Kaman will almost certainly be moved. New Orleans has no use for him and simply wants to get something — even if it’s just a second-round draft pick — for him, according to sources. A month ago, when the Hornets told Kaman to stay home and wait to be traded, they were asking for a young player, a draft pick and an expiring contract. Now, their aspirations aren’t so lofty. Golden State, Houston and Miami have interest in Kaman.

via ESPN: Stars on the trading block

As many have expected since he was first dealt to the Hornets before the season, Chris Broussard reported recently that Chris Kaman is likely to be traded. Kaman hasn’t exactly shined this season, but quality backup centers are always a sought-after commodity in the NBA. Kaman’s average PER and unimpressive 41.3% shooting are worrisome, but his recent dip in production may be a result of Hornets-induced underwhelming performance, and not a sign of Kaman’s true value. In any case, Kaman remains decent, and he’s better than any of the backup centers found on the teams listed as having interest in Kaman. Kaman may no longer be an All-Star, but he’s still a preferable option to Andris Biedrins, Greg Smith, and Dexter Pittman.

Upon first glance, the Rockets seem like the team most capable of obtaining Kaman, if they so choose. The Rockets are teeming with tradable value, are in need of a backup center (especially with the recent injury to Jordan Hill), and are always looking to make steady, improving moves at the trade deadline. With the price for Kaman apparently lessened, the Rockets could conceivably be forced to only give up players like Terrence Williams, Jonny Flynn, or Hasheem Thabeet, none of whom currently find themselves in the team’s rotation. Despite their flaws and recently stagnated careers, all three players possess some modicum of talent, especially Williams. The Rockets have also accrued a series of picks in the coming years, but it seems unlikely they’ll deal a valuable pick for a decent backup center with an expiring contract.

As for the Heat and Warriors, a Kaman-filled future appears less probable. The Heat simply don’t have many attractive trade pieces, though a late-first round pick could be in play, if the Heat are willing. As for the Warriors, a move for Kaman just doesn’t make much sense. The addition of Kaman into the Warriors’ rotation will help the team, but it almost certainly won’t be enough to propel them into the playoffs or serious contention. Though the Warriors’ franchise has enjoyed constant horizontal direction in years past, new owner Joe Lacob appears far more ambitious. Thus, a Kaman move on its own makes very little sense for the Warriors.

Chris Kaman is an acceptable player, and someone who can provide a competent 15-20 minutes for any given team. For the Heat, and perhaps to a lesser extent, the Rockets, a player like Kaman can serve as a difference maker in a close playoff series. After two years on the decline, Chris Kaman has become a prevalent example of the trade deadline rat race, representative of managed risk and savvy general managing.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcR4VY_zHQ0

As I find myself typing this, LeBron James is playing a brilliant game of basketball. He has hardly missed a shot, and his rebounding, passing, and defending have been impeccable. Tonight, James is everything fans have ever wanted him to be, the embodiment of basketball supremacy, as he has been for much of this season. There is a still in the Rose Garden as James tears apart the Blazers’ defense and adds exclamation to his play with an otherworldly alley-oop and a series of rapid drives. The Blazers are helpless witnesses to their own decimation. There is nothing they can do but hope and wait for LeBron to become someone else other than this impossible basketball machine.

Thousands of miles away, Chris Paul prods a defense far more quietly and less demonstrably. Unlike James, Paul is not at his most brilliant Thursday night; rather, he is his typical self, average unto his own means but incredible by normal standards. The opposing Kings and their arena are alive tonight, full of life and determination that emanates from a basketball-hungry fan base and a young team playing above its own expectations. The Clippers are not playing particularly well tonight, but Paul’s darting bursts have buoyed them into a close game. Paul is, inexplicably, not particularly aggressive tonight. He seems in full form, indefensible as always, but the overly unselfish nature that many are quick to trumpet or use as detraction possesses Paul’s movements. Still, he remains in control of this game, scoring when he wishes and illuminating Randy Foye into a far better light than would otherwise shine.

