NBA: The week in quotes

IT’S A BIRD,

IT’S A PLANE

Phoenix Coach Gentry on Clippers phenom Blake Griffin:

“He’s the best athlete in the league.... If guys are going to throw lobs and stuff like that, there’s nobody that’s even remotely close right now.

“You have to make him into a basketball player. You have to make him make basketball plays, not athletic plays.”

ALL WE NEED

IS LOVE (CONT.)

Denver Coach George Karl, on Minnesota phenom Kevin Love:

“I think we made inquiries on [acquiring] Kevin Love this summer, but we didn’t think this.

“We never thought he’d make the huge step he made from last year to this year. This is incredible.”

CAP SPACE WOULD

BE OK, TOO

Gentry, insisting they want to keep Vince Carter, with $4 million of next season’s salary guaranteed:

“We want players and, if he plays great, obviously we traded for him because we want him on our team.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with cap room or anything like that.”

BROS FOREVER

Orlando’s Dwight Howard, on trading Carter and Rashard Lewis:

“We couldn’t have did a better job with the trades. I’m going to miss the guys that they did trade. We were like brothers but ... we got players who want to do nothing but win and they’ve been playing their roles.”