John Canzano of The Oregonian: “Once Toronto got involved, offering more comfort and $3 million in additional salary, there just wasn’t enough emotional juice to make Turkoglu pick your city. That’s what it ended up being about. And the Blazers blew it in that context. You’re going to hear a lot this week about how free agents don’t want to come to Portland, that NBA players would rather live and work in metropolitan places such as Atlanta, Chicago and Miami. Portland has overcome that in the past by overpaying. But all of that would have been moot had: A) the Blazers had about $5 million more in salary-cap room; or B) done a better job of making this an emotional decision for Turkoglu. There was a high degree of difficulty on this one, and the Blazers knew that. But if you’re knocking this region, you need to do some traveling. Portland is a great place to buy a home, pay taxes, fall in love and raise children. You live deep. You walk to the edge. You care about each other. And when you woo a Spanish player here, or get the No. 1 draft pick, you show up in droves to greet them. Turkoglu will never know those things.”
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: “To the mercenary professional athletes who ply their trades here, Toronto’s cozy ethnic neighbourhoods may as well be on Mars and ‘living’ in the city means going from condo to arena to airport to an off-season home. To the newest Raptor, the city’s charm is the attraction. Hedo Turkoglu and his wife, Banu, who grew up high school sweethearts in their native Istanbul, should arrive here this week to officially sign a five-year contract worth about $53 million (U.S.) and – in a departure from the norm – it wasn’t the money that attracted them. It was the city and what it had to offer. According to sources, Banu Turkoglu, who gave birth to the couple’s first daughter earlier this year, is wildly enthusiastic about the significant Turkish population here. The couple appreciates the European flavour of the city and decided lifestyle concerns were enough to opt for the move.”
Zach Lowe of CelticsHub: “Glen Davis became a valuable offensive player last season because his jump shot helped the C’s space the floor and gave defenses an extra threat to think about. Rasheed Wallace can do the same thing, except he can stretch the floor even further. As we’ve discussed, about 44 percent of his shot attempts last season were three-pointers. In fact, one look at his NBA.com hot spot data shows there is a lot to like in Sheed’s oft-criticized shot selection. The thing that immediately struck me was how few long two-point jump shots Sheed attempted. Yes, everyone would like Sheed to post up more on offense and work for interior shots, but at least he’s not out there chucking up 20-footers–the least efficient shot in the game. Add up all those long two-point attempts, and they average out to almost exactly 1.5 long two-pointers per game. I can live with that. On defense, Glen Davis became a useful player this season because he worked damn hard to not be a defensive liability. Even so, he had trouble defending the screen-roll and guarding big men who are too strong or too quick for him, though he uses his broad base effectively. Sheed, at 6′10”–at least–has no such problems.”
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “Let’s get right to it: Is the fact LeBron James has just one year left on his contract hurting the Cavaliers in their free-agent pursuits? To a certain extent, absolutely. The Cavs are chasing role players in free agency and, in some cases, offering multiyear contracts. Without the ability to outbid other teams this summer, the biggest part of the Cavs’ sales pitch is a chance to play for a championship and with James. In Sports Illustrated’s annual poll released in March, James was the far-and-away winner of the query, ‘Which opposing player would you most like to have on your team?’ In fact, he nearly tripled Kobe Bryant’s votes. So not being 100 percent sure where James will be in 2010 is an issue. But it is an issue the Cavs are happy to be dealing with. They’d much rather be the team trying to keep its megastar than the ones ripping teams apart in the hope of getting a star.”
Monte Poole of the Contra Costa Times: “They can sell the gorgeous landscapes and the mild weather. They can sell the distinctive cultures, the splendid urban/rural blend. They can offer more than enough money to take the sting off the cost of living in a place Tyrone Willingham, who has lived in a dozen states, refers to as ‘God’s Country.’ What the Warriors have a devil of a time doing, though, is selling their organization to the NBA’s most desirable free agents. It’s not that nobody who can make a difference on an NBA team wants to come to the Bay Area. It’s that nobody who can make a difference on an NBA team wants to be a Warrior. That’s the enduring curse of the Chris Cohan regime. Once again it is July — the busiest month on the NBA calendar — and once again the Warriors are finding it exceedingly difficult to overcome their culture of erratic ownership, instability in the front office and capricious coaching. That’s the league-wide perception and they do more than enough to foster it. So once again, they’re finding none of the league’s better players showing even the slightest bit of interest in coming to our lovely corner of the world.”
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Jermaine O’Neal may never be this valuable again in his career. Mark Blount certainly won’t. And yet, the Heat is in no position to cash in. One of the benefits of the Heat’s current roster is the enormity of its expiring contracts. O’Neal is on the books for $23 million for this coming season. Blount for $8 million. And it doesn’t end there. Udonis Haslem is in the final year of a contract that pays $7.1 million for 2009-10. Dorell Wright is expiring at $2.9 million. Even Chris Quinn has a $1.1 million expiring deal. Opposing general managers covet such deals. The problem is they are coveted in exchange for contracts that have additional years beyond 2009-10. And that’s the rub. Until the Heat gets a commitment from Dwyane Wade on an extension beyond this coming season, there is no long view, no ability to turn that $42 million of disappearing money into tangible long-term goods.”
