PHILADELPHIA -- When
Phil Martelli saw
Delonte West step into the hallway outside the Cavaliers' locker room, he swiftly moved to him and gave his former star a long embrace.
The St. Joseph's coach always comes to West's games at the Wachovia Center if he can, but this visit was clearly important. Martelli spent about a half hour speaking to West before the game in a quiet and private corner of the arena.
"With Delonte, it's a parental feeling for me," Martelli said. "I will always been there for him through thick and through thin."
West was activated Wednesday to play against the 76ers after spending one game on the inactive list as he continues to look for emotional balance. It hasn't just been hard for the Cavs to reach West at times this fall. It has been for Martelli, too.
After West was arrested in September and then had some issues during which he was absent from the team in training camp, Martelli said he left messages for West but wasn't able to reach him. He was able to have some of those conversations Wednesday.
West played for Martelli for three years including 2003-04, when the Hawks went undefeated in the regular season and reached the Elite Eight.
"We didn't have problems like this with Delonte; he was one of the most competitive players I've ever coached," Martelli said. "But right now first things first, he's got to feel good to play well and that is what he is focusing on."
Standing by his words: Playing in a city with deep-rooted basketball history,
LeBron James was asked why he has been leading a call for the entire league to honor
Michael Jordan by retiring the No. 23 and not other greats who came before Jordan. James has said he's strongly considering switching to No. 6 next season.
"I just feel like MJ has more of an impact off the court than anyone else in NBA history," James said.
"His numbers speak for themselves on the court, but the what he was able to do off the court inspired people to play basketball. I think
Magic [Johnson] and
[Larry] Bird and
Wilt [Chamberlain] and those guys were unbelievable, but none of those guys did what MJ did off the court to inspire people to be great and fly and jump."
Ironically, James wants to change to No. 6 out of respect to his second favorite player of all time, former Philadelphia great
Julius Erving.
Whoa, Sasha: Cavs' 2008 second-round draft pick
Sasha Kaun, who played at the University of Kansas, seems to be maturing in his second season with CSKA Moscow. Over the last several weeks, the 6-11 Kaun has moved into the starting lineup and given some impressive efforts in Euroleague games. He's averaging 13 points and 7.6 rebounds while shooting 65 percent in December in the most competitive league in Europe.
In lesser Russian League games, he's averaging 9.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and is shooting 73 percent in six games. Kaun has another year on his contract with CSKA, but has an out clause next summer. He was slowed last summer by a back injury that has cleared up recently.
