Posted by Royce Young

Over the weekend, a report came out saying that the Hawks had shopped backup point guard Jeff Teague. And Monday, ESPN.com's Marc Stein tweeted an addendum to that saying that the Kings offered Jason Thompson to the Hawks for Teague, but Atlanta turned down the deal.

Well, what do we make of that?

The first thing to note is that obviously the Hawks think highly of Teague. Mike Bibby is 32 and will likely be moving on from Atlanta in the near future. So the Hawks clearly feel like second-year guard Teague is capable of being their leading man at the point. Because look at what Atlanta has in its frontcourt currently. Josh Smith and Al Horford are nice in the starting five, but behind them it's Zaza Pachulia, Josh Powell, Etan Thomas and Jason Collins. I think that's the opposite of depth.

If you look strictly at numbers, it's easy to question if Teague will be ready for that. He averaged 10 minutes a game his rookie season and is seeing 15 minutes a night this year. His numbers are low (4.5 points and 2.5 assists per game) but at times, he passes the eye test. He's athletic, strong and lightning quick. If the Hawks wanted to fully translate into a transition, breaking team, Teague might be an ideal candidate to fill the point spot there.

But then again, is he worth turning down Thompson? Just a season ago, some saw Thompson as one of the absolute steals of the 2008 draft as he was turning into a nightly double-double candidate. He's 6'11, just 24 years old and can easy defend both the 4 and the 5. He averaged 28 and 30 minutes a game his first two season in Sacramento, but because of the addition of DeMarcus Cousins along with Carl Landry and Samuel Dalembert, is being crowded in the King frontcourt as he's seen his minutes dip to around 15 a night.

The trade would be role player for role player, but Teague would certainly have a chance to compete for the starting spot against Beno Udrih in Sacto. And Thompson wouldn't start over Smith or Horford, but he'd absolutely provide much needed frontcourt depth in Atlanta, something that's valuable against the likes of the Magic, Celtics and Bulls.

Yet, the Hawks turned down the deal. If you were show me this potential trade and ask who I thought would have turned it down, I would've said the Kings, no doubt. But they were the ones willing. Either Jeff Teague has a lot more upside than most of us see, or Thompson isn't worth giving up a young asset for. It's probably a combination of both.

The message is clear to the other 28 teams though. If you want Jason Thompson, come and get him. Make Geoff Petrie an offer and who knows, it could very well be good enough. For instance, would Sam Presti be willing to help his Thunder frontcourt by offering up Eric Maynor for Thompson? That's one thought. And one call that could be made. Thompson is up for grabs. He'll likely be moved before the deadline. Just not to Atlanta evidently.

Kings rookie forward clashes with coaching staff and is fined. Posted by Matt Moore

DeMarcus Cousins has reportedly recently been fined by the Sacramento Kings for clashes with the coaching staff.

I'm going to give you a second to get over your shock. I know. A gentle soul like DeMarcus Cousins? A sweet, humble, coachable guy like Cousins? How could this happen? What did those coaches do to provoke him like this? Maybe it was Calipari! Yeah, that's it. Calipari warped him!

Okay, so anyway, ESPN reports that Cousins was fined after not just an isolated incident, but a series of incidents that has created an air of tension.

You had to see this coming. This is part of the package. They brought in a coach from his youth just to try and keep him in line. They've done their part in trying to deal with him. That's not to say they shouldn't fine him. That's part of the process, too. But this still wasn't part of the initial best-case-scenario.

Cousins basic stats, 11 and 6, aren't great. But his per-40 numbers are terrific (a double-double) and all his advanced stats look great for a rook, too. It may be time for him to get the ball more if he can stay out of foul trouble (he's also averaging 8.0 fouls per 40). The Kings are certainly not getting it done with him in doses. Not the start the Kings wanted for this season, which was supposed to be one of growth for them.

Posted by Matt Moore

• The Sonics mascot showed up with a sign that said "Homeless" last night. Which is adorable. I do wonder where the sign is that reads "Homeless because people didn't think it was a good idea to build me a new home" but I'm a stickler for accuracy like that.

• Mikael Pietrus and Stan Van Gundy got into a shouting match over Pietrus being yanked in the third quarter against the Wolves. One would think in a 40 point annihilation that everyone would be happy. It's also bizarre that SVG continues to have trouble with Pietrus considering that he's been a big part of the team's success and I don't see any yelling or screaming at Vince Carter, but I'm a stickler for fairness like that.