LeBron James and Chris Paul are not similar players upon first glance. LeBron James is the league’s most impressive physical player, 6’8 and 250 (or more) pounds of immovable muscle. Paul is diminutive, listed at a generous 6’0, and snidely characterized by the occasional Internet commenter as slightly “pudgy”. And while James uses his daunting frame to quite simply do everything, Paul focuses his natural speed much more specifically, upon the art of natural point guard play and representing the epitome of the position. But where James and Paul meet in nature on the basketball court can be found within the grasp of control and constant poise. As they wow fans and crush the efforts of opposing players, they remain unaffected by the movement of the game beyond their own actions. There are the other nine players on the court, and then there is James, and then there is Paul.

But whereas Paul must often carry the Clippers in times of offensive atrophy, the Heat work as an efficiently functioning machine, brief and unhesitant in the dismantling opponents, with James as the central cog. Paul has been forced to become more of a scorer this season than in recent years past, a task he’s more than willing to assume but less than willing to fully embody. Paul, despite slight alteration, remains the same Chris Paul as ever, seeking to exploit angles unseen by the common eye for his team’s gain. It is in this uncommon exploitation of defense in which the stylistic differences of Paul and James once again merge. Both possess an ability that transcends the weighty physical capabilities they possess: the ability to find and create unseen angles, and attack before the defense knows these opportunities exist. How they attack in these moments varies, with Paul slowly looping around the defense and James speeding through lanes, but the result is typically the same: a basket created for themselves or for a lucky teammate.

Chris Paul’s signature play of the night reveals itself as the Clippers finally extricate themselves from the grasp of the Kings during the fourth quarter. The ball moves to him late in the shot-clock, as it always seems to when the Clippers’ offensive movement fails. A failed possession seems imminent, but Paul works quickly in drastic situations. After being denied a path to the basket, he drifts right, creates the smallest window of opportunity for a jumper, and sinks a long fadeaway with a defender in the face. It’s the type of fourth quarter play that reminds one of how gifted a scorer Paul can be when he so chooses, and the final notch in an expected victory for the Clippers. James’s signature play of the game is perhaps less flashy than Paul’s, but holds equal significance. This moment comes sometime during the third quarter, mired somewhere between a highlight reel that includes a chasedown block and a series of resounding dunks. The ball is passed out to an open James, who catches the ball just inside the three-point arc. The expected result, of course, is a jumper. Instead, James finds a baseline-sprinting Mario Chalmers in the corner for an open three, who makes the shot. The play is not representative of the tendency of James to “pass up the moment” as some pundits may say, but rather the growth of James as a player. James declines a lower percentage shot to find a teammate for a preferable opportunity, and the team benefits.

Chris Paul finishes with 22 points and nine assists, and LeBron James finishes with 38 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.

All of this is not to say that LeBron James and Chris Paul are without fault on the basketball court. Paul is occasionally too deferential in early quarters, and James finds himself occasionally unsure of his own role. But what is seen on this March night is far more representative of who these two players are within the arena this season than any occasional detriment is. Paul has returned to a strong, controlling state, posting his best PER since ’08-09 and looking more energized than he has in recent years. James has simply accelerated his own control of the game’s rhythms and facets. An argument can be made that he’s currently on pace for the greatest statistical season in NBA history. None of that will be remembered without a Heat championship, of course. Perhaps that’s tragic, but perhaps it’s simply another obstacle James, and someday Paul, must learn to master and control. Both players define mastery of an entire sport in their own fashion, but are dogged by that waiting pinnacle. But watching both players on Thursday night revealed why that path to achievement, however daunting, could easily be traversed by both Chris Paul and LeBron James, and very soon.

Photo by *Micky on Flickr

There are a lot of rumors flying around out there about Michael Beasley getting traded sometime in the next two weeks. It makes a good deal of sense for the Timberwolves. With Derrick Williams maybe hopefully starting to come into his own and Beasley on a $6.2 million contract that expires after this season, he’s somewhat redundant on the Wolves and could be a good fit for a team looking for a gunner with no conscience at the three who can also do duty at the four. When Beasley’s head is on straight, he’s a deadeye midrange shooter whose shot can open up the drive. He has even passed the ball a few times, I swear. But if Beasley moves on from Minnesota, what I’ll miss most are the intangibles that Williams just won’t be able to replace. Here’s a loving video tribute to a unique player.

