Mike McGraw of The Daily Herald: “League sources continue to suggest there is little to no action on the Gordon trade market. Because of collective- bargaining rules that make it difficult to trade a player in the first year after signing a larger contract, Gordon could not be traded by himself. More players would have to be involved. So even if there is a team willing to meet Gordon’s asking price, that team must also be ready to take someone like Larry Hughes or Andres Nocioni in the deal and send some useful players back to the Bulls. Shouldn’t be a problem, right? Well, there is a way out of this mess. Both sides just need to understand how much they need each other. The Bulls need a quality 3-point shooter and Gordon doesn’t figure to get any better options than re-signing with the team that drafted him No. 3 in 2004. The whole idea behind selecting a dynamic point guard such as Derrick Rose is he’ll get open shots for his teammates. So naturally, a strong outside shooter such as Gordon is a necessity.”
Sekou K Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “All the guys I spoke with, and all make their living knowing the ins and outs of the league, pointed to Marvin Williams as the linchpin to this season for the Hawks. If he plays above and beyond what he did last year, the Hawks can make another leap. If not … well, they’re much the same as they were a year ago. Had someone suggested either Joe Johnson or Josh Smith or perhaps even Mike Bibby or Al Horford before Marvin, I would not have been surprised (personally, I think the growth of both Smith and Horford inside will be far more telling. But hey, that’s just my opinion. I’m sure you have your own theories). But for each of the guys I spoke with to mention Marvin as “that dude,” totally unprompted mind you, it struck me as something much more than a coincidence.”
Canis Hoopus: “As other members of the class get some extension buzz (Danny Granger and Andrew Bynum to be specific), our very own Rashad McCants hasn’t been mentioned at all. McHale and Co. have until October 31st (essentially two months from now) to sign Shad, or else he’ll become a restricted free agent after this season. Until that date, the Wolves can add up to 5 years onto his deal and up to the max in amount (about $15.4 million for Shad next year). As always, see Larry Coon’s FAQ for more detail. Shad’s obviously not a max player and the extensions given thus far don’t provide a basis for comparison with what Shad could reasonably expect. He’s in the same position most 1st round picks find themselves in at the end of their scale contract: cash in early for security, or hold off and bet you’re market rate will go up. While his perimeter scoring is something the Wolves have needed the past few seasons, with Mike Miller on board and a presumably healthy Foye in the backcourt, McCants may find his scoring role diminished in comparison to last year. Given his high self-confidence, however, I fully expect Shad to hold off for free agency next year.”
Nets Daily: “Training camp is now less than four weeks away–the Nets got league permission to start a few days earlier because of their European commitments. Everyone knows the Nets will be very young going into camp, but just how young? Try this: in the 33-year history of the Nets as an NBA team, only seven players have showed up in training camp younger than 21. Three of them will be in camp this month. Ryan Anderson, in fact, is the youngest Net since 1979, when Cliff Robinson (the USC Net, not the UConn Net.) played as a 19-year-old. And Brook Lopez is the third youngest Net. Yi Jianlian is the third 20-year-old. Youth, however, hasn’t always been a handicap. Among those on the ten youngest are Bernard King, Kenny Anderson and Nenad Krstic. Robinson averaged better than 13 points as a teenager.”
John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune: “Last Thursday, when George Shinn might not have had much of a reason to be in New Orleans and certainly had a pretty good one to not have been, he was standing inside New Orleans Arena as point guard Chris Paul finished off some publicity photos and conducted an interview session after coming back from the Beijing Olympics. The Hornets’ majority owner recalled how, when he chose – roughly three years to the day – to evacuate before Hurricane Katrina by flying out of town, the 30-minute waltz it normally would have taken to reach New Orleans International Airport became a four-hour crawl.”
Associated Press: “Meanwhile, Thornton said the neighboring New Orleans Arena, home of the NBA’s Hornets, also did not appear to have any serious damage. None of the windows in its atrium around the main entry broke. It appeared flying debris dented the siding, “but that could be easily fixed,” Thornton said. He also said a large outdoor video board was out. There were no concerts or other major events scheduled in the arena this week, Thornton said. When Katrina hit on Aug. 29, 2005, high winds ripped a hole in the Superdome’s roof, allowing rain water to pour in. With power out in New Orleans humid late summer, mold festered. In addition, the stadium was trashed by about 30,000 evacuees who were stuck there for days without plumbing or air conditioning. The entire roof was replaced and much of the inside gutted and disinfected before suites, concession stands and club lounges were rebuilt in time for the Saints’ 2006 home opener.” [Via Hornets Hype]
The Arsenalist: “Our failure to take advantage of the draft over the last three years has left us devoid of any young talent (19-23) resulting in all our eggs being in the Bosh/O’Neal basket. It’s a tricky situation because drafting young talent and giving them significant playing time is a sign of rebuilding which isn’t all that attractive to someone like Chris Bosh. But at the same time you must draft and develop talent which will either take over or supplement whats already there. To this day the only two legitimate Raptors players we developed from rookies to having a significant role are Morris Peterson and Chris Bosh. Both of them have been great servants of the Raptors organization and have followed a good course in their development with the organization. When Damon left, we had T-Mac. When T-Mac left, we still had Vince. When Vince left, we still had Bosh. When Bosh leaves, we still have…….Bargnani? See what I’m talking about? I’m not sure when Bryan Colangelo’s contract is up but if this experiment doesn’t work, I would not be surprised if he bolts during the summer leaving someone else to clean up his mess and spend the plethora of cash we’ll have at free agents who’d be skeptical to come here.”
Marc Narducci of HoopsHype: “The first inclination is to dismiss the Portland Trail Blazers as being too young, but who wouldn’t want to have this team’s future? And the future could be sooner than many expect. Last season without Greg Oden, the Blazers were expected to struggle mightily, a young team without its main anchor. Instead, Portland was one of the most pleasant surprises, although the youth did finally catch up to the Blazers. Portland ended 41-41, which would have placed the Trail Blazers tied for sixth in the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference, it left the Blazers as the 10th team, joining Golden State as the two best non playoff participants in the NBA.”
Blazer’s Edge: “Back in the day I remember the Blazer broadcasters telling us of a plane conversation between Danny Ainge and Drazen Petrovic. Drazen was disgruntled at the time, lacking playing time behind Clyde Drexler. Danny was the grizzled veteran acquired for the deep playoff runs. Danny argued that it was better to be on a great team with depth even though it meant less personal playing time. Drazen argued the opposite. If you don’t play much what does it matter which team you’re on? Each of these perspectives is true in its way. How you see it depends on where you are in your career arc. Guys like Travis who are early in their careers will agree more with Drazen on the whole. Talented players want a chance to find out who they are in this league. What good is it being a Ferrari if you’re stuck in traffic the same as a Honda? That’s not selfish. That’s trying to do what you are meant to do. Older guys, on the other hand, already know who they are. They want a chance to accomplish something. Winning teams usually have a mix of both.”
Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports: “Usually the damning quote in question has an athlete confirming that he thinks he could be an All-Star, or the best in his league at his position, or that he thinks his team can take on all comers in the year that’s about to commence. And there’s nothing wrong with those. Unless the guy is absolutely deluded (“I think I should have been an All-Star last year,” when there were 15 better candidates ahead of him who were snubbed), it’s usually a generic display of the sort of confidence you’d like to see in a player. On the other hand, there are some confessionals that outright infuriate. Always blustery, always out of touch, they come off as more preening and whining as opposed to hopeful and encouraging. I think Travis Outlaw’s latest batch of quotes sort of falls right down the middle of these two.”
- For more recommended reading, check out the Labor Day Weekend Fundamentals
