Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: “The Pistons’ biggest problem isn’t a dearth of talent. It’s that their head coach and best player barely speak to each other. Both Michael Curry and Rip Hamilton are to blame, prone to varying degrees of ego and stubbornness. But Curry must understand that it’s incumbent upon the coach to fall on the sword, admitting his mistakes for the sake of pacifying the star’s delicate disposition. That’s lesson one on the first day at Chuck Daly Coaching School. Curry must make amends with Hamilton, regardless of the amount of crow swallowed, or he risks compromising his future as Pistons’ coach. ‘As far as the relationship being strained, it was a difficult season,’ Curry said. ‘Was Rip very upset that he had to come off the bench? He was very, very upset. He was upset that he had to split time with (Allen) Iverson. He was upset that Iverson was here and Chauncey (Billups) wasn’t. Rip was upset with a lot of things this year, but I don’t put much stock into what that means with our relationship.’ But according to several accounts, what irritated Hamilton most was that Curry made his decision to start Iverson and bring Rip off the bench without privately telling Hamilton first.”
Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune: “We’re in a holding pattern for these next two days waiting for Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Kyle Korver to make their opt-out decisions official. Not make the decisions – - as that’s likely happened in all three cases – - but give the Jazz official notification. After weeks of reporting on the subject, I’m drawing the conclusion that Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur will opt out and Kyle Korver will not. Maybe something changes, but I’d be surprised if the scorecard didn’t read as such Tuesday. Boozer already announced his intentions back in December, but the question is whether he will in fact follow through. He wants the security of a long-term contract, believes he’s a franchise player and expects to be the marquee free agent on the market. If he doesn’t opt out, Boozer would run the risk of being traded as an expiring contract, with no say in where he would end up. That could be potentially devastating heading into the 2010 free-agent market.”
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: “The free agency feeding frenzy begins tomorrow night and while it’s not a bumper crop, it’s not bad. And around these parts, it’s actually rather significant. We all know that Shawn Marion, Anthony Parker and Joey Graham are unrestricted free agents, Carlos Delfino is restricted and if the Raptors don’t waive Patrick O’Bryant by Wednesday, he’ll have a guaranteed contract worth $855,189; if they do waive him, they need to write him a cheque for $500,000 to go away. Marion, of course, is the biggest fish and presents the most significant challenge for Bryan Colangelo. The GM’s done a good job so far addressing two crying needs in toughness (Reggie Evans for Jason Kapono) and athleticism on the wing (DeMar DeRozan) but he cannot be judged on his off-season activity until we find out what he does with his free agents. I’m led to believe nothing is going to happen immediately tomorrow night with Marion, one league source said it might take a couple of days for that to shake out, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Toronto didn’t get Delfino done quickly.”
Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Johnson said he’s heard about all the rumors involving the Hawks (Josh Smith’s latest is that he’s going to be sent to the Phoenix in some sort of package exchange for Amare Stoudemire, Mike Bibby’s not coming back according to all the experts now that Jamal Crawford and Jeff Teague have been added, etc.). And he’s not buying any of it. ‘I understand we don’t really know what’s going to happen in free agency,’ Johnson said. ‘We never do. But this is a business, man. And this is the tough part, the rumors and all the talk. It’s just something we have to deal with. But this is the important thing people need to remember, we’ve gotten better every year with this group. That’s not easy to do. So that means by the time training camp rolls around we need to have hung out, worked out and done everything else it takes prepare ourselves. It’s all business when training camp comes around, because we have to be ready to not only match what we did last year but do better than that. And it’s going to be tough.’”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “Sometime in August, the 7-foot-1 Milicic will arrive in New York to meet with the Knicks coaching staff as he attempts to revive his disappointing career. Three teams, three failed experiences and countless references to being a draft bust after being selected with the second pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by Detroit. But he just turned 24 and Knicks president Donnie Walsh is hoping the fourth time — with head coach Mike D’Antoni, who plans to use Milicic differently than he was used in Detroit (by Larry Brown), Orlando and Memphis — is the charm. ‘There’s three or four coaching staffs that really haven’t gotten anything [out of Milicic], so we’re not saying, ‘Oh we can,’ D’Antoni said. ‘Just sometimes in a person’s career it’s the right time. He’s having a kid, he’s married, maybe he’s settled down. He’s in the last year of a contract. We’ll get the best out of him that he has. Is it good enough? We don’t know. ‘It’s a shot in the dark.’ But it’s a shot with little risk.”
