Ken Berger

The Bulls got welcome news on All-Star point guard Derrick Rose's left wrist Friday when MRI results came back negative, according to a source. Rose will be re-evaluated further, but the original diagnosis of a sprained left wrist turned out to be accurate.

Losing Rose for an extended time would've all but crushed Chicago's playoff hopes. The Bulls, in a fight for the eighth playoff spot in the East, saw Rose go down hard after colliding with Orlando's Dwight Howard on a drive to the basket in a 111-82 loss to the Magic on Thursday night. It was the second time this season that Rose was injured in a collision with Howard.

Shocker of the year in the NBA: The Philadelphia 76ers are going to fire their coach, and it wasn’t Allen Iverson’s fault. 

Well, not directly, anyway. More on that later. 

With pressure building on Eddie Jordan and the man who hired him, Ed Stefanski, the Sixers are right back where they were when they traded Iverson to Denver three years ago: No superstar, no drawing power, no interest and little hope of divesting themselves of numerous cap-strangling contracts. 

Then again, what else is new? 

Here’s what you need to know about the latest sideshow that is unfolding in Philly: The most likely scenario, according to a person involved in the decision-making process, is that Jordan is gone after the season and Stefanski stays. Does that make sense? Well, sort of, but that’s not really the point. 

The point is, as one rival general manager put it to me recently: “There are only two things you can sell. Success and hope.” With rare exceptions, the Sixers have been selling a steady diet of the latter to their success-starved fan base – a fan base that would show up and make Philly one of the NBA’s prized markets again if given sufficient reason. 

Here’s what completely sabotaged what almost certainly will be Jordan’s lone season in Philly: The team hired a coach whose intricate offensive system required experienced, unselfish guard play. A month later, the team made no effort to re-sign the only experienced, ball-moving guard on the roster. Andre Miller signed a rather modest three-year, $21 million deal with Portland – modest, because the third year is completely non-guaranteed. Even with Miller’s differences with coach Nate McMillan, the Blazers are in the hunt for a playoff spot despite a litany of injuries. The Sixers are in the hunt for another lottery pick, and soon will be in the market for another coach. One person familiar with the situation described Jordan’s dismissal after the season as “virtually a slam dunk.” 

In other words, the Sixers will be selling hope again. Step right up and renew your season tickets so you don’t miss a minute of the Mike Dunleavy/Larry Brown/Avery Johnson/Fill-In-The-Blank Era. 

I don’t pin the Miller decision on Stefanski or Jordan any more than I blame them for another ill-fated personnel move that reeked of owner interference: The shortsighted reunion with Iverson, who might have been the player in the league least likely to embrace Jordan’s Princeton offense. You knew this wouldn’t end well when Iverson strolled into the Sixers’ locker room barely an hour before his debut back in December. Within three months, beset by arthritis, ineffectiveness, and a laundry list of personal problems, Iverson was gone. Barring an unforeseen reversal, Jordan will be next. 

Something else of note: While Comcast’s Peter Luukko has soared up the Sixers’ hierarchy, it would be a mistake to assume that chairman Ed Snider is no longer calling the shots. This quagmire belongs on Snider’s resume, and now it is up to him to fix it. And by that, I don’t mean repackaging it with a new coach and trying to pass it off on Sixers fans as hope. They’ve been down that road too many times already. 

So with that, here are the rest of this week’s Post-Ups:

• The Nets held an elaborate ground-breaking ceremony Thursday on the site of their new arena in Brooklyn. If not for the legal and political delays than forced the team to commit to playing in Newark, N.J., for the next two seasons, it would’ve gone over as an enormous threat to the Knicks on New York City turf. But consider this: With all-powerful Williams “World Wide Wes” Wesley preparing to become an agent representing college and NBA coaches, how will his influence affect the free-agent domino effect on July 1? The agency Wesley is joining, Creative Artists, already represents LeBron James – not to mention Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, whose agent, Henry Thomas, also has joined CAA. Depending on which super-agent lands John Wall, CAA could control the top three free agents, the presumed No. 1 pick, and various coaches who might view a team with Wall, a max free agent, a deep-pocketed owner (Mikhail Prokhorov) and bright future in Brooklyn as an irresistible lure.

• One of the many things I don’t understand is criticism being leveled against Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni for failing to win in his first two years as the Knicks’ coach. If you could use genetic engineering and create a coach who was a combination of Jeff Van Gundy, Pat Riley and Red Holzman, that coach wouldn’t have been able to win with this roster, either. Someone kindly indulge me as to what D’Antoni could be doing differently with a team that has been purposely and effectively gutted for free agency.

• For good reason, Larry Brown’s name has been linked to the Sixers. His roots are in Philadelphia, and as recently as a few weeks ago there were strong indications that Next Town Brown was sniffing around to see if he could arrange a return engagement. But with Michael Jordan’s ownership bid for the Bobcats expected to receive swift approval – an ownership committee performed the perfunctory interview with His Airness this week in New York – it is believed that Brown’s loyalty to Jordan will trump his wanderlust.

