Loading ...Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic: “We all know that isn’t going to happen, but at least D’Antoni won’t be hampered by salary-cap restrictions or luxury-tax concerns in New York. There also are growing rumors that he’ll be able to attract LeBron James and/or Dwyane Wade when both become free agents in 2010. Don’t laugh. It could happen. “You know what? He’s actually more detailed than people think,” Kobe Bryant said. “I used to think playing against Phoenix that the players are just freelancing, but he draws all that stuff up, and he can have 10 options on one play. I’ve never seen an offensive mind like his. And I don’t know any player on this team that doesn’t think (he) wouldn’t be fun to play for.”"
Trevor Smith of Hoops Addict: “Offensive Rating is rooted in the belief that possession-based analysis should drive player and team evaluation. On a team level, every squad plays at a different pace of play. This means that teams who play faster (such as Golden State or Denver) have more possessions every game. They therefore have more opportunities to score and should score more total points. But every game their opponents get more possessions as well, as their pace increases for that game. So the question is not how many possessions a team gets, but whether a team using those possessions advantageously. That is what Offensive Rating measures by evaluating points scored per 100 possessions.”
Dwight Jaynes of The Portland Tribune: “A native Portlander, Abbott was in town last week to visit his parents and was kind enough to let me trick him into an interview, surrounded by conversation about the NBA – his job and his passion. About Henry: He graduated from Portland’s Oregon Episcopal School at the age of 15. It’s not that he was in a big hurry to get out of high school, but he thought his family was going to move to England.”
Ray Ratto of The San Francisco Chronicle: “And now, with Davis gone to Los Angeles to split time between Mike Dunleavy the Elder and Steven Spielberg, the load moves. Some will be taken by Jackson, who last year went away from the stereotype assigned him and became a go-to figure on and off the floor, but fingers follow the money, and Ellis has 66,000,300 fingers pointed at him - the $66 million he is expected to make over the next six years, and the 300 wins he is expected to lead the Warriors to in that time - 50 per year, more or less.”
Marcus of the Contra Costa Times: “If you look at the Warriors’ salary situation, it’s easy to see that Andris Biedrins is the one who’s going to get squeezed. Not so fast. A source close to the Warriors’ fifth-year center said European teams are hot and heavy after Biedrins. The Latvia native is drawing strong interest in a couple Russian clubs, according to the source, who added that teams are willing to sign him for three to five years for what amounts to more than $10 million a year.”
Cavalier Attitude: “So why in the world would Delonte accept an offer from an overseas team? It’s not that hard to see why, to be honest. First of all, the money. Right now the Cavs and West aren’t agreeing on the money aspect of the deal. The years can be worked out and it looks like that is something that is mendable. But money? I don’t think so. That’s really the major sticking point. It’s also the major advantage of why signing a deal overseas would be so much more lucrative. Players overseas get cars, houses, maids, etc., paid for by their team.”
Janis Carr of OCREGISTER.COM: “Lakers’ Sasha Vujacic also has been contacted by several European clubs, according to a Slovenian newspaper. (Probably a good move for him considering no NBA clubs have expressed interest in signing the restricted free agent). Kobe Bryant said he wouldn’t be surprised if Vujacic takes the money and runs to Europe (if the rumors are true) considering the Lakers aren’t offering him more than a qualifying one-year deal worth $2.6 million.”
Luis Fernández of DraftExpress: “Is this for real? Are we witnessing a new trend? Perhaps a worrisome scenario for the NBA? It doesn’t look like it. The huge contracts those guys have signed are feasible only because, besides the strength of the Euro, some wealthy pockets are putting big money on the table. This is not any potentially profitable investment, there’s no monetary return expected, perhaps only some political favors or under-the-table agreements. But it’s not a real business, like for example, the NBA is. The biggest problem European basketball faces is its minimal ability to generate income and revenues. In a Continent dominated by soccer, basketball is a secondary sport played in second-tier leagues (talent wise). No big attendances, small TV ratings, ridiculously low merchandising, it’s really hard to make money off it. And teams really don’t try to.”
