It’s not often that a player is taken as a “reach” in the NBA and turns out to be better than their draft slot. More often than not, a player taken simply based on athleticism and upside rarely pan out. Examples of this are very easy to find. Guys like Javaris Crittenton, Greg Oden, Shawne Williams, Saer Sene, and the most famous, former #1 overall pick Kwame Brown.

Westbrook is definitely cut from a different mold. Numerous people have written of how he was barely recruited out of high school, but snagged a scholarship from UCLA at the 11^th hour. Former UCLA assistant Kerry Keating, now Santa Clara’s head coach, had seen Westbrook play a number of times and begged he and his parents to have faith in him. When Jordan Farmar declared for the NBA, Westbrook was offered a scholarship on the spot.

“I knew he could play,” Keating said. “The misconception on him was he couldn’t shoot, but he rebounded well for a guard. Every time something didn’t go well he’d look like he was hurt a little bit. [College scouts] would say, ‘What’s the deal with that? Is he soft?’ But I knew he was competitive.”

Thunder General Manager Sam Presti was criticized for not selecting Stanford center Brook Lopez with the 4^th overall pick. Even now, Lopez appears to be a good pick, as he is an All-Star caliber player. Westbrook, though early in his career, has the potential to be a Hall of Fame caliber player. Yeah, I dropped the H word. I do apologize, but he has only scratched the surface of his potential. Sam Presti even claims that he is still growing!

I’ve listed Westbrook’s last four full months in statistical form below. Compared to what he was last season, Hustle Westbrook has totally transformed his overall game. You notice how you don’t hear all of the “combo guard” whispers anymore? The stats speak for themselves.

Compared to his 2008-09 numbers, Westbrook’s first full month back on the hardwood wasn’t too impressive. His turnovers were still high, which was surprising given his performances in the summer league.

The statistic that stands out the most during December is Russell’s turnovers. It is so very difficult to increase assists while decreasing turnovers. Russell was able do this, but I believe that his assists went up because his shots weren’t falling at all.

The field goal percentage is back around what RW’s career average will probably be. Even though his turnovers are rising again, his January assists numbers are very strong.

This is the Russell Westbrook that was taken with the 4^th overall pick. His FG% is up, but that isn’t the half it. These numbers are out of this world. 6.6 rebounds for a point guard is unreal. Those are Jason Kidd numbers. He averaged double digit assists for the first time in his career while dropping his turnovers to an astounding 2.3 per game. To top it all off, RW is picking pockets like it’s going out of style. 2.4 steals may not be a common occurrence for any player, but it’s still a sign of great defense.

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Several other sources also indicated that the organization will “seriously evaluate” Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski, who hired Jordan less than a year ago.

One of these sources indicated that the company had considered terminating Jordan earlier, but likely was “deterred” by the early-season firing of former Flyers coach John Stevens.

Comcast-Spectacor owns both franchises.

These sources indicated that Jordan could be fired before this season ends – if it becomes obvious he has lost the team – but more likely after the final game of this dismal season.

One of these sources also characterized Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider as “up in arms” about Jordan’s coaching effort, with another source with intimate knowledge of the management’s thinking calling Jordan’s coaching “baffling.”

An NBA source said Jordan’s philosophy, which is overloaded on the offensive side with his high-IQ “Princeton” offense, was a mistake at its inception.

“The apathy for this team is back to where it was” in the ’90s, the NBA source said. “This team, with that much cap space, at least should be one of the top five teams in the East.”

The Sixers are maxed out on salaries through next season, at which point multiple contracts expire. The NBA source said the situation can be fixed. The hiring of a defensive-minded coach whose style would mesh with the team’s athletic roster could return the Sixers to the playoffs.

According to sources close to the team, the players “no longer believe in Jordan’s coaching system or philosophies” and are trying to finish this season strong for pride and contractual obligation.

The Sixers took a 23-39 record into last night’s game, all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Last season, the Sixers finished 41-41, losing to the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs.

In May 2009, Stefanski signed Jordan, who had worked with him for the New Jersey Nets, to a four-year contract worth about $12 million to $13 million. But the fourth year is a team option, as confirmed by a source with knowledge of the deal, meaning the Sixers could fire Jordan after this season and would have to pay him only through the 2011-12 season.

Former Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks, fired in December 2008, comes off the books at the end of the 2009-10 season.

