I consider her one of the better players in the league.

Al Thornton is one of the best frontcourt players this league has.

You can't say you're embarrassed because they're major-league players as well. It's just one of those things you can't explain. They've played better than us. They deserved to beat us. They've played better in almost every area of the game.

Rodney, ... is one of the best players in the league.

It's not only that we talk to them. The league does a good job, and the players association, of going through all that at the beginning of the year. The players have union meetings where that's discussed.

He's arguably going to be one of the most talented players in the league. He's like a wild card. He's had great playoff success and he can be a huge piece of the puzzle coming down the stretch. We need him to come in here and provide us with that extra offensive spark.