Not Felton: The Golden Warriors have been linked to more than a dozen trade scenarios this month, the latest involves Raymond Felton of the Charlotte Bobcats. What seems to be occurring according to league sources is if you have a discussion with the Bobcats and it is turned away, the details seem to be getting leaked to the press. Not sure if that's something deliberate or coincidental. Nonetheless the Warriors are flatly denying there is anything in the works with Raymond Felton or that Anthony Randolph or Brandan Wright are being shopped. It is easy to see where the rumors come from – Don Nelson has resorted to starting undrafted rookie Rob Kurz and the minutes for both players mentioned in the rumors have become almost non-existent – Randolph is averaging 10.8 minutes per game over his last five games, having logged just 2 minutes versus Orlando on the 15th and no minutes versus the Pacers, both games were Warrior losses. Wright on the other hand looked like a possible bright spot in November logging significant minutes. His numbers have gone down tremendously in December with a bout of the Flu, that some are saying is more about a lack of confidence from his coach than being sick. The Warriors are in a free fall having lost four straight. That has prompted the team to explore options and it is expected the Warriors will make a deal or two before the NBA trade deadline on February 19th, however Warriors sources could not be more adamant that it was not going to be Raymond Felton.
Carlos Clarifies: Leave it to Jazz owner Larry Miller to shoot from the hip calling this week's ESPN story quoting Carlos Boozer "one of the stupidest things he's heard." Boozer was quoted saying empathically that he would "opt out" of his Jazz contract this summer and become an unrestricted free agent. Miller who takes part in a weekly radio show on KFNZ 1320 AM in Salt Lake to discuss all thing Jazz took some shots at Boozer, saying the statement was easily one of the dumbest things he's heard a player say.
"It's one of the top 10 stupidest things I've ever heard an NBA player do in 24 years."
"Carlos knows better," Miller added. "He told Kevin he just screwed up, but that doesn't fix it, so what do the fans think now?"
For his part Carlos Boozer is now doing damage control, holding an impromptu press conference via conference call arranged by the Jazz with area reporters. Boozer said the quotes, while accurate, were not said in a formal interview, rather in an informal chat with ESPN's Chris Sheridan, who is among the best in the business. Carlos was clear - stating several times - that he had an unwavering commitment to the Jazz and that fans should not be concerned that he's looking past the team or this season.
"They shouldn't, they shouldn't," Boozer said in the phone interview. "I'm a Jazzman. Obviously, I've been an integral part of getting this team back to the level that we are and hopefully leading us to a championship level."
Carlos went on to say that staying in Utah on a new deal was the end goal in opting out - "that would be a beautiful thing, especially if we're able to keep the pieces around us and have a chance to win a championship."
"In light of the conversations that we have had, it's been about me staying and them wanting me to stay here."
"In every conversation I have, that's not what they're going to do," Boozer said of the possibility of being traded by the Jazz. "Obviously, we've seen things happen in the past with other teams, other organizations, but I haven't got any indication at all that they want to trade me. I don't anticipate that at all."
Boozer is currently earning $12.7 million this season. In opting out of his deal he would be eligible for a new contract worth almost $130 million over six-years. There is a legitimacy to the notion that Carlos has dumped teams before – leaving the Cavaliers at the altar in 2004, after they allowed him out of his deal a year early in hopes of signing him to a longer term deal. There is justifiable fear from fans that Carlos cannot be trusted, however people close to this situation have maintained that Carlos can be paid more by the Jazz and unless they chose to give someone room to talk to him, through hardball negotiations or tearing the roster apart that Carlos is far more likely to take a new deal in Utah than leave money on the table to go elsewhere.
Bayless Unhappy?: There were reports on ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning yesterday suggesting that Blazers' rookie Jerryd Bayless was unhappy with his role in Portland and was pushing for a change to be made – either with playing time or a trade. While clearly no competitor likes to sit, especially not one as fiery as Jerryd Bayless, Blazers sources called the rift "totally unfounded at any level." Acknowledge that Jerryd is biting at the bit to have a role on this Blazer team, but but also know he is the first one to applaud the play of Steve Blake and acknowledge the emergence of Sergio Rodriguez as the bonafide backup. There is little doubt the Blazers will have to do something in the near future to create a place for Jerryd, but the idea that he wants out of Portland does not seem to hold much water. Jerryd has logged token garbage time minutes in three of the last nine Blazers games.
Not Marcus: Count the Orlando Magic out of any interest in Golden State's Marcus Williams. Florida Today's John Denton cornered Magic GM Otis Smith on the subject. Smith politely passed on the notion the Magic would be involved in anything with Williams either in trade or if he was waived, as many speculated he might be. The Warriors decided to cut Richard Hendrix yesterday as their roster move to make room for the return of Monta Ellis who completed his 30-game suspension and now counts against the 15-man roster. There has been speculation that the Magic may make a run at Hendrix when he clears waivers, however Magic sources said his addition would be unlikely, mainly because of the vast amount of practice and prep time required to get minutes in Stan Van Gundy's system. While GM Otis Smith was said to have a lot of interest in Hendrix during the draft process, it does not seem as though the Magic will bite on him when he hits free agency later this week.