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “What happens when you add a star to a group of supremely talented, accomplished people who already are stars in their own right? That’s the question that the Orlando Magic will face head-on in the season ahead. On paper, the acquisition of eight-time NBA all-star Vince Carter gives the Magic a proven scorer who can complement Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu in the unlikely event that he re-signs with the team. ‘I just want to fit in and get to work,’ Carter told reporters at RDV Sportsplex just hours after the trade went through Thursday. ‘They have already accomplished so much. I just want to take the team one step further.’ But in team sports or in any group endeavor — anytime egos are involved, really — reality sometimes is far messier than theory when strong personalities are added to the mix.”
Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: “The Thunder now has four top-five picks from the last three drafts. That’s a rush of top-shelf talent almost unmatched in NBA draft history. Only the Chicago Bulls, with four players from 2000-02, have done such an extreme roster makeover using elite draft picks. Now think about it. Famously talented players who always have been the center of their basketball universe, suddenly grouped into a team that by definition is struggling to win (hence the early picks), carrying the future of the franchise. And only one ball to go around. That’s a recipe for selfishness and discontent. High draft picks are a blessing, but if not used wisely, they can become a curse. Which is why Harden is the first draft pick in Thunder history and joins Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook, chosen when the franchise was in Seattle, in this transforming cavalcade. ‘We just feel like James Harden is our type of guy,’ Presti said. ‘Complete player. Great skill set. Really has a team-first mentality.”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “Amaré Stoudemire’s camp has not heard from any other NBA team about the possibility of acquiring him or any interest in securing his future with a contract extension. Stoudemire’s agent, Charles Grantham, said he would like to hear a commitment from one team in particular – the Suns. ‘Either he’s in or out,’ Grantham said Sunday while in Phoenix. ‘You’re going to have to really make a commitment to him that he’s part of your program going forward and that you’re going to work around him. Those decisions seemingly are still up in the air. They are going to have to be made at some point. You’ll have to talk about either committing to him or trading him. Those discussions haven’t happened yet.’”
Monte Poole of the Contra Costa Times: “The Stoudemire who would join the Warriors is not the four-time NBA All-Star who has spent years tormenting them. Stoudemire’s prime is behind him. Not because he’s old; he’s only 26. Nor is it the mileage. It’s the troubling medical history. Stoudemire is four months removed from surgery to repair a detached retina in his right eye. He is eight months removed from a partially torn right iris. He is 20 months removed from having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He is 44 months removed from having the dreaded microfracture surgery on his left knee. If Stoudemire were a truck, his Carfax report would print out on red paper — in all caps.”
Bob Young of The Arizona Republic: “We suspect that Suns General Manager Steve Kerr was double-crossed by Golden State’s Don Nelson on draft day. As you know by now, the Suns evidently believed they had an arrangement with the Warriors that would have sent Amaré Stoudemire to Golden State for a package of players and Stephen Curry, whom the Warriors selected with the seventh pick in the draft. Only the Warriors hadn’t anticipated Curry falling into their laps. When he did, the deal went Kerr-boom. We aren’t alone in this thinking, either. Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, a dependable long-time NBA and Warriors observer, wrote in his blog: ‘Nelson’s reputation on these matters precedes him, and this perceived 11th-hour pullout only adds to the sense that the Warriors with Nelson are extremely difficult trade partners, and possibly borderline untrustworthy in these matters.’”
Frank Isola of the Daily News: “Ricky Rubio was reportedly in Minnesota this weekend to meet with Wolves GM David Kahn, whose decision to draft the Spanish guard is looking better by the minute. Mitch Lawrence in Sunday’s Daily News reported that the Wolves turned down a deal with the Houston Rockets that would have resulted in Aaron Brooks and Shane Battier headed to Minnesota for Rubio. If the Wolves are receiving those types of offers—Brooks and Battier were starters on a playoff team – do the Knicks really have much of a chance to get Rubio? Donnie Walsh is offering Wilson Chandler but that’s not going to get it down. Walsh originally offered Chandler to Washington to get the fifth pick last week.”