• LeBron, Wade and Bosh aren’t the only intriguing potential free agents on the market this summer. Another one is reigning executive of the year Mark Warkentien. According to sources, Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke has made no efforts to negotiate an extension for Warkentien, whose contract runs out after this season. Three situations bear watching if the Nuggets make the ill-fated decision to let Wark walk: The Knicks, Clippers, and Pacers. Although the Clippers have a bright young executive in Neil Olshey taking over for Mike Dunleavy, Olshey would benefit from an experienced hand to help him navigate a crucial time for the franchise. Despite the well documented negatives of working for Sterling, running the Clippers actually is an extremely attractive job. They’re in the league’s second-biggest market, have a talented roster, and the cap space to lure a premier free agent. The Knicks? Warkentien and Donnie Walsh are buddies, too, and according to sources, Walsh finally has the go-ahead to hire a No. 2 basketball man and heir apparent now that the spinoff of Madison Square Garden from parent company Cablevision has been completed. In fact, if Walsh doesn’t hire Warkentien, it is believed that he’d recommend that Pacers owner Herb Simon do it. The Pacers are badly in need of someone with Warkentien’s shrewd eye for talent and negotiating skills as they try not to waste the prime of Danny Granger’s career.

The first name that came to mind after the Clippers' rude and unceremonious news release came out Tuesday night announcing Mike Dunleavy's firing was none other than Jerry West. The Logo had been long rumored to be a candidate to take over the Clippers' woebegone basketball operations if -- and, as it turned out, when -- they finally "severed ties" with Dunleavy.

From West himself Tuesday night: Not gonna happen.

"No contact, no interest, not looking to work anymore," West said by telephone after the Dunleavy news broke. "Time for someone younger to have an opportunity to do something. I have not been contacted, nor would I have any interest."

But West, who was at the center of speculation to take over the Knicks' basketball operations when Isiah Thomas was deposed two years ago, left the door open ever so slightly to returning to a front office in some capacity.

"Unless there was something that was along the lines of a consultant job -- a working consultant," West said. "I don’t want a title or need a title. It was fun to be involved. It's a tough business. But I'm not looking for a job nor am I putting my name out there for any job. I've always felt we all have a lifespan with what we’re doing. Mine has been served."

West, 71, left the Memphis Grizzlies after his contract expired in 2007 and hasn't been involved in running a team since. The architect of two Lakers dynasties is forever linked with job openings, though. Another credible Jerry -- Colangelo -- would be high on any serious team's list of candidates. During All-Star weekend in Dallas, Colangelo tried to tamp down speculation that he was in the running to take over the Nets -- but also said if a team called, he'd listen.

Meantime, with another important draft and the biggest free-agent class in NBA history looming, the Clippers had better hope the promotion of assistant GM Neil Olshey works out. After reading the Clippers' brutally worded news release on Dunleavy's dismissal -- and knowing the organization's track record for losing and cheapness -- what credible candidate would want to work there?

"The team has simply not made sufficient progress during Dunleavy’s seven-year tenure," the news rocket said. "The Clippers want to win now."

And for the past quarter century, too, right?

The irony is that buried somewhere in all that dysfunction is a fairly promising roster and cap flexibility. Clippers fans can look forward to Blake Griffin's return in 2011-12, and Dunleavy left Donald Sterling enough cap space to get a marquee free agent if anybody wants to go.

That's almost as hard to imagine as the Clippers winning anything on Sterling's watch, no matter who's picking and coaching the players.
 

MIAMI – After the Lakers sleep-walked through another in a string of sluggish, disinterested starts and lost to a Heat team just happy to be back at .500, did Kobe Bryant think it was panic time?

No.

Did he think the Lakers needed anything dramatic to shake them from their doldrums on the road, where the defending champs are a pedestrian 9-8 this calendar year – with 10 of their next 13 games away from Staples?

Not really.

After scoring 39 points and hitting the overtime-forcing jumper in his sixth game back from a five-game absence with a nagging assortment of injuries, Bryant’s most astute observation was not about his team, but about the opponent.

The guy who needs a little help was wearing a Miami Heat jersey Thursday night.

“He had 14 assists, but there’s still too much on him,” Bryant said after Wade did it all – 27 points and 14 assists – in Miami’s 114-111 overtime victory over the Lakers. “He literally had to make every play, had to try to penetrate and pitch in. That can wear you down. So hopefully, he’ll get somebody who can step up and make plays and give him a couple of plays off.”

This is a sensitive topic in these parts, and also in a certain city on the Cuyahoga River where free agency D-Day looms. Every crucial Miami basket Thursday night came from Wade or resulted in a play he set up with his play-making dominance. You watch him will his .500 team to a victory over the defending champs, and you wonder: Damn, how good would he be with some help?

In fairness, he got more than usual Thursday night – 25 points from Quentin Richardson, who along with Wade had Ron Artest’s head on a swivel all night. Q-Rich made 7-for-11 from 3-point range, including one off an assist from Wade that gave the Heat a 99-97 lead with 11.1 seconds left. Instead of that being the game-winner, Kobe casually accepted the ensuing inbounds pass, dribbled the length of the court, and drilled the tying jumper over Wade with 3.3 seconds left.

