John Schuhmann of NBA.com: “When it comes to deciding which of the players from this week’s USA Basketball mini-camp will be considered for next year’s team for the World Championships, offense is just a small part of the equation. ‘It goes beyond just watching them run and jump and shoot,’ USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said. ‘We know what they can do in terms of their skills. It’s how they interact. It’s as much an attitudinal thing as it is anything else.’ All of the 20 players gathered in Las Vegas’ Valley High School for the first day of mini-camp can put the ball in the basket. Even Greg Oden, probably the worst offensive player here, showed a couple of nice post moves in Thursday’s scrimmage. Whoever makes the team from this group will be taking a back seat when they’re teamed up with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. Those former Olympians know a thing or two about putting points on the board. ‘You try to envision,’ U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said Thursday, ‘if we got all the guys we would like to have back, who would complement the guys that we have.’ That makes these three days more about intensity, intangibles and defense.”
Chris Mannix of SI.com: “Versatility is also a valued commodity for USA hoops. ‘What we have learned in the international game is that versatility adds a lot,’ said Krzyzewski. ‘Especially at the ‘three’ and ‘four.’ So many ‘fours’ are perimeter players so it’s great if you have a guy who can play both [forward spots].’ Enter Kevin Durant, the 6-10 Oklahoma City forward who nearly made the team in 2008 and is considered a lock to make the 2010 squad. Durant’s strong play was singled out by Triano after practice and his perimeter skills — he was one of the few U.S. players knocking down jump shots in drills on Thursday — combined with his ability to play multiple positions have made Durant a favorite of Krzyzewski and Colangelo. ‘It’s great to have a pool of players that we are familiar with and know what they can do,’ said Krzyzewski. ‘We want to start building relationships with these guys not just for 2010 or 2012 but for 2014, 2016 and beyond.’”
Jonathan Abrams of The New York Times: “The Knicks’ off-season has created much discussion but little movement, with the organization at a standstill with its own free agents and others while it teeters between the incremental moves of the present and the potentially momentous ones of 2010. Spurned by the veterans Jason Kidd and Grant Hill, who chose to stay with teams that offered better odds of reaching the playoffs, the Knicks have focused on the Milwaukee Bucks point guard Ramon Sessions. But even signing Sessions is unlikely because of its implications on the Knicks’ payroll during next off-season’s free agency. Sessions is also a restricted free agent, so the Bucks can match any offer sheet. The Knicks have not presented a formal offer to Sessions, said his agent, James Wells. The Los Angeles Clippers are also interested in Sessions, who averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists last season. ‘Nothing’s changed,’ Wells said Thursday. ‘We’re still talking to teams, and the Knicks are one of them. We’re trying to get something done sooner rather than later and go from there.’”
Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com: “Lee thought the process would be complete by now because the Knicks had shed so much post-2010 salary last season in the Zach Randolph trade. But with Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries under contract for that season for almost $20 million in combined salary, Lee is getting squeezed. ‘Going forward I thought I could still be a big piece of the puzzle — and it’s not as though I’m looking at a max contract, or talking about either me OR LeBron. I thought it was something where we could get something done and they’d still have more than enough left over for what they wanted in the future, but apparently there’s some disagreement on that — just on how the Knicks want to move forward. And I think at this point they’re not completely sure what they’re going to do and how they want to proceed,’ Lee said. Given the torrent of trade rumors he’s hearing, Lee expects something to happen over the next two months that will keep him from having to accept the Knicks’ qualifying offer of slightly less than $3 million, which would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2010.”
Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News: “The Lakers might have pulled their latest contract offer to free agent Lamar Odom from the negotiating table last week, but that certainly hasn’t stopped Odom’s camp and the Lakers from communicating. In fact, almost from the minute the Lakers yanked the offer, general manager Mitch Kupchak was in contact with Odom’s agent, Jeff Schwartz. The dialogue between them has been steady ever since, according to Lakers spokesman John Black, although Black did not classify their communication as ‘negotiations.’ ‘I wouldn’t say that, no,’ Black said. ‘Basically Jeff and Mitch continue to stay in touch, pretty much on a daily basis.’ A recent report indicated that talks between the Lakers and Odom have heated up in recent days, although Black stopped short of saying that. ‘They’re continuing to talk,’ Black said. ‘But I wouldn’t say anything significant has come from it.’”
Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee: “Spencer Hawes plopped onto the couch in the lobby of the Kings’ practice facility, his 7-foot frame dominating the decor. A bag of ice encased his right knee. His gray T-shirt was soaked with sweat. His arms draped the back of the furniture, a cell phone clutched in his right hand. No, he never made it to Las Vegas. He says he’s sorry about that. ‘The biggest thing was poor communication on my end,’ explained Hawes on Thursday, almost two weeks after abruptly canceling his participation in the annual summer league. I definitely could have handled it better. If I (ticked) people off, I apologize. I couldn’t be there for the first few days because of another commitment, but I planned on coming after that. Then when it all blew up, I just would have been a distraction. I have to take responsibility for that. But the key is I’ve spoken with the coaches and Geoff (Petrie, the Kings’ basketball president), and we put it behind us.’ Partly to make amends for skipping Vegas, but also to reassure the organization he hasn’t suddenly lost his lusty work ethic, Hawes flew in from Seattle and spent the past several days working out with his new coaches.”
