It’s time for the New York Knicks to prove that the changes made to the roster were the right moves and that this is a team ready to compete. After a really tough loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night (Dec. 28), it’s time to bounce back and beat a struggling Lakers team. The Knicks play in Staples Center on Thursday (Dec. 29) at 10:30 p.m. ET, making for a long night for dedicated fans back east.

I wrote last night how the Knicks were very flat against the Warriors in the second half, especially after holding a six point lead at halftime. While Tyson Chandler was going through foul trouble, the Knicks just seemed to lack the defensive intensity necessary to beat the better teams in the league. It almost seemed like a number of players on the roster have put too much pressure on Chandler to become the only one putting out the extra effort on defense. It worked in the first game against the Boston Celtics when Chandler blocked 6 shots, but he can’t do it every night by himself.

The Lakers are a much different team without Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, and that is what the Knicks get on Thursday night (Dec. 29). The Lakers have also lost two of their first three games, losing to the Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings before beating the Utah Jazz on Tuesday (Dec. 27). Now the Knicks come to town, and the game goes into primetime for viewers watching on the West Coast. It’s also the second game on the TNT schedule for the night, meaning the game is about to get over-analyzed. Hopefully the Knicks can put up really good numbers and leave a lasting opinion with the broadcasters.

Any success for the Knicks is going to come from shutting down Pau Gasol on defense and working an inside-outside game on offense. Kobe Bryant is going to score his points, but Chandler and Amare Stoudemire have to keep Gasol from catching fire in the low post. On offense, it needs to become a balance between the three-point shooters for the Knicks and the post-up games of Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. The shooting percentage has to get better than the 4-for-21 (19 percent) effort that New York had on Wednesday night (Dec. 28) though.

It’s time to put the excuses aside and for the Knicks to prove that they can get up for a game against one of the elite teams in the Western Conference.

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Sources:

Full Knicks Schedule

New York Knicks Website

*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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The Chris Paul era in New Orleans isn’t over — yet. A proposed blockbuster three-team trade of the New Orleans Hornets’ point guard involving the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets was nixed Thursday, according to league sources.

Apparently, several owners in the league thought the deal was too beneficial for the Lakers, who would have paired Paul with Kobe Bryant. There was concern the Lakers, who have won two of the past three NBA championships, would get an unfair competitive advantage.

NBA Commissioner David Stern apparently stepped in after hearing complaints from several owners attending the league’s board of governors meeting Thursday in New York to ratify the new labor agreement. The NBA has owned the Hornets for nearly a year and is seeking local ownership.

But an NBA spokesman denies that owners killed the deal. The Paul trade wasn’t even discussed at the board of governors meeting, spokesman Tim Franks said. He said the league office declined to make the trade for basketball reasons.

Had Paul gone to the Lakers, the Hornets would have acquired guards Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic and forward Luis Scola of the Rockets and Lakers forward Lamar Odom in addition to a draft pick.

In turn, Houston would have acquired Lakers forward Pau Gasol, filling their need for a big man after Yao Ming’s retirement.

After the league kiboshed the deal, Paul tweeted “Wow.”

Now Friday makes for an awkward moment.

General Manager Dell Demps didn’t want Paul’s uncertain future to cast a cloud over the season as the Carmelo Anthony saga did last year in Denver. Ultimately, Anthony got his way and was traded to the New York Knicks.

Training camp opens Friday, but Paul isn’t expected at the Alario Center in Westwego, according to league sources.

With Paul staying put, the Hornets still have only five players under contract. Demps is expected to address the news media Friday for the first time since the lockout began July 1.

Sources said Demps will continue to seek trade partners for Paul, who wouldn’t commit to the team after he was offered a five-year deal worth $100 million. Paul can opt out of his contract, which will pay him about $16 million this season.

The Hornets have had serious trade discussions with the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors. Some teams have been scared off from entering the Paul sweepstakes because of the threat he might not sign an extension. If Paul signs an extension with another team, he would be forfeiting $26 million, as the most a competing team can offer him is $74 million over four years.

Paul could file a grievance against the league through the players union.

Apparently, there is a faction of owners who continues to push for competitive balance even though the labor agreement is designed to help foster it.

The Hornets had been listening to offers for Paul since last week, and they began to proceed more intensely after Paul indicated in Monday’s meeting with Demps he was not interested in signing a long-term extension to remain in New Orleans, sources said.

Paul has been with the franchise for six seasons and was the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft.

Paul has been pushing for the Hornets build more talent around him since 2009-10 season when they failed to make the playoffs. The Hornets made a surprising playoff run last season but were ousted by the Lakers in the first round.

The Minnesota Timberwolves sent Kevin Garnett(notes) packing to the Boston Celtics in a trade on July 31, 2007, which had a slew of players moving from New England to the ‘Wolves. But Garnett could have easily moved to the archrival of the Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers, too.

Garnett said in a radio interview Thursday that he made the decision to not move to L.A. because of the consistent news of disagreements between Kobe Bryant(notes) and coach Phil Jackson, the Boston Globe reports. “I was pretty close [to joining the Lakers] to be honest,” said 14-time All-Star Garnett, according to the paper. “What disturbed me about the whole Lakers situation was Kobe and Phil at the time. They were at each other pretty bad, and it was a new situation I didn’t want to get into … It was my choice, yeah. There was a lot going on and I didn’t want to be a part of it.”

Instead, Garnett, who was picked fifth overall in the 1995 draft by Minnesota, joined Boston and helped lead the team to the 2008 championship.

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Source: Boston Globe

Related: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves

It looks like former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown will become the new coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Brad Turner of The LA Times reports the Lakers have put together a deal worth between $4 million and $4.5 million per season, for three years, with a team option on the fourth season that would give him partial pay if he was not retained.

Brown, 41, became the front-runner because Jim Buss, the team’s executive vice president of player personnel, was impressed with his defense-minded style.

Lakers owner Jerry Buss did an interview with Sirius XM Radio on Tuesday, saying the team was “very close” to filling its coaching vacancy.

It now appears as if Brown is that person, something that could be announced in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Brown left the Cavaliers after five seasons with a 272-138 record. After the Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals in 2010, Brown was fired.