Wade also didn’t have to make the two defensive plays of the night. Those were turned in by Jermaine O’Neal in the final minute of overtime – a chase-down block of Jordan Farmar and a drawn charge against Bryant with 18.7 seconds left. But in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime, nearly every one of Miami’s baskets and scoring opportunities came from Wade. Of course they did. Who else? 

“He’s a fantastic player,” Bryant said. 

Despite Artest’s interesting comment that the Lakers won’t see Miami again “until June” – what, June 2011? – Wade will have to settle for being fantastic player happy to get the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. And there are no guarantees about that. 

“When I had the ball and gave it up to Q to hit that three, that shows my teammates that I’m about winning,” Wade said. “I’m not about, ‘I need to hit this shot because Kobe just hit a shot.’ To me, it’s not about that.”

No, Wade doesn’t want or need Kobe’s pity – and that’s not how Kobe meant it, anyway. Hey, not every superstar has the good fortune of playing with two 7-footers, one of the most dominant shutdown defenders in the league, and a guy named Lamar Odom coming off the bench. 

Not every team is so good it can sputter around for three quarters against one of the top three players in the world and still have a chance to win at the end. Cognizant of all this, the Lakers were appropriately nonplused by the evening’s events. The postgame comment that most closely approximated concern was this from Artest: “Unfortunately, I think we took this game lightly. … We have to start winning some games on the road. We have to.” 

The only other perceptible bristling in the Lakers’ postgame routine came from Phil Jackson, who just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tweak the referees and invite a sizeable fine for the good of the team. With 29 seconds left in regulation and the Lakers leading 97-96, Bryant air-balled a 20-footer. Only neither Bryant nor Jackson thought it was self-induced. 

“Kobe shot an airball, but I’m sure he didn’t shoot an airball,” Jackson said. “It’s unconscionable that that call can’t be made at that point in the game.”

Informed of Jackson’s description, Bryant said, “That’s a good term. A good term. I actually stopped playing for a second. I thought I didn’t hear the whistle, honestly.” 

For Bryant, there’s always the next game, with plenty of reinforcements at the ready.

As much as I enjoyed Act I of Allen Iverson's career in Philadelphia, Act II never seemed like a good idea. Now, under much different circumstances than the ones that marked A.I.'s first tour in Philly, he's done in the city he owned for so long.

Done for good? That remains to be seen.

The Sixers confirmed Tuesday what has seemed obvious since the All-Star break -- that Iverson's return to Philadelphia is over. Unable to be around the team consistently while he tends to his ill daughter, Iverson and the Sixers are parting ways under amicable terms.

Team president Ed Stefanski had set a deadline of this week for Iverson to determine whether he'd be able to return to the team for good. Things never progressed to that point after the team granted Iverson an indefinite leave of absence after the All-Star break.

Two book-keeping matters related to A.I.'s season being over: He isn't being released, so there's no significance to this event happening after the March 1 deadline by which players must be released in order to be playoff-eligible for another team. (Since Iverson isn't able to play for the Sixers due to what's going on in his life, he wouldn't be able to play for anyone else, either). Also, Iverson gets paid for the whole season, because his one-year contract for the prorated veteran's minimum of $1.3 million became guaranteed on Jan. 10.

As is usually the case with Iverson, his situation is more complex than he or the team has admitted. While it would be in poor taste to criticize Iverson given the undisclosed health issues his daughter is experiencing, Iverson needlessly put himself in the crosshairs of criticism by co-promoting a club party with Jermaine Dupri on Feb. 27 in Charlotte. The promotional poster is here, complete with many dubious tweets confirming Iverson's appearance at the party. 

What does all of this mean for Iverson's future? It's foolish to even guess. But given that Iverson already has "retired" once this season, and given that his last three employment arrangements have ended badly, it's hard to imagine another team taking a chance on him next season, when he'll be 35.

Hard to imagine, but not impossible. Iverson was able to charm the Grizzlies and Sixers, so it's wise not to underestimate his ability to unleash his powers of persuasion on another NBA owner this summer.

If, on the other hand, there's no market for a 35-year-old scoring guard with arthritis and a series of bad breakups in his wake, that'll be too bad. If this is the end for Iverson, it's a sad, unfulfilling way for him to go out.

There was never a player even remotely like him, and it's safe to say there never will be.

One more thing, on a nostalgic note. Iverson, one of the most important sports figures in Philadelphia history, goes out on a very significant day. One year ago, I promised to acknowledge the anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game every year in this blog on March 2. And here we are on March 2 -- pausing to remember Wilt's historic night in Hershey, Pa., in 1962 and saying good-bye another member of Philly's basketball Mount Rushmore.

In some ways, Iverson was a giant. In other ways, he fell short of what he could have been. But one thing you can't take away from him: He made sure everybody knew he was here.

 

The Cavaliers confirmed Monday that Shaquille O'Neal will miss about eight weeks after undergoing thumb surgery. Despite the fact that Cleveland has gone from having two 7-footers to none in the past two weeks, this isn't a devastating blow to the Cavs' championship hopes.

