Points in the Paint

» July 1, 2009 5:59 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

Henry Abbott: “Already it seems a thousand articles have been written about the intricate dance unfolding between Ricky Rubio and the Minnesota Timberwolves. One thing that really impresses me: Minnesota GM David Kahn has skillfully removed the Rubio camp’s biggest threat. In any normal situation they would have said give us what we want or we’ll stay in Europe. But before the music even really started, right there on draft night, Kahn was assuring everyone that Rubio might stay in Europe and that’s just fine. The Timberwolves, he said, are more than willing to wait. That sends the message to everyone that the Timberwolves are ready for good offers, but not bad ones. The Rubio camp does still have a big hammer, though, and it’s one that has almost never been used. Rubio can sit out a year, and re-enter next year’s draft. The way the collective bargaining agreement works, the Timberwolves hold Rubio’s NBA rights so long as they make him an offer, and he plays professional ball in some FIBA-sanctioned league, which is just about all of the leagues he’d consider playing in. But if he doesn’t play professionally anywhere, then he can be right back in next year’s draft.”

Chris Sheridan: “Portland’s pursuit of a certain player from Turkey has infuriated the Trail Blazers’ lone remaining Spanish player, Rudy Fernandez, to the point where he’d prefer to play in Greece, Russia or even Spain again, ESPN.com learned Tuesday. A league source told ESPN.com that Fernandez has already been courted informally by European powerhouses Olympiacos, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and CSKA Moscow as word spread that the Blazers had become the apparent front-runners to land free agent Hedo Turkoglu.”

Chris Perkins’ interview with Michael Beasley starts out like this: “Beasley extended his hand as we walked down the hallway outside the Heat lockerroom Wednesday afternoon. ‘What’s up, man?’ he asked as he shook my hand. Beasley, in the year I’ve known him, has almost always been that way. Cordial. Polite. Decent. And I’ve always liked dealing with Beasley. But there’s also that other side, not being immature, being unprofessional and it surfaced seconds later when someone volunteered to get us a couple of chairs. ‘I don’t need a chair,’ Beasley said before turning to me. ‘How long is this going to take?’ ‘Maybe 10 minutes,’ I said, being conservative because I sensed his mood. ‘I’ll give you five,’ Beasley responded. ‘I’ve got stuff to do.’ He was serious.”

Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune: “For all of Millsap’s admirable qualities, he will never score at Boozer’s level, or demand the same defensive attention that frees center Mehmet Okur and others to shoot from outside in coach Jerry Sloan’s system. The Jazz thrived without Boozer for much of this past season, but that was a function of a favorable middle section of the schedule, as much as Millsap’s fill-in contribution. So while keeping Millsap is important to the Jazz’s future, in surrounding Deron Williams with some talent, they already have their starting power forward for 2009-10. A healthy, motivated Boozer can only help them. While I occasionally overvalue statistics, there’s no convincing me that the Jazz would be better off without Boozer’s 20 points a game. Boozer is one of only five players in franchise history with multiple All-Star selections. While there’s a lot to like about Millsap’s rebounding ability and overall approach to his job, he’s limited enough offensively that projecting him as an All-Star in Utah, Oklahoma City or anywhere else is still difficult.”

Kelly Dwyer on Portland’s pursuit of Hedo Turkoglu: “What am I missing here? The team was, statistically, the best offensive team in the NBA last year. Possession to possession, nobody scored more. Defense is this team’s weakness, so they’re spending all sorts of dough on a defensive liability? The team, for years, has been one of the better closing squads in the NBA. They don’t make a lot of comebacks, not with Nate McMillan’s snail-slow pace, but with Travis Outlaw and Brandon Roy in the fold, they do just about lead the league in game-cinchers in the last 90 seconds. Statheads can talk about Carmelo Anthony(notes), TV talking heads can talk up Kobe Bryant, but no team is better in the clutch than the Portland Trail Blazers. And they’re trying to add a guy who made his hay as a late-game finisher? Read that again. His value is inflated because of his late-game heroics. The team would be overpaying for something it already has in spades.”

Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: “The negotiations between Chris Andersen and the Nuggets have begun. Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien is currently in Los Angeles, meeting with Andersen’s representatives, notably Denver-based attorney Mark Bryant and agent Steve Huemann of the Los Angeles-based Creative Arts Agency. Bryant said the goal is to try to get Andersen a five-year deal around the mid-level exception (in the $5 million range annually). ‘I think that’s possible. But we’re a team player,’ Bryant said this morning. ‘We’ll make the necessary adjustments if we can and find the right fit.’ There are numerous teams inquiring about the NBA’s No. 2 shot-blocker from last season, notably Houston, which has all-star center Yao Ming shelved indefinitely, as well as Dallas, Portland and Memphis. But Andersen, who lived in Denver during his two-year banishment for drug abuse, adores the city of Denver and has publicly said he wants to return home.”

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports: “Armed with more than $20 million in salary-cap space, the Pistons will be one of the most active franchises, attempting to retool their roster on the fly and return to championship contention. To do so will take more than just bringing in good players. It will be finding the good people with whom the Pistons have long tried to surround themselves. Some big names are potentially available: Hedo Turkoglu, Charlie Villanueva, Ben Gordon, David Lee. Dumars will pursue some, but not all. It’s about finding the necessary fit to win a championship, not just adding a stat line. ‘The hardest thing is to convince people that fantasy basketball and running a team are two different things,’ he said. ‘You can’t just write down names that look good on paper. We’ve seen in the past that’ll get you a ways, but not all the way.’ What Detroit is trying to do, rebuild in motion, is one of the most difficult things in sports. The natural flow of a sports franchise is to build to a championship level, bottom out and then build again with all new parts.”