A source close to upper management within Comcast-Spectacor indicated that it’s possible Jordan has only survived until now because the company already pulled one trigger, firing Stevens in early December and replacing him with Peter Laviolette.

According to team sources, the players have struggled all season with Jordan’s “poor decision-making” during games and “no longer believe” in what Jordan is teaching.

As for possible replacements, it’s unlikely Villanova coach Jay Wright would be interested at this time. He interviewed for the job last year.

When reached for comment regarding Jordan’s future, Stefanski said that nothing had been discussed within management, that no determination had yet been made, and that he had no comment regarding Jordan’s future.

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The organization has determined that the goal of building a winning team is best served by making this decision at this time. The team has simply not made sufficient progress during Dunleavy’s seven-year tenure. The Clippers want to win now. This transition, in conjunction with a full commitment to dedicate unlimited resources, is designed to accomplish that objective.

Neil Olshey, presently the Clippers’ Assistant General Manager, will assume the duties created by Dunleavy’s departure. He joined the organization as Director of Player Development for the 2003-04 season. He served as an Assistant Coach in 2004-05, and was elevated to the position of Director of Player Personnel from 2005-06 through 2007-08. He assumed the role of Assistant General Manager prior to the start of the 2008-09 season.

Olshey has played an important role in the completion of several significant team transactions, including the deals which brought Marcus Camby, Craig Smith, Rasual Butler, Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw, and Drew Gooden to the Clippers, among others. He also played a integral part in administering all preparation for the Clippers’ last four NBA Drafts, which produced Al Thornton, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, and last year’s #1 overall pick, Blake Griffin.

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The pain has persisted, and now Martin will miss an undetermined amount of time while undergoing platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy. He plans to return this season, although perhaps not until the NBA playoffs, the team announced Monday. Martin began the PRP therapy Monday.

It’s definitely a good news-bad news situation for the Nuggets (42-21), who rank third in the Western Conference.

The good news is Martin won’t require surgery on the knee, which is suffering from patella tendinitis. The bad news

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Randolph missed his first game this season after averaging 20.8 points and 11.8 rebounds in 63 starts. Second-year forward Darrell Arthur made his first start.

Randolph was not on the bench, but Thabeet joined his teammates for the first time in nearly two weeks. The 7-3 center returned from a six-game stint with the Dakota Wizards, the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate.

The No. 2 overall pick averaged 13.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks. Thabeet said he also gained confidence.

“I was on the bench a long time,” Thabeet said. “But I got to go out there and played big minutes. I tried to work on the stuff the coaches wanted me to do, which is rebound the ball and block shots and be able to score when I got the ball. I was successful doing that. Now, I have to keep working hard.”

Dakota went 5-1 with Thabeet, and Griz coach Lionel Hollins said he was impressed with how Thabeet impacted the games.

“He played very well. He was a big factor for them,” Hollins said. “He did some things on a consistent basis. I just wanted him to go down and play. That’s what he should do when he gets playing time. If he didn’t (produce), I’d be worried.”

Thabeet, 23, was assigned to the D-League on Feb. 25. He appeared in 50 games for the Grizzlies, averaging 2.9 rebounds, 2.5 points and 1.2 blocks amid heavy criticism about his lack of court awareness and productivity.

“They gave me a reason why I was going,” Thabeet said when asked about his feelings regarding the D-League assignment. “It wasn’t as tough as a lot of people were expecting. They explained to me why I was going, and I was OK with it. I lot of stuff I was able to accomplish over there was because of hard work. I’m back and ready to work hard.”

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The Cavs slipped past the streaking San Antonio Spurs, 97-95, Monday night on depth, surprising clutch free-throw shooting and Manu Ginobili’s toe.

They started the game without Shaquille O’Neal, who was somewhere resting his thumb, and LeBron James, who was on the bench resting everything. By four minutes into the second half, they were also without Antawn Jamison, whose role as leading scorer was cut short when he was forced from the game with soreness in the back of his left knee.

He had 17 points before leaving and will have an MRI at the Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday. Jamison said he’s experienced knee stiffness earlier in the season and was able to get rid of it with rest and treatment. He’s hoping for the same this time and said he’s planning on playing Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Whatever the outcome, the Cavs (50-15) didn’t have him against a Spurs (36-25) team that was on a four-game winning streak, not showing any ill effects of not having injured star Tony Parker, and riding a white-hot Ginobili as he sizzled to 38 points.

