Nelson open to dealing Jackson
Golden State coach Don Nelson said the Warriors are still open to trading Stephen Jackson, a day after the disgruntled star's agent made disparaging comments about the coach.
"We're trying to accommodate him," Nelson said. "If we can get a good deal, we'll do it. I said that over a month, month-and-a-half ago."
In an interview Sunday with ESPN, Mark Stevens, Jackson's agent, blamed Nelson for breaking up the Warriors' playoff team from 2007 and questioned his ability to coach.
"I'm disgusted with the quality of Nelson's coaching and with the lack of trust his players have in him," Stevens said. "Nelson is the winningest coach in NBA history to never have coached in the NBA Finals, let alone won a championship. Yet he keeps getting jobs despite being 69 years old."
Stevens reiterated his comments yesterday on ESPNRadio.
Nelson declined to discuss Stevens' comments when asked about them before last night's home game against Minnesota.
"I don't have any comment, you guys know what that's all about," Nelson said.
Jackson has been upset with the Warriors' decline since he helped the franchise end a 13-year postseason drought with a trip to the second round of the playoffs in 2007. He agreed to a 3-year, $28 million contract extension last November but publicly requested a trade this past offseason.
Jackson relinquished his role as team captain after being suspended for two preseason games when he and Nelson got into a heated exchange during an exhibition game against the Los Angeles Lakers last month. The suspension cost Jackson approximately $139,000, and since then the tension between the Warriors and him has grown.
"I just want him out of there now," Stevens said. "It doesn't matter where. At this stage, something has to be done. It can't get any worse."
Noteworthy
Cleveland superstar LeBron James clarified a remark he made last week in which he said getting a maximum contract next summer isn't that important to him.
"Let's get this clear: I said the max contract doesn't mean more than winning," James said. "I didn't say, 'I don't need a max contract' or 'I'm not going to get a max contract.' All I'm saying is that winning is more important to me than money at the end of the day."
In New York for a game against the Knicks last week, James said "a max deal or anything like that doesn't really matter to me at the end of the day. It's all about winning for me."
That led to speculation that James, who can opt out of his contract with the Cavaliers after this season, would be willing to play somewhere for less than the league maximum.
* Sacramento leading scorer Kevin Martin had surgery on his injured left wrist and is expected to miss at least 8 weeks.
In games last night:
* At New York, Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko each scored 23 points, and Utah won at Madison Square Garden for the first time in more than 5 years with a 95-93 win over the Knicks.
* At San Antonio, Manu Ginobili scored 36 points without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker (ankle injuries) in the lineup and the Spurs beat Toronto, 131-124. Ginobili hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Chris Bosh had 32 points and nine rebounds for Toronto.