While the Cavs were playing well with Shaq -- 12-3 from Jan. 16 until he got hurt last Thursday night in Boston -- they never needed him for the regular season. From the beginning, Shaq was strictly a postseason asset -- specifically, an asset big and bad enough to play mind games with Dwight Howard and get in his way just enough for Cleveland to beat the Magic in a seven-game series this time around.

Eight weeks from today is April 26 -- near the end of the first round, or (more likely) in the midst of a second-round playoff series. That will give Shaq enough time to get his tree-like legs back under him before Howard is posting him up in the playoffs. Maybe while he's rehabbing his thumb, Shaq could adopt Ron Artest's fish-and-veggie diet and drop a few LBs before he returns.

From now until the rest of the regular season, Shaq's absence will allow the Cavs to concentrate on getting Antawn Jamison acclimated to their offense. More importantly, it will give the Cavs a chance to play a little more freely, with better spacing, and at a quicker pace. They won't be a running team as they get deeper into the playoffs, but pushing the ball without Shaq down the stretch will only help them for the postseason stints when they'll need to play smaller lineups.

In the meantime, Cleveland will get back one of its 7-footers, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, once the 30-day waiting period expires following his trade to the Wizards. If Lakers coach Phil Jackson thought that was a "sham" before Shaq got hurt, imagine what the Zen Master thinks now.

Everybody’s ranked their winners and losers coming out of the trade deadline. We can agree to disagree on any and all of those, and the proof won’t be available for two or three years anyway. 

What is fairly indisputable is which team came out of the 2010 cap-clearing frenzy as the biggest loser. That team, according to me and team executives who are closely monitoring the impending free-agent signing period, is the New Jersey Nets. 

As if the Nets didn’t have enough problems; their 5-52 record has them two games ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers’ NBA-worst 9-73 mark in 1972-73. On the bright side, the Nets will move to a new arena next season. Unfortunately, that arena is in Newark, N.J., because the Nets’ move to Brooklyn won’t be consummated until 2012. This month, the Nets agreed to play the next two seasons at Newark’s Prudential Center – a vast improvement over the Meadowlands, but perhaps not what a certain marquee free agent or two had in mind. 

But think about this: Heading into the trade deadline, the Nets were on equal footing with Miami in the chase for a max free agent on July 1. New Jersey had upwards of $26 million in cap space – depending on exactly where the 2010-11 cap comes in. Miami already had Dwyane Wade and was one trade away from clearing enough space to pair him with another superstar in the league’s most desirable locale – something that, presumably, would entice Wade to stay. 

After the deadline, the Knicks and Bulls nudged the Nets out of the way – and even the Clippers joined the cap-clearing party. By trading Jared Jeffries to the Rockets, Knicks president Donnie Walsh put the finishing touches on clearing more than $30 million in space – meaning New York is within striking distance of the $33 million needed for two max players. By divesting themselves of John Salmons, the Bulls have comfortably more than the $16.6 million it will take to sign one max free agent. Oh, by the way, the Bulls have Derrick Rose, a key drawing card for any top free agent. Plus, like the Heat, they play in one of the league’s most desirable markets. (Hey, Chicago was good enough for Michael Jordan. And it ain’t Newark.) 

The end result is that the Nets, who’ve endured potentially the worst season in NBA history simply for the chance to sign a major free agent, now will have to get in line behind other teams that have more to offer. 

“What New York and Chicago did,” one rival executive said, “didn’t help the Nets at all.” 

And if the Nets don’t wind up with the No. 1 pick (a.k.a. John Wall)? 

“They’re screwed,” the executive said. 

With that, here are the rest of this week’s Post-Ups:

• Speaking of Rose, a quote from him about his free-agent recruiting efforts during All-Star weekend caught my eye. The first word that came to mind: tampering. Rose told ESPNChicago.com that he spoke with potential free agents LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh during All-Star weekend about joining him in the Windy City. “I told them Chicago is a great place, and if they want to come, we’ll be more than happy to take them,” Rose said. “It would be huge if one of them comes here; either LeBron, Wade or Bosh. We’ll take all of them if we can get them, but we can only get one. So hopefully they just come on. ... We definitely have a real good chance to get them. The Chicago market is unbelievable, and I don’t see anyone really passing Chicago up if they can come here. Just give me a basketball player, just like we have now, and I’ll be good.” Players are rarely, if ever, prosecuted under the league’s tampering guidelines, which are generally reserved for those with the authority to sign players or negotiate for them (i.e. GMs, coaches, agents). But just for the record, Section 35(e) of the NBA Constitution says the following: 

Any Player who, directly or indirectly, entices, induces, persuades or attempts to entice, induce, or persuade any Player, Coach, Trainer, General Manager or any other person who is under contract to any other Member of the Association to enter into negotiations for or relating to his services or negotiates or contracts for such services shall, on being charged with such tampering, be given an opportunity to answer such charges after due notice and the Commissioner shall have the power to decide whether or not the charges have been sustained; in the event his decision is that the charges have been sustained, then the Commissioner shall have the power to suspend such Player for a definite or indefinite period, or to impose a fine not exceeding $50,000, or inflict both such suspension and fine upon any such Player.

