Q: What do you make of this recent Twitter infatuation around the NBA? Do you think the league is going to have to ban it during games?
— Anonymous

A: Like almost all things NBA, it is a fad that soon will pass, much like the entire Gilbert Arenas episode regarding his supposed online poker experience at halftime of a Wizards game a few years back.

Foremost, who cares what NBA players do at halftime, as long as they come out for the second half ready to play? Decades back, an attendant used to have to come in at halftime and sweep all the cigarette butts from the middle of the locker room floor.

Even Shaquille O'Neal's halftime Tweet was little more than a cartoonish effort to parody what Milwaukee's Charlie Villanueva started.

It's odd, in fact, that any means of players connecting with fans would be discouraged.

To that end, we appreciate the stance Villanueva took after being admonished by Bucks coach Scott Skiles for his innocuous Tweet.

Video   Buzzer Beater: Taken over by Twitter March 25: Subscribing to the live streaming NBA twitter feed turns into a bad idea for the Buzzer Beater crew.

While Villanueva agreed to cease the practice, he cited that this is the same league where players are stopped for walk-off interviews at halftime and where coaches are required to do national-television interviews between quarters of games.

Don't those episodes also take away from the focus on the games?

The reality: During timeout huddles, players watch on-court stunts, gyrating cheerleaders and those of note in the crowd. Always have; always will.

It's the NBA, which means part circus part basketball.

Twitter? Who gives a Tweet?

Q: Will it be time for the Lakers to trade Andrew Bynum if he doesn't return to action this season? The teaser of the Lakers being very good with Bynum around is wearing thin.
— Ronnie Reyes, Philippines

A: OMG (sorry, that is the residue from the previous question). So let's get this straight, Andrew Bynum happens to get hurt during the second half of two seasons and now he is a complete waste of the Lakers' time before his 22nd birthday?

Fact is, the Lakers were very good with Bynum at the start of this season and will remain a far more imposing presence with him on the court in the future.

Yes, an insurmountable lead in the West has been created amid Bynum's absence. And yes, what currently is in place well could be good enough to win in the West.

But eventually the Lakers will have to answer to the big-muscle challenges of Yao, Shaq and Oden, and it will help to have more mass than Pau Gasol in the middle.

Plus, if the Lakers are unable to retain Lamar Odom in free agency this summer, there might be no other choice but to return Gasol to his natural spot at power forward.

The best teams are those that can play multiple styles. The Lakers currently are winning by outscoring the opposition. Shutting down opponents, however, is another issue.

Put it another way: If the Lakers were to trade Bynum, what they probably would be looking for would be a muscled power presence in the middle, one young enough to ease the transition from the Kobe era.

You know, sort of like Bynum.

Q: Could you see Mark Cuban deciding to sell the Mavericks, considering the financial situation he's in and the way the team is under-performing compared to the West's elite?
— Chioke Hassan, Baltimore, Md.

A: First of all, I'm not sure I agree with either assumption.

Yes, Cuban likely has lost a bunch during this economic disaster. But it also meant he had a lot to lose. Somehow, he comes off as someone who is not going to allow market forces to get the best of him. Or to admit if they have.

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures A kayaker flips out, a racehorse eyes the Triple Crown and more. more photos

Second, I'm not so sure the Mavericks have under-performed.

Yes, they remain caught in the scramble for the final playoff berth in the Western Conference, but that only is because of the remarkable depth of the West. Factor in the time missed by Jason Terry and the high drama created by Josh Howard, as well as an offseason coaching change, and Dallas is positioned just about as expected.

Now, does that mean that Cuban doesn't want to move on to his next toy? Put it this way, if the Chicago Cubs had truly been available to him, it is quite possible the Mavericks would have become viewed as a secondary concern.

But watch him at games, especially after an unfavorable whistle, and this hardly is the look of disinterest.

Having already threatened to turn over his entire roster after a particularly ugly loss earlier this season, it will be interesting to see how much he immerses himself into personnel this summer. That effort likely will be considerable, and probably will be accompanied by the spending of someone not guarding every last dollar.