Michael Hunt of the Journal Sentinel: “The Bucks didn’t so much lose Villanueva as they chose not to make him the qualifying offer of somewhere around $4.65 million a season for fear he would bounce back to them in a depressed free-agent market. Because having Villanueva back on a bloated payroll would’ve exposed the Bucks to the NBA’s luxury tax – an insane notion for a team that wasn’t going to make the playoffs with him – they simply did not want him for financial reasons. And that’s beyond the fact that, at 6 feet 11 inches, he stood on the perimeter shooting threes and didn’t play defense. Who knew he would get $7 million from the Pistons? But know what? Good for Charlie V. He’s a great guy and a terrific teammate. I’m happy he got paid. But because of past mismanagement, it just couldn’t be here. Sessions is the kind of player you’d want in your locker room, too, but let’s be honest here: The Bucks, for good or ill, have cast their lot with Brandon Jennings. He is their point guard moving forward and will start, barring unforeseen circumstances, from Day 1. They prefer their first-round pick’s upside. They like the fact Jennings is quicker and much more spontaneous with his open-floor decision-making.”
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “First there was Jamaal Tinsley working out a settlement with the Pacers, with Indiana waiving the point guard who sat out all of last season. Now there is word from ESPN.com that former Heat guard Jason Williams will be granted his freedom from the Clippers, after his misguiding signing there last summer and his ensuing retirement. In many ways, Tinsley is what the Heat is trying to distance itself from, a player who hardly has shown that basketball is a passion or priority. On the other hand, if Tinsley is willing to play on a one-year contract at the minimum, the Heat certainly could offer an opportunity to re-establish himself before 2010 free agency. As for Williams, he hardly burned his bridges on the way out of town, merely caught in the Heat moving in a different direction after a miserable 15-67 season. While J-Will’s preference might be playing closest to home in Orlando, the Heat appears to have a far greater need for veteran support at point guard than the Magic. Unlike with Iverson, Tinsley and Williams would appear to be at a point in their careers where they are willing to wait their turns.”
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports: “Don’t expect Allen Iverson to wear a Memphis Grizzlies uniform next season. His chances of suiting up for the Los Angeles Clippers don’t look too good, either. Two sources with knowledge of the Grizzlies’ plans said Thursday that any negotiations between the team and Iverson were ‘dead.’ Memphis offered Iverson a one-year, $5 million contract with the stipulation that he would likely need to come off the bench. The Grizzlies, however, have not spoken to Iverson or his management team since early July, and neither side appears to have any interest in restarting talks. ‘Why would a future Hall of Famer come off the bench for a team that won’t make the playoffs?’ said one Western Conference executive. Though Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said he’d be willing to add Iverson, some team officials worry about the impact Iverson’s dominant personality would have on young guards O.J. Mayo and Michael Conley.”
Steve Aschburner of SI.com: “Now that we’ve seen the tape of LeBron James getting ‘posterized,’ or at least dunked on by Xavier’s Jordan Crawford at his summer camp, we have the context to gauge James’ and others’ reaction. Permitting (if not instructing) Nike reps in the gym in Akron, Ohio, to confiscate video evidence of the play, sure, that’s one way of handling it. Then there’s this way, by what would be known as The Jordan Rules of Posterization. ‘[Michael Jordan] would have probably cleared the gym out and said, ‘It’s me and you here, 1-on-1, for about the next half hour,’ ‘ former Bulls coach Doug Collins said recently on the Dan Patrick Show. Jordan, of course, had the luxury of playing the bulk of his career in the relative Jurassic period of the Internet, when an NBA defender who got posterized truly wound up on a poster, taped to a kid’s bedroom wall, the shelf life of the public indignity short. Times have changed. Everything is, or swiftly winds up, in the public domain. Behind closed doors in a summer-camp gym? Not a chance now, not with YouTube and TMZ and all the other forms of viral transmissions. ‘You have to understand,’ Collins also said, ‘these NBA players today, they’ll be in a game and a guy will be going to the basket … and a guy goes up, sometimes guys will get out of the way. I’ve said to guys before, ‘C’mon, you’ve got to go up and challenge that.’ [They say] ‘I don’t want to be on SportsCenter.’ ‘”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “Bruce Ratner’s gift for salesmanship is matched only by his determination, as over the past five years he has sold his vision of pro basketball in Brooklyn to countless politicians, sponsors, community groups, and even some economists. Now the Nets’ owner is trying to sell off the most tangible asset he has — the team, or at least a sizable portion of it. So far, nobody’s buying. But according to numerous officials throughout the organization, Ratner may soon find someone to help alleviate the team’s crushing debt load and facilitate the construction of the Atlantic Yards project, and the candidates range from the former CEO of Yahoo to a billionaire industrialist from Russia — each of whom would still move the team from New Jersey. ‘I would be surprised if it doesn’t happen fairly soon,’ said a high-ranking Nets official, who requested anonymity so as not to jeopardize Ratner’s plans. ‘Bruce has looked into several options. He’s had offers, he’s made counteroffers, and at some point in time — probably by the time the season gets under way — something will transpire.’”
(AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
