Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune: “It has been reported that the sticking point on Brandon Roy’s contract extension is the All-Star guard wants a player option on a fifth and final year. If that’s the case and I’m Portland’s general manager, I’m just fine with that. Here’s why: Though maximum salary figures aren’t known until the salary cap is set each year, this year’s figure is at $13.4 million. If we use that as a starting point for a five-year Roy extension that would begin with the 2010-11 season, and give him the maximum 10.5 percent increase, it would get him to about $19 million the fifth year in 2014-15. In any market – and right now the NBA market is a combustible one – that’s a lot of clams. Yes, Roy is the face of the Blazers, a good guy and the player most responsible for their upsurge. But in 2014, he’ll be 30, with a lot more mileage on knees he has had trouble with in the past. Can you see why the Blazers might be at least a touch reluctant to make such a commitment?”
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: “The Rockets probably won’t have an All-Star on the floor when they open the season, which means we’ll have to take a deep breath and see them differently in 2009-10. They’re not as good as the Lakers, Mavericks, Spurs or Nuggets, and they may not be as good as the Blazers, Jazz and Hornets. Does that leave them fighting for the eighth and final playoff spot? Let’s hope. ‘If we lose, it won’t be because of a lack of effort and desire and winning qualities,’ Morey said. Morey’s analysis may tell him his team isn’t good enough to make the playoffs, but computers can’t really measure how much Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks, Kyle Lowry and Trevor Ariza are going to improve. Computers can’t measure the competitive fire the Rockets had during those two improbable playoff victories over the Lakers. And computers can’t measure Adelman’s ability to get the most from his players.”
Ramona Shelburne of the Los Angeles Daily News: “It all seems rather dramatic right now, with Lakers owner Jerry Buss angrily withdrawing his contract offers to Odom just five days after general manager Mitch Kupchak told an L.A. radio station that ‘there is no replacement for Lamar Odom’ and sources on both sides of the negotiations acting like the only thing left to decide was which day the news conference would be held. But the world hasn’t turned upside down in the past five days. It only seems that way because both sides are hard at work leveraging their respective positions. The only constant in the talks is the only thing that should ultimately matter: the Lakers and Odom need each other more than anyone else does. … The Lakers can offer Odom more money than anyone else. The Lakers don’t have the money to go after anyone else of comparable talent without making a trade. Which means everything in between is cosmetic.”
Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: “So where will the Lakers turn to now that they have pulled the deals they offered to Lamar Odom off the table? The pickings left on the free-agent heap are slim, and were made even more difficult for the Lakers because they have exhausted their best spending tools. They used the mid-level exception of $5.8 million on Ron Artest and the ‘bi-annual exception’ of $1.99 million on Shannon Brown. All they have left at their disposal to sign a player is the veteran’s minimum annual salary because they are over the salary cap. The veteran’s minimum is a sliding scale, starting at $457,588 for a rookie and going up to as much as $1.306 million for a veteran with 10 or more years of experience. Then the issue becomes whether an unrestricted free agent will take less money from the Lakers because they are the NBA champions who have a chance to repeat and they play in Los Angeles.”
Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: “Coby Karl is putting together an impressive summer, first with the Celtics in the Orlando, Fla., summer league from July 6-10. He was the team’s second-leading scorer behind former Ralston Valley star Nick Fazekas in four games. Karl made myriad eye-opening plays for the Nuggets during their game Tuesday. The team played better, more composed basketball when he was on the court. ‘He needs to become a great shooter instead of just a good shooter,’ George Karl said. ‘His effectiveness as a passer has got to go up a little bit. And I think he’s got to stay mentally tough and physically tough. He’s pretty committed to trying to make the league this year, getting another opportunity like he had with the Lakers and hopefully move up to where he can get on the court.’ Coby wants his opportunity to come from his play, not from his dad. There have been whispers here and there that he has received special treatment, and that has worn on him.”
