Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine: “The Cleveland Cavaliers got some bad news followed by some potentially terrific news on Sunday. In a last-ditch effort to recruit Trevor Ariza away from the Houston Rockets, LeBron James told Ariza he would remain with the Cavaliers past 2010, according to a person close to Ariza. Even that wasn’t enough to get Ariza, who verbally committed to join the Rockets last Thursday, to change his mind and go to Cleveland. But the Cavaliers will gladly settle for the consolation prize; if indeed James’ statement to Ariza was more than an empty sales pitch. ‘Trevor asked LeBron if he would be in Cleveland after next season,’ the source said. ‘And LeBron said, ‘I’ll be there. Of course, I’ll be there.’ … Ariza, who had accepted a five-year, $33.5 million offer from the Rockets last Thursday, also received telephone calls from James and Shaquille O’Neal. When James told Ariza he’d be a Cavalier past next season, Ariza was less than convinced. ‘He thought it was just a recruiting tool,’ the source said. ‘LeBron definitely said it, but until he signs the contract it doesn’t mean much.’”
Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “The day after the Bulls lost Game 7 to Boston in May, guard Ben Gordon was asked about the limited number of teams that would have enough salary-cap room to make him a decent offer in free-agency. ‘It only takes one,’ he said. Gordon was right. The Bulls didn’t think he’d find a suitor willing to pay more than the $9 million per season he turned down last summer, but the Detroit Pistons came through with a deal worth approximately $55 million for five years. It would have been interesting to see what the Bulls would have done if the Pistons chased, say, Hedo Turkoglu and Lamar Odom instead of Gordon and ex-Milwaukee forward Charlie Villanueva. Chances are, the Bulls would have tried to lock up Gordon for $6 million-$7 million per season, then made other moves to get below the luxury tax. As it stands, some people will criticize the Bulls for losing their top scorer for nothing in return. But really, the Bulls are trying to swap Gordon for a player to be named later. By giving up Gordon’s salary, they’ll open enough cap room to make a run at a free agent next season.”
Frank Isola of the Daily News: “When the Knicks recruited Grant Hill and his wife, the singer Tamia, nine years ago, they loaded up James Dolan’s private jet with team officials and celebrities, and flew to Detroit to make their pitch. The traveling party included Star Jones, Chazz Palminteri, Matthew Modine, Michael Imperioli, Peter Boyle, Dave Checketts and Jeff Van Gundy. ‘I had an opportunity to come here in 2000,’ Hill said Monday. ‘But the problem is they wanted to trade me for Pat Ewing. I didn’t want to do that.’ Hill ultimately worked out a sign-and-trade with Orlando, Ewing eventually landed in Seattle and the Knicks haven’t won a playoff series since. All these years later, the Knicks put on another full-court press Monday to get Hill – but this time the veteran small forward and his wife flew to New York to hear the recruiting pitch. The Knicks aren’t offering a max contract, nor can they realistically offer a chance at a ring, but Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni tried to sell Hill on the idea that he can be part of a rebuilding process in a city where the opportunities in Hill’s post-playing career could be endless for him and his wife.”
Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “The mystery around the NBA is where Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard will turn after being spurned by free agent Hedo Turkoglu on Friday. Early indications are he has talked to representatives regarding free agents Andre Miller and David Lee, while also calling Charlotte to rekindle trade talks that stalled in February regarding Bobcats small forward Gerald Wallace. Still, those talks appear to have led to dead ends, and certainly nothing serious, leaving nobody with a feel for Pritchard’s master plan. ‘I’m good at a lot of things, but prying into the mind of Kevin Pritchard is not one of them,’ said agent Andy Miller, who represents key free agents Andre Miller and Antonio McDyess, as well as Blazers guard Rudy Fernandez. ‘I have no idea what he’s up to.’ The biggest insight into Pritchard’s mindset came Monday, when a team source revealed that the Blazers are most likely to pull away from the free agent market and use their cap space to execute an financially uneven trade.”
Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Free agent point guard Mike Bibby has agreed to a three-year deal worth an estimated $18 million to return to the Hawks, according to two people familiar with the situation. Wednesday is the first day NBA free agents are allowed to sign contracts. Bibby, 31, guided the Hawks to back-to-back playoff appearances in his year and half with the team after being acquired in a trade with Sacramento at the trade deadline in February 2008. An 11-year veteran, Bibby averaged 14.9 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 last season for the Hawks, who won 47 games during the regular season and advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time in over a decade. Bibby’s deal is the first of several the Hawks have to get done this summer. Hawks general manager Rick Sund is scheduled to fly to Washington today to meet with representatives for fellow Hawks free agents Marvin Williams, Zaza Pachulia and Josh Childress.”
