Larry Brown Sports

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, hold up a second. You mean to tell me a good player in the Milwaukee market is thinking about leaving his team? Now there’s a shocker.

Brandon Jennings is in his third NBA season after being drafted by the Bucks in 2009. He can become a free agent in 2014 and says he’s already planning on exploring his options.

“I am going to keep my options open, knowing that the time is coming up,” Jennings told Chris Broussard over email. “I’m doing my homework on big-market teams.”

Jennings says the city of Milwaukee and the front office has been nothing but good to him, but after seeing guys like Melo, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard pretty much force their way out of small market teams, he says it opened his eyes to the business side of the game.

The real big story to worry about if you’re a Bucks fan is this line from Broussard:

“Sources close to the situation said he is frustrated with the direction of the franchise.”

If Broussard just interviewed Jennings and he’s including that line, you can take it to the bank that it’s accurate. Bucks GM John Hammond said the interview caught him off guard. It really shouldn’t. Small market teams can’t realistically expect star players to remain in their city instead of going to a more glamorous town. It’s a harsh reality, but it’s the truth.

If you saw the opening tipoff for the Celtics-Lakers game Thursday night, then the outcome may have felt like karma. After the Celtics won the tip, Kevin Garnett hiked the ball between his legs to Rajon Rondo, who then hiked the ball to himself. I don’t know if unconventional move was a nod to the Patriots players in attendance or what, but it was pretty funny. Probably would have been much cooler if they didn’t lose.

Chest bump to Sweater Punch

We realize Jeremy Lin has only played at a high level for three games in his NBA career, but his story is pretty fascinating. He’s scored more than 20 points in each of the Knicks’ last three games, and will face a true test Friday night when New York hosts the Lakers. As of Thursday night, Kobe Bryant was not familiar with the Lin craze — or Linsanity as it is being called.

“I know who he is, but I don’t really know what’s going on too much with him,” Bryant said according to WEEI.com. “I don’t even know what he’s done. Like, I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I’ll take a look at it tonight though.

“I don’t even know what the (expletive) is going on. What the (expletive) is going on? Who is this kid? I’ve heard about him and stuff like that, but what’s he been doing? Is he getting like triple doubles or some (expletive)? He’s averaging 28 and eight? No (expletive). If he’s playing well, I’ll just have to deal with him.”

Easy, Kobe. Nobody is saying he’s a better player than you are. Is it possible that Kobe really hasn’t heard of Lin yet, or is he trying to get into his head before Friday night’s game? Lin hasn’t been putting up triple doubles, but he is also an undrafted who has gone from a bench player to carrying the Knicks. Bryant may not have heard of him prior to last night, but if he isn’t familiar with Lin by now he hasn’t been doing his homework.

If Jeremy Lin continues to play the way he has over the past three games, a lot of good things are in his near future. The surprise factor has certainly helped Lin dominate his last three games, but if he can play consistently well at the point guard position he will be in for a big pay day at some point. You know what that means? Moving out of his brother’s place!

As you can see from the video above, it took the folks over at TMZ.com very little time to catch up with the NBA’s newest superstar. It also took Lin no time at all to start thinking about life after his brother’s couch. His contract became guaranteed on Tuesday, which must be a tremendous feeling. After being cut by the Warriors and the Rockets, Lin’s work ethic has paid off. Three straight games of 20-plus points should at least earn you your own sofa.

Anyone who is feeling a bit down this Valentine’s Day should consider getting out to the Memphis Grizzlies game on Friday night. Watching the Grizzlies play the Pacers may not be your idea of excitement, but if you don’t laugh at the Valentine’s Day cards they are giving out that feature their players you must be really, really depressed about this “holiday.” Check out these pictures that The Chris Vernon Show shared on Twitter, with more examples below.

Classic. Typically all the good giveaways in sports are reserved for minor league baseball teams and other lower-level organizations like this one and this one, but it’s nice to see an NBA team come up with a great idea. Well done, Grizzlies marketing team.

Jeremy Lin is the hottest name in sports at the moment. Only a kid from Harvard who nobody took a chance on that has scored 20-plus points in three straight games could create this much buzz around Super Bowl time. In many ways, Lin is like Tim Tebow. While he was not a celebrity in college, he is single-handedly winning games for the Knicks after riding the bench for the first part of the season. In fact, Lin says he is inspired by Tebow in many ways.

“Actually (Tebow has provided me with) a lot of inspiration just because he’s such a polarizing figure but I think the things he says in interviews, his approach to the game is just unbelievable and I respect him so much,” Lin said during an interview with 95.7 The Game in San Francisco. “I want to be able to do some of the things that he does in terms of the amount of charity work and the non-profit work, and the way he impacts people off the field. I think that is what is most inspiring to me about him.”

Lin scored 23 points and dished out 10 assists in a win over the Wizards on Wednesday. It was his third straight game with at least 20 points and seven assists. Not bad for a guy who sleeps on his brother’s couch. Warriors G.M. Larry Riley is kicking himself for cutting the point guard and the Rockets know exactly how he feels.

Lin will get his first true test against the Lakers on Friday night. If he can continue to be successful and carry the Knicks against tough opponents, he could be just the spark the team needed in the wake of Carmelo Anthony’s injuries and Amar’e Stoudemire’s family tragedy.

Titans running back Chris Johnson and free agent receiver Mike Sims-Walker, both Orlando natives, are co-hosting a welcome to Orlando party on the first day of NBA All-Star Weekend. The list of celebrity guests the flyer says will attend includes a few NBA and NFL players. The one name on the flyer that stands out is J.R. Smith. We figure that refers to basketball player J.R. Smith, who’s currently playing in China.

Smith will be a free agent when he returns to the NBA and he is being courted by several teams. The problem is he can’t return to the NBA until his current season finishes. His Chinese team is currently 9th in the standings and the top eight teams make the playoffs. If they finish outside the playoffs, he could be back in Florida in time to appear at the party. His squad may miss the postseason, but I doubt he’s back in town for this one.

Picture via Chris Johnson

Count Larry Riley as the second GM to admit he made a mistake by cutting Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin.

The Golden State Warriors signed Lin after he went undrafted, but the Harvard product only played 29 games for them last season. GM Larry Riley says he never envisioned Lin becoming a good starting point guard.

“We always felt there would be some chance he’d be a backup point guard,” Riley told The New York Times. “I have egg on my face in telling you that I did not think he was going to become a starting point guard with a good team. He’s doing that right now.”

Rockets GM Daryl Morey also admitted Thursday that he made a mistake by cutting Lin. Both teams knew Lin was good enough to be on their roster, but they didn’t realize he was good enough to produce as a starter. They both missed out by not giving him that opportunity to play big minutes, and now he’s flourishing in his first few starts for New York.

Cutting Lin may turn out to be a mistake both teams deeply regret. Right now it’s too early to say how long Lin will be able to keep up his production.