The Fundamentals

J.A. Adande of ESPN.com:  “LeBron or Kobe? Kobe or Shaq? These weren’t just classic sports arguments for Ron Artest. For him, this was real life, real money and perhaps his last real shot at an NBA championship. He chose Kobe. Or maybe his decision was more about Los Angeles over Cleveland (no contest there). After all, he was sitting courtside at Staples Center almost as much Jack and Denzel after the Lakers eliminated the Rockets from the playoffs, and he’s already familiar with two fixtures of L.A. nightlife: TMZ paparazzi and bacon-wrapped hot dogs. He even has a cell phone with a 310 area code. But from a basketball perspective, Artest’s choice reaffirms the final theme of this season: Shaq was then, Kobe’s now, LeBron’s next. At the moment, nothing matters in the NBA world as much as what the Lakers are up to.”

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:  “As Kobe hits his 30s, he can’t be chasing the best player on defense every night. Now, Artest gets the job. What’s more, Kobe gets a maniac who will want to please him, get his approval. Anything is possible with Ron-Ron running roughshod in Los Angeles. ‘I hope it’s chaos,’ a Western Conference GM texted Thursday night. And maybe, in some ways, that won’t be the worst thing in the world for the Lakers. Chaos? That’s letting your agent’s agenda and big mouth get your butt shipped from the Los Angeles Lakers for lottery land in Houston. Kobe Bryant had been willing to take back his whole team, but Ariza made the mistake of giving the Lakers what they always wanted, what they always believed was available to them: the combustible and crazy Ron Artest. Kobe Bryant gets his Rodman now, and yes, this is how all hell breaks loose in Hollywood.”

Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports:  “The Lakers don’t need him. His off-court palatables hardly matter. The Laker offense begs for players whose hands don’t stick to the ball, and Ron’s hands stick to the ball like no other. He’s the wrong idea. He’s a wasted face. He’s the wrong choice. Let that sink in. He’s the wrong choice. The Lakers, as presented during June of 2009, had no flaws. Honestly, not a single flaw, outside of defending point guards. Artest, as great as he is, solves absolutely nothing. He’s a fine player, and everyone knows his name, but the Lakers don’t need him. He’ll spin the radio chat show fodder funk to no end, but that means absolutely nothing. He’s a defensive-minded small forward heading toward a team with small forward depth and a good defensive history.”

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times:  “Less than three weeks after the parade, the NBA champion Lakers have already met the biggest threat to their throne. Themselves. What are they thinking? What are they doing? They just won a title that would not have been possible without the strong defense and stunning shooting of a 24-year-old kid with a limitless ceiling. Yet they send the kid packing for an aging nut whose greatest hits have occurred on the heads of fans. They just won a title with a locker room bathed in the soothing light of unselfishness, teamwork and a quiet temerity. Yet they cut the power and added the darkest of moods, a guy who has made a career out of hoarding the ball, the attention, and the anger. Tell me again, why did they get rid of Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest?”

Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer:  “The big man in the charcoal suit with the pink shirt and tie delivered a smile that could wipe the tears off even the gloomiest, wet Cleveland day. Shaquille O’Neal arrived at the Cavaliers practice facility today for a meet the town news conference, and he delivered a slam dunk to his critics who believe the future Hall of Fame center will destroy the chemistry of the team that won an NBA-best 66 games. ‘We all know this is LeBron’s team, he’s the captain,’ said O’Neal. ‘My motto is ‘Win a Ring for the King.’‘ Yes, O’Neal knows that LeBron James rules the pro basketball kingdom in Cleveland. He knows that this was a very talented team, even before last week’s trade with Phoenix bringing O’Neal to Cleveland in exchange for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, a 2010 second round draft pick and $500,000. He also knows that James has everything in the basketball world except a championship. Even more important, winning does follow O’Neal around.”

Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News:  “All over Ohio, basketball fans are no doubt wracking their fertile minds, trying to come up with a new nickname for Shaquille O’Neal. Let me save everybody all the mental gymnastics. Just call the new Cav, the ‘Big Delusional.’ Arriving with the motto, ‘Win a Ring for the King,’’ Shaq wasn’t in Cleveland five minutes when he dropped the E-bomb on Cavs owner Dan Gilbert. It’s always been about the dough for O’Neal and he didn’t hide his desire to get two more years after this one. That would take him through his 40th birthday. ‘I’ve been in it for 17 years but I’ve missed three years because of injury,’’ he said of his storied NBA career. ‘If you do the math, I’ve still got three years left. You got that?’ Hey Big Guy, how about winning some games first? Go help Cleveland win its first title in any sport since 1964 before you look to add to your bank account. Go do what you did for Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade before you start asking for another $70 million extension. Somewhere, Laker owner Jerry Buss must have shook his head and said, ‘He hasn’t changed a bit.’”

Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer:  “The dominoes starting falling in the NBA on Day Two of free agency. Some of the players the Cavaliers had significant interest in appear to be headed other places but they are still very much in the free-agent game. According to a league source, the Cavaliers have begun homing in on Toronto Raptors free-agent guard Anthony Parker after both Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza appeared set to go to other teams. Another source said the Cavs also have spoken to another Raptors free agent, former All-Star Shawn Marion, though it was not clear late Thursday if the two sides had gotten serious. Both players are unrestricted free agents. Any scenarios with the Raptors’ free agents might take a little time as the Raptors, who own both players ‘Bird’ rights, can outbid the Cavs if they choose. Toronto is reportedly close to re-signing guard Carlos Delfino, who played last season in Europe, and might not put up much of a fight for Parker.”

Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle:  “Finally, we’re going to have an Adelman team that plays like an Adelman team. I’m so giddy about Ariza that I’m willing to forgive and forget with T-Mac. OK, so we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s take a deep breath and go one step at a time. Ariza is a first-rate defensive player, threw in almost 50 percent of his 3-pointers in the playoffs, and is still only 24. Yes, there’s still that hole at center. Give Daryl Morey a couple more days to take care of that issue. Maybe you’ve heard Ariza wasn’t Morey’s first choice. You would be right about that. In fact, I’m guessing Morey took a flyer on Ariza, never figuring he had a chance to land him. Ariza told the Lakers and other teams it wasn’t going to be about the money, but that’s what people say. He apparently meant it, however; one source esti-mates he left $9 million on the table to join the Rockets.”

Mike Barrett of Blazers.com:  “Turkoglu is the best option available. As we saw in the playoffs, this team needs not only a veteran presence, but needs a third scorer. It needs someone who can create their own shot, creative mismatches, handle the ball on the perimeter, and shoot with range. Mostly though, it needs another player who makes his teammates better. Plain and simple, Turkoglu would make Greg Oden better. He’d take pressure off Brandon Roy, and his offense would result in more quality looks for LaMarcus Aldridge. If you know the NBA, you know the bread-and-butter play for most teams is the side pick and roll. If you watched the Orlando Magic in the playoffs, you saw that few players initiate the side pick and roll better than Turkoglu. Dwight Howard, who’s offense is very close to what Oden’s will be, absolutely loved Turkoglu. He, above any other Orlando player, stands to lose the most if they lose Hedo (Howard called Turkoglu on the phone at least three times on Thursday alone, begging him to come back to Orlando). Oden has already become pretty good at setting the pick, and rolling, and with Turkoglu in the mix, he’d be getting the ball.”

Frank Isola of the Daily News:  “A person close to the veteran point guard confirmed that the Knicks presented Kidd with a three-year contract worth approximately $18 million Saturday. The Mavs offered Kidd a three-year contract worth between $25million and $30million. Kidd could take at least one more week to make a decision. Signings do not become official until this coming Wednesday. Mavs owner Mark Cuban is optimistic that Kidd will re-sign with Dallas. The Knicks, who entertained Kidd on Wednesday, showed their commitment by offering three years. They originally planned to offer Kidd a one- or two-year contract but added a third year in order to stay competitive with Dallas. Several league executives are convinced that Kidd is using the Knicks in order to squeeze more money out of Dallas. But a source close to Kidd claims that he is excited by the challenge of helping to turn around the Knicks. Also, Kidd believes that he could help lure LeBron James to New York if James becomes a free agent next summer.”

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:  “To a degree, an Allen Iverson-Heat marriage makes sense. For years, Pat Riley has run a last-chance saloon. But it’s not going to happen the first week of free-agent negotiations. It’s not going to happen at the July 8 start of the free-agent signing period. And it’s not going to happen until after the July 12 window opens for Dwyane Wade to be eligible to sign an extension. Iverson makes sense because Iverson may not have many other options. But until the Knicks spend their mid-level exception, until Larry Brown gets an official rejection from Bobcats management, and until the remaining precious little cap space around the league is spent, Iverson doesn’t have to move to Plan B. With the Heat already into the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax, anything paid to Iverson will be doubled on the books next season. So even with a $2 million contract, is he worth $4 million at this stage?”

Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal:  “Of course the Grizzlies should sign Allen Iverson. Then they should sign Dennis Rodman, too. Why not at this point? What do they have to lose? I see Iverson and Zach Randolph as the team co-captains. Running voluntary practices. Or not. I see Rodman springing out of retirement and off the bench. Same with J-Will. There’s another good bench guy. Stephon Marbury could help out. And don’t give me that nonsense about Iverson (or Rodman or J-Will or Marbury) not fitting into the community or the three-year plan. This team is bringing in Randolph, sports fans. Three-year, schmee year. It’s not like the Grizzlies could care much about image, either. The team of Shane Battier has morphed into the team of Z-Bo.”

Tim Buckley of the Deseret News:  “All was quiet Thursday on the Paul Millsap front, with Millsap’s camp seemingly hunkered down for the long haul and the Jazz banned by NBA rule from discussing their free-agency plans until early next week. Millsap, the Jazz’s backup power forward and a restricted free agent, still had no formal offers as of early Thursday night. Oklahoma City apparently remains Millsap’s primary suitor, with the Jazz still planning to match any offer sheet he signs with another team — unless, that is, they deem it to be financially outrageous. Millsap’s camp had been seeking a deal starting at more than $10 million, but no such offer was made when the league’s summer shopping market opened late last Tuesday night. If Millsap does not sign another team’s sheet, the Jazz might not be willing to offer much more — if any — than the amount Milwaukee Bucks unrestricted free agent Charlie Villanueva will be getting to sign with the Detroit Pistons.”

