Had a chance to catch up with Marcus a bit tonight, get a bit more detail on his head injury and feel him out on the trade rumors that have swirled around him for months and will likely reignite over the summer.
Marcus made a surprise appearance in tonight’s game against the Cavs, meaning the Clippers got to see what Camby, Zach Randolph and Chris Kaman could do together for the first time since a brief stint on November 26.
In some ways it was surprising, since Marcus had had some complications after his ear drum popped on a flight just before the All Star break. But he felt better today so he decided to give it a go. He described the problem as something more akin to vertigo than pain or pressure. It throws off his equilibrium and makes him feel a bit woozy.
He’ll be examined again on Thursday and his status for Saturday’s game in Denver will be determined then, because it’s not known whether he can fly yet. This will be his first trip back to Denver since his trade over the summer and he’s got a few events planned, starting with an appearance at a local Boys and Girls club on Friday, so don’t be too surprised if he makes the trip.
As for his mental state after hearing his name in trade rumors before the trading deadline, Marcus seemed just fine.
If anything, he feels more wanted than ever. By the Clippers and all the playoff contenders who tried to pry him away in February, and will likely try again over the summer.
“Yeah,” he said smiling. “The last couple of teams we’ve played, I’ve been having some great conversations with the San Antonio players, the Cleveland players. LeBron was talking to me the whole night.
“It’s good to be where you’re wanted. Mike (Dunleavy) and Neil (Olshey) and those guys, Andy (Roeser), have really stressed that they want me around here so I can only just take their word right now.”
Despite the overtures from the Cavs and Spurs, Camby said he can still see a future for himself in Los Angeles.
“Just having Chris (Kaman) back today and seeing the way we looked when we’re healthy it’s definitely promising,” he said. “We gave them a tough fight and we felt we should’ve won the ball game, but we got a lot of pride in how we played.
“That’s what we want to do with the rest of the game we got, try to get as many wins as we can and build momentum going into training camp.”