• It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the Spurs (in general) or Manu Ginobili (in particular) play with the kind of fire they exhibited Wednesday night against Oklahoma City. (See Manu’s chase-down swat of Kevin Durant here, if you haven’t already.) It was an impressive showing in San Antonio’s first game back at home after their annual rodeo road trip, during which the Spurs were 4-4. The Spurs were 32-29 heading into Friday night’s game in Houston, sitting precariously in the seventh playoff spot. But only five games separate the teams positioned 6-11 in the West. On Sunday against the Suns, the Spurs begin a crucial five-game stretch against teams that currently have winning records – matchups they’ve struggled with all season.

• Just as there should be a rule against a team trading a player and re-signing him 30 days later, there should be a rule against owners who have no shot at signing such a player deceiving his team’s fans into thinking he can. Michael Gearon Jr., one of many co-owners of the Atlanta Hawks, did just that Friday when he said the Hawks will be “very competitive” in their pursuit of Ilgauskas, who is expected to return to Cleveland as soon as the 30-day waiting period expires.

• Billy Hunter, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, said during All-Star weekend that he’s instructed players to start saving money for a potential lockout after the 2010-11 season. Celtics guard Marquis Daniels apparently didn’t get the memo. Via Hoopshype.com, I came across this item on how Daniels enlisted a Beverly Hills jeweler to produce a diamond-encrusted replica of his head. The price for the piece, which contained 1,300 grams of 14-karat gold and may or may not be hollow, wasn’t disclosed. But given Friday’s closing price of $1,118.30 for an ounce of gold, the bust set Daniels back $51,063.81 for the gold alone. If there’s a lockout, I suppose Daniels could sell it. To himself.

Word that Zydrunas Ilgauskas has reached his anticipated buyout agreement with the Wizards has several organizations -- Atlanta, Denver, Utah -- experiencing the fleeting hope that the 7-3 center could give them some much-needed size for the postseason. Let's not kid ourselves, though: Z is going back to Cleveland once the league-mandated 30-day waiting period to re-sign with the team that traded him comes and goes.

The teams courting Ilgauskas are "fighting the good fight," according to one person with knowledge of the situation. But everyone involved knows that Ilgauskas, who has spent his entire career in Cleveland and is viewed by LeBron James as a necessary ingredient in the Cavs' pursuit of a championship, is going back from whence he came.

Is it fair that players who are traded for the sole purpose of making the salaries add up can return to the team that traded him? The same thing happened last season, when the Pistons traded Antonio McDyess and re-signed him in 30 days. It's not really a question of fairness, though. Rules are rules. It's a question of whether owners will be willing to back up their complaints about Z returning to Cleveland and lobby for eliminating this loophole in the new CBA.

They'll think twice, I predict, because they might just be the ones benefiting from the same chicanery in the future.

The Grizzlies are sending No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet to the D-League, a move that proves A) Memphis made a mistake in picking him that high; and B) The organization, to its credit, has the courage to admit that mistake.

That doesn't mean we write off Thabeet's career just because he's off to a slow start. But it was curious from the start why the Grizzlies, desperate for a spark in a struggling market, passed on hometown hero Tyreke Evans and selected Thabeet second overall in the 2009 draft. Memphis, instead, turned to Allen Iverson for that spark, and instead got a three-alarm fire that resulted in his quick dismissal from the team.

It was obvious that Thabeet, a 7-3 center from Tanzania, would be a project. But his difficult adjustment to the NBA game has redefined what a project is. In limited minutes, Thabeet has managed only two field goals in the month of February and only 15 in the calendar year -- a third of which came in the first game of 2010 on Jan. 2.

Thabeet becomes the highest draft pick ever assigned to the D-League. His assignment to the Dakota Wizards was reported first by the website RidiculousUpside.com.

When Dwight Howard isn't ignoring immature taunts from Shaquille O'Neal, how does he stay busy?

On Wednesday night, he put his name in the same sentence with Wilt Chamberlain.

I'd like to be able to say, "Dwight, I knew Wilt Chamberlain. And you're no Wilt Chamberlain." Sadly, I didn't meet the late, great Wilt until he joined the rest of the NBA's 50 Greatest at the 1997 All-Star Game in Cleveland. I have spent considerable time around Dwight Howard -- watching him perform with boyish enthusiasm and astounding athletic talent, and listening to him thoughtfully, respectfully, and sometimes playfully answer questions from inquiring types like me.

At 24, Howard's resume has a long way to go before he can hold it up against Wilt's, or even Shaq's. Those are facts. So is this: Dwight Howard did something Wednesday night that nobody had accomplished since Chamberlain in 1969, a year before I was born.

In Orlando's 110-92 victory in Houston, Howard had 31 points and 16 rebounds and was 11-for-11 from the field. He also had three assists, one block and was 8-for-12 from the foul line, but that's not the point. The point is, Howard became the first player since Chamberlain to record at least 30 points and 15 rebounds while not missing a shot in at least 10 field-goal attempts. He also recorded his 19th consecutive double-double, a franchise record that broke a tie with -- you guessed it -- O'Neal.

Nobody is saying that Howard = Chamberlain, or even that Howard = Shaq. But it's time to stop dismissing the most physically overwhelming talent in the NBA as a mere freak. Howard is a freak who has his team playing the best basketball in the league.