Brad Rock of the Deseret News: “I’m all in favor of the Jazz retaining Millsap and giving him a generous bump in income. They can do that by matching any offer another team makes. The hazardous part is if someone offers him cuckoo money, say, $12 million or $14 million a year, and the Jazz buckle under the fear of having him return to haunt them. Then they’re committed to a multiyear deal, at a huge price. Millsap is a fine player but not a perennial All-Star. And he’s certainly not a franchise player. He’s a relentless, tough, no-nonsense guy. He gathers up the ball from off the floor, the rim, the glass and the loading docks, if necessary, and keeps it in play. There’s not a team in the league that wouldn’t want him. But he’s not a superstar. I know it’s a different era, with a different marketplace, but here’s some food for thought: If Millsap gets $11 million a year, he’ll be earning as much as 10-time All-Star John Stockton ever did.”
Mike Baldwin of The Oklahoman: “‘We had a small taste of success at times,’ Collison said. ‘This season, we should come into every game thinking we can win. We all have to find a way to win more games.’ Collison said he believes the Thunder’s young core — Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook — have gained invaluable experience. He said Green took a huge leap forward last season, and Westbrook played well for a rookie who didn’t start his freshman year at UCLA. But it’s Durant, the 2008 NBA Rookie of the Year, who Collison believes can help take this team to another level. ‘Talent-wise, I don’t think we’ve ever seen a guy that tall who can do the things he can do,’ Collison said. ‘I don’t want to place too much expectations on him, but he could be one of the best to ever play.’”
Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: “Avery Johnson may not be the only candidate for this job, but clearly, with Doug Collins out, he is the best candidate. Thibodeau and John Kuester are both rising stars and brilliant assistant coaches, but neither has been a head coach. Dumars would be hard-pressed to sell another first-year coach here. Of the list of available former head coaches, Mo Cheeks seems to be the most suitable, but as of Saturday morning Dumars had not reached out to him. Given all that, you see why Dumars continues to do his due diligence with Johnson. He is going to fly to Houston on Sunday and meet face-to-face with him. Dumars has heard all the horror stories regarding Johnson’s last days in Dallas (his team basically impeached him) but Dumars rarely makes decisions based on the opinions of others.”
Ramona Shelburne of the Los Angeles Daily News: “It is a drive he has made many times before, though rarely along the same roads. Out of the big city and into the woods, under the big skies of Montana. The question was, would Phil Jackson be making the return trip this time? Officially, it was answered Friday as the Lakers released a statement from Jackson indicating that three weeks of looking under the hood had uncovered no red flags regarding his health, enabling him to come back for his 19th NBA season next year. But the second the Lakers agreed in principle with free agent forward Ron Artest Thursday afternoon, it was an absolute certainty Jackson would return as coach. Not because the idea of the voluble, volatile Artest joining a championship club without Jackson around to massage the transition sounds borderline irrational, but because Jackson has always thrived on challenges on the highest order. In the twilight of his career, with perhaps just another season or two before he retires for good, and a team whose goal would be to defend a championship, not avenge a championship loss, Jackson needed something more. A new challenge, a new enigma to unlock. One last talented, troubled soul to cajole into a champion.”
Heath Hamilton of the Houston Chronicle: “‘When you walk, there’s about 11/2 times your body weight going across your feet and legs,’ Jensen said. ‘When you run, it’s about two to three times. And when you’re jumping hard, like dunking a basketball, it can be three to four.’ For someone weighing 310 pounds, that could mean a constant jolt of 1,000 or more pounds of force through the lower body. And just because someone has a large frame, it doesn’t mean his bone structure is stronger than that of someone smaller. But leg and foot injuries can’t be dismissed as a problem just for bigger players. A speedy guard might be taking more steps on the hardwood to cover the same ground or be in the air higher and longer when jumping. Nonetheless, Jensen said weight is a prominent factor in leg and foot injuries. If Yao lost 5 percent of his body weight, or roughly 15 pounds — putting him around his rookie weight of 296 — that could be up to 60 fewer pounds of force per stride.”
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: “It was supposed to be a routine physical, just a normal part of the poking and prodding that all prospects at the NBA’s May pre-draft combine had to endure. For DeJuan Blair, the exam turned out to be anything but routine. It wasn’t what doctors found inside his knees that left them so perplexed. It was what they didn’t find. It turned out that Blair, unbeknownst to anyone, had no anterior cruciate ligament in either knee. He couldn’t have been more surprised if tests had also revealed him to be pregnant. ‘I had no idea. I was shocked,’ said Blair, the 6-foot-7 forward from Pittsburgh selected by the Spurs at No. 37 in the June 25 draft. ‘It’s pretty amazing when you think about it.’ … It is the job of the ACL to help stabilize the knee during movement. That particular ligament is especially crucial in the constant starting and stopping that happens during the course of a basketball game. In lieu of the ACL, Blair’s quadriceps and hamstring muscles must do the work of stabilizing the knee. Once Blair gets to San Antonio for good, the Spurs’ strength and conditioning staff could put him on a regimen meant to bolster those muscles.”
Marcos Breton of the Sacramento Bee: “In the Philadelphia area, they call Tyreke Evans’ protective cocoon ‘The Circle.’ Some might call this arrangement paranoid or unnatural. But the Evans’ family makes no apologies. They saw their brother as a target and his talent as a vehicle for economic emancipation for Evans and his family. The player recalls that his father – John Holmes – was a truck driver constantly on the road when Evans was little. His older, half brothers filled the void. ‘It was almost like a brother-son,’ said Reggie Evans, who at 37 is 18 years older than Tyreke. Reggie Evans was talking about his brother-son last week at a private gym in Aston, where Tyreke Evans played many of his high school games. He remembers spotting Tyreke’s ability and then harnessing it. When Tyreke was only 4, Reggie Evans tied one of his arms to his side with duct tape and made him dribble the ball one-handed until he mastered the art. Then he taped the other arm until the child was ambidextrous.”
