Diamond Leung of The Oakland Tribune: With Andrew Bogut out indefinitely, there will be times Draymond Green will be asked to guard taller and bulkier offensive players. And then there is Green’s ears perking up when something is said about him that he doesn’t particularly like. For instance, Avery Johnson on SportsCenter after the Warriors lost at Memphis had words that Green remembers. “Funny guy,” Green said of Johnson. “Funny guy. Jalen Rose is a funny guy, too. It’s funny to me. They just keep lighting that fuel and adding more fuel to the fire.” Rose, who played at Michigan and rival school of Green’s alma mater Michigan State, said earlier this month while largely praising Green that, “Draymond Green I don’t think he would be in the league if he wasn’t in the right place at the right time and get developed.” Johnson made out Green to be someone for opposing teams to go after. ... Green, however, appears up for the challenge of taking on offensive players of all shapes and sizes. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to win,” Green said. “I trained all summer. I always like to say I’m made for this."

Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman: There aren’t many NBA players who seem to catch Kobe Bryant’s eyes for the right reasons. But Russell Westbrook – and his fear nobody attitude – is one of them. Bryant recently told ESPN that Westbrook is the closest player in the NBA to him in terms of intensity. “He just plays with a rage that’s not very common,” Bryant told reporters. Of late, Westbrook has been receiving heaps of praise and some strong MVP buzz. But last year’s MVP says Westbrook isn’t letting that get to his head. “As a teammate and brother, I’m happy he’s getting the praise,” Kevin Durant said. “Because just last year everyone had something negative to say about him. But that’s how the world is. They’ll build you up then break you down then build you up again. So he’s not sweating that. He’s gonna keep playing his game.”

Mike Singer of CSN Chicago: But for all that went wrong on Thursday night, there were two examples of what went exactly right as a result of the Bulls missing out on Anthony during the free agency period: Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler. If only every contingency plan (Gasol) could yield 15 double-doubles, good for second-best in the NBA, 18.7 points per game and 11.9 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the league. Gasol has been nothing short of revitalized under Thibodeau and the Bulls’ tight-knit locker room. “We ended up fine, as we did in 2010,” Thibodeau said on Thursday referencing the free-agency process. “Free agency, there’s no guarantees. Everyone is trying to get everyone. You’re hopeful. It’s really designed to keep the player with the team that he’s with. I feel we came out great with Pau.” Great would be an understatement, as Gasol has galvanized the frontcourt with Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson missing significant time with various injuries. ... When asked in particular whether Butler can maintain his furious early-season pace, Thibodeau seemed to acknowledge that this big an improvement was surprising, even to him. “My thing to him is, ‘Why put a lid on it?’ Where can it go? I don’t know. All I know is it keeps going up.” So while Thursday might have opened up old wounds with Anthony's return to the United Center, it also illuminated just how much better off the Bulls are with Gasol stabilizing the frontcourt and Butler emerging as a star.

Peter Botte of the New York Daily News: Carmelo Anthony joined a few injured teammates on the sidelines for the putrid Knicks, and Derrick Rose was ill and not among those playing for the Bulls. As TNT analyst Charles Barkley quipped to reporters before Thursday night’s game, “My God, it’s gonna be awful tonight.” Anthony sat out his second game in barely a week because of lingering left knee soreness, and the telecast of the game featured a snippy Twitter retort at Barkley from team president Phil Jackson before the bare-bones Knicks fought hard but still lost for the 13th time in 14 games, 103-97, to the Bulls at United Center. Barkley continued his standup routine at the 5-23 Knicks’ expense throughout the nationally televised game, and even prompted Jackson — who earlier in the day defended his offseason trade of Tyson Chandler on Twitter — to tweet during the second quarter: “Do I have to mute this game? Chuck just remember your fundamental...key to (the triangle).” ... Jackson appeared particularly frustrated and got more defensive on Twitter on Thursday than the Knicks have been all season. The Zen Master responded unprompted in three separate reply tweets to a link about a story suggesting he “got hornswoggled in his first big move” in trading Tyson Chandler to Dallas in June.

John Reid of The Times-Picayune: Almost at the same time the Pelicans were making their decisive fourth-quarter run against the Rockets on Thursday night, the Mavericks were finalizing a trade agreement to acquire All-Star guard Rajon Rondo from the Celtics. It's a move that's possibly strengthens the Mavericks into a serious NBA title contender. It also makes things much more tougher for the Pelicans and the remaining teams in the Southwest Division. ... The Western Conference already have a number of talented point guards that includes San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker, Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul, Memphis Grizzlies' Mike Conley and Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry. "The conference is crazy, there is so much talent," Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson said. "It's a challenge every night. We've had a tough schedule so far and it's going to get even tougher. Obviously with Rondo, it's going to take them a little while to figure stuff out, but they were already a tough team."

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: The Dallas Mavericks pulled off the first major deal of the season, trading for Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo by outbidding the Rockets among others to land Rondo’s still pesky – if no longer as nasty – defense and elite playmaking. The Rockets were in talks on several potential deals, but according to an individual with knowledge of their plans were closest to trading for Minnesota guard/forward Corey Brewer, a wing defender they have long sought and could acquire as soon as Friday. The Rockets would be able to fit Brewer into the trade exception they had saved from the Jeremy Lin trade and would not have to match his $4.7 million salary. Brewer would bring much-needed depth behind Trevor Ariza and James Harden who are second and third in the NBA in minutes per game respectively. With Brewer going Usain Bolt on the break, the Rockets will need to push pace off the bench, something that like almost everything else with the Rockets’ reserves has been inconsistent, but he also could kick-start the second unit’s break, a goal since training camp. Still, that deal would be far more of a tweak than the potentially enormous impact of the Mavericks adding Rondo.

Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: A short-handed Milwaukee Bucks team forgot to count all its missing players on Thursday night. Instead the nine-man gang that showed up to play at Sleep Train Arena dug in and dug out a 108-107 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Center Larry Sanders was missing due to a one-game suspension and power forwards were hard to find. So what did Bucks coach Jason Kidd do? He stuck rookie forward Johnny O'Bryant in the starting lineup and relied on veteran center Zaza Pachulia to bang bodies against Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, who returned after missing 10 games with viral meningitis. Of course the game came down to a final shot, with the Kings going to Cousins on the final play. Pachulia used his skill and savvy to force Cousins into a tough fadeaway jumper, and it bounced off the front rim as the Bucks celebrated. Milwaukee (14-13) improved to 2-1 on its West Coast trip with one stop remaining Saturday night in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: Michael Malone received the phone call Sunday night that ended his time as the Kings’ coach. Fired 24 games into his second season, Malone believes the Kings made great progress during his tenure. “Though my time as head coach ended much sooner than anticipated, I am extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish during our time together,” Malone said. “Anchored by a loyal and dedicated coaching staff, we worked hard to instill a culture of discipline, trust and respect that progressed this team further than many expected in a short time.” After winning only 28 games last season, the Kings were 11-13, including 2-7 without star center DeMarcus Cousins.