Yeah, this off-the-head alley oop isn’t bad. I guess Rudy Gay’s injury is healed. I guess Rajon Rondo is still somewhat creative. I guess I still miss NBA basketball more than humanly possible.

P.S. It’s Jason Williams’ turn next in the “absurd pass” version of H.O.R.S.E. Damn it, Raef Lafrentz. You’ve gotta finish that assist.

(h/t Ben Rohrbach)

Rajon Rondo will reportedly compete in The South Florida All-Star Classic, a charity game at Florida International University on Oct. 8 at 7:00 p.m. hosted by Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The F.I.U. basketball team is coached by none other than the greatest NBA executive of all-time, Isiah Thomas.

A number of NBA players are slated to join the Miami trio on the court, including fellow Heat teammate Mario Chalmers, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, the New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul, the Washington Wizards’ John Wall, the Atlanta Hawks’ Jamal Crawford, the Houston Rockets’ Jonny Flynn, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Eric Bledsoe, the Dallas Mavericks’ Caron Butler, the Memphis Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay, the Boston Celtics’ Rajon Rondo, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Lou Williams, the Golden State Warriors’ Dorell Wright, and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Wesley Matthews and free agent Eddy Curry.

Cleveland Cavaliers first-round picks Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson also are possible participants in the game.

The squads will be headlined by Brand Jordan players (Wade, Anthony, Paul) vs. Nike (James, Bosh, Durant). Comedian Kevin Hart, who has appeared in Brand Jordan commercials with Wade, is expected to coach the Jordan team, while Miami-based rap star Rick Ross is expected to coach the Nike club.

If those players all compete like the game means something, this game has the chance to become legendary. Alas, players treat charity games like they are And1 Streetball games, so the game will probably be as watchable as Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star.

And please, don’t let Isiah Thomas meet Eddy Curry again. Looking at an overweight, excessively lazy center, Thomas may be struck by the desire to offer another $60 million contract. And that, my friends, would be against NCAA rules. Unless the recipient of the contract is Cam Newton.

I almost wish the NBA had decided to make an all-Blake Griffin dunk reel instead. But then I would have missed Andray Blatche taking an ax to Ryan Hollins’s manhood, so everything worked out perfectly in the end. And Rudy Gay? That putback was vicious.

Oh, and in case you were wondering: Rajon Rondo’s over-the-head, left-handed pass was named the preseason’s top assist. Sounds about right, no?

By “I think we’ll have a lot more steals,” I think Rudy Gay meant, “I’m 100% positive we’ll foul a lot more three-point shooters.”

(h/t Red’s Army)

For what it’s worth, here are my rankings (in descending order) of the Team USA players I’d most want on my team if I were an NBA GM. This list includes the withdrawn Rajon Rondo and is based on how these players perform in the NBA, rather than how their games translate to international basketball.
Read more »

After exercising surprising frugality while trying to sign draft pick Xavier Henry, the Memphis Grizzlies have been fielding trade offers for the 12th pick in this year’s draft. Do the Celtics have enough assets to get in on the bidding? (Memphis Commercial Appeal)

The Grizzlies have fielded several trade offers from teams looking to acquire the rights to unsigned rookie Xavier Henry — interest mostly derived from a contract stalemate between the team and the NBA’s 12th overall draft pick.

But Griz owner Michael Heisley insisted Wednesday that the team is only interested in signing Henry to a deal that will have him play in FedExForum this season.

“I’m not looking to trade him just to trade him,” Heisley said. “I’m not angry with him. I expect him to play. He’s going to have an opportunity to play a lot, and we need him. So my reaction to this is I’m expecting we’ll get something done and he’ll play for us this season.”

Call me crazy, but it makes a whole lot of sense for the Grizzlies to trade Henry away. First of all, he probably hates the organization already for low-balling him like an em-eff-er. Second of all, the Grizzlies already have O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Tony Allen and Sam Young, who played pretty well last season. They’re pretty stacked at the wing position.

If they do trade him, could the Celtics possibly have enough to trade for him? Because Henry would be just about perfect. I know he’s only a rookie, but he’s got the size and strength to deal with bigger small forwards and on top of that he can shoot the hell out of the ball. He doesn’t scream “SUPERSTAR,” but he’s got “solid role player” written all over him.

Sadly, I just don’t think a package of Semih Erden and a couple picks is enough to get it done, not unless the Celtics are willing to pony up two first rounders as part of that package. Then the Grizzlies MIGHT bite. I don’t know about you, but I’m down for that. Unfortunately, I don’t even know if that trade actually works. ESPN’s damn trade machine has picked a bad time to falter on my computer, but I’m still pretty sure the trade is legal.

What do you Townies think?