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: “The Dallas Mavericks may be one of the NBA teams that helps Bryan Colangelo be creative and help out a soon-to-be ex-Raptor, but there will have to be another team involved. As ESPN.com reported last night, the Mavericks are now in hot pursuit of Shawn Marion in some sign-and-trade transaction but league sources said the Raptors aren’t going to simply take an offer and run with it. In order to protect the salary cap room necessary to sign free agent Hedo Turkoglu to a contract later this week, the Raptors will only be drawn into a sign-and-trade deal if they can avoid any additional financial obligations to players. Getting three teams involved in any transaction under the NBA’s arcane salary cap rules is dicey at the best of times. When a team like Toronto needs to come out of a deal without assuming any salary, it complicates matters even more.”
Frank Dell’Apa of The Boston Globe: “Rajon Rondo is not predicting a championship for the Celtics next season, despite the addition of free agent Rasheed Wallace, who is expected to sign a mid-level exception contract tomorrow. ‘We’ll see,’’ Rondo said before the Celtics smoked Utah, 87-56, in a Summer Pro League game last night. ‘It’s early. [Wallace is] a proven player and it gives us more depth.’ Rondo noted improvement in some of the Celtics’ main rivals. ‘I mean, everybody else is [improving],’’ he said. ‘Cleveland is. LA’s improved – they won the championship and they tried to improve. Even Orlando improved . . . I don’t know if they’ve improved, but they went out and got Vince Carter.’”
Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press: “He was considered the loosest of cannons, an overpaid player who had the talent to be a star but lacked the drive. He supposedly cared more about the nightlife than the games. He won a championship with the Pistons and nearly won another. Many fans loved him, although he always had more detractors than any of his teammates. Bringing Rasheed Wallace to Detroit was absolutely the correct decision. So is letting him leave. Wallace was right for the 2004 Pistons. He would be wrong for the 2010 Pistons. And this is not really about his skills, which are diminished but still valuable. It is about his attitude. Wallace is a man of many contradictions, and maybe the biggest is this: He prefers to blend in on the court but has a dominant personality off it.”
Eddie Sefko of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “He knows the game. And he also knows a good situation when he sees one. That’s why he will be re-signing with the Mavericks when free agents can make it official Wednesday. Kidd said Monday that the Mavericks’ immediate future was the swaying factor for him coming back, rather than jumping to New York. A few extra million dollars didn’t hurt either. But the prospect of rebuilding with New York couldn’t compete with the Mavericks, who remain a solid playoff team that is a key piece or two away from being serious title contenders. Kidd is no less optimistic than owner Mark Cuban when it comes to the Mavericks’ chances. ‘I think we got a great chance,’ Kidd said. ‘Mark didn’t waste any time in signing a free agent [center Marcin Gortat, a restricted free agent who will sign Wednesday], so I think we’re sitting in a good spot. I think we still have a big window to win a championship.’”
Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “The Detroit Pistons are closing in on a resolution in their coaching search after two days of talks with ESPN analyst Avery Johnson. Sources familiar with the Pistons’ thinking told ESPN.com that Tuesday would be a decisive day in their courting of Johnson, exactly one week removed from the dismissal of Michael Curry. Pistons president Joe Dumars had his first face-to-face meeting with Johnson at the latter’s Houston-area home Sunday night, which was followed by ongoing discussions between the sides Monday. If they can’t strike an agreement on financial terms and other job parameters by Tuesday, Dumars and Johnson both appear prepared to move on. NBA coaching sources say Dumars, in that scenario, would then turn to Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach John Kuester to replace Curry.”
Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Assistant coach Kelvin Sampson, who conducted practice Monday, said it was important for Jennings to show a point guard mentality and immediately be a leader for the Bucks on the court. ‘Today I pulled him to the side and I said, ‘One of the things we have to get better at is our point guard being more vocal.’ In football they call it having a huddle presence. Brandon has to get to where he has a floor presence. ‘We put in four things today, and when Brandon gets here early tomorrow, we’ll go everything with him. Running the play in July is good. But when we call timeout and we go through whatever we’re going to run after the timeout, I want Brandon to get to where he grabs (Andrew) Bogut or (Michael) Redd or whoever, and says, ‘You understand what he asked?’ That’s being a point guard but also being an assistant coach.’ It seems like a tall task for a youngster just learning the ways of the National Basketball Association, but Sampson’s comments show the faith the Bucks are placing in him. ‘I say this with all due respect, that kid has a very high opinion of himself,’ Sampson said. ‘He thinks he’s pretty good, and we’re not going to tell him any different. He’s got a lot of confidence, and I like that.’ ”
Ramona Shelburne of the Los Angeles Daily News: “Not adding Artest, Bryant said, would’ve been tantamount to standing still while the rest of the league got better. His goal for next year is simply to get better. His biggest fear is ‘leveling off.’ ‘For us as a team, it’s always about how we can improve,’ he said. ‘That’s going to be the focus next season, is pushing my teammates to continually get better and not just rest on the fact that we’re champions, or played at a championship level last year.’ For now though, he’s just enjoying where he’s come from and the idea of where he can go next. His marriage to the Lakers organization, which has gone through its rough spots over the years, is blossoming now. He has long been the face of the franchise. But for the first time in a long while, that face is unabashedly smiling.”
