Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune: “The last two weeks have seen the Boozer/Miller conversation, the Trail Blazers’ offer sheet to Millsap, Boozer’s interview with a Chicago radio station and the Jazz’s widely reported efforts to try to trade him. What conclusions are there to draw? It probably was Boozer’s misfortune in the end to play in Utah, where the fans seemingly feel a deeper personal connection to the players on their team than just about anywhere else in the NBA. Boozer drove a Rolls-Royce and wanted to keep people at arm’s length. He also was the first player to the arena most game days. You can question Boozer’s sincerity, but the NBA remains a players’ league first and foremost. Even more than that, it’s a superstar league, with a required amount of superstar maintenance on just about every team. There were instances when the Jazz could have helped turn public sentiment back in Boozer’s favor but didn’t.”
Brad Rock of the Deseret News: “I look at the Jazz keeping Paul Millsap the same way I look at four-wheel drive: pricier than it should be but not impossibly so. And when you need it, you’re really glad you have it. Word leaked out Thursday the Jazz will match Portland’s four-year, $32 million offer sheet, thus ending a week of stress for everyone involved. Earlier this year, the Jazz hinted they’d re-sign their off-road, all-purpose forward, at almost any cost. And they did. Granted, the deal averages out to a million or two more than they hoped, but you won’t hear anybody complaining. Durability and reliability have value. Besides, once they get past the $10.3 million that is due by the end of this month — think of it like an insurance deductible — the rest of it will be fairly manageable. So they retained Millsap the same way you buy a car at a Larry H. Miller dealership. The market sets the price.”
Ira Winderman of South Florida Sun Sentinel: “Heat President Pat Riley laid out a plan to season-ticket holders Thursday that continues to place the team’s emphasis on next summer’s free-agent period, despite reports linking the Heat to several high-profile options this summer. In a session limited to season-ticket holders and closed to the media, Riley said he would not risk forfeiting next summer’s cap space only to eventually lose out on the opportunity to pair a prime 2010 free agent alongside current Heat guard Dwyane Wade. While Riley has not addressed the media since the June 25 NBA Draft, a Heat blueprint has emerged through contact with those who attended Riley’s private sessions for season-ticket holders and prospective season-ticket holders the past two days, as well as conversations with those involved in the Heat’s machinations.”
A. Sherrod Blakely of MLive.com: “‘Amir has a tremendous, tremendous amount of potential,’ Hammond said. ‘You see that potential every time he plays. But he’s at a point where he has to do what he does best more consistently. I think he understands how important it is for him to be more productive, and he’ll have opportunities to be just that this season.’ Johnson, who signed a three-year, $11 million deal with Detroit in 2007, will be part of a loaded free-agent class next summer that should include Cleveland’s LeBron James, Miami’s Dwyane Wade, Toronto’s Chris Bosh and Utah’s Carlos Boozer, to name a few. And with the salary cap expected to shrink even more next season, teams will be able to land proven talent for a lot less. And for players such as Johnson who are big on potential with little production to back it up, their options will be limited significantly.”
John Canzano of The Oregonian: “If there’s a bonus to losing Millsap a week after making him that explosive offer, it’s that the Jazz didn’t drag this waiting-period out any longer than it needed to go. Early Thursday the Jazz asked for a one-day extension from the NBA to match Millsap’s offer. But by the close of business, the team announced it had searched between the seat cushions and come up with enough cash to match the Blazers offer. While the Blazers were fitting Millsap for his new uniform, and picking him out a locker, Odom’s negotiations with the Lakers broke down. And that ends up as close to good fate as we’ve seen around here in a summer that feels so dismal that when draft pick Patrick Mills broke his foot people said, ‘figures.’ The Lakers offered Odom a three-year, $27 million contract. It’s not enough. Odom wants more years, and Portland can offer just that. Which is why Pritchard should stop reading this column and pick up the telephone now to close a deal with Camp Odom.”
