Perhaps I’m out of my depth in advising a 9-time NBA champ like Phil Jackson how to work the officials through the media, but it seems to me that if you’re gonna make accusations about an opposing player it would make sense to do so far enough in advance that Jess Kersey or Bob Delaney could read about it before the game, not afterwards.   From the LA Times’ Mike Bresnahan.

Jackson was in critique mode in other areas before the game, picking at one of Dwyane Wade’s signature moves.

“He travels on that spin move,” Jackson said. “He picks up that pivot foot ¦ everybody knows it. Dwyane Wade can cover so much ground when he makes that move. As you know, he can go 20 feet with that spin move and get to the basket.”

Phil’s admonishment didn’t prevent Wade from scoring 40 points in Miami’s annual Christmas drubbing of the Lakers.

The New York Daily News’ Julian Garcia
details the Nets’ desperate search for someone to replace the injured Nenad Krstic, and if there’s any silver lining for Jersey fans, it’s that the name Shawn Kemp never comes up.

The above mention of the former Reignman, by the way, is just a clumsy excuse to note that Willis Reed is being accused of being a deadbeat dad.

As the proposed sale of the Memphis Grizzlies to Brian Davis and Christian Davis appears to have fallen apart, current owner Michael Heisley submits to a mild grilling by the Memphis Commercial Appeal’s Ronald Tillery.

Q. Do you realize that you’re being blamed for this mess?

A. For whatever the reason it’s been interpreted by people in Memphis and the media that I’ve just thrown in the towel and given up on Memphis and everything else. I’m almost 70 years old. I’ve owned the team for several years. When I came there, the first morning I met with the press the first thing I said is my hope is that this team will be Memphis’ team and owned by the people in Memphis. That’s what my intention was. I wasn’t going to relocate to Memphis. My wife wouldn’t do it no matter what. Does that mean I’m all of a sudden down on Memphis and down on the Grizzlies? I don’t understand it. I also don’t understand why everything we’ve done doesn’t matter. We brought a team to Memphis, made the playoffs three of the five years. We’ve spent a huge amount of money. So today we’re spending and people are acting like we’re doing it on the cheap. Why aren’t we going out and getting players? What do they want me to spend, a $100 million? The point is we’re out-spending San Antonio and we’re out-spending Phoenix. So the point is whether you’re spending money means squat.

Q. What is your response to the notion that you’ve tied Jerry West’s hands?

A. That’s just pure, unadulterated BS. I did not tie his hands. Would someone tell me who is this person Jerry wanted to get and I wouldn’t let him? Jerry West hasn’t been restricted on any player he’s ever brought in here. I’ve had conversations with him. But Jerry would tell you that he has more autonomy than any (team president) in the NBA. I’ve never turned Jerry down on a deal. I didn’t tie his hands when he traded Shane Battier. He didn’t come to me for approval. I didn’t tie his hands when he traded Jason Williams and James Posey. I didn’t tie his hands when he traded Bonzi Wells. Whoever is writing this stuff is making it up. What I decided was that we wouldn’t make significant decisions with the team. For example, I wasn’t about to trade Pau Gasol. I wasn’t about to go out and get Allen Iverson and add $40 million to the payroll. What would you do if you had someone buying the team?