For two guys who were mentioned so often throughout the NBA trading deadline frenzy, it never seemed likely that Tracy McGrady and Kevin Martin would directly cross paths the way they did late Wednesday night. As we sent this Smack to post, the deal (almost finalized) has T-Mac, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey going to Sacramento for K-Mart, Hilton Armstrong, Sergio Rodriguez and Kenny Thomas … There were still reports that the Knicks could be brought in last-minute and T-Mac could end up in New York, but as it stands, this is a good move for both sides. Read More »

If you’re not rolling with the media, your best place to see NBA stars in Dallas is over at the All-Star Jam Session. And tonight, in a schedule packed with player appearances from Deron Williams, Jason Terry, DeMar DeRozan and Stephen Curry, is an event that I certainly do not want to miss at Center Court: the Legends Shootout, featuring A.C. Green, Detlef Schrempf, Bruce Bowen and Mitch Richmond. Read More »

It seemed Kevin Martin was destined to play out his career like Mitch Richmond, quietly dropping buckets outside of the spotlight during his prime before hooking up with a title contender in his late-30’s to snag a ring on his way out.

But depending on how things go down at this month’s NBA trade deadline, K-Mart could find himself on one of the League’s high-profile contenders while still on top of his game. In addition to rumors connecting Martin to Boston in a deal involving Ray Allen, new rumors have surfaced of trades that would send K-Mart to Dallas or Minnesota. Read More »

Here’s one straight from the Go Somewhere And Sit Down files: After Michael Jordan jokingly called out Bryon Russell during his H.O.F. speech, of course somebody had to go track down Russell for his reaction. And of course the 38-year-old Russell — who as recently as this summer was talking about trying an NBA comeback — had to go make himself look like the “Can’t let the game go” retired ballplayer, challenging MJ to a battle. “I’ll play his ass right now,” Russell told Yahoo! Sports. “This is a call-out for him to come play me. He can come out here in his private jet and come play. He’s got millions of dollars. He can pay for the jet. He can meet me at the Recreation Center in Calabasas. We can have Mark Jackson do the commentating. We can have Mitch Richmond do the officiating. We can put it on TV and see if Michael’s still got it.” Read More »

That was according to Charles Barkley, leading up to yesterday’s Hawks/Heat game. Recapping Joe Johnson’s subpar showing in the series’ first three games, Barkley blurted out, “He can’t be the best player on a team.” As Kenny Smith was fixing his mouth for a nice way to ask Chuck, “The hell are you talking about?” Barkley clarified that he thinks J.J. is better suited as a complimentary player (like he was in Phoenix) rather than a franchise guy. While you can win with guys like Joe on your roster, you’re not gonna win if he’s The Guy. Read More »