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: “Confidence and comfort are much easier to come by when you’ve been through all that George Hill has in the past 12 months. He’s already played in big NBA games and on big stages. He’s gone toe-to-toe with reigning Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose. He’s guarded Kobe Bryant in the clutch. He’s played in playoff games, albeit belatedly. After that, Vegas doesn’t faze him anymore. On Thursday, Hill turned in the best July game of his life. Afterward, he had a one-on-one powwow with coach Gregg Popovich in the arena bleachers, which Hill characterized as a productive, positive meeting. Hill’s goal for the summer has been a straightforward one. ‘I want to earn Pop’s trust,’ Hill said. ‘When the game’s on the line, I want him to be able to put the ball in my hands.’”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “One way or another, Omri Casspi was facing the Knicks at the Garden this season. But he’s happier to do it in Sacramento Kings’ purple, not Maccabi Tel Aviv’s yellow, when he becomes the first Israeli to play in the NBA. Tonight at 6, Casspi will face the Knicks in a summer-league matchup in Las Vegas (MSG Network). Playing them in New York, however, will be more special with more than 100,000 Israelis living in the New York area. ‘I’m excited about getting there, playing in front of that Jewish community,’ Casspi told The Post. ‘I’m excited to see the reaction of fans.’ Israeli TV showed the NBA Draft live at 2 a.m. and the Holy Land is ga-ga over Casspi being the first Israeli selected in the first round — 23rd — meaning he has a two-year guaranteed contract. Two other Israelis were drafted in the second round, both in 2006, Lior Eliyahu and Yotam Halperin, but were cut.”
Pat Disabato of the Chicago Sun-Times: “Craig Hodges is one of two players to have won the NBA’s annual three-point shooting contest three times. The other is Larry Bird. Hodges, a Park Forest native, also has two championship rings courtesy of his 3½-year stint with the Bulls. He has another coming as shooting coach for the champion Los Angeles Lakers, whom he has served since 2005. Between those highs were some gut-wrenching lows. The 1978 Rich East graduate’s career ended at age 32, when he was released by the Bulls and never signed with another team — despite the fact he connected on 40 percent of his three-point attempts in his 10-year career. Hodges remains convinced he was blackballed from the NBA after showing up at the Bulls’ White House celebration in 1992 wearing a dashiki and handing President George H.W. Bush a letter asking him to address injustices in the black community.”
Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “The NBA informed all 30 teams last week that the arbitrator who will rule on the grievance filed by Jamaal Tinsley against the Indiana Pacers has denied a motion by the Pacers to dismiss the grievance. The grievance was filed on Tinsley’s behalf in February by the NBA Players Association, challenging the Pacers’ decision to bar Tinsley from participating in any team activities before last season began while they tried to trade him. Indiana’s motion to dismiss in May was made on the grounds that the grievance was not filed in a timely fashion. Arbitrator Calvin Sharpe ruled in favor of Tinsley, concluding that the issue of timeliness would be weighed along with all other aspects of the dispute when the sides convene for a hearing on the matter scheduled for July 27-29. According to a Wednesday report from David Aldridge of TNT and NBA.com, Tinsley ‘has been working out in the Atlanta area and is in terrific condition, considering how long he’s been out of action.’”
The Salt Lake Tribune: “It comes as no surprise for a team coming off a disappointing season in a down economy, but the Jazz have seen a decline in season-ticket sales, according to an NBA memo shared with The Tribune. Through the first week of July, the Jazz ranked 10th in season-ticket renewals at 76.4 percent. That’s better than the league average of 71.1 percent, but down from the 91.6 percent rate the Jazz enjoyed through the same period in 2008. The Jazz had 10,713 renewals through the first week of July, compared with 13,120 in 2008, with 533 new season-ticket packages sold compared with 744. That left the Jazz with a season-ticket base of 11,246, down nearly 19 percent from last year’s 13,864. The Jazz still boast one of the NBA’s largest season-ticket bases, though Orlando is leading the league at 11,638. Cleveland leads with a 94.5 percent renewal rate, ahead of Boston and Portland.”
Chris Tomasson of Pro Basketball News: “Could NBA owners whose teams have bad contracts be getting another mulligan? It’s possible the NBA could end up bringing back the amnesty rule that resulted in teams saving millions of dollars in luxury tax during the summer of 2005. When the NBA reached an agreement on its current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that summer, teams were allowed a one-time opportunity to waive one player and not have to pay any luxury tax on him. The player, though, got the full amount remaining on his contract, and that counted against the salary cap. In all, 18 of the NBA teams used the rule, saving about $212 million in luxury-tax payments. Players waived included Michael Finley, Derek Anderson, Brian Grant and Ron Mercer. Finley’s release from Dallas proved the most beneficial to another team as he helped San Antonio to the 2007 NBA title. With NBA economy in peril and the luxury tax next summer possibly dropping by more than $5 million from $69.92 million, NBA commissioner David Stern has spoken to owners about the possibility of the amnesty rule again surfacing, although any possible resurrection of that rule likely wouldn’t be put on the table until late in the collective bargaining process.”
