Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com: “For sure, Nash is good enough to single-handedly create open shots for one and all even when the Suns are forced to take the ball out of the net. But in too many games the Suns will be running uphill. Whereas Phoenix averaged 58 wins per season under D’Antoni’s tutelage, and was always a championship contender, last season’s Suns won 46 games and missed the playoffs altogether. Yet the current edition of the franchise will be fortunate to duplicate last year’s win total, especially in the ever-competitive Western Conference. Indeed, the best they can hope for is to battle their way into the eighth seed and be quickly eclipsed in the first round of the postseason tournament. For sure, Nash’s prestidigitations with the ball will ensure than the Suns will always be somewhat entertaining. That’s okay, even though there are numerous other activities in the area that the locals have traditionally found to be just as intriguing. Like square dancing, playing bridge, frolicking in the Salt River, making sand castles in the Sonoran Desert, and switching on air-conditioning units.”
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus: “The Magic looks like it could be getting a bargain should the Warriors decline to match the offer to C.J. Watson, a restricted free agent. Flush with lead guards after dealing for Speedy Claxton and Acie Law and drafting Stephen Curry, Golden State may well let Watson walk despite the very reasonable offer. To the extent I argued that the Magic’s moves weakened the team on the perimeter, that concern would be rectified with the additions of Barnes and Watson. Orlando would be as deep as any team in the league, with an entire 12-player active roster that could reasonably be counted on for rotation minutes. The only real argument you can make at this point is that the Magic would have been better off choosing talent over depth and consolidating that money on re-signing Hedo Turkoglu. Otherwise, it’s a lot of money to spend, but none of it unwisely and not in a way that really limits Orlando’s flexibility. The other upside of signing Barnes is it makes it less likely that Rashard Lewis plays extensively at small forward.”
Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald: “Carlos Boozer and his wife, CeCe, have spent every offseason since 2004 in Miami — first in a Brickell Key condominium and then in a $7.3 million waterfront home in Coconut Grove with their three children — 3-year-old son, Carmani, and twin 2-year-olds Cameron and Cayden. That house is for sale, but they plan to stay in the area. He runs a summer basketball camp at Gulliver Prep Academy in Kendall, along with good friend Benny Fragela, a former Coral Gables High guard he met during pickup games with Alonzo Mourning. He has many other close friends in South Florida, including Wade, his Olympic teammate in Athens and Beijing, and is crossing his fingers the Heat and Jazz can work a deal. ‘We first came here for tax reasons and fell in love with it,’ Boozer said, taking a break from his campers. ‘We love the palm trees, the laid-back attitude, the sun, quality of life. It’s like paradise here, and I would love to be part of the Heat. They’re a very good team, and I’m real close to some of the guys. Dwyane and I started to get close at the Athens Olympics in 2004, and I’d love to play on his team. Plus, I already live here. I’m just waiting to see what happens.’ Boozer, 27, said he and the Jazz have agreed to part ways, and it’s just a matter of ‘finding the right fit and making it happen.’”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “With Steve Nash out of the picture for 2010 after he agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Suns, Knicks president Donnie Walsh is again zeroing in on young Bucks point guard Ramon Sessions. Walsh is on the verge of making Sessions a long-term, mid-level offer for roughly $26 million, the player’s agent told The Post yesterday. Walsh met with veteran free agent point guard Andre Miller yesterday at the team’s Westchester facility, but the Knicks look at the 33-year-old Miller as a one-year rental, making him a longshot option. On the other hand, Sessions, 23, now is being regarded by the Knicks as a point-guard-of-the-future type. The Knicks became reluctant to get serious about Sessions earlier this month. They felt the Bucks would match a mid-level offer and didn’t want to be tied up waiting on Milwaukee. Now they think the Bucks will pass because of their comfort level with first-round draft pick Brandon Jennings, who is the centerpiece of the team’s season-ticket marketing campaign on their Web site.”