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman:  “Gerald Green, the 6-foot-8 swingman who surrendered a scholarship to Oklahoma State in 2005 to jump straight to the NBA, is now a four-year veteran. He’s played for four different coaches on four different teams. ‘It’s been a roller-coaster,’ said Green about the start to his career. ‘It’s gone up and down and in circles. But I don’t ever give up.’ It’s low-risk, high-reward players like Green that Thunder general manager Sam Presti has become known for targeting. Green turned only 23 in January and figures to be four years from entering into the prime of his career. For now, he’s seemingly a cost-effective option that potentially could provide Oklahoma City with another perimeter shooter and rangy defender on the wing. And after four seasons of instability, Green is out to established himself as more than a dunker and better than a bust.”

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star:  “His leg was bad, his finger was bad, his game was bad and his team was bad as the 2008-09 NBA season got away from the Raptors, the 27-year-old point guard a lightning rod for criticism. But he knew what they were saying and he concurred; he also knows it was an aberration, and as the days pass in Spain, the No. 1 task at hand is restoring some life to those legs, some explosiveness to the body, some peace to his mind. That is the single-minded goal of Calderon this summer: Become the Calderon of old. He may not be one to play the ‘everyone’s-against-me-I’ll-prove-them-wrong’ card; he is simply supremely confident that given good health after a summer of work, that people will go back to lauding him as they were the season before last. ‘It was not me, I knew it, I was like 50 per cent,’ Calderon said in a telephone conversation from Spain yesterday. ‘My numbers were good but I was not playing. And I knew it.’”

Matthew Sekeres of the Globe and Mail:  “Speaking yesterday in suburban Vancouver, where he presided over the opening of the Steve Nash Sports Club, his second athletic complex in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, Nash said his agent, Bill Duffy, is scheduled to meet with Suns general manager Steve Kerr next week. Nash also suggested a deal could be announced in the near future. But the Victoria, B.C. native, who is heading into the final year of a contract that will pay him $13.1 million U.S. in 2009-10, acknowledged that if the sides can’t reach a consensus, ‘than a trade would always be a possibility.’ And if that’s the case, the point guard said he would like to play in New York, where his family spends its summers. ‘I would preface it by saying that I love Phoenix and that’s what I’m focusing on right now,’ Nash said. ‘But I live in New York City, and I love it there, and [Knicks head coach] Mike D’Antoni was one of my favourite coaches. If it didn’t work out in Phoenix, obviously that would be a place I’d consider.’”

Marc J. Spears of The Boston Globe:  “Celtics free agent guard Stephon Marbury said to The Globe early Friday morning that he doesn’t expect to be returning to Boston after receiving a disappointing one-year contract paying $1.3 million using the veteran’s minimum. Marbury said his representative, National Basketball Players Association deputy counsel Hal Biagas, called to tell him about the Celtics offer on Thursday night. The 32-year-old said three other teams, which he would not disclose, are currently interested. The two-time All-Star signed with the Celtics on Feb. 27 for the rest of the season after working out a buyout of his contract with the Knicks that paid $21.8 million after dealing with a soap opera-like situation that kept him sidelined over a year. Marbury averaged 3.8 points and 3.3 assists in 18 minutes per game during 23 contests last season with Boston.”

Chris Mannix of SI.com:  “The Boston Celtics made their pitch to Rasheed Wallace on Thursday. And Wallace was receptive. A contingent from the Celtics organization — including owner Wyc Grousbeck, President Danny Ainge, head coach Doc Rivers and All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen — descended on Wallace’s suburban Michigan home on Thursday for a three-hour meeting with the free-agent forward. ‘Solid, thorough, cogent and very impressive,’ Wallace’s agent, Bill Strickland, told SI.com about Boston’s recruiting trip. ‘[They] definitely gave Rasheed and his wife something to think about.’ During the course of the meeting the Celtics offered Wallace a contract using their entire mid-level exception. It is unclear how many years Boston offered Wallace, who will be 35 at the start of next season. Multiple league executives believe Wallace is deciding between Boston and San Antonio.”

Ian Thomsen of SI.com:  “This new era was launched in November by the Pistons’ painful decision to move Chauncey Billups to Denver for the expiring contract of Allen Iverson. By breaking up a unit that had reached six straight conference finals, Dumars made it clear that he was planning to reload the franchise with younger players without plummeting deep into the lottery. It is an ambitious goal that will be difficult to execute. But these free-agent agreements amount to a good start for Detroit — so long as they are viewed as opening moves, rather than finishing pieces. As replacements, Gordon and Villanueva don’t measure up to the departed Billups or soon-to-be gone Rasheed Wallace, but consider the value of the latter stars before they arrived in Detroit more than five years ago. Billups had been with five teams in five years when he signed with Detroit for the mid-level exception starting at $4.6 million in 2002-03. Wallace’s value was so low that the Pistons stole him in 2004 for several role players and a couple of draft picks.”