NBA notebook: Clippers to get two guards back; Carter expects to stay
The Los Angeles Clippers, who have been beset by injuries recently, reportedly will get their two star guards back for Friday's game against the Miami Heat.
All-Star Chris Paul and veteran Chauncey Billups are expected to be back in the lineup from their respective, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Paul has been out for eight games with a knee bruise. Billups has suffered from peroneal tendinitis in his left foot and has played in three games this season.
It is unclear if All-Star forward Blake Griffin, who has missed the last two games with a strained hamstring, and Jamal Crawford, who missed one game with a sore shoulder, will also return Friday.
---Guard Vince Carter said he has been told by that he will not be traded by the Dallas Mavericks.
Carter said Wednesday that after a recent game Maverick coach Rick Carlisle said he would not be dealt at the Feb. 21 trading deadline.
"...he pulled me aside and said all the trade rumors, because I didn't know much about it, he said it's not going to happen," Carter said to NBA.com. "I'm happy where I am. I feel like my role here is needed."
---The Philadelphia 76ers signed guard Jeremy Pargo to a 10-day contract Thursday, the team announced.
Pargo (6-2, 219) went undrafted in 2009 and played overseas until signing as a free agent with the Memphis Grizzlies before last season. He appeared in 44 games with the Grizzlies in 2011-12 and was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers on July 25, 2012.
---Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter will be among the athletes and entertainers competing in the
Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Feb. 15 in Houston.
The teams will be coached by former teammates James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Besides Bolt, the celebrity rosters will include actor Kevin Hart, rapper Common, R&B singer Ne-Yo, actor Nick Cannon; actor Josh Hutcherson; and ESPN radio host Ryen Russillo.