When it comes to doubting Howard's killer instinct, offensive fundamentals and meanness, I'm guilty as charged. I've questioned Howard's desire to be the alpha male from time to time. But I'm ready to put that aside and just enjoy him for what he is and what he will be -- the most dominant big man in the NBA for the next decade or so.

Last season, Howard became only the fifth player in NBA history to lead the league in blocks and rebounds in the same season. Neither Chamberlain nor Shaq is on that list, which includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Ben Wallace. (In fairness, the NBA didn't count blocks as an official statistic until the 1973-74 season.) Howard currently leads the league in both categories again, and if he repeats the feat, he'll stand alone as the only player ever to do it twice.

More importantly, Howard's team is winning. The Magic are 13-4 since Jan. 20, and no other team has as many wins during that stretch.

The Cavs got Shaq for one reason, and one reason only: To contend with Howard in the playoffs. They just added Antawn Jamison in the hopes that they'll have an answer for Rashard Lewis, who destroyed Cleveland in the conference finals last season. Jamison is too much of a pro to belittle Lewis or anybody else. That hasn't stopped O'Neal from incessantly taunting Howard, calling him an impostor, and generally dismissing him as little more than a wart on his ample behind.

All of this will come home to roost in the playoffs, when the Cavs will have to get past Howard and the Magic if LeBron James is going to deliver the championship that he and the city of Cleveland so desperately need. Take a look at these numbers, crunched by NBA.com's John Schuhmann, showing the dramatic difference in LeBron's production against Orlando with Howard on the floor vs. off the floor since 2007-08. The translation: Howard is so good that he makes the best player in the NBA significantly worse.

Whatever happens in May and June, we know this: Howard will be there with a smile on his face. And he will let his play do the talking.


 

If Allen Iverson can't make it back to the Philadelphia 76ers by next week, a parting of ways between the iconic star and the city where he tried to resurrect his career will be inevitable, a person with close ties to the future Hall of Famer told CBSSports.com Tuesday.

"For the team's sake and his own sake, he can't keep trying to go back and forth with this," the person said. "If he can't get back by next week, it's probably not going to work."

Contrary to Iverson's often stormy history with the organization, sources described his indefinite leave of absence as "amicable" and "nothing sinister." Iverson has been in and out of the lineup in recent weeks while he tends to his ill daughter.

The Sixers tried to make it work with Iverson, getting an initial spark in attendance and excitement from his return. But Philly plays Orlando on Monday and Atlanta on Wednesday, and if Iverson can't commit to returning to the team by then, the wheels will be in motion for his release.

News of Iverson's predicament, which could well signal the end of his career, made me think back to comments from one of his friends and former teammates during All-Star weekend. Carmelo Anthony, perhaps the only star player who's ever been able to co-exist productively with Iverson, was asked what A.I.'s legacy will be -- if, in fact, this is the end for one of the greatest athletes ever to appear on an NBA court.

"His legacy is self explanatory," Anthony said. "He came into the NBA and almost changed the whole game of basketball in his own way."

The key words being "in his own way." To the end, Iverson never compromised. He lost the cornrows only briefly, sporting a haircut during All-Star weekend in Phoenix in 2009. He gave up on winning a championship when he accepted money from the Memphis Grizzlies, and then from the Philadelphia 76ers -- choosing his "happiness" over more lofty goals that have eluded him since he turned the NBA on its head as the No. 1 pick in the 1996 draft.

Now, Iverson is dealing with something no parent ever wants to even think about -- a sick child who needs him. No one will ever dispute the importance of that. It simply isn't debatable. Neither is the Sixers' right to move forward without Iverson if he can't uphold his commitment to the team.

"He’s always going to go down as one of the greatest players to ever play," Anthony said. "Whether they say 6-feet-or-under or whatever. Regardless of height, he’s going to be one of the greatest. I was fortunate enough to play with him for two years. It seems like a long time ago, but it was only two years ago when I played with him and he averaged 26, 27 points. In the last year and a half was when everything went south for him."

I shared my thoughts about Iverson before he signed with the Sixers, when it appeared that his NBA career was over. Now it seems like that career obituary was only premature by a couple of months.

Anthony called Iverson's stubborn insistence on doing this his way "a positive and a negative. When he came into the league, I don’t think anybody was expecting that type of player, that type of person to come into the league. He made fans embrace him, and they stuck with him all the way until today."

Now, the NBA is more than ready to move past Iverson's "me" generation of stars. Could Iverson have compromised? Could he have changed his game, extended his career, given himself a chance to add a championship to his resume if only he could have accepted coming off the bench for a contender? Sure. But when it comes to A.I., it's pointless to even ask such questions.

What you saw was what you got. Like a comet, Iverson was something to watch until he flamed out in spectacular fashion -- which was the only way this was ever going to end.

One more thing about Iverson: Drama walks in lock step with him wherever he goes. When it comes to The Answer, another plot twist or two isn't out of the question.