• Paul Pierce's resume looks good enough for the Hall of Fame . It's incredible to me how Pierce's career has turned around after so many years of excellence despite team futility. It's really nice to see.

• Tyreke Evans' ankle is starting to become a nagging injury . It's his third tweak of the ankle in three months.

• The Pistons are bad, sure, but they've also had one of the absolute toughest schedules in the league . The other team with a similar schedule? The Rockets, also winless.

• John Wall is among some elite company with 70 points and 30 assists through three games.

• Twitter has not been kind to the Celtics. Twitter is a remarkably easy interface to control, you just have to be sure to think about what you're posting before you post it. Then, if you do post something that isn't great, you need to be prepared to take responsibility for it. Or blame it on hackers. You know, either one.

• Samuel Dalembert is taking over starting center duties for the Kings over DeMarcus Cousins. We'll see how long that lasts.

• James Johnson could be on his way to Charlotte.

• Via KB, the Blazers will save a little money with Oberto due to his honorable approach to contract .

Posted by Royce Young

With arena issues plaguing the Sacramento Kings franchise and David Stern giving the apparent kiss of death with his "We tried to help them, but they aren't helping themselves" type of line, moving the franchise appears to be in play.

There are a number of cities that would be quick to raise their hands - San Diego, Kansas City, Las Vegas - and the Kings would likely be fine with going there.

But there's an underdog contender. And by underdog, I mean like completely underneath the dog. How about Louisville, Kentucky?

Via the Louisville Courier-Journal, there's a Facebook group trying to rally a good number of people to the cause. As of right now, meaning 2:14 p.m. ET, the group has 71 members. I feel like it's going to take a few more people than that to actually make noise.

The hook they're using is that it would be cool to return DeMarcus Cousins to Kentucky (even though he played for the rival Wildcats) and also that they have a brand new arena. It's seats 22,000 and is a $238 million facility. One problem though: It's called the "KFC Yum! Arena." Um, I think that would have to be changed. I just can't picture Marv Alberts saying, "Wel-come to K-F-C Yum! Arena in beau-tiful downtown Louisville for our big matchup of the Louisville Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers."

But I think we're a long way from that. Probably, oh, by a couple hundred thousand Facebook members or so.

Via @TrueHoop

Deng does work with his mid-range, the Raptors do no work on the glass in the fourth, and Gordon does demolition work on the rim. All that and more in this edition of the Game Changer .
Posted by Matt Moore

Each game is made up of elements which help formulate the outcome. Monday through Friday, we'll bring you the elements from the night before's games in our own specialized version of the game recaps. It's not everything that happened, but it's an insight into what lead to the results you'll see in the box scores. This is the Game Changer .

THE BIG ONE: DENG DOIN' WORK

In general, Nicolas Batum is a good defensive player. So is Wesley Matthews. Unfortunately, last night, they were completely overwhelmed by the rarest of finds: a fully functional Luol Deng. Not hampered by injury, a poor offensive system, or mental distractions, last night is a perfect example of what can happen when Deng is feeling it. Particularly, Deng's game is focused on the mid-range J. It's a highly inefficient shot, which is why he so rarely has nights like this. But when it's falling? Good night, nurse. Deng dropped 40 on the Bulls in a game that wasn't close right from the start. The Blazers just looked overwhelmed defensively. They couldn't protect the rim, and nothing was going to work on Deng. He kept nailing pull-up jumpers off the dribble, forcing them to close. Then he pump faked and got to the line. Take a look at his shot chart from CBSSports.com's Game Tracker .



That's a pretty good night from the field. When you're hot, you're hot.

Other than that? Not much to report. The Bulls' defense wasn't really all that stout, allowing a 110.1 efficiency for Portland, despite the Blazers shooting 41% from the field and 0.00% from the arc. 0-14 from the stripe for the Blazers. It was that kind of night. But 41 free throws helped them avoid getting wiped off the map while still being down too much to climb back from. The Blazers just looked a step behind on all their rotations, and the Bulls' offense was functioning at an extremely high level. Derrick Rose finishe with 16, 13, and 5, with 6 turnovers, and made a few absolutely gorgeous cross-court skip passes to Deng for open threes behind the baseline off-ball screen. Stuff you did not see out of the Bulls last year. Thibs has the offense going well, and with Deng hitting the jumper, that was all she wrote.

