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A mere 0.1 percent of 11.6 million people still have perfect NCAA brackets. But our role here on the gossip column is to hand out the NBA news, even though it’s now an afterthought.

D-WADE FEELS GOOOOOD

Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade has been injury-prone over the last five or six years. His aggressive style of basketball has taken a toll on him and as he begins to enter his twilight years, the injuries will undoubedly begin to build.

But, he has found a new lease of life, it seems. And good on him.

Via ESPN:

 Dwyane Wade credits improved health and a recent change in his workout routine as the driving forces behind his recent surge in production amid the Miami Heat’s push to make the playoffs.

“This is the best I’ve felt in years right now,” Wade said Wednesday. “You question it. And you try not to question it, like ‘Why? Why couldn’t I feel like this the last two years?’ But it is what it is. I’m feeling like this now, when I need it individually to (carry) more of a load to help this team.”

“It feels good, man,” said Wade, who is averaging 21.8 points, 5.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 49 games. “I’ve taken a lot of criticism and I’ve worked very hard on my body to get to the point where I know, fourth quarter, it shows. That means a lot to me. When everyone is tired, I go up a notch. And for an old guy, that’s not bad at all to have that extra level to go to.” 

RUSSELL UNSURE ABOUT THE 2015 NBA DRAFT

Ohio State standout D’Angelo Russell admits he has no idea what his plans will be for next season.

Most kids tend to think about their futures, but they have time on their side. In a way, so does Russell, but his future profession could be his permanent one.

Via Cleveland.com:

That puts Russell on the NBA’s doorstep. But he swears that he has no idea what he’s going to do, and he becomes frustrated when people don’t believe him.

“Its not like I’m only telling a selective group of people what I’m going to do after the season,” Russell said. “I haven’t spoken on it. I am giving everyone the same answer. It’s the truth. I’m not trying to shy away from any publicity or any of that. My answer is always the same because it’s the truth. When you’re telling the truth all of your answers are always the same.

“Everybody has a dream. You’re always going to do what’s right for you. Me and my family will make a decision of what’s right for me and what’s right for us as a family. I know it will all happen when the time comes. At this time in my life when people ask me about it, I just don’t know. And it’s like it’s not good enough. But I really don’t know. So when I tell people that, I just don’t know man.” 

Russell added that he drive since he is 15 even if he doesn’t have the driving license.

“I don’t have one, but I was driving since I was 15,” Russell told Northeast Ohio Media Group. “I always drove. I used to drive all the time. I am probably the only guy here telling you this, but there are a million people who do the same thing. But I can’t be doing stuff like that anymore.”  

WIGGINS AND A POSSIBLE MOVE TO TORONTO?

Nah, he loves Minnesota.

Via Toronto Sun:

Canada’s Prime Minister never came to a Raptors game when Steve Nash visited Toronto every year, but he came Wednesday night. Stephen Harper’s plainclothes security detail swept through the building, very serious, and he was trailed by a small herd of staff, one of whom presumably sent out the tweet of the PM with two visiting Canadian NBA players, and only misidentified one of them. Rookie mistake, I guess. 

“It goes by quick,” said Wiggins, before Toronto’s struggle-filled 105-100 win. “It definitely does, so you just have to cherish the moments, whether they’re in college or the NBA. You can only go through both of them once.” 

Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri tiptoed right up to the tampering line last week when he was asked if there was one player he wanted to see in Toronto, not including LeBron James, and he said, “We all know who he is, I’m not even going to say his name. He might be Canadian.” […] But by the time the Raptors chase Wiggins, he’ll be closer to fully formed. Asked about it, Wiggins smiled his impossibly wide smile and said, “I love Minnesota. They treat me nice up there. I plan to be there a very, very, very long time.”