Loading ...Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times: “The NBA will announce today plans for a multibillion-dollar real estate venture to design and operate a dozen multipurpose arenas in major Chinese cities for a future affiliated basketball league. The NBA is teaming with AEG, owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz, to operate arenas that will hold 17,000 spectators, with the primary funding coming from the Chinese government and Chinese banks.”
Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times: “Jackson and Odom have been at odds since training camp began, with Odom bristling a couple of weeks ago when Jackson hinted at a sixth-man role for him. Odom left Saturday without talking to reporters. Jackson said Saturday that Odom as a sixth man would ‘really helps us.’ ‘We know that we can stick a lineup out on the floor that’s probably going to be 6-7 and taller and play this game that we have,’ he said. If Odom became a reserve, he could still play substantial minutes, Jackson said.”
Loy’s Place: Celtics rookie Bill Walker isn’t afraid to mix it up [Video]
Tom Ziller of NBA FanHouse: Bill Walker’s Not Shy … Ask LeBron
Jan Hubbard of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Perhaps Carlisle’s running game has revealed a misconception about the Mavericks, which is that they are an old team. Nowitzki was asked that on media day before training camp and it caused him to pause. ‘Are we that old?’ he asked. The answer is yes and no. The Mavericks are an older team but not necessarily old — with one large exception. ‘Kidd is a little old,’ Nowitzki said, smiling. Jerry Stackhouse is 33 and has had some nagging injuries in recent years. But when healthy, he is one of the best conditioned athletes in the NBA. Jason Terry turned 31 in September, Nowitzki turned 30 in June. Erick Dampier is 33, but backup DeSagana Diop is 26. Brandon Bass is only 23. And if Antoine Wright, who has had an excellent preseason, wins the starting job at two-guard, he brings youth (24) and athleticism to the lineup.”
Clips Nation: Further Thoughts on Elgin Baylor’s Departure
Bright Side Of The Sun: With a recap of last nights Suns-Nuggets game
Gary Jacobson of The Dallas Morning News: “Question: Are you seeing a slowdown in ticket sales, sponsorships, or other revenue sources? Mark Cuban: We’re up in sponsorships over last year. … We’ve been very proactive relative to any professional sports team in anticipating down years. We’ve lowered the upper-bowl season-ticket prices, I think, three years in a row and we created a $2 ticket. We have 4,000 tickets that are $19 and under [including 500 at $2]. The hope of all this was that, whether it’s because the Mavs had an off year or the economy had an off year, people would look at the Mavs as an inexpensive alternative. Take the bus, take DART, whatever. Come down and get a ticket; we have day-of-game single tickets for $5 upstairs and $30 downstairs. It’s hard to complain about ticket prices when you have $2 tickets.”
Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel: “To improve communication, Van Gundy this summer reached out to players ‘in the world they live in,’ becoming a text-message master. When the Magic gave Van Gundy a Blackberry, he looked at it like it was a Rubik’s Cube. He turned to his kids for texting help. He became skilled enough to exchange texts with Howard while he was in China during the Olympics.”
Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: “Some players, such as Dickau, will learn that the amenities to which they have been accustomed in the NBA — hassle-free charter flights, five-star hotels, modern arenas — aren’t as prevalent overseas. Hornets forward Ryan Bowen, who began his professional career in Turkey, can tell his colleagues a few horror stories. ‘We had this little house we all went to the night before we played games,’ Bowen recalled. ‘We played in Istanbul. It housed the whole team — 15 or 20 of us, including the coaches. All stayed in this one house. We had mattresses on the floor. There were no sheets. Nothing. I didn’t know enough to bring my own sheets. All the other guys pulled out their sheets. We stayed in this house that had no heat. It was freezing cold.’”
Pete Thamel of The New York Times: “Childress said he had received calls from 10 to 15 N.B.A. players inquiring about his decision and how he liked Greece. And after Childress flew to Greece to visit the team and sign his contract, the BlackBerry belonging to Olympiacos General Manager Christos Stavropoulos started buzzing with messages from agents saying, ‘We’re here if the Childress deal falls through,’ and ‘Don’t forget about us for next season.’ Childress said he had told N.B.A. players that playing in Europe was not for everyone. Olympiacos does not fly charter everywhere, and players have roommates on the road, inconveniences that N.B.A. players are not accustomed to.”
