San Francisco Chronicle - Judging by Baron Davis' immobility after Saturday's win over the Cavaliers, the Warriors will be without their starting point guard until after the All-Star break.
Davis, who sprained his right ankle at the end of the first quarter, sat in the visitors' locker room with his foot heavily taped 30 minutes after the game. He couldn't put a sock on without assistance, strapped a soft cast over the foot, and ultimately left the arena in a wheelchair.
Though X-rays taken after the game were negative and the Warriors are officially listing him as day-to-day, Davis sounded prepared for an extended stay on the sidelines.
"The way it feels now, I don't even want to talk about it," he said. "The good thing is, it's a clean sprain. I just got to work out, ride the bike, work on my shot while I'm off. And when I get back, I'm going to lead us to victory."
http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/39115/20060213/baron_davis_out_until_after_all_star_break/
The News Tribune - After the Sonics dropped an uninspiring 120-112 overtime decision to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night at KeyArena, Sonics coach Bob Hill said the team has 11 days to make a personnel move or he is cashing in the season.
Hill has been insinuating for weeks that Ronald Murray is not an adequate backup point guard. But after he played Murray only eight minutes Sunday, watching him miss three shots and commit two turnovers, Hill said he needs help.
“Everybody in Seattle sees we need a backup point guard,” Hill said. “Everybody in our division, everybody we play knows we need a backup point guard. (General manager) Rick Sund is great, he is working, he is doing everything he can to help. We need help. If we can get some help, we can be really good this year.”
Sund has pursued a trade with Denver for Earl Watson and spoke with Boston about acquiring Marcus Banks before Banks was traded to Minnesota.
But if he is unable to consummate a deal by the Feb. 23 trade deadline, Hill said the team is giving up on the competitive portion of the season.
“I think if we don’t make any trades, or we don’t change the team at all, you have to look at playing Johan (Petro) and Robert (Swift) and throwing them the ball, putting sets in for them, developing them even further, getting Damien (Wilkins) on the floor even more,” Hill said. “I think that is the direction we would go, total development of the younger guys.”
http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/39117/20060213/hill_make_a_trade_or_change_focus/
New York Daily News - Isiah Thomas' conversations with Seattle have centered on Reggie Evans and Danny Fortson, a sign that the Knicks are trying to surround Eddy Curry with rugged power forwards.
Malik Rose is a similar-type player, but the Knicks, according to league sources, are willing to trade Rose and perhaps Trevor Ariza to the Sonics if they can get Fortson and Evans in return.
With Antonio Davis gone, Rose has emerged as the vocal leader in the locker room. He is also the lone Knick with a championship pedigree, having won two titles with the San Antonio Spurs .
"Malik has been great," Larry Brown said of Rose being a positive influence on the team's younger players. "He's really been helpful. A number of them have talked to me about that.
"When you're losing it's important to have character guys in the dressing room. We have good guys in the dressing room."
http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/39109/20060213/knicks_target_fortson_evans_to_surround_curry/