GO-GO-GADGET LINES OF THE NIGHT:

Luol Deng: 40 points on 14-19 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, +19

Tyreke Evans: 23 points on 9-16 shooting, 7 rebound, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

Gary Neal: 16 points, 4-8 from 3-point land, 6 rebounds, 2 assists

Eric Gordon: 23 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, only Clippers starter with postiive plus/minus

DON'T MISS:

Ken Berger posts on how the league needs to take note of what happened in the NHL Lockout. Check out Ken's Post-Ups with news from around the league on several subjects, including Derrick Favors, Nicolas Batum, and how the league is approaching the Knicks investigation. Be sure to check out the horror, the horror of the Mike Conley extension, and Royce Young covers what we learned in week one .

RAPTORS BOARD OUT OF THEIR MINDS:

The Raptors held a 34-25 advantage on the glass headed into last night's fourth quarter against the Kings. In related news, they held an eight point advantage. In the fourth quarter alone, they lost the rebounding battle by double (14-7, advantage Kings), and were outscored by 11. That was your ballgame. Andrea Bargnani was, for some weird reason, matched up with the bulkier, meaner DeMarcus Cousins, while Reggie Evans was forced to try and hold off the wiry, quicker Carl Landry. It made absolutely no sense and the results bore out. The Raptors had this game on lockdown and just let the Kings take it away from them. This despite Evans finishing with 19 rebounds, 10 offensive. That would make them Never Be Closing, I suppose.

VIDEO-A-GO-GO

In case you missed it last night:

BENCH MOBBED:

The Clippers bench was outscored 32-7 last night in a nine point loss. For those of you keeping track, that means that the starters managed to outscore San Antonio's, but they couldn't handle Gary Neal and James Anderson. It at once says that the Clippers are far too woefully thin to be considered anything close to a playoff team this year, and that the Spurs have once again added young, versatile pieces which will help them this season. One game does not a season make, but the success the Spurs are having is a product of the system, and solid player acquisition. The smart get smarter, the Clips get Clipper.

AND FINALLY:

Loud noises!



Follow F&R on Twitter at @CBSSportsNBA and check out our RSS feed . This has been your daily edition of the Game Changer .

Posted by Royce Young

• Anthony Tolliver did a funny little Decision spoof back when he signed a two-year, $4.5 million deal with the Wolves. But LeBron has taken notice and doesn't think it's very funny: "We play Minnesota twice," James said to reporters. Tolliver told Brian Windhorst, “It was just me having fun, making fun of the decision,” Tolliver said after the Wolves practice on Monday. “When I did it, I had no intention to have him react.” “If he’s seen the video then he would know that it had nothing to do with him personally, it was about the situation.”

• Technical fouls are up by almost one a game from last year.

• Be sure to read Matt Moore's terrific evisceration of Mike Conley's ridiculous extension with the Grizzlies.

• Howard Beck of The New York Times: "In 2005, Ronny Turiaf needed open-heart surgery to repair an enlarged aortic root. Ten months later, Jack Gilroy, then 7, had a heart transplant. At the time, Gilroy knew nothing of Turiaf. But the two seemed like natural lunch partners Monday at the Knicks’ training center. They talked about scars and echocardiograms, fishing and boogie boarding and Jack’s smooth 10-foot bank shot. 'Nice form,' Turiaf remarked in his thick French accent. 'Quick learner.' In recent years, there have been dozens of visits like this for Turiaf, a 6-foot-10 center who brings equal amounts of frenetic energy to defense and heart-health awareness."

• Forget early success, Denver still needs to trade Melo.

• M. Haubs of The Painted Area says Thunder fans should be a little concerned because of the lack of defense: “After the embarrassing loss on Sunday, the Thunder's numbers show ample regression on defense after a week. Is this because of [assistant coach Ron] Adams's departure? Is it because of the absence of underrated defender Nick Collison? The Thunder were 7.6 points per 100 possessions better defensively (one of the best numbers in the league in that +/- department) with Collison, who led the league in charges drawn, on the floor last season. Collison is out with a bone bruise in his knee, after playing 75 games last season (charmed luck with injuries in '09-10 was a significant factor in the Thunder's meteoric rise).”