In short, things didn’t look good. It appeared like the omens were sending the Cavs to their 10th straight loss when playing without James dating back three seasons.

None of that even takes into account that Anthony Parker had to briefly leave the game with a dislocated finger and Mo Williams made huge free throws after aggravating a middle finger injury in the final seconds.

“After Antawn went out, our guys could’ve dropped their heads,” coach Mike Brown said. “They were pretty resilient and that was good to see.”

What happened was the Cavs cobbled together a rally, fed by some generally sound defense and a patchwork offense that more resembled the type of effort they’ll always need without their Most Valuable Player.

Six players scored in double figures and all of them, sans Jamison, had valuable offensive moments in the fourth quarter.

Williams had 17 points with a season-high eight rebounds and eight assists. He made two free throws with nine seconds left that pushed the Cavs lead to an valuable three points.

Delonte West had 16 points and five assists. He had 10 points in the fourth quarter, playing a James-ian role, and over his last five games is averaging 17 points on 51 percent shooting.

Jawad Williams scored 13 points with five rebounds starting in place of James. He nailed a clutch 3-pointer in the fourth to help the Cavs climb out of a four-point hole.

Anderson Varejao had 11 points and nine rebounds and successfully battled Tim Duncan, who was held to just 13 points and five rebounds, for much of the night. He came up with a big rebound and made two free throws with 2.4 seconds left that actually turned out to be the difference in the game.

Then there was J.J. Hickson, who also fought with Duncan and played him to a draw. He put up 12 points with seven rebounds and made two big plays in the final two minutes, getting a put-back hoop and then also making two free throws to help in the effort.

“A lot of guys stepped up, collectively we made plays down the stretch,” Williams said. “We did a good job of finding a way.”

The defense gets a fair amount of credit, too. After trouble with dribble penetration in the first half — George Hill stepped in for Tony Parker and scored 23 points — the Cavs closed up the paint in the second half. They allowed just 43 points in the second half, just eight in the paint, and just 26 percent shooting in the fourth quarter.

They could never really stop Ginobili, who scored 12 points in the fourth. He looked to have made a dagger with 14.2 seconds left as he fired in another long-range jumper that appeared to tie the game. But officials properly saw his toe had slipped onto the 3-point line as he fired and the Cavs were saved, holding a one-point lead that forced the Spurs to foul.

San Antonio got one last shot — well, other than Ginobili splashing a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer to finish 7-of-11 from 3-point range — for the tie. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich used Ginobili as a decoy this time and instead set up a shot for Roger Mason. So-called “Big Shot Rog” for making a series of clutch 3-pointers over the last two years, Mason was wide open when he zipped around a screen as Ginobili delivered him the ball.

But Mason was 1-of-9 shooting on the night and missed his eighth straight 3-pointer with four seconds left.

With that, the Cavs had themselves a win. A James-less, O’Neal-less, Jamison-less win at that.

“He was wide open,” Popovich said. “He was the guy to go to, that’s what he does.”

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The second overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Thabeet averaged a double-double with 13.8 points and 11.2 rebounds along with 3.17 blocks on 50.0 percent shooting in 31.3 minutes in six games (four starts) with Dakota after being assigned by the Grizzlies on Feb. 25.The 7-3, 267-pound center, who led the Wizards to a 5-1 record, scored a D-League career-high 19 points on Feb. 28 at Fort Wayne and grabbed a personal-best 18 rebounds on March 5 at Tulsa.

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1. Randolph sidelined by bad back
2. Grizzlies get Brewer from Jazz
3. Thunder Recalls Mullens, Sends White Down

And unlike some impending free agents who view the Nets as less desirable than waterboarding, Lee likes the Nets’ potential more than their 7-55 record.

“The Nets are an interesting team,” said Lee, sounding more like Phoenix’s Amar’e Stoudemire and Memphis’ Rudy Gay who claimed they would not be scared off by the Nets’ hideous record. “They’re a clear example of a team whose talent level doesn’t reflect the record.

“If statistics work out, they get the No. 1 pick,” Lee said, “They have a great center in Lopez, an All-Star point guard, Devin Harris, great athleticism with wings Chris Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams. They could have a big turnaround year next year if they get a good free agent and the No. 1 draft pick. It’s going to be interesting which direction they go.”