After 11 trades in six days, the trade deadline wouldn’t be complete without surveying the wreckage and anointing the winners and losers. So before any more deals trickle out of the league office, here we go:

Winners

Cavaliers: Everybody was in agreement that Antawn Jamison was the better fit for Cleveland than Amar’e Stoudemire, and GM Danny Ferry was able to get him without giving up J.J. Hickson. LeBron gets what LeBron wants, and now he wants the Wizards to buy out Zydrunas Ilgauskas so he can re-sign with the Cavs and celebrate a championship after all the years he’s put in. The Wizards won’t have the heart to deny Z, but since they were able to maneuver beneath the luxury tax line, Washington will be able to drive a hard bargain. Sentimentality aside, the Cavs have to be viewed as the clear favorite to come out of the East and the biggest threat to win a title since LeBron left Akron-St. Vincent-St .Mary’s. 

Mavericks: Caron Butler a marginal upgrade over Josh Howard? I don’t think so. Forget Butler’s diminished production this season in Washington, where nothing went right for anyone. His size and scoring ability will be a major influence on the perimeter, but Brendan Haywood is the underrated component of this deal. Dallas’ biggest problem during its recent struggles was perimeter defense, and Haywood’s length and shot-blocking ability will only help. 

Trail Blazers: Portland didn’t want to trade Steve Blake, but in the end Blake and Travis Outlaw was a small price to pay for the much-needed interior presence of Marcus Camby. The Blazers had some conversations about minor, peripheral moves, but have to be pleased that they solidified the middle in the absence of Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla at such a reasonable price. 

Rockets: GM Daryl Morey raked the Knicks over the coals in the Tracy McGrady negotiation, holding firm on his demand of very little protection on New York’s first-round picks in 2011 and ’12. Then, in the wee hours Thursday, Morey was successful in recruiting a third team that could give him the piece he wanted more than any draft picks or luxury-tax relief: Kevin Martin. The sharpshooting guard will upgrade the Rockets’ struggling offense in the short term and will give them a lethal inside-outside game if Yao Ming returns at full strength next season. Giving up Carl Landry, who went to Sacramento, has to hurt, but was worth it in this case. Houston also gets Hill, a developing big man who will get a chance to follow the path blazed by Landry and Luis Scola. Despite his overpriced contract, Jeffries is a serviceable defender who can guard three positions well. 

Bulls: Other than New York, Chicago was the biggest deadline winner in the race for 2010 cap space. Though GM Gar Forman wasn’t able to recruit a third team to deliver McGrady to Chicago, he quickly changed gears and unloaded John Salmons on the Bucks. The debit of $5.8 million in ’10-’11 gives the Bulls about $17 million in cap space – just enough to lure a max free agent who might want to receive passes from Derrick Rose. 

Wizards: As much criticism as GM Ernie Grunfeld deserves for the implosion of the Wizards this season, he should be lauded for digging out of it this quickly. Nobody knows if Grunfeld will keep his job through the Wizards’ ownership transition, but he was able to move nearly $40 million in future salary and get Washington under the tax line – which seemed impossible only a few weeks ago. In terms of assets, Washington gets Josh Howard and Al Thornton, who will have a chance to prove they’re worth keeping around, Cleveland’s 2010 first-round pick, and Sacramento’s 2010 second-round pick (for Dominic McGuire and cash, in the deal that pushed them under the tax line). Next up: Dealing with Gilbert Arenas and the $80 million he’s owed over the next four seasons. 

Grizzlies: Memphis already had two extra 2010 first-round picks, so sending a protected first-rounder in 2011 to Utah for Ronnie Brewer was a no-brainer. Both teams can claim victory in this deal. The Jazz get some much-needed luxury tax relief (without trading Carlos Boozer), and Memphis gets a steady wing player to come off the bench. 

Losers  

Celtics: Team president Danny Ainge kicked the tires on a lot of deals, but decided to move forward only with the acquisition of Nate Robinson for Eddie House. So for the second straight year, the Celtics get a guard the Knicks didn’t want, which can’t bode well. Robinson will give the Celtics some tempo and scoring off the bench, and let’s face it – Boston needs any kind of lift it can get. But if you accept the theory that Boston simply isn’t good enough to get through Cleveland or Orlando in the playoffs, they may come to regret failing to flip Ray Allen’s $19 million expiring contract into a starting shooting guard (Kirk Hinrich?) who would’ve helped them remain competitive next season. 

Suns: Phoenix once again dragged their franchise player, Amar’e Stoudemire, through a miserable two-week period fraught with trade rumors, only to do nothing. As a result, the Suns will be able to continue their playoff push and lose in the first round. It’s a foregone conclusion that Stoudemire will exercise his early-termination option on June 30, and the Suns will be under immense pressure to work out a sign-and-trade with less leverage than they had in the past 48 hours. It’s hard to criticize a team for not making a deal, especially when their current level of competitiveness won’t be compromised. But the Amar’e albatross was crying out to be lifted, and he’s still there. 

Nuggets: Denver felt strongly that it needed to add another frontcourt player to take out the Lakers in the playoffs this time. Nothing went anywhere with Antonio McDyess, and a last-minute attempt to pry Tyrus Thomas from the Bulls didn’t work, either. The Nuggets, sources said, tried to send Renaldo Balkman to Charlotte for expiring contracts they would’ve flipped to Chicago for Thomas, but the Bulls did business directly with Charlotte instead. Not a big deal; the Nuggets are still good enough to go toe-to-toe with the Lakers. But when you’re that close to getting a piece that would’ve been a difference-maker, it’s hard not to call it a disappointment. 

