Morning Donuts: Tomorrow's Mavs News -Today!

Wednesday Morning Donuts … with Boozer as a bully, Kobe as the Lakers' assistant GM, a new Mavs as "the next Bruce Bowen and secret LeBron video ... it's a baker's dozen, with sprinkles!

     DONUT 1: The assistant GM of the Lakers – Kobe Bryant – remains “optimistic’’ that Lamar Odom will remain with the club. But just in case. …

     DONUT 2: The other sexy name, for me, is Carlos Boozer. There’s no Dallas buzz there right now, but even Miami is trying to quiet his noise with this odd story about Pat Riley “not being bullied’’ by Boozer’s wishes to come to the Heat.

    “Bullied’’? Boozer – who has a home in Miami – wants to leave Utah for Florida and so he’s “bullying’’ somebody?

     I wish he’d “bully’’ Dallas. …

     DONUT 3: Can you imagine the anti-Donnie backlash around here if the Mavs GM announced he was souring on somebody like Carlos Boozer because he felt like Boozer’s desire to come to Dallas “felt a little pushy’’?

     DONUT 4: Is Quinton Ross destined to be Dallas’ answer to Bruce Bowen?

     DONUT 5: Remember the story of the kid who dunked on LeBron James at LeBron James’ own camp? And how LeBron/Nike scrambled to confiscate all video evidence of the sacrilegious event?

     TMZ says it has a surviving video tape of it all. 

     DONUT 6: An 81-year-old man qualifies for a NASCAR event. I’m sure he can drive. But I bet he never uses his blinkers.

     DONUT 7: The people who run the Blazers are geniuses. At least that’s what I’m told by people who wear plaid workshirts and Birkenstocks. So it’s fun to watch them not sign a big free agent, turn back to Andre Miller, wonder if Steve Blake is any good, get matched on Milsap, not be involved in Odom, lose Hedo, and prepare for a year-long contractual pissing match with Roy and Aldridge.

     Genius is fluid.

     DONUT 8: Now Mavs fans are moving the name of Sacto’s Kevin Martin up on the wish list. I wish for him, too – a self-made star who would fill the two-way/iso/2-guard job. But I can’t come up with a way to pry the Kings’ best player from their grips, and suggestions of a Martin-for-J-Ho swap just seem like wheel-spinning for both franchises to me.

     DONUT 9: Bad sign for the Rangers: We’re all talking about them trading for one guy to help – and we can’t agree if the one helpful guy is an arm or a bat.

     DONUT 10: What happens when Scoop Jackson and Sam Smith compare notes? You get “reports’’ of 100-player trade involving 29 teams and 44 things to be named later. 

     DONUT 11: Instant updates on the Mavs and whatnot from DB.com are available at twitter.com/fishsports

     DONUT 12: Funny thing about Perot’s suit against Mark Cuban: Inasmuch as Perot was very much a minority shareholder in the set-up (I’m told his piece of this so-called “$29 million’’ dispute is really just $3 mil), isn’t it odd that Perot is the only partner involved in the suit? If there was some crime/misappropriate/wrongdoing, wouldn’t other partners be clamoring as well?

      Why does it just happen to be the partner who benefitted from Cuban’s direction when Victory Park was thriving … who just happens to be the boss of the company that oversees real-estate holdings downtown that are now not thriving … who just happens to also be the overseer of an unrelated $2.5 billion hedge fund that went bust … who is now saying, “Give me my $3 million back’’?

     DONUT 13: One more donut, and it’s a good ‘un: The rebuilding of the community in New Orleans in ongoing. HoopNights is a newly formed nonprofit organization whose goal is to provide a network of evening “pick-up” basketball venues throughout New Orleans. The program fills a critical void in communities. Parks that have been desolate, especially in evening hours, are utilized as the platform for the program.  The residual effect is a more approachable community park, with participants coming from different parts of the city as well as within the existing community.

     HoopNights has entered Nike’s “Back your Block” Grant competition. And they’ve asked DallasBasketball.com to pitch in. All you have to do is give them your click-on vote … and maybe if they win the grant a little more good is done in a place that deserves it.

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