how hard that is for a guy?" Going public, however, likely didn't help agent Jeff Schwartz and Mavs president Donnie Nelson's bargaining power. The greater issue, though, is if a larger role exists for Stackhouse with another team. Some NBA insiders don't believe one does. "I'm a little surprised he thinks there's a better situation out there," said an NBA front-office source. "I think he's about to get a rude awakening." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
McDyess, Antonio - F/C - 2008-11-19 20:59:20 McDyess takes a pass on Celtics pitch.
FANTASY INSIGHT: The news is as expected on free agent Antonio McDyess. The Celtics made their pitch and the big man let it slide on by. The early word after his trade from Detroit to Denver was that McDyess would take a buyout and return to the Pistons, and that is looking even more certain now. Danny Ainge spoke to Andy Miller, McDyess' representative. "We spoke," Ainge said, "but I didn't get any sense that we should be optimistic about it." (Boston Herald)
O`Neal, Shaquille - C - Phx 2008-11-19 20:45:22 Shaq says Jackson fueled tensions with Kobe.
FANTASY INSIGHT: During a lengthy interview last week with a reporter from the Sacramento Bee, Shaquille O'Neal said Phil Jackson orchestrated the tension with Kobe Bryant in order to motivate both players. O'Neal said he never had a problem with Bryant. O'Neal also suggested he would be open to returning to the Lakers when he becomes a free agent in 2010. "Keeping his options open, huh?" said Jackson, whose current deal with the Lakers ends after the 2009-10 season. Bryant is signed through the 2010-11 season, but is eligible to opt out of his contract next summer. (Los Angeles Daily News)