Spurs: San Antonio wasn’t successful in finding a new home for Roger Mason. Not a killer. But like the Nuggets, the Spurs were looking to add length and athleticism up front and weren’t able to use any of their wide assortment of expiring contracts to do so. They did the next best thing, dumping seldom-used Theo Ratliff’s $1.3 million contract – good for twice the savings when you account for luxury tax – on Charlotte for a heavily protected future second-round pick. But after going all-in and over the tax line with the Richard Jefferson acquisition, the Spurs will see their championship window slam shut if they don’t get better from within after the deadline. 

Remains To Be Seen  

Knicks: Donnie Walsh deserves a parade through the Canyon of Heroes for digging out of the mess Isiah Thomas left behind for him. But you can’t judge the McGrady trade until you see what Walsh is able to do with the cap space. Check back with me July 1. 

Heat: Miami couldn’t come up with enough to meet Phoenix’s demand in a Stoudemire trade, then made a late push with Utah for Carlos Boozer. If nothing else, they’re showing Wade how serious they are about surrounding him with elite talent. They didn’t accomplish anything this time around, but the Heat still have enough cap space to give Wade a max free agent as a teammate come July 1. I don’t buy that Miami’s desperate; the Heat already have one of the players everybody wants and they have the means to add another one. 

Kings: Sacramento became a fortunate bystander in the McGrady-to-the-Knicks scenario, finding the situation to be a good opportunity to deal Martin, whose importance would’ve only diminished as Tyreke Evans continued to develop. The Kings opened up some more 2010 cap space, so they’ll have room to spend if anybody wants to go there. And Landry is one of the most efficient big men in the game – a great get. But remember the old adage in NBA trades: The team that gets the best player wins. Martin was the best player in the deal, and the Kings traded him. So we’ll withhold judgment for that reason.

UPDATED 4:15 p.m. ET

With Thursday's 3 p.m. ET deadline upon us, here's some of the latest buzz:

The Bobcats, determined to add an athletic big man to their front court, have agreed to acquire Tyrus Thomas in a deal with the Bulls that would send Acie Law, Flip Murray, and a future No. 1 pick to Chicago, a person with knowledge of the situation told CBSSports.com.

Charlotte beat out several other suitors -- New York, Denver, and San Antonio chief among them -- and will have the rest of the season to evaluate the soon-to-be restricted free agent and decide whether to commit to Thomas long-term. Trading Thomas spares the Bulls the embarrassment of losing one of their best players through free agency with no compensation for the second year in a row.

The Bobcats were able to circumvent discussions between the Knicks and Bulls involving a swap centered around Al Harrington. The Bulls, who already have dealt John Salmons to Milwaukee for the expiring contracts of Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander, took another step toward freeing up cap room for a free-agent spending spree on July 1. Chicago is off the hook for Salmons' $5.8 million next season and also avoids Thomas' $6.3 million qualifying offer. If they make no further moves by the deadline, Chicago will have cleared $17 million in cap space for '10-'11 -- enough to add one max free agent to pair with All-Star point guard Derrick Rose -- without giving up any draft picks.

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UPDATE: The Wizards completed a minor deal (to you and me) but a major one (to them) right at the deadline, sending Dominic McGuire and cash to Sacramento for a 2010 second-round pick, sources said. The deal slides the Wizards comfortably under the tax line without having to negotiate a buyout with Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

The Grizzlies apparently backed off in their efforts to move O.J. Mayo or Mike Conley, having been rebuffed by rival execs who felt they were asking too much, sources say. But Memphis will receive Ronnie Brewer from the Jazz for a future pick -- a move that saves Utah tax money.

The Bobcats and Pacers discussed a potential swap involving T.J. Ford and D.J. Augustin, with other peripheral pieces involved, in a scenario that went down to the 3 p.m. ET deadline, a sources say. The Bucks dropped out of the mix for Indiana's Troy Murphy, opening the door to Indiana's long-sought plan to divest themselves of Ford. Despite serious discussions, there were no indications that the deal was consummated in time.

Another front-court option for Milwaukee could be the often-traded Drew Gooden. The Clippers are held off on arranging a buyout for Gooden in the event they could flip him for another asset or additional cap relief. But Gooden, traded from Dallas to Washington to L.A., will be seeking a buyout, sources say.

The Warriors decided to keep Monta Ellis, whom they refused to send to Memphis in a larger package that would've included Mayo -- a scenario that was broached about 10 days before the deadline but never gained any traction. The Sixers and Celtics also dropped out of the running for a major deal.

The Suns decided to stand pat with Amar'e Stoudemire, never becoming enthused about any offers they received from Cleveland or Miami. Now, Phoenix will have to deal with the Stoudemire situation all over again this summer, when Stoudemire almost certainly will exercise his early-termination option -- thus forcing the Suns' hand once and for all after two years of deadline flirtations.