Orlando is deciding, proposals are stacking up, indifference is being claimed, and the NBA trading deadline inches ever closer.
Meanwhile, a bunch of guys in Nets uniforms are supposed to play a bunch of guys in Raptors uniforms tonight.
“I don’t think we’re thinking about it at all. We’ve got the same atmosphere, same attitude in the locker room so we’re just going to approach this game and try to get a win tonight. We’re not thinking about the trade deadline,” insisted Anthony Morrow, whose name has been mentioned in some of those other possible scenarios, notably one involving C.J. Miles of Utah.
DeShawn Stevenson said, “There are some guys that talk about it. I’ve been traded three times so I know what the deal is. It’s part of the business.”
Jordan Farmar, linked to a scenario with Charlotte for Boris Diaw’s expiring contract, “I don’t think much about it. It is what it is.”
So no one is thinking about Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline. While they’re at it, they’re not going to think about a pink elephant, either.
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Deron Williams will miss a third straight game with a sore right calf, coach Avery Johnson confirmed. But there’s hope Williams could be back Friday when the Nets visit Orlando (yeah, Orlando. Is there a sadist in the NBA scheduling department or what?)
“Tim (Walsh, athletic trainer) said he’s feeling a little bit better, not good enough to play in the game tonight,” Johnson said. “I don’t want him to come back and kind of injure it a little bit more and then he’s got to miss two, three weeks or a month. Calf injuries, as it relates to point guards, can be pretty temperamental, and I’ve seen it before.
“We’ll see how he’s feeling Friday, though. We’ll give it a shot. But the thing that I’m telling our guys is, if he plays Friday I’m also going to expect him to play on Saturday,” Johnson added with a smile.
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Everything for the Nets is on hold until they know what happens with Howard. If every indication said the Magic will indeed “roll the dice” and keep him to season’s end, then the Nets figure to make some cap clearing moves.
As bad as the “Dwightmare” has been, it pales in comparison to the nonsensical circus the Carmelo Anthony “Melodrama” became last year. So the Nets are somewhat immune to all this silliness.
“We’ve been going through this for two years now; there’s always been a rumor hanging over,” Farmar said. “Just part of the business, especially with this organization, trying to make some kind of big moves, heading into Brooklyn. There’s a lot of expectation to be successful there. That’s part of the business. You’ve just got to do your job and live with it.”
And believe it, last year was worse. Far, far worse.
“Because it’s toned down so much,” Johnson said, explaining why half the team hasn’t leaped off a cliff. “Our guys are very professional, a lot of guys that were here last year, they’ve been through it. They went through it before the season started. So it’s not at that feverish pitch like it was, so we don’t have to have all those different counseling sessions about getting traded. Our guys understand that it’s a business and we like our guys.”
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You’ve got to like Shelden Williams. He is the only Nets player to have appeared in every game so far. He says his father instilled in him the belief you play through pain. Play hurt, not injured.
“Guess it’s the way I was brought up. At a young age, my dad always told me to play thorough things,” Williams said. “It’s one thing to be hurt, it’s one thing to be injured. A lot of people don’t know the difference between the two. I’m hurt but I’m not injured. So I can play through little nagging injuries. It’s just a mindset.”
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Morrow, former Warriors player, on former teammate Monta Ellis being traded to the Bucks: “From being on that team with those guys, Golden State lost one of the best players in Golden State Warrior history. It’s a sad day, but it’s the NBA man. I wish him good luck. Monta is like a brother to me. So I wish him good luck.”
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One guy who is reminded of the trading deadline is MarShon Brooks, who hears it electronically from friends and fans that he was rumored to be included in a possible pre-deadline deal for Howard. What’s he hear?
“’Don’t trade MarShon.’ All kinds of stuff,” the rookie said.
And if he put in his two cents, he’d say the same thing. He likes being with the Nets.
“Of course I’d love to be wearing this shirt, but like I said, it’s something that I can’t control. I’m just going to go out there and play hard tonight,” he said.
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It’s not like the offense is a well-oiled machine without Deron Williams. But Johnson also is concerned about the effect defensively.
“When the games are close we’ve got to figure out how we can get the balls in the basket in the last three to five minutes of the game,” Johnson said. “(And) when Deron’s not here, it puts a big strain on your defense, so we’ve got to play better team defense to give our guys help at that position.”