Brian Lewis of the New York Post: “If Knick fans think LeBron James or even Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh is the savior of their franchise, Mike D’Antoni has charged Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler to be the young core the team will build around, the pieces that will attract a big-time free agent to the Garden next summer. Being the faces of the franchise in this pivotal year? Sure, Gallinari recognizes the pressure _ and the 20-year-old relishes it. Never let it be said young buck shies away from a challenge. ‘I’m up for that. I think it’s an honor for me and Wil to have this responsibility, so we will work together to be as (good) as we can,’ Gallinari said at the 7th Annual iStar Charity Shootout, benefitting the Garden of Dreams. I know (it’s pressure), but it’s what I like, because champions come out under pressure. If you are not responding under pressure, you’re just a mediocre player; and I don’t want to be a mediocre player, I want to be a champion. I want the pressure. Great players need that pressure.’”
Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee: “Omri Casspi wishes there had been more success at summer league, where he showed flashes of potential but mostly struggled. The experience began with an obstacle, as Casspi couldn’t practice at first because of a paperwork holdup related to his release from his former team, Maccabi Tel Aviv. Once Casspi did take part, he had to play his way into shape, as he hardly had picked up a ball since his European League season ended in mid- March. But support was never far; a boisterous contingent of Israelis sustained the celebration of Casspi during games at UNLV while the man himself had his first dose of hoops culture shock. The 6-foot-9 playmaking forward is the latest European player to question the NBA’s individual- focused ways. The Kings have failed to share the ball more than most teams in recent years, and Casspi looks to help change that. ‘It’s so much different,’ said Casspi, who averaged eight points (on 29.5 percent shooting), 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 3.4 turnovers and 22.4 minutes in five games. ‘The European game is a team game. You’re not going to see guys shooting the ball until there’s five or six passes on offense. The athleticism, the quickness of the players here, the individual skill, is different.’”
Sam Amico of Pro Basketball News: “Sebastian Telfair’s name will now forever be linked to marginal NBA forwards Craig Smith and Mark Madsen — who were also shipped to L.A. to make the deal work financially. Could you imagine this happening back when Telfair was drafted in 2004? Or when the documentary entitled ‘Through The Fire’ highlighted the hype surrounding his final year of high school? Or when Ian O’Connor’s excellent book, ‘The Jump,’ chronicled Telfair’s decision to spurn Louisville for a shot at the NBA? Or when Telfair had LeBron James on speed dial? Sebastian Telfair? One of three guys traded for a washed-up Quentin Richardson? Just so he can ride the bench behind Baron Davis … with the Clippers? You must be crazy, we would’ve said back in 2004. Now all we can do is shrug and ask, what’s happened to this kid? Only now, he isn’t a kid. He’s just another ordinary NBA player. A lot of people would kill for that title. But for Sebastian Telfair, we were counting on so much more.”
Chris Tomasson of HoopsHype.com: “With the economy faltering, the future could mean a luxury tax for 2010-11 more than $5 million below 2009-10’s $69.92 million figure. With the salary cap going down, it also means teams really will have to crimp and save for money to use on a star-studded free-agency class, which could include the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But heck with the distant future. Spurs star Tim Duncan is 33 and, if he is going to get a ring for his thumb, he better be fitted in a hurry. Team officials are trying to comply. In addition to Jefferson, in which San Antonio paid the small price in a three-team trade of dispatching Kurt Thomas, Fabricio Oberto and Bruce Bowen, the Spurs also signed free-agent forward Antonio McDyess and had burly forward DeJuan Blair fall into their laps in the second round of the draft. Even usually gruff San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich can’t keep the smile off his face these days. ‘I’m pleased with what’s happened this summer,’ Popovich said. The general consensus at the recently concluded NBA Summer League in Las Vegas was San Antonio is the big winner so far the offseason.”
Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “Buying the Bulls was the best investment Jerry Reinsdorf ever made. At least, he’s pretty sure it is, considering his investment group purchased the franchise for $16 million in 1985, turned a nice profit most every year since, and Forbes Magazine recently estimated its value, including a share of the United Center, at just more than $500 million. ‘If you take into account that the Bulls also created the United Center, probably,’ said the chairman of both the Bulls and the White Sox. ‘Actually, I’ve been pretty lucky. I walked into Michael Jordan. He had already been drafted; nobody knew what he was. You don’t succeed in this world without a certain amount of luck. If you think you’re successful because you’re so smart, then you’re heading for a fall. It doesn’t work that way.’”