John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune: “Jannero Pargo, the combo guard New Orleans seemed desperately to need and appeared to identify as a priority entering the offseason? Signed by Chicago to a deal — one year, $2 million — that amounts to pennies in NBA money, a reflection of his obvious desire to return to the league after a season in Russia. And though the Hornets drafted a couple of guards, there’s no doubt Pargo would’ve been more ready to help than either individually, and perhaps more than both combined. Brandon Bass, the power forward the Hornets head-faked after a day or so into free agency, leading fans to believe they seriously were looking at a guy who seemed to be the solution to the backup situation at power forward? Signed by Orlando to a deal — four years, $18 million — that amounts to a steal, one that appears to be even more reasonable than Pargo’s deal, considering Bass’ age (24) and ferocity. Meanwhile, the Hornets haven’t beem a hive of activity. All New Orleans has done is sign its two draft picks, point guard Darren Collison and shooting guard Marcus Thornton. That’s it. And that doesn’t sound like a franchise that burns to improve from last season, that’s willing to go to the wall financially and every other way to prove last season was a fluke, and to make up ground on the Western Conference leaders.”
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: “In the face of a frightening horde of economic down arrows, Holt fell back on a business adage older than Forbes itself. You’ve got to spend money to make money. At the box office, there are signs his investment is already paying off. Holt says he’s noticed a drastic uptick in ticket sales since the Jefferson trade on June 23. He says the team is up to a 71 percent renewal rate on season tickets, about a month off last year’s pace but still a dramatic increase over earlier in the summer. ‘All of a sudden, the fans seem re-energized,’ Holt said. The Spurs’ No. 1 fan seems re-energized as well. Leaning back in his chair at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion this week, Holt was relaxed and confident, eager for the days to come. He had the look of a man who had pushed his chips to the center of the table, and knew he was sitting on a winning hand. ‘We’re ready to kick some ass,’ Holt said. ‘I couldn’t be more excited.’”
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “Combined with money from the league’s television contracts that is assured each year, season tickets are the lifeblood revenue stream for NBA teams and therefore the most important indicator of financial success. It seems Cavs fans are responding to not only to the 66-win 2008-09 season, but also to the major trade to land O’Neal. Not only are they re-upping on last year’s tickets, they’re buying new plans. As of July 6, the Cavs had gotten renewals from 94.5 percent of their season-ticket holders from last season. That’s first among all NBA teams, edging out the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers. A year ago, the Cavs got renewals on about 77 percent of their season tickets through last December. Additionally, the memo reports the team has sold 2,279 new full season-ticket plans, a more than three-fold jump from last season. The Cavs have sold 11,385 season tickets, up from 9,614 season last season and it ranks the franchise second to the Orlando Magic (11,638) in total season tickets sold at this point.”
Frank Isola of the Daily News: “Maybe Olympiakos should be changing its name to the Greece Knicks. The Greek club is not only pursuing Knicks guard Nate Robinson, but according to a source, it has also contacted his teammate, forward David Lee. It is unclear if Lee has received an offer or if he has interest in playing overseas. Lee’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, would not confirm whether he had spoken to Olympiakos but Bartelstein said last night that he is confident that his client will play in the NBA next season. ‘I’ve had a lot of dealings with Olympiakos over the years,’ said Bartelstein, whose client, Jannero Pargo, played for the Greek team last year. ‘I’ll never say never, but that’s not where we’re looking right now.’ Bartelstein is still hopeful he can work out a deal for Lee, either with the Knicks or with another team through a sign-and-trade.”
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn is planning a trip to Spain to meet DKV Joventut officials about lowering the steep $6.6 million buyout clause in draft pick Ricky Rubio’s contract, sources with knowledge of Kahn’s plans told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday. Kahn will meet with Rubio and his family on the trip, the sources said, but the journey’s primary objective is to work with the European team about finding a way to get Rubio to the T’wolves this season. It’s expected Kahn will leave for Spain later this week from the NBA’s summer league in Las Vegas. Rubio, 18, is the flashy Spanish point guard Minnesota picked fifth in the June draft. Rubio ‘is OK with playing in Minnesota,’ a source said. ‘It’s a matter of getting the buyout done.’”
Liu Zhen and Nick Mulvenney of Reuters: “Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has purchased his financially troubled former club the Shanghai Sharks, Chinese media reported on Thursday. The seven-time NBA All Star’s investment company signed a framework agreement with the club’s three co-owners who agreed to sell Yao all their shares in the club, Xinhua news agency said. ‘I grew up in the city and became a professional player in this team, so I hope I can do something to help,’ Yao was quoted as saying on Shanghai TV. The Sharks shared in the worst deficit in 14 years of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) last year and were in danger of failing to start the new season in November because of their dire finances. The 28-year-old Yao topped the Forbes list of the wealthiest Chinese entertainers with an estimated income of 388 million yuan ($56.81 million) in 2008. Running the Sharks will cost about 20 million yuan a year, according to the China Business News newspaper.”
