There’s still one guy left in China who wants back into the NBA. Despite the attempts by the Chinese Basketball Association to keep him where he is, Wilson Chandler is expected to be coming home at some point within the next week. But as a restricted free agent, and especially one who’s only 24 years old and can shoot, defend and create at 6-8, Denver might not be the ones getting him. NBA.com reports there’s another team that plans on throwing their best pickup line in Chandler’s direction: the Toronto Raptors. The Nuggets want to keep Chandler, and not just as a rental for the rest of the season, but beyond that. HOOPSWORLD writes that Denver sees Chandler as it’s ace in the hole, another wing player that could be the difference for them late in the season. Meanwhile, the Raptors are determined to go after him, even if they’re lacking the resources to do so. But if they can move Leandro Barbosa, they’ll position themselves to take a shot. The problem? Who really wants Barbosa enough to trade for him? … On Sunday night after the All-Star Game, we hit up a media hospitality event and ended up chatting for a while with a couple of staffers from Kings.com. After making small talk about Tyreke Evans (they’ve all soured on him) and DeMarcus Cousins (they all see him as the team’s cornerstone), we ended up on what everyone wants to know: Will Sacramento be able to keep the Kings? Their direct quotes were along the lines of “If the Kings leave, there’s really no reason for anyone to live in Sacramento.” No luggage is necessary. It appears one of the NBA’s better fan bases will get their wish. Yesterday it was announced the city and NBA have agreed on a tentative arena deal to keep the team in place for many years to come. Up to $250 million of the estimated $387 million arena will be contributed by the city through parking garage leases. The Maloofs will also be chipping in $75 million up front … Joel Przybilla was officially brought in as a Blazer yesterday, announcing during a morning press conference that he could either be playing a major role or no role at all for this team going forward. And after that, “Ghostface” Przybilla actually hit up a wrestling event, “WWE Superstar,” and according to Adam Bjaranson, the big man was in ringside seats feeling the love from the Portland crowd. The pro-Blazer crowd started chanting his name. It’s not every day you see a wrestling crowd chant for a basketball player, especially when that basketball player is a backup center. That’s Portland for you … Gerald Green is back in the NBA. He signed a 10-day contract with the Nets, who could really use anyone who can dribble and shoot on the wings (unlucky for them, Green can’t really do either of those things). We saw Green this past weekend in Orlando as he and a bunch of other D-Leaguers came over to watch the All-Star practice on Saturday morning. It was really odd. It felt like one of those middle school kids who dominates in eighth grade at so much that he’s the most popular kid in school. Then a few years later, after he stopped growing, stopped getting better and became a very average high school athlete, he’s no longer popular or a part of the “in” crowd. You know when he was coming out of high school, no one – most especially Green – would’ve ever guessed he’d not only not be in the All-Star Game someday, but would be watching a practice from the sidelines as an outsider (at least as an outsider who would win the D-League All-Star Game MVP) … And you probably won’t believe this but Karl Malone is on Twitter. He’s also calling himself by a new name – “The Deliverer.” We’d have thought Malone would be too busy getting in arguments with GMs or wrangling cattle to bother with 140-character messages. But it’s definitely him and check out some of the tweets he’s already written: “Its colder than a witches tit in Nebraska out there this mornin” and “1,2,3,4 get your ass on the floor.” Malone is a Coolio fan? … We’re out like “The Deliverer.”
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