January is about to give way to February, which means the NBA's trading deadline is less than three weeks away.
Already, Timberwolves veteran Mike Miller's name is getting tossed about in news accounts nationwide. One says New Jersey might target him in its quest to win the East's final playoff spot. Another says Cleveland executives might wonder if he's the last puzzle piece to getting LeBron James a title before he chooses to become a free agent. And it might just be starting if Miller's shooting slump -- and his reluctance to shoot -- continues.
"This is my ninth year in the league and I've been on the trading block at the deadline every year, I think," Miller said. "I take it as a compliment. If other teams want your services, that's a compliment. I don't give it a thought. I don't expect anything to happen."
Miller, the tipping point in last summer's trade with Memphis that swapped O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love, scored in double digits twice in 14 January games entering Friday night and Wolves coach Kevin McHale bristled when someone used the word "struggling" to describe Miller's recent play. Miller is shooting 36 percent and averaging nearly six rebounds a game this month.
"Hey, he's very seldom struggling rebounding and moving the ball," McHale said. "Struggling? I want him to shoot more. It's O.K. He'll take and make a lot of big shots. I saw Larry Bird go through shooting slumps. If Larry Bird is entitled to a shooting slump, I'm sure Mike Miller is."
An ESPN.com report this week estimated there's a 65 percent chance Miller will be traded by the Feb. 19 deadline and, quoting no sources, said Miller "reportedly has been miserable in Minnesota."
"I haven't heard that one yet," Miller said when asked if he's miserable in Minnesota. "It's interesting that I haven't heard I'm miserable. People are going to say what they want to say. I'm back home and enjoying myself. I'm happy where I'm at. We're winning games and that's all that matters to me."
LAKERS 132, WOLVES 119: Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant got his 30 points, but it was the Lakers' physical dominance -- and 19 offensive rebounds -- that determined a game that gave the Wolves their first consecutive losses in a whopping 37 days.
The biggest Target Center audience of the season -- 19,111 spectators -- watched the Lakers use a 15-2 third-quarter run to turn a four-point game at halftime into a 20-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Wolves started January with an NBA-best 10-2 record, then ended it with home losses to Detroit on Wednesday and the Lakers on Friday, when they surrendered a season high number of points. The Lakers reached 100 points on a buzzer-beater than ended the third quarter.
"We can score against one of the best teams in the league," Wolves coach Kevin McHale said. "We just have to figure out how we're going to defend them."
The Lakers hoisted 27 three pointers and made only 10 of them, but they used those the long arms of 7-footers Andrew Byrum and Pau Gasol to out-rebound the Wolves 53-43, including 19-16 on the offensive backboards.
That's only the third time in 14 January games that the Wolves have been out-rebounded overall.
Bynum is the 21-year-old center blossoming before everybody's eyes. He's also a guy the Wolves considered rebuilding around when they decided to trade Kevin Garnett two summers ago and opted to deal with Boston instead.
On Friday, eight days after he scored a career-high 42 points, Bynum grabbed 15 of the Lakers' 53 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. His 27 points, didn't hurt, either. Wolves rookie Kevin Love fouled out with more than six minutes left in the game trying to defend the Lakers' big men down low.