• Breaking down hot and cold starts, Sterns Euro plans and if the Lakers are better than the Heat in this week's CBS Sports NBA podcast.

• One of the best basketball related photoshops you'll see.

• Austin Daye is skinny. Probably too skinny for a power forward. So how does he match up?

• Nicolas Batum has been floated in Carmelo Anthony talks? You better believe it.

• Vinny Del Negro gave Baron Davis a small public rip: "He got out of shape pretty bad. He’s not in great physical condition. Baron has to put in the time….” Del Negro said before his Clippers took on the San Antonio Spurs. “Baron wants to do it. But I need to see action. Talk is talk. I’m optimistic he can do it.”

• Charles Pierce remembers Maurice Lucas with a stunning piece on friendship.

• Did you know Luke Walton was named after Maurice Lucas?

• The Kings won a terrific game against the Raptors last night and Sacto fans chanted "Beat LA!" after the game.

Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor says his organization will not be a victim of NBA contraction. Posted by Ben Golliver.  We've followed the issue of potential NBA contraction closely in this space, and roughly a week after the possibility of reducing the number of teams in the NBA was first floated, it's still not clear which teams would be in the crosshairs. The obvious candidates are those teams in most desperate shape financially or those in small markets that struggle to support a professional sports team. Already, we've noted that owners for both the Sacramento Kings (here) and the Memphis Grizzlies (here) have said their teams will not be contracted. Another franchise that is often linked to contraction is the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves have struggled to put out a winning product and season ticket sales aren't exactly robust in a market that is football, football, football.  Jerry Zgoda of StarTribune.com reports on Twitter that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, who is involved in the current labor negotiations, distanced his franchise from the contraction talk. "I can say Minnesota is not one of the teams that would be contracted," Taylor is quoted saying by Zgoda. So while contraction is being discussed, everyone, including NBA commissioner David Stern, acknowledges, it appears none of the likeliest suspects feel any concern about the possibility that they will go under. In other words, this is inching closer and closer to "idle threat" territory, if we're not there already.

Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley tells fans they shouldn't worry about the team's future in Memphis. Posted by Ben Golliver.  The word of the week in the NBA has been contraction. Once Ken Berger broke the news that reducing the number of teams in the NBA from 30 was an option that will be considered during upcoming rounds of Collective Bargaining between owners and players, the spotlight started shining on the league's struggling franchises, with an apparent gap developing between rich and poor.  Small-market Sacramento Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof came out quickly to state unequivocally that the Kings wouldn't be contracted or sold, while big-market former Los Angeles Lakers co-owner Magic Johnson came out in favor of contraction. Over the weekend, another small-market owner, Michael Heisley of the Memphis Grizzlies, was interviewed by Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal about the future of the Grizzlies, who are celebrating their 10th anniversary season in Memphis but are struggling to fill their stadium. Calkins asks Heisley whether the Grizzles can survive another 10 years.

"I don't know if I'll make it to a 20th year!" he says.

Heisley laughs. Even at 4 a.m., the man has a point. Who knows what will happen over the course of the next decade? Who knows if the Grizzlies will still be here in 2020? Who knows if Heisley -- now 77 -- will even be around to own the team? "I don't think it's something for people to worry about," Heisley says.

Making promises you can't keep is a cardinal sin for a professional sports team owner, so Heisley plays this one correctly, re-assuring the team's fans without committing to something he can't certainly deliver.  Calkins goes on to paint a morbid picture -- a half-empty FedEx Forum, talk of relocation at the team's 10th birthday party -- but he also points out that the team's arena deal and the depressed national economic state work against a Grizzlies relocation plan. The Grizzlies almost always make the short list for teams that might be contracted, given their attendance, struggles to make the post-season, and the fact that the team is in Memphis after relocating from Vancouver, in probably the best case of an expansion going wrong for the NBA.  One thing's for sure: no team that has been included in the contraction discussion has more talent than the Grizzlies. Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol, OJ Mayo, Mike Conley and Hasheem Thabeet would make for one heck of a dispersal draft.  Thanks to Heisley, however, that fantasy doesn't sound like it's in play any time soon.