Michael Beasley takes over intro-ing the Wolves’ black jerseys last year:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF9Qz2dq3Ow

Accidentally rubbing Anthony Tolliver’s knee instead of his own:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=397KGshRNYI

Singing “Tearing Up My Heart” by ‘N Sync:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYDzvmoGIcE

His reaction to seeing what he thought was his bone after a bad cut (actually, it was just subcutaneous tissue):

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqLUocCWpok

I could not find the clip of Beasley singing “Unbreak My Heart” from last season, which was, for my money, better than the ‘N Sync one. If anyone can get it, please, let me know in the comments section.

Photo from zampano!!! via Flickr

If you wish to open the box score for last night’s Hawks-Warriors game, do so at your own peril. Because that game was all sorts of weird.

Stephen Curry, supposedly out for the night, checked in with 33 seconds left. He checked back out 3 seconds later, when a David Lee layup put the Dubs up for good. 3 different Hawks players finished with double-digit rebounds, including a ridiculous 16 from Zaza Pachulia. Ekpe Udoh actually scored in double digits, threw in 8 boards, 3 blocks and 3 steals for good measure, and had a +/- of +5, which is much more backup-power-forward than it is plus-minus-king. Ivan Johnson continued to be in the NBA, a fact that will probably never cease to amaze me. It was, to put it lightly, a freak show.

Above all, however, was the peculiar double-bagel that jumped out of the box score where one expected to see Golden State’s starting line-up. And while seeing Andris Beidrins score 0 points in 9 minutes has more or less become the norm in the bay area, the other non-scorer was a peculiar name.

Take it away, Ethan Sherwood Strauss!

Dominic McGuire was the man of the hour in last night’s narrow victory over Atlanta. He grabbed 15 boards, made life difficult for Joe Johnson–insofar as life can be difficult for so wealthy a dude. This isn’t what I loved most about McGuire’s performance, though. My favorite aspect was, “one shot, zero points.” In a perfect world, Dominic would have taken no shots. His layup try looked like a badly failed sobriety test. And this is the upshot: McGuire can be a valuable player if he just forgets about offense altogether.

via Dominic McGuire is a perfect zero | Golden State Warriors Blog And Forum | Warriorsworld.net.

At first glance, I thought it impossible to play 35 minutes while taking just 1 shot attempt. Forget zero points – some days are like that, even if you’ve made it to the NBA – but the notion of wandering around for almost 3 quarters without so much as an alluring jumper, a heave at the end of the shot clock, or an accidental tip in is simply unnatural to me.

Evidently, it is rare, but not impossible. Basketball Reference lists 32 instances of a player logging 30+ minutes with nary a shot nor a point, and 64 more of 0 points and just one field goal attempt. This spans over a 26 year stretch, mind you, so we’re in the range of 4 games per year, but it still soothes the stomach to see familiar offensive nonentities such as Dennis Rodman, Ben Wallace, and Jason Collins in a list where they are expected to dominate.

Nevertheless, it is a fascinating feat from a fascinating player, even if the sheer notion of calling Dominic McGuire fascinating outs me as a basement-dwelling NBA psychopath. While the concept of a player solely devoted to half of the game, savant-like in both his brilliant and dormant halves, is nothing new, the idea of Dominic McGuire as an effective NBA player is not one that existed before his emergence from the depths of Mark Jackson’s bench or your League Pass subscription.

That’s the beauty of basketball, though. While McGuire’s glaring limitations on offense will prevent him from ever becoming more than a specialist, the NBA is a place where specialists may find fame and fortune. Even though players of McGuire’s ilk aren’t quite unheard of, it is incredibly rare when one can honestly point to a 0 point outing as a candidate for the best game in a player’s career. It’s a very different type of fascinating, to be sure, but what is